In this unit we will learn to count and write numbers in Quechua. Remember that the expression 'Runasimipi Yupasun' has the following connotation:

RUNASIMIPI	YUPASUN
'Runasimi' is another name for Quechua that means runa – people, simi – language. A translation to English would be language of the people.	The word «Yupasun» comes from the verb 'yupay' that means to count. In this case it refers to numbers.

Quechua numbers 0 to 10:

Click and repeat out loud.

0	Ch’usaq
1	Huq
2	Iskay
3	Kimsa
4	Tawa
5	Pichqa
6	Suqta
7	Qanchis
8	Pusaq
9	Isqun
10	Chunka

Throughout this unit we will learn to count bigger numbers, as well as ordinal numbers and we will finish with some practice.

¡Qallarisun! (Let's get started!)

We will begin counting Quechua numbers larger than 10 in groups of 10: from 11 to 20, from 21 to 30, and so on until we arrive at 100,000 (one hundred thousand). Pay attention to the repeated words in the tens and hundreds groups.

Numbers from 10 to 20: 

Click and repeat out loud.

10	Chunka
11	Chunka huqniyuq
12	Chunka iskayniyuq
13	Chunka kimsayuq
14	Chunka tawayuq
15	Chunka pichqayuq
16	Chunka suqtayuq
17	Chunka qanchisniyuq
18	Chunka pusaqniyuq
19	Chunka isqunniyuq
20	Iskay chunka

Notice the following pattern in numbers greater than 10:

1 is huq           10 is chunka   so 11 is chunka huqniyuq
2 is iskay         10 is chunka   so 12 is chunka iskayniyuq
3 is kimsa       10 is chunka   so 13 is chunka kimsayu
4 is tawa         14 is chunka   so 14 is chunka tawayuq

Easy, right? We have combined both numbers 1 and 10, and so on. At the end we have added YUQ (if the word ends in a vowel) and NIYUQ (if the word ends in a consonant), let's look at more examples with numbers from 20 to 100 and you will notice the same pattern.

Quechua numbers 20 to 100:

Click and repeat out loud.

20	Iskay chunka
21	Iskay chunka huqniyuq
22	Iskay chunka iskayniyuq
23	Iskay chunka kimsayuq
24	Iskay chunka tawayuq
25	Iskay chunka pichqayuq
26	Iskay chunka suqtayuq
27	Iskay chunka qanchisniyuq
28	Iskay chunka pusaqniyuq
29	Iskay chunka isqunniyuq
30	Kimsa chunka

30	Kimsa chunka
31	Kimsa chunka huqniyuq
32	Kimsa chunka iskayniyuq
33	Kimsa chunka kimsayuq
34	Kimsa chunka tawayuq
35	Kimsa chunka pichqayuq
36	Kimsa chunka suqtayuq
37	Kimsa chunka qanchisniyuq
38	Kimsa chunka pusaqniyuq
39	Kimsa chunka isqunniyuq
40	Tawa chunka

40	Tawa chunka
41	Tawa chunka huqniyuq
42	Tawa chunka iskayniyuq
43	Tawa chunka kimsayuq
44	Tawa chunka tawayuq
45	Tawa chunka pichqayuq
46	Tawa chunka suqtayuq
47	Tawa chunka qanchisniyuq
48	Tawa chunka pusaqniyuq
49	Tawa chunka isqunniyuq
50	Pichqa chunka

It's not complicated, right? We have noted the following:

*5 is pichqa    10 is chunka   15 is chunka pichqayuq         so 50 is pichqa chunka.

50	Pichqa chunka
51	Pichqa chunka huqniyuq
52	Pichqa chunka iskayniyuq
53	Pichqa chunka kimsayuq
54	Pichqa chunka tawayuq
55	Pichqa chunka pichqayuq
56	Pichqa chunka suqtayuq
57	Pichqa chunka qanchisniyuq
58	Pichqa chunka pusaqniyuq
59	Pichqa chunka isqunniyuq
60	Suqta chunka

*6 is suqta      10 is chunka   16 is chunka suqtayuq           so 60 is suqta chunka.

60	Suqta chunka
61	Suqta chunka huqniyuq
62	Suqta chunka iskayniyuq
63	Suqta chunka kimsayuq
64	Suqta chunka tawayuq
65	Suqta chunka pichqayuq
66	Suqta chunka suqtayuq
67	Suqta chunka qanchisniyuq
68	Suqta chunka pusaqniyuq
69	Suqta chunka isqunniyuq
70	Qanchis chunka

*7 is qanchis 10 is chunka   17 is chunka qanchisniyuq     so 70 is qanchis chunka.

70	Qanchis chunka
71	Qanchis chunka huqniyuq
72	Qanchis chunka iskayniyuq
..	(follows the same pattern as previous groups).
80	Pusaq chunka

*8 is pusaq     10 is chunka   18 is chunka pusaqniyuq        so 80 is pusaq chunka.

80	Pusaq chunka
81	Pusaq chunka huqniyuq
82	Pusaq chunka iskayniyuq
..	(follows the same pattern as previous groups).
90	Isqun chunka

*9 is isqun      10 is chunka   19 is chunka isqunniyuq         so 90 is isqun chunka.

90	Isqun chunka
91	Isqun chunka huqniyuq
92	Isqun chunka iskayniyuq
..	(follows the same pattern as previous groups).
100	Pachak

Quechua numbers from 100 to 1000:

We will continue learning to count and write numbers in Quechua. Here we will follow the same pattern as previous groups (to talk about adding the units huq, iskay, kimsa, and so on) and we will ad the word PACHAK which means 100.

Let's look at some examples:

*1 is huq         100 is pachak
*2 is iskay       200 is iskay pachak
*3 is kimsa      300 is kimsa pachak and so on

Click and repeat out loud.

100	Pachak
200	Iskay pachak
300	Isqun pachak
400	Tawa pachak
500	Pichqa pachak
600	Suqta pachak
700	Qanchis pachak
800	Pusaq pachak
900	Isqun pachak
1000	Waranqa

Quechua numbers 1000 (thousand) to 10,000 (ten thousand):

In this group we will continue with the units huq, iskay, kimsa and so on, and at the end we will add the word WARANQA which means 1000 (thousand).

1000	Waranqa
2000	Iskay waranqa
3000	Kimsa waranqa
4000	Tawa waranqa
5000	Pichqa waranqa
6000	Suqta waranqa
7000	Qanchis waranqa
8000	Pusaq waranqa
9000	Isqun waranqa
10000	Chunka waranqa

Quechua numbers up to 1,000,000 (a million):

Now that we know how to count numbers in Quechua, we will practice with bigger numbers.

*1 is huq        10 is chunka   1000 (thousand) is waranqa            10 000 (ten thousand) is chunka waranqa

*2 es iskay       10 es chunka   2000 es iskay waranqa           20 000 (20 mil) es iskay chunka waranqa (y así sucesivamente).

10 000	Chunka waranqa
20 000	Iskay chunka waranqa
30 000	Kimsa chunka waranqa
40 000	Tawa chunka waranqa
50 000	Pichqa chunka waranqa
60 000	Suqta chunka waranqa
70 000	Qanchis chunka waranqa
80 000	Pusaq chunka waranqa
90 000	Isqun chunka waranqa
100 000 (one hundred thousand)	Pachak waranqa

200 000	Iskay pachak waranqa
500 000	Pichqa pachak waranqa
700 000	Qanchis pachak waranqa
900 000	Isqun pachak waranqa
1 000 000 (one million)	Hunu

Ordinal numbers

Now that you know the numbers in Quechua, we will look at how to form ordinal numbers from 1 to 10:

Click and repeat out loud.

1ro	First	Ñaupaq kaq
2do	Second	Iskay kaq
3ro	Third	Kimsa kaq
4to	Fourth	Tawa kaq
5to	Fifth	Pichqa kaq
6to	Sixth	Suqta kaq
7mo	Seventh	Qanchis kaq
8vo	Eighth	Pusaq kaq
9no	Ninth	Isqun kaq
10mo	Tenth	Chunka kaq

Keep in mind the following vocabulary that will also help you in future units:

Runasimi	Language of the people
Runa	person
Yupay	to count
Warmi	woman
Quwi	guinea pig
Capi	kid, young goat
Kuchi	pig
Uyway	to raise
Michiy	to graze
Chucllo	corn cob/fresh corn

It is the moment to put what you have learned in this unit into practice. Since we are learning to count in Quechua, it is necessary to learn the plural marker.

Remember that the marker for plural in Quechua is: KUNA.

For example:
One singular woman would be: huq warmi
More than one woman would be: warmikuna

Let's look at more examples in the following table:

SINGULAR	PLURAL
Llama	Llamakuna
Runa	Runakuna
Wasi	Wasikuna
T’ika	T’ikakuna
Sara	Sarakuna

Keep in mind that in Quechua there is not opposition between singular and plural. When a sentence that has more than one subject and does not have the pluralizer – kuna it doesn't mean that it is not plural.

For example:

• Tawa quwi is the same as Tawa quwikuna. both mean four guinea pigs.
• Iskay runa is the same as Iskay runakuna. Both mean teo people.

In certain sentences, the plural marker is superfluous.
For example, in the phrase wakata michini (I graze the cows). This phrase could also be wakakunata michini which means the same thing.

Here are some more examples:

Capita Curahuasipi michini is the same as Capikunata Curahuasipi michini. Both mean «I graze young goats in Curahuasi».

Kuchita Urubambapi uywani is the same as Kuchikunata Urubambapi uywani. Both mean «I raise pigs in Urubamba».

Exercise:

Carefully observe each of the images and in your notebook write the number (in Quechua) of people, animals, o objects that are shown, as well as the pluralizer kuna.

After completing this exercise, check your answers by clicking on the play icon and repeat each phrase out loud.

Answers

a) Huq alqu

b) Suqta chuqllukuna

c) Iskay warmikuna

d) Iskay runakuna

e) Kimsa quwikuna