First, Second, Third: -ha

Level 4

Peteĩha “first”, mokõiha “second”, mbohapyha “third”. Peteĩteĩ “one each”, mokõimokõi “two by two”.

How It Works

An ordinal number gives the place in a line. In Guarani you add -ha to the number. The ending is stressed, and the whole phrase goes after the noun.

NumberOrdinal
peteĩ onepeteĩha first
mokõi twomokõiha second
mbohapy threembohapyha third
irundy fourirundyha fourth

The noun comes first: káso peteĩha “the first short story”, óga mokõiha “the second house”.

When a number is said twice, it spreads the amount over each person or each trip: peteĩteĩ temimboʼe ou “the students come one at a time”, mokõimokõi tapicha oikékuri pýpe “the people went inside two by two”.

This -ha is a different ending from the one in haiha “pencil”. These four ordinals match the four Guarani numbers. Above four, speakers use Spanish numbers.

Examples (5)

  1. Káso peteĩha.

    The first short story.

    Peteĩha “first” follows the noun káso “short story”.

  2. Óga mokõiha iporãve.

    The second house is nicer.

    The ordinal follows óga “house”. Iporãve is “nicer”.

  3. Apyka mbohapyha chembaʼe.

    The third chair is mine.

    Mbohapyha “third” follows apyka “chair”. Chembaʼe is “mine”.

  4. Peteĩteĩ temimboʼe ou.

    The students come one at a time.

    The doubled number peteĩteĩ means one at a time.

  5. Mokõimokõi tapicha oikékuri pýpe.

    The people went inside two by two.

    Mokõimokõi “two by two” spreads the people over groups of two.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the ordinal before the noun, as English does.

    Mokõiha óga iporãve.
    Óga mokõiha iporãve.

    In Guarani the ordinal comes after the noun.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

First, Second, Third: -haLevel 4

Learn This First

Ordinals are built from the numbers one to four.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

peteĩteĩpeteĩmokõimbohapyirundy