Simpli uses Western digits (0–9) for writing numbers, dates, and times—the same numerals used internationally with the Latin alphabet. When you read numbers aloud, build them East Asian style: from large units to small, with tens as digit + ten + digit. Dates follow the international ISO format; months use international English names in Simpli spelling. Clock time uses the 24-hour system (no AM/PM).
Digits (writing)
Write numbers with the ten standard digits:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Use digits in dates (2026-06-18), times (14:30), prices, and most formal text. Saying a number aloud uses Simpli words (below), not the digit names in English.
Reading numbers aloud (East Asian style)
Name units from large to small, like Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Japanese—not like English “twenty twenty-six.”
Tens are built as digit + ten + digit (not a single word like “thirty-four”). For 10–19, omit the leading wan: 14 = ten for (ten-four), not wan ten for.
- 34 → tri ten for (three-ten-four)
- 2026 → tu tausand tu ten siks (two-thousand-two-ten-six)
- 3253 → tri tausand tu hundrad faiv ten tri
- 100 → wan hundrad (one hundred; or just hundrad when clear)
- 10 → ten
Digit words: sero (0), wan (1), tu (2), tri (3), for (4), faiv (5), siks (6), seven (7), eit (8), nain (9), ten (10).
Scale units: hundrad (100), tausand (1000).
Context distinguishes tu (two) from the preposition tu (to), and for (four) from the preposition for.
Dates
Written format (preferred): international ISO YYYY-MM-DD with digits and hyphens.
- 2026-06-18
Prose format: day, then month name, then year—common internationally:
- 18 djun 2026
Read aloud: use compositional numbers for the day and year; use the month name or month number:
- 18 djun 2026 → wan ten eit djun tu tausand tu ten siks
- 2026-06-18 (ISO) → year, month, day: tu tausand tu ten siks, siks (month 06), wan ten eit
Month names (international)
International English month names, written in Simpli spelling:
| # | Month | Simpli |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | January | djanyueri |
| 02 | February | febyaveri |
| 03 | March | martj |
| 04 | April | eipral |
| 05 | May | mei |
| 06 | June | djun |
| 07 | July | djulai |
| 08 | August | agast |
| 09 | September | september |
| 10 | October | aktober |
| 11 | November | november |
| 12 | December | disember |
Related words: dei (day), wik (week), mant (month), yir (year), tadei (today), yesterde (yesterday), tumoro (tomorrow).
Weekdays: mandi, tusdi, wensdi, tersdei, fraidi, saterdi, sandei.
Time (24-hour clock)
Use the 24-hour clock. There is no AM/PM.
Written format: HH:MM with digits and a colon (or hyphen when a colon is awkward):
- 14:30
- 09:05
- 00:00
Read aloud: say the hour, then the minutes—either compactly or with unit words. For hours 10–19, omit the leading wan (like East Asian and Chinese): 14 = ten for, not for ten for.
- 14:30 → ten for ten tri or ten for auer tri ten minat
- 09:05 → nain ten faiv or nain auer faiv minat
- 23:59 → tu ten tri ten nain or tu ten tri auer nain ten nain minat
Time units: auer (hour), minat (minute), sekand (second).
See also grammar rules for time words with verbs (yesterde, now, tumoro).