Naming Numbers in Bahasa Sug

Assalamu Alaykum. In this lesson, we are going to learn how to name the numbers in Bahasa Sūg. This lesson is part of the Magsinūg Kita Series by Tausug 101: Learning Sinūg. For lists of lessons, please go to: Lists of Lessons.

You can watch the video at the end of this post 😊

Counting numbers in Bahasa Sug is as easy as 1-2-3! We’ll start with the names of numbers 1 to 10, and then the numbers in tens (20, 30, 40, and so on). And then we’ll talk about the rules in naming numbers. (watch the video in YouTube for the proper pronunciation of the names of numbers here: Numbers in Bahasa Sug

Numbers 1 to 10

isa (1)

duwa (2)

tuw (3)

upat (4)

lima (5)

unum (6)

pitu (7)

walu (8)

siyam (9)

hangpuw' (10)

Now try to memorize these names for 5 minutes then proceed to the next section of this post.

Numbers 20 to 100

Here are the numbers in tens:

kawhaan (20)

katluan (30)

ka'patan (40)

kay'man (50)

ka'numan (600 kapituhan (70)

kawaluhan (80)

kasiyaman (90)

hanggatus (100)

Again try to memorize these names for 5 minutes.

RULES IN NAMING NUMBERS IN BAHASA SUG

The Rule of "One"

The lone number One (1) in Bahasa Sug ironically, has more than one names which are used depending on the situation it takes. The different names of “one” and its usage in Bahasa Sug are as follows:

• ISA: is generally used when counting (as in isa, duwa, etc.), ranking numbers (Hika-isa, “First”) and sometimes occurrences or condition (Isa-isa, “alone”).

• HAMBUUK: is used when referring to the number or quantity of a subject (hambuuk da, “only one”); in occurrences (nakahambuuk, “once”); and also in telling time (Lisag Hambuuk, “One O’clock”).

• HANGKA-: is used to refer to frequency or amount of something. It is the other form of Hambuuk and is always followed by an but with more emphasis on the "content" (luun) of the object being referred to. Compare the examples:

Hambuuk bāsu malaggu’ = "One big glass (for drinking)", emphasis on the 'number' of glass which is 1.

Hangka bāsu tubig= "A glass of water", emphasis on the luun (content), which is a cup of water.

Also in Hangkaminsan, “One time” (slightly different from Nakaminsan = "Once")

*Credit to Sir Neldy Jolo for this :-)

• AWAL and SATU: these are derived from their Arabic (Awwal, meaning first) and Malay (Umbul Satu, number one). They are often used to mean “First” as in Awal dimatung, “First to come” or “early” as in Awal Jaman, “early times”.

(DON’T WORRY! You do not have to know the exact differences among these names. This is just for the sake of knowing the other names of “one”. Only the first two names are very common and must be learned by beginners.)

NAMING NUMBERS HIGHER THAN TEN (10)

In naming numbers higher than Ten (10), the following rules are considered:

1) First, state the number in Tens; 2) Then add the infix –tag-; 3) And lastly, state the numbers in Ones.

Here are examples to further elaborate this rule:

Let's try to name the number ELEVEN (11)

English number: 11 = 10 + 1

Step 1: Name the number in tens: hangpuw'

Step 2: add the "tag" : hangpuw' tag-

Step 3: Name the number in ones: hangpuw' tag-isa

So the number eleven (11) in Bahasa Sūg is hangpuw' tag-isa.

More examples:

English number: 15 = 10 + 5

Step 1: Name the number in tens: hangpuw'

Step 2: add the "tag" : hangpuw' tag-

Step 3: Name the number in ones: hangpuw' tag-lima

So the number eleven (15) in Bahasa Sūg is hangpuw' tag-lima.

English number: 26 = 20 + 6

Step 1: Name the number in tens: kawhaan

Step 2: add the "tag" : kawhaan tag-

Step 3: Name the number in ones: kawhaan tag-unum

So the number eleven (26) in Bahasa Sūg is kawhaan tag-unum

English number: 98 = 90 + 8

Step 1: Name the number in tens: kasiyaman

Step 2: add the "tag" : kasiyaman tag-

Step 3: Name the number in ones: kasiyaman tag-walu

So the number eleven (26) in Bahasa Sūg is kasiyaman tag-walu

ALTERNATIVE NAMING

There also exist another way of naming these numbers. Because of the “long way” of naming these numbers, another alternative way of naming them (which is a bit shorter) is used by removing the infex “-tag-“.

NOTE! This rule is only applicable for numbers 21 above.

So we will have the following alternative names for our examples above:

11 : hangpuw' tag-isa (still the same)

15 : hangpuw' tag-lima (still the same)

26 : kawhaan-unum (instead of kawhaan tag-unum)

98 : kasiyaman-walu (instead of kasiyaman tag-walu)

Both are accepted so it’s good to know both of them.

SUMMARY

There! In this lesson, we have learned the following:

1. The names of numbers 1-10 and the group of tens;

2. The different names and uses of number “one”; and

3. The rule on naming numbers higher than ten.

We’ll have another lesson for naming numbers from 100 to 1000 (whoa!). I hope you enjoyed learning something new today. Learn them by heart, use them every day, and enjoy learning Bahasa Sug!

Downloadable audio file: Counting Numbers

You can watch the video for this lesson here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXsumYlLxaQ

Again, thank you for visiting our blog!

-Ahmad