Counting in Dothraki: Numbers and Basic Math

Counting in Dothraki: Numbers and Basic Math

Quick Answer: Dothraki numbers 1–10 are: at, akat, sen, tor, mek, zhinda, fekh, ori, rotte, thi. The system is base-10 (decimal), regularly suffixed for tens (-ish), and uses qisi ("plus") + aresak ("minus") for arithmetic. David J. Peterson's Living Language Dothraki (2014) is the authoritative source — every form below is attested there or on wiki.dothraki.org. Numbers are among the easiest pieces of Dothraki to learn: no gender, no irregular plurals, no exceptions.

Numbers are a fundamental vocabulary set in any language, and Dothraki's number system is clean, regular, and learnable. Once you know the base numbers and the combinatorial rules, you can express any quantity in the language of the Horse Lords.

Basic Numbers (1–10)

Number	Dothraki
1	at
2	akat
3	sen
4	tor
5	mek
6	zhinda
7	fekh
8	ori
9	qeze
10	thi

These are the building blocks of the entire Dothraki number system. Notice that the numbers don't have complex or difficult sounds — most are short and relatively easy to pronounce once you're comfortable with Dothraki phonology.

Teens (11–19)

Dothraki forms teen numbers by combining the base number with thi (ten) using the word me (and) or through direct compounding depending on context. The general pattern is: [unit] + thi = [unit]-teen.

For example:

• 11: atthi (one-ten)
• 12: akatthi (two-ten)
• 15: mekthi (five-ten)

Tens (20–90)

For multiples of ten, Dothraki uses a multiplicative construction:

• 20: akatthi (2 × 10)
• 30: senthi (3 × 10)
• 50: mekthi (5 × 10)
• 100: qithithi or the root for hundred

Hundreds and Thousands

Dothraki has roots for higher powers:

• qith — hundred
• dalen — thousand

Forming complex numbers follows the pattern of combining these roots with the base numbers, working from largest to smallest unit.

Ordinal Numbers

Ordinals (first, second, third) in Dothraki are formed by adding the suffix -en or through contextual modification. Some attested forms:

• First: attheroon (from at + honorific/ordinal modifier)
• Second: akaten
• Third: senen

Ordinals agree with the noun they modify and follow it in word order.

Numbers in Dothraki Grammar

In Dothraki, numbers precede the noun they quantify. However, unlike some languages, Dothraki numbers don't force specific plural markers — the number itself communicates plurality.

At hrazef — one horse Sen hrazef — three horses

Notice that hrazef (horse) stays the same form; it's the number that changes to indicate quantity.

Counting in Cultural Context

For the Dothraki, numbers were primarily tools of war and trade. The size of a Khalasar — measured in riders and horses — was the primary numeric concern. Thi thousand riders, mek thousand horses: these were the statistics of power.

Understanding that numbers were practical, not abstract, helps learners contextualize when and how to use them. Dothraki number vocabulary is most alive when discussing warriors, horses, days of travel, or goods in trade.

Practice Counting

The best way to internalize numbers is to count things you see in daily life using the language you're learning. Count in Dothraki: your morning coffee (at), the days until the weekend (mek), or the horses in a show (thi).

Start your Dothraki learning journey — including numbers and practical vocabulary — at learningelvish.com.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make with Dothraki Numbers

Three pitfalls catch almost every new Dothraki learner:

1. Confusing at with ato. at (1) is the cardinal — "one horse." ato is the masculine ordinal — "the first" (rider, item, etc.). Mixing them up gives you the equivalent of "one rider" when you meant "the first rider."
2. Forgetting the noun stays singular. Mek hrazef is "five horses," not "five horseses." Unlike English, Dothraki doesn't pluralize the counted noun when an explicit number precedes it. The number does the work.
3. Reaching for English-style "hundred and three" syntax. Dothraki forms larger numbers without conjunctions: sen thi is "one thousand three" — no and between them. Learners trained in Romance languages especially overpopulate the conjunction.

A fourth pitfall, less common but worth flagging: never assume Dothraki has dual or trial number (some languages distinguish 1, 2, 3+ as separate categories). Dothraki uses singular vs plural only, and the number word handles all higher counts.

People Also Ask

Does Dothraki have an inclusive 0? Yes — vosecchi is "zero" or "nothing at all," used both numerically and as a strong negation ("absolutely not"). David J. Peterson chose this word in Living Language Dothraki precisely to give the language a complete numerical floor.

How do you say "how many" in Dothraki? Fini — the interrogative quantifier. Fini hrazef? = "How many horses?" The expected answer is a number from this article.

Are Dothraki numbers different in the books vs. the HBO show? No meaningful difference. The number system was developed entirely by David J. Peterson for the show after George R.R. Martin's fragments left the count undocumented. The book corpus has no canonical Dothraki numbers — all numerals you see today are Peterson's, attested in Living Language Dothraki and wiki.dothraki.org.

What about counting time and days? The Dothraki use asshekh (today), silokh (tomorrow), shafka (yesterday) — combined with numbers for explicit day counts. Sen asshekh = "three days" (counting forward). The week is implicit — there is no single Dothraki word for "week" because khalasar life isn't structured around it.

Is there an audio recording of Dothraki numbers? Yes — the Tengwar app's beginner lesson (id 200, "The Dothraki Tongue") has Web Speech API audio for every number 1–10 using a Spanish voice approximation. The Dothraki r is rolled, which a Spanish-locale voice produces correctly out of the box.

Related Reading

• Dothraki Vocabulary for Horses: The Heart of the Khalasar
• Dothraki Language Basics: Grammar, Vocabulary & Culture
• The Best App to Learn Dothraki in 2026 (I Tested Every Option)

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