Klingon numbers can act as nouns, standing on their own as subjects or objects, or modifying another noun directly.
Numbers as Standalone Nouns
- mulegh cha' – Two (of them) see me.
- wa' yIHoH – Kill one (of them)! (The prefix yI- already means a singular object; wa' adds emphasis.)
Numbers Modifying Nouns (Counting)
When numbers are counting objects, they come before the noun they describe. Plural suffixes like -pu' or -mey aren't required when using a number:
- loS puqpu' or loS puq – four children
- vaghmaH yuQmey or vaghmaH yuQ – fifty planets
Numbering Objects
When assigning a number to something (like labeling), the number follows the noun:
- DuS wa' – torpedo tube number 1
Ordinal Numbers (first, second, third…)
Ordinal numbers are created by adding -DIch to regular numbers, and they follow the noun:
- wa'DIch – first
- cha'DIch – second
- HutDIch – ninth
- meb cha'DIch – second guest
Repeating Actions (once, twice…)
Add the suffix -logh to show how many times an action occurs. These words function as adverbials, occuring at the beginning of the sentence:
- wa'logh – once
- cha'logh – twice
- Hutlogh – nine times
- wejmaH Sochlogh – thirty seven times
To say that an action has happened "many times" or "repeatedly", use the word pIj ("often"). For extra emphasis, repeat the verb using 'ej ("and") and -qa' ("again"):
- qagh vISoppu' 'ej vISopqa'pu' 'ej vISopqa'pu' – I've eaten gagh many times. (I've eaten gagh and I've eaten it again and I've eaten it again)
To say that an action has been repeated a number of times during a group of attempts use pe''egh "cut onself" and nID "try":
- loSlogh pe''egh; vaghlogh nID – tried four out of five times (cut oneself four times; tried five times)
This construction is used even if the person stopped after the fourth try and didn't try a fifth time.