Tydotsuy uses base 6, with digits grouped in twos. Most numbers end in a classifier, which is treated as a suffix on the number. The following are the digits:
When the number is one, the digit for one (mot) is not used; instead, the classifier word is used by itself.
When the number is between two and five, the digit is prefixed onto the classifier.
The number six (106) is represented by the word thii together with the classifier. The numbers seven through eleven (116–156) are written with thii followed by the ones digit followed by the classifier (all one word); thii triggers vowel harmony. (E.g., 126 = thii + ny + classifier = thiini–.)
The rest of the two-digit numbers are the sixes digit followed by the ones digit followed by the classifier; the sixes digit triggers vowel harmony. (E.g., 236 = ny + ba + classifier = nybo–.)
Three– and four-digit numbers are formed by taking the first digit or two (respectively) and treating them as a number with the counter suffix oo, and then taking the last two digits and turning them into a word as normal. The last two digits are left out if they're both zero, and they use the digit mot if they're 01. (E.g., 12346 gets split into 12 thiini– + 34 bate'– = thiini·aa bate'–.)
Numbers up to eight digits are split into groups of four, with the suffix nuy added to the last word in the first group. Numbers up to sixteen digits are split into groups of eight, and numbers up to thirty-two digits are split into groups of sixteen:
| Word | Value (base 10) | Value (base 6) | Number of 0's | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thii | 6 | 10 | 1 | (Works differently, see previous section) |
| oo | 36 | 100 | 2 | |
| nuy | 1296 | 10000 | 4 | |
| fphu | 1,679,616 | 1,00,00,00,00 | 8 | |
| shmyu | 2,821,109,907,456 | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 | 16 |
In all cases, the digit mot (1) is included except at the beginning of a number, and in all cases groups of two digits that are both 0 are omitted. If the entire number ends in one of the large-number suffixes (oo, nuy, fphu, shmyu), i.e., the last two digits are both zero, the classifier may be omitted.
Adverbial numbers—the equivalent of "once", "twice", "thrice", "four times"—are the same as the cardinal numbers, but with the classifier suffix –teh (or, for "once", the word tuh). The number goes right before the verb.
Ordinals up to 36 are formed like cardinals, but with the suffix –baþ replacing the classifier suffix. Higher ordinals are split into groups of two digits, but they do not get any of the suffixes that higher cardinals get; also, groups of digits that are 00 or 01 always become puo and mot, respectively, and single digits after the first group are prefixed with pu–.
Tydotsuy does not make a grammatical distinction between ordinals that are in a logical or spacial sequence (e.g., first door on your left) and numbers that are potentially-arbitrarily assigned (e.g., room 101). The former category starts ordinals at one, like English (baþ by itself means "first").
Numbers used as nouns are formed like cardinal numbers, except that they don't have a classifier suffix, but do have the prefix fe– on the first word in the number. Also, they can use the digit mot if the last group of digits is 01. Numbers formed this way do not take an article.
Written numbers use base-6 positional notation with a slight space separating groups of two. Prefixes and suffixes are written as necessary.
The digits are:
| 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 |
Each noun is associated with a classifier. Common nouns are associated with a classifier based on certain properties of the noun, whereas names of people are associated with classifiers based on the origin of the name (proper names can be associated with any classifier in the group "ordinary classifiers" below). Each classifier has three different forms: a suffix form and two standalone word forms. Most of the time the suffix form is used on numbers and the standalone form is used as a pronoun and to indicate the number one. (TODO animate pronouns... did I describe this anywhere...?)
| Suffix | Word | Animate | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary classifiers | |||
| –(i)þ | iþ | il | Small objects not usually counted separately (e.g., grains, drops; þ after a vowel) |
| –lif | lif | lil | Thin, string-like objects |
| –bwilh | bwilh | bwil | Flat objects |
| –mii | mii | mil | Other shapes |
| –shwelh | shwelh | shwel | Whole plants |
| –fee | fuu | ful | Clouds, abstract concepts, earlier sentences; forms abstract nouns |
| –hwei | hwei | hweil | Animals, people (when their name is not known) |
| –leh | luhwyy | luhwyl | Food (serving) |
| –bel | bel | bela | Books |
| Plural/mass classifiers | |||
| –nirie | nyryu | Pair | |
| –bit | byt | Piles, inanimate plural pronoun | |
| –laf | lof | Herds, groups of people, animate plural pronoun | |
| waa | Liquids | ||
| bypfdyc | Type plurals | ||
| Other classifiers | |||
| –sie | si·el | Places, times (all nouns with this classifier are inherently locative) | |
| –teh | tuh | Instances of an action: adverbial numbers and a nominalizing prefix | |
| –fdiþ | fdyþ | Kinds/types | |
| fnif | Left item in a pair (e.g., hands, eyes, ears) | ||
| thii | Right item in a pair | ||
| –baþ | baþ | Ordinals | |
| –thelh– | thelh– | Half | |
| –twit | twitse | Pieces | |
| –daa | daaphai | Sections | |
| –i | Fraction denominators | ||
| Measurements | |||
| –maf | maphee | Years | |
| –that | thattei | Days | |
| –tah | toh | Seconds | |
Grammatical number is only marked on animate nouns, using the prefix laf– to indicate plural. This prefix is not used if an explicit number is used. Grammatical number is also marked on pronouns; see pronouns.
The classifier fdyþ means a type of an item. (TODO figure out type plurals...)
The classifier nyryu refers to pairs of two objects that go together. This can be used anywhere an ordinary classifier can (noun prefix, number suffix, pronoun); objects that use this classifier can also use some other classifier.
If one of the objects is on the left side of something and the other is on the right, the words fnif and thii can be used to distinguish them. Fnif and thii can also be used as pronouns.
To talk about half of something, use the word thelh right before the suffix form of a classifier. Use the noun's ordinary classifier if one is talking about half of an object (e.g., if the object has been cut in half), and the plural classifier if one is talking about whole objects from half of a group (or a mass noun).
As a standalone word, thelh becomes thulh if the other classifier's standalone form has a rounded vowel. Classifiers formed this way can be used as numbers (either a standalone word representing 1/2, or as a suffix to a number) and as pronouns (only for one half).
The classifier twitse is used in place of the regular classifier to refer to pieces or parts of an object that would normally be treated as a whole, particularly one that has been cut up.
Fractions have the denominator first, then the numerator. The denominator is treated like a cardinal number with the classifier suffix –i. The numerator is also treated like a cardinal number, and it uses the classifier suffix –wit if one is talking about a fraction of a whole object, or –byt or –lof if one is talking about a fraction of a group. If the group is of all of a particular type of object, the fraction can be followed by the particle tot.
Toddyy can be used in place of an article to mean "all". Putot means "not all", and is used with a negative verb. Both of these are used in place of the article.
Partitives are constructions used to talk about a subset of a larger group of objects one is talking about (they correspond to English "some of these", "all of these", "one of these", etc.). In Tydotsuy, they're formed by adding the prefix tu'– onto the article specifying the part; this prefix triggers vowel harmony. After the article, a number (with a classifier), a fraction (anything described above), some other number-like word, or (somewhat less commonly) an adjective can be used to specify the amount. After that comes the main noun phrase (which is implicitly definite and does not need an article, unless the main noun phrase is modified by a number) or pronoun. Examples:
If there's a plural noun in the sentence, the word mi or tyf can be used later in the sentence to indicate whether the items are being considered separately (tyf) or as a whole (mi). If the plural noun is a subject, mi or tyf can precede the verb. Mi or tyf can also be used in a noun phrase.
If the noun is a subject of a transitive verb, es can be used to mean "each other", before the verb.
If the noun is an animate subject of an active verb, one of mi, tyf, or es must appear in the sentence.
Type a number (non-negative only):
Base 10: /
Base 6: / (max. 20 digits)
Classifier:
Tydotsuy:
Written number: