Numbers

1. Hō'ē, piti, toru

   One, two, three

   Usage

   Basic Tahitian numbers for prices and quantities

   Grammar Note

   Tahitian numbers share Polynesian roots with Hawaiian and Māori

2. Maha, pae, ono

   Four, five, six

   Usage

   Tahitian numbers 4 through 6, useful for quantities

   Grammar Note

   pae means five, but a homophone means shore or edge — note the context

3. Hitu, va'u, iva

   Seven, eight, nine

   Usage

   Tahitian numbers 7 through 9 for times and phone numbers

   Grammar Note

   The apostrophe in va'u marks a glottal stop — common in Polynesian languages

4. 'Ahuru

   Ten / 10

   Usage

   Tahitian word for ten, essential for price calculations

   Grammar Note

   Combine: 'ahuru ma hō'ē = eleven (ten and one)

5. E hia?

   How many?

   Usage

   Ask how many of something when shopping or ordering food

   Grammar Note

   E hia? "how many" is for things and Tōhia? for people

6. 'Ahuru ma hō'ē

   Eleven / 11

   Usage

   Numbers above 10 use 'ahuru (ten) + ma (and) + digit; the fuller form is hō'ē 'ahuru ma hō'ē

   Grammar Note

   In Tahitian, teens are formed with 'ahuru ma + digit

7. Piti 'ahuru

   Twenty / 20

   Usage

   Twenty in Tahitian — two tens (piti 'ahuru)

   Grammar Note

   Multiples of ten use digit × 'ahuru pattern in Tahitian

8. Toru 'ahuru

   Thirty / 30

   Usage

   Thirty in Tahitian, useful for prices in the market

   Grammar Note

   Digit + 'ahuru forms tens in Tahitian consistently

9. Hānere

   One hundred / 100

   Usage

   One hundred in Tahitian, borrowed from English "hundred"

   Grammar Note

   hānere is borrowed from English "hundred"; 1,000 is tauatini and 1,000,000 is mirioni

10. E hia franc?

    How many francs?

    Usage

    Ask the price in CFP francs — the currency of French Polynesia

    Grammar Note

    Quantities are asked with E hia?. The CFP franc is the official currency and franc is used as-is from French

11. E piti 'ahuru ma hitu tō'u matahiti

    I'm 27 years old

    Usage

    How to answer with your age. Swap the number to give any other age

    Grammar Note

    Numbers in the twenties are piti 'ahuru (2 x 10) plus ma and the unit. Matahiti means both year and age; this is the answer to "E hia tō 'oe matahiti?" (How old are you?)

12. I teie matahiti, e piti 'ahuru ma va'u tō'u matahiti

    I turn 28 this year

    Usage

    Used to state the age you reach in the current year

    Grammar Note

    Matahiti covers both "year" and "age", which is why the same word appears twice. The time phrase "I teie matahiti" (this year) comes first

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