Tulu Lesson 6: Numbers, Ordinal Numbers, Telling the Time

namaskAra! encha ullar?

Hopefully you are enjoying the lessons. Please let me know if you have any questions that you think I can answer!

Last week we learnt numbers from 1 to 20 in Tulu. Today we are going to learn more numbers, ordinal numbers and how to tell the time.  

onji – 1

raDD – 2

mUji – 3

nAl – 4

ain – 5

Aji – 6

El – 7

enma – 8

orumba – 9

patt – 10

pattonji – 11

padiraDD – 12

padimUji – 13

padinAl – 14

padinain – 15

padinAji – 16

padinEl – 17

padinenma – 18

padinorumba – 19

irva – 20

irvattonji - 21

irvatraDD - 22

irvatmUji - 23

irvatnAl - 24

irvattain - 25

irvattAji - 26

irvattEl - 27

iravattenma - 28

irvattorumba - 29

muppa - 30

muppattonji - 31

muppatraDD - 32

…………
muppattorumba - 39

nalpa - 40

nalpattonji - 41

nalpatraDD - 42

………..

nalpattorumba - 49

aiva - 50

aivattonji - 51

aivatraDD - 52

…………..

aivattorumba - 59

ajipa - 60

ajipattonji - 61

ajipatraDD - 62

………….

ajipattorumba - 69

elpa - 70

elpattonji - 71

elpatraDD - 72

………….

elpattorumba - 79

enpa - 80

enpattonji - 81

enpatraDD - 82

……………

enpattorumba - 89

sonpa - 90

sonpattonji - 91

sonpatraDD - 92

…………..

sonpattorumba - 99

nUdu - 100

nUta onji - 101

nUta raDD - 102

nUta patt - 110

nUta sonpa - 190

irnUdu - 200

irnUta onji - 201

irnUta sonpa - 290

munnUdu - 300

nAlnUdu - 400

ainUdu - 500

AjinUdu - 600

ElnUdu - 700

enmanUdu - 800

orumbanUdu - 900

sAra – 1000

sArattonji - 1001

patt sAra – 10,000

laksha – 1,00,000

patt laksha - 10,00,000

kOTi – 1,00,00,000

These are the cardinal numbers in Tulu. We use cardinal numbers for counting or to tell ‘how many’ of something or to tell the quantity.

Examples:

Tulu: raDD kai
English: two hands
Kannada: eraDu kai

Tulu: Aye dinoku patt gaNTae benpe
English: He works 10 hour a day.
Kannada: avanu dinakke hattu gaNTe duDiyuttAne
duDiyuttAne

Tulu: Aye vArogu 5 dina benpe
English: He works 5 days a week.
Kannada: avanu vArakke 5 dina duDiyuttAne

Tulu: patt kilo ari
English: 10 KG rice
Kannada: hattu KG akki

Tulu: yAn raDD gaNTae kApuvae
English: I will wait for 2 hours.
Kannada: nAnu eraDu gaNTe kAyuttEne

Whenever we want to add numbers to a neuter noun, we can avoid adding plural suffix and put the number before the noun.

Examples:

illulu – houses 

nAl ill – Four houses

kaikulu – hands

raDD kai – two hands

enk raDD kai uNDu – I have two hands.

We never say ‘enk raDD kaikulu ulla’ in Tulu.

Tulu: mEjida mitt raDD pustaka uNDu
English: There are two books on the table.
Kannada: mEjina mEle eraDu pustaka ide

Tulu: enkleDa patt tArae uNDu
English: We have ten coconut trees.
Kannada: nammalli hattu tengina mara ide

When speaking about human beings we have different forms in Tulu.

orye/ori – One (man) (Masc.)

orti – One (woman) (Fem.)

onji – One (thing) (Neu.)

irver – Two persons

mUver – Three persons

nAlver – Four persons

aiver – Five persons

Aji jana / Aji mandae – Six persons

El jana / El mandae – Seven persons

enma jana / enma mandae – Eight persons

orumba jana / orumba mandae – Nine persons

patt jana / patt mandae – Ten persons.

From 5 upwards ‘jana’ or 'mandae' (person) is added to the number. We can also say raDD jana, mUji jana, nAl jana and ain jana. We also have ‘patter’, but it does not mean exactly 10 persons. It means ‘honorable citizens’ or ‘elders of the village’

Tulu: orye barpe, orye pOpe
English: One comes, one goes.
Kannada: obba bartAne, obba hOgtAne

Tulu: ori kalve
English: A thief
Kannada: obba kaLLa

Tulu: Aye ori sobage
English: He is a gentleman.
Kannada: avanu obba sabhyastha

Tulu: akulu oryeDori  pAterujer
English: They don’t speak with each other.
Kannada: avaru obbarallobbaru matADuvudilla

Tulu: I oryena?
English: Are you alone?
Kannada: nInu obbana/oNTiya?

Tulu: Al orti ponnu
English: She is a girl
Kannada: avaLu ondu heNNu

Tulu: onji puchchae
English: A cat
Kannada: ondu bekku

Tulu: onji ill
English: A house
Kannada: ondu mane

Tulu: akulu irver dEvastAnogu pOyer
English: They both went to the temple.
Kannada: avaru ibbaru dEvastAnakke hOdaru

Ordinal numbers:

Ordinal numbers tell the order of how things are set, they show the position or the rank of something. We have to add suffix ‘anae’ to make ordinal numbers.

onjanae – First

raDDanae – Second

mUjanae – Third

nAlanae – Fourth

ainanae – Fifth

Ajanae – Sixth

Elanae – Seventh

enmanae – Eighth

orumbanae – Ninth

pattanae – Tenth

pattonjanae – 11^th

irvanae – 20^th

Al onjanae klAs’D kalpuval – She is studying in first standard.

For ‘first’, we have also these words in Tulu: ‘suru’ and ‘kaDIr’.

kaDIra mage – First son 

suruta mage – First son 

‘suru’ is most commonly used in daily conversation.

onjanae stAna – First place/rank 

onjanae klAs – First standard

onjanae nambar – First number

onjanae mAligae – First floor

Tulu: suruta tingol
English: First month
Kannada: modala tngaLu

Tulu: suruttAye
English: The first one (Masculine)
Kannada: modalinava

Tulu: suruttAl
English: The first one (Feminine)
Kannada: modalinavaLu

Tulu: suruttau
English: The first one (Neuter)
Kannada: modalinadu

Tulu: suruta bAlae
English: First child
Kannada: modala magu

Tulu: mUjanae klAs
English: Third standard
Kannada: mUrane klAsu

Tulu: mUjanae mAligae
English: Third floor
Kannada: mUrane mahaDi

Tulu: mUjanettAye
English: The third one (Masculine)
Kannada: mUraneyava

Tulu: nAlanettAl
English: The fourth one (Feminine)
Kannada: nAlkaneyavaLu

Tulu: Ajanettau
English: The sixth one (Neuter)
Kannada: Araneyadu

Adverbial numerals:

ora  (onji sarti) – Once

raDD sarti – Twice

mUji sarti - Thrice

nAl sarti – Four times

ain sarti - Five times

Aji sarti - Six times

El sarti - Seven times

patt sarti – Ten times

nUdu sarti – Hundred times.

To make adverbial numerals, we need to add ‘sarti’ to the number.

Tulu: Aye vArogu ora barpe
English: He comes once a week
Kannada: avanu vArakke omme bartAne

Tulu: kuDora (kuDa + ora) paNpana?
English: Will you tell me once more?
Kannada: innomme hELtIya?

Tulu: raDD sarti Oduvae
English: I will read it twice.
Kannada: eraDu sala OdtEne

Following words are also used for Adverbial numerals, but the usage has been declined in cities. 

orvolu / orvAra - Once

irvolu / irvAra - Twice

mukkolu / muttAra - Thrice

naalkolu - Four times

aikolu / aivolu - Five times

aajolu - Six times

Elvolu - Seven times

Reading sums of money:

25 paisa – irvattain paisae/nAlanae

50 paisa – aiva paisae/enmanae

Rs. 1 – onji rupAy

Rs. 1.25 – onje kAl rupAy

Rs. 1.50 – onjarae rupAy

Rs. 1.75  – onje mukkal rupAy

Rs. 100 – nUdu rupAy

Rs. 1500 – onjarae sAra rupAy

Rs. 2500 – raDDarae sAra rupAy

kAl – Quarter

arae/arda – half

mukkAl – Three forth

Telling the time:

gaNTae raDD AND – It’s 2 o’clock

raDDe ain – 2:05

raDDe patt – 2:10

raDDe kAl – 2:15

raDDe irva – 2:20

raDDe irvattain – 2:25

raDDarae – 2:30

raDDe nalpa – 2:40

kAl kammi mUji – 2:45

mUjeg patt nimisha uNDu – 2:50

mUjeg ain nimisha uNDu – 2:55

mUji 0 3:00

patte irva – 10:20

kAl kammi padiraDD – 11:45

Tulu: gaNTae EtAND?
English: What time is it?
Kannada: gaNTe eshTAytu?

Tulu: nAle patt AND
English: It’s four ten.
Kannada: nAlku hattu Aytu

Tulu: yAn raDD gaNTae muTa kApuvae
English: I will wait till 2 o’clock.
Kannada: nAnu eraDu gaNTe varege kAyuttEne

Tulu: yAn raDD gaNTae kApuvae 

English: I will wait for 2 hours.
Kannada: nAnu eraDu gaNte kAyuttEne

Tulu: Aye onji gaNTeg barpe
English: He will come at 1 o’clock.
Kannada: avanu ondu gaNTege baruttAne

Tulu: Aye onji gaNTeD barpe
English: He will come in an hour.
Kannada: avanu ondu gaNTeyalli baruttAne

Tulu: Aye onji gaNTedulai (gaNTeda + ulai) barpe
English: He will come within an hour.
Kannada: avanu ondu gaNTe oLage baruttAne

Tulu: yAn Epola kANDae El gaNTeg lakkuvae
English: I always wake up at 7 0’clock in the morning.
Kannada: nAnu yAvAgalU beLagge ELu gaNTege ELuttEne

Tulu: enma gaNTeg sAleg pOpae
English: I go to school at 8 o’clock.
Kannada: eNTu gaNTege shAlege hogtEne

New words:

kai - hand

ari - rice

mEji - Table

tArae - coconut tree

tArai - coconut

pustaka/bUku - book

kuDa - again

kuDora - once more/once again

kammi - less

muTa - till

ulai - inside

Click here to go to Vocabulary page.

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All right! With this we come to the end of lesson 6. See you next week!

solmelu!

Tulu Lesson 5: More Interrogative Sentences in Simple Present Tense, Numbers from 1 to 20

namaskAra! encha ullar?

If anyone asked you how are you in Tulu, you can reply them ‘ushAr ullae’ or just ‘soukhya’. Both mean the same ‘I am fine’.

Also, instead of ‘encha ullar?’ you can ask ‘soukhyana?’ or ‘ushAr ullara?’.

You know Tulu has different subjective pronouns to speak with elders or strangers with respect. Ir - you, Ar (remote) – He/She, mEr (proximate) – He/She. But there is no separate verb conjugation for these pronouns. Verbs are conjugated like if it was plural.

nikulu gobbuvar – you play (plural) 

Ir gobbuvar – you play (giving respect) 

akulu/mokulu gobbuver (plural)

Ar/mEr gobbuver (giving respect) 

But in interrogative form of sentences when you speaking to elders/strangers with respect, you can optionally add ‘e’ or ‘ne’ instead of ‘a’ or ‘na’ at the end.

nikulu gobbuvara? – Do you play? (plural) 

Ir gobbuvare? – Do you play? (giving respect) 

It’s not compulsory; you can also say ‘Ir gobbuvara?’, but adding ‘e’ sound at the end makes it more polite and many prefer it while speaking to elders.

Aye gobbujena? – Doesn’t he play? 

Aye gobbujene? - Doesn’t he play? (when you speak with elders/strangers with respect)

soukhyana? – Are you fine? 

soukhyane? Are you fine? (with respect)

Now look at the following sentence.

He is a nice man, right?

He is a nice man, isn’t he?

This kind of questions can be asked in Tulu using ‘ata’.

att – No/It is not

ata? – Isn’t it/right?

Aye eDDae naramAni, ata? - He is a nice man, right?

Aye eDDae naramAni, ate? -  He is a nice man, right? (giving respect to the listener)

The answer can be and/att – Yes/No

Aye ellae barpe, ata? – He will come tomorrow, right?

Aye ellae barpe, ate? - He will come tomorrow, right? (giving respect to the listener)

The answer can be and/ijji – Yes/No

Now look at the following sentence:

Whether he will come or not?

This kind for questions can be asked in Tulu using ‘ijja’.

ijji - No/It is not

ijja? – isn’t it?/or not?

Aye barpe – He will come

Aye barpena? – Will he come?

Aye barpene? - Will he come? (giving respect to the listener)

Aye barpena, ijja? - Whether he will come or not?

Aye barpene, ijje? - Whether he will come or not? (giving respect to the listener)

All right! We are done with interrogative form of sentences in Simple Present tense. Now let us look at all type of sentences we have learnt so far:

yAn tulu pAtervae – I speak Tulu.

yAn tulu kalpuvae – I will learn Tulu

enk tulu barpuNDu – I know Tulu

enk tulu gottuNDu (gottu + uNDu) – I know Tulu

yAn tulu pAterujae – I don’t speak Tulu

yAn tulu kalpujae – I will not learn Tulu

enk tulu barpuji – I don’t know Tulu

enk tulu gottuji – I don’t know Tulu

I tulu kalpuvana? Will you learn Tulu?

Ir tulu kalpuvare? Will you learn Tulu?

nikk tulu barpuNDa? Do you know Tulu?

ireg tulu barpuNDe? Do you know Tulu?

nikk tulu gottuja? Don’t you know Tulu?

ireg tulu gottuje? Don’t you know Tulu?

nikk tulu gottuNData? (gottuNDu + ata) – You know Tulu, right?

ireg tulu gottuNDate? - You know Tulu, right?

nikk tulu barpujata? (barpuji + ata) – You don’t know Tulu, right?

ireg tulu barpujate? – You don’t know Tulu, right?

nikk tulu gottuNDa, ijja? - Whether you know Tulu or not?

ireg tulu barpunDe, ijje? - Whether you know Tulu or not?

yAn ellae kuDlag pOpae, Irla ennoTTugu barpare? – I will go to Mangalore tomorrow, will you too come along with me?

Avu, yAnla barpae – OK, I will come too.

ijji, enk Apuji – No, I can’t

Avu – OK

ApuNDu – It becomes/It will become

Apuji – It does not become/It will not become

yAn Doctor Apae – I will become a Doctor. 

yAn Doctor Apujae – I will not become a Doctor. 

But when used with Dative or Ablative case, it gives the meaning of ‘not possible’ or ‘can’t’

enk Apuji – I can’t. (It’s not possible for me)

enaDd Apuji – I can’t (It’s not possible by me)

Tulu: ninaDd dAla bElae Apuji
English: You can’t do any work. Kannada: ninninda EnU kelasa Agalla

Also, this verb is used to express feelings.

Tulu: enk khushi ApuNDu
English: I feel happy
Kannada: nanage khushi Agtade

Tulu: enk bEjAr ApuNDu
English: I feel sad
Kannada: nanage bEjar Agtade

Tulu: enk bEnae Apuji
English: I don’t feel pain.
Kannada: nanage nOvu Agalla

Tulu: enk badApuNDu (baDav + ApuNDu)
English: I feel hungry
Kannada: nanage hasivAgtade

Tulu: enk bAjel ApuNDu
English: I feel thirsty
Kannada: nanage bAyArike Agtade

Tulu: Ayeg tarae bEnae ApuNDu
English: He has head ache.
Kannada: avanige tale nOvu Agtade

More sentences in Simple Present/Future tense:

Tulu: Aye dinola kANDae daikleg nIr pADuve
English: He waters the plants every morning.
Kannada: avanu dinA beLagge giDagaLige nIru hAktAne

Tulu: Ar rAtrae benper, pagel’D jeppuver
English: He works at night and sleeps during the day.
Kannada: avaru rAtri duDitAre, hagalu malagtAre

Tulu: ninna jOkulu sAleg pOpera?
English: Do your children go to school?
Kannada: ninna makkaLu shAlege hOgtAra?

Tulu: irena jOkulu sAleg pOpere?
English: Do your children go to school? (with respect)
Kannada: nimma makkaLu shAlege hOgtAra?

Tulu: yAn bEga jeppuvena?
English: Do I sleep early?
Kannada: nAnu bEga malagtEna?

Tulu: yAn bEga jeppuvene?
English: Do I sleep early? (with respect)
Kannada: nAnu bEga malagtEna?

Tulu: akulu enan ini leppujer
English: They will not call me today
Kannada: avaru nannannu ivattu kareyalla

Tulu: Ar enan madapujer
English: He/She will not forget me
Kannada: avaru nannannu mareyalla

Tulu: yAn aleDa paNpae
English: I will tell her.
Kannada: nAnu avaLalli hELtEne

Tulu: Aye ninan kerpe
English: He will kill you
Kannada: avanu ninnannu koltAne

Tulu: yAn enna dOstina illaDe pOpae
English: I will go to my friend’s house
Kannada: nAnu nanna geLeyana manege hOgtEne

Tulu: enna amma enna bAlen tUper
English: My mom will look after my child
Kannada: nanna amma nanna maguvannu nODtAre

Tulu: I jOkulu bareper
English: These children will write.
Kannada: I makkaLu bareyuttAre

‘I’ and ‘A’ are demonstrative adjectives.

undu – This

I bAlae – This child

I jOkulu – These children

au – That

A bAlae – That child

A jOkulu – Those children

Numbers in Tulu:

If we learn numbers from one to twenty correctly we will have no problems with the rest of the numbers. So, please try to learn the first twenty numbers and you’ll have no more problems!

onji – One

raDD – Two

mUji – Three

nAl – Four

ain – Five

Aji – Six

El – Seven

enma – Eight

orumba – Nine

patt – Ten

pattonji – Eleven

padiraDD – Twelve

padimUji – Thirteen

padinAl – Fourteen

padinain – Fifteen

padinAji – Sixteen

padinEl – Seventeen

padinenma – Eighteen

padinorumba – Nineteen

irva – Twenty

Words used in today’s lesson:

eDDae – good

naramAni – man

gottu – knowledge/understanding

kuDla – Mangalore

Irla – you too

ennoTTugu (enna + oTTugu) - with me

khushi – happy

bEjAr – sad

bEnae – pain

baDav – Hunger

bAjel – thirst

tarae – head

dai – plant

daikulu – plants

nIr – water

rAtrae – night

pagel – day time

bAlae – child

jOkulu – children

ini – today

dOsti – friend

Click here to learn more verbs.

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All right! If you have any questions, feel free to comment. See you next week!

solmelu!