Numbers and Age

Klingon Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 3 · Numbers, Age & Counting

🔢 Numbers, Age & Counting — mI'mey

Klingons count enemies, ships and years survived. This chapter gives you the numbers, the way to count things, and the one thing that surprises every learner: Klingons do not say how old they are; they say how many years ago they were born. It builds on the number system in Klingon Grammar 1, Chapter 9.

Part 1 — The Numbers

Number	Klingon	Say it	Number	Klingon	Say it
0	pagh	pagh	5	vagh	vagh
1	wa'	wa'	6	jav	jav
2	cha'	cha'	7	Soch	Soch
3	wej	wej	8	chorgh	chorgh
4	loS	loS	9	Hut	Hut

Bigger numbers are built by adding a suffix to a digit: -maH "ten", -vatlh "hundred", -SaD "thousand". Join the parts with no spaces, biggest first.

Number	Klingon	How it is built
10	wa'maH	wa' + maH (one ten)
11	wa'maH wa'	ten, then one (a space between the two parts)
20	cha'maH	two tens
35	wejmaH vagh	three tens, five
99	HutmaH Hut	nine tens, nine
100	wa'vatlh	one hundred
1000	wa'SaD	one thousand

① How Many Ships? — Duj 'ar?

A: Duj 'ar Dalegh? How many ships do you see?

B: wej Duj vIlegh. I see three ships.

A: majQa'. Well done.

② Counting Warriors — SuvwI' cha'

A: SuvwI' 'ar Daghaj? How many warriors do you have?

B: wa'maH SuvwI' vIghaj. I have ten warriors.

A: wa'maH? Qapla'! Ten? Success!

③ How Old Are You? — ben 'ar bIboghpu'?

A: ben 'ar bIboghpu'? How old are you? (Literally: how many years ago were you born?)

B: cha'maH vagh ben jIboghpu'. I am 25. (I was born 25 years ago.)

A: Qapla'. Success.

④ The Old Warrior — SuvwI' qan

A: ben 'ar boghpu'? How old is he? (How many years ago was he born?)

B: javvatlh ben boghpu'. He is six hundred. (An exaggeration, for a legend.)

A: SuvwI' qan! An old warrior!

⑤ Older or Younger? — jIqan

A: bIqan'a'? Are you old?

B: ghobe'. jIQup. No. I am young.

A: cha'maH ben jIboghpu'. jIqan 'e' vIHar. I was born twenty years ago. I think I am old.

⑥ A Count of the Fleet — Duj wa'vatlh

A: Duj 'ar ghaj Qo'noS? How many ships does Kronos have?

B: Duj wa'vatlh ghaj. It has a hundred ships.

A: majQa'! Well done!

Part 2 — Counting Things and Beings

The Number Goes Before the Noun wej Duj "three ships", wa'maH SuvwI' "ten warriors". After a number the noun does not need the plural suffix: wej Duj, not wej Dujmey. The question word 'ar "how many" can go in the same slot as the number: Duj 'ar Dalegh?.

Situation	Klingon	Say it	Note
How many …?	'ar	'ar	the question word for numbers
I see three ships	wej Duj vIlegh.	wej Duj vi-legh	object (number + noun), then verb
I have ten warriors	wa'maH SuvwI' vIghaj.	wa'-maH Suv-wI' vi-ghaj
I was born 25 years ago	cha'maH vagh ben jIboghpu'.	cha'-maH vagh ben ji-bogh-pu'	this is how age is told
How old are you?	ben 'ar bIboghpu'?	ben 'ar bi-bogh-pu'	"how many years ago were you born?"
nothing, zero	pagh	pagh	also means "nobody" or "nothing"

Three verbs with the prefixes you know from Klingon Grammar 1 (vI- I → it, Da- you → it, no prefix for he or she → it):

Verb	I → it	you → it	he / she → it
legh (see)	vIlegh	Dalegh	legh
ghaj (have)	vIghaj	Daghaj	ghaj
jatlh (speak)	vIjatlh	Dajatlh	jatlh

Part 3 — Age, and Being Old or Young

No "I Am 25" — "I Was Born 25 Years Ago" The word ben means "years ago" (and, in a number phrase, "years old"). The verb is bogh "be born", here with the suffix -pu' (perfective, Klingon Grammar 1, Chapter 7): jIboghpu' "I was born". The prefix jI- means "I" with no object. So wa'maH ben jIboghpu' is "I am ten", literally "I was born ten years ago".

Culture — Age Is a Boast, Not a Secret In a culture where reaching old age means surviving many battles, your age is a point of pride, not a subject to avoid. Asking ben 'ar bIboghpu'? is not rude; the answer is usually delivered at volume. To describe someone, use qan "be old" and Qup "be young": SuvwI' qan "an old warrior" (the describing verb follows the noun). For "I am old" use the prefix: jIqan.

📖 Vocabulary — Vortaro

20 key words. The Say it column shows the syllables.

#	Klingon	Say it	English	Type
1	pagh	pagh	zero, nothing	number
2	wa'	wa'	one	number
3	cha'	cha'	two	number
4	wej	wej	three	number
5	loS	loS	four	number
6	vagh	vagh	five	number
7	jav	jav	six	number
8	Soch	Soch	seven	number
9	chorgh	chorgh	eight	number
10	Hut	Hut	nine	number
11	-maH	-maH	ten (suffix)	suffix
12	-vatlh	-vatlh	hundred (suffix)	suffix
13	-SaD	-SaD	thousand (suffix)	suffix
14	'ar	'ar	how many	question
15	ben	ben	years ago	noun
16	bogh	bogh	be born	verb
17	qan	qan	be old	verb
18	Qup	Qup	be young	verb
19	Duj	Duj	ship, vessel	noun
20	ghaj	ghaj	have	verb

Real Klingon Tip — The Space in 11 Within one place value the digit and the suffix join: cha'maH (20), wa'vatlh (100). Different place values are separate words, biggest first: cha'maH loS (24), wa'vatlh wa'maH (110).

📜 Reading — LaD

A short text using only words you know.

wej Duj vIlegh. wa'maH SuvwI' vIghaj. cha'maH vagh ben jIboghpu'. jIQup. I see three ships. I have ten warriors. I am twenty-five. I am young.

True or false? (a) The speaker sees four ships. (b) The speaker has ten warriors. (c) The speaker is twenty-five. (d) The speaker says they are old.

Show answers

(a) False: wej Duj is three. (b) True. (c) True: cha'maH vagh ben jIboghpu'. (d) False: jIQup "I am young".

✍️ Try It Yourself — Ekzercoj

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Say the numbers 1 to 9.

Show answer

wa', cha', wej, loS, vagh, jav, Soch, chorgh, Hut

2. Say 15, 40 and 100.

Show answer

wa'maH vagh · loSmaH · wa'vatlh

3. Ask how many ships someone sees, and answer "I see five ships".

Show answer

Duj 'ar Dalegh? · vagh Duj vIlegh.

4. Ask someone's age, and say that you are 30.

Show answer

ben 'ar bIboghpu'? · wejmaH ben jIboghpu'.

5. Say "I have seven warriors".

Show answer

Soch SuvwI' vIghaj.

6. Say "an old warrior" and "I am young".

Show answer

SuvwI' qan · jIQup.

Coming Up in Chapter 4 Where you are from: Qo'noS and other worlds, the place suffixes -Daq and -vo', and saying which language you speak.