Note.—Comparison in Maori is formed by periphrasis, for which vid. S.
CHAPTER V.
OF THE NUMERALS.
Numerals in Maori abound in distinctions that are not to be met with in other languages.
Tahi, one, has sometimes a form peculiar to itself, being prefixed by ko. All between tahi and tekau may be prefixed by e. All the simple numbers, i. e. all less than ten, will, when preceding the higher numbers, take their ordinary prefixes; e. g.
- E rua, two—e rua rau, two hundred.
- Ka toru, three—ka toru nga rau, three hundred, or it is 300.
- Kia wha, let it be four—kia wha mano, let it be four thousand &c.
- Ka rima five,—ka rima mano, five thousand, &c.
- Ka rima tekau, fifty, &c., &c., &c.
Numbers between ten and twenty are expressed by ten and unit; e. g.
- E ono, six,—tekau ma ono (ten and six) sixteen.
- E whitu, seven,—tekau ma whitu, seventeen.
Twenty, and all numbers between twenty and a hundred, may be expressed in two ways:
1st, (which is now the more general,) by a unit preceding ten; e. g., e ono tekau, (six tens) sixty; ka iwa tekau, ninety, &c.