7.4 Hundreds and thousands
7 · Numerals — counting, dates, "the second one" · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar
Hundred is -emma, fused onto the number:
| Assyrian | Assyrian | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | emma | 400 | arbemma / arpamma |
| 200 | tremma | 500 | khamshemma |
| 300 | tlemma | … | (and so on) |
Notice emma (100), tremma (200), tlemma (300) — the unit number is welded to the front. You'll hear small variations in the middle (arbemma ~ arpamma for 400); both are fine.
Thousand is a separate word, alpa. Unlike the hundreds, it stays independent — you say the number, then alpa(-):
| Assyrian | |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | alpa |
| 2,000 | tre-alpe |
| 3,000 | tla-alpe |
| 4,000 | arpa-alpe |
| 5,000 | khamsha-alpe |
Because alpa behaves like a normal noun, it even takes a plural (-e: tre-alpe "two thousand," literally "two thousands"), which the hundreds never do.
Numbers as things. When a number stands on its own as "a bunch of them," it can go plural like a noun: khaye "ones," treye "twos," esriyye "the twenties," emmaye "hundreds." And a number used all by itself as a noun ("I'll take three") is treated as feminine. Minor point — file it under "recognize it," not "drill it."
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