Boyno Polari

In this lesson, we will look at how numbers are expressed in Polari. Interestingly, many of these numbers (particularly from 1-10) closely resemble Italian numbers. However, 0 and 13-19 do not appear to have any designated Polari terms. Some numbers also have alternative terms used for them. For example, ‘nine’ may sometimes be expressed as ‘say tray’ instead of the term detailed below. However, this site will use only one term for each number for the sake of simplicity.

Below, you will firstly find the numbers from 1-12 in Polari, alongside an audio clip of how these numbers are pronounced.

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Now, we will cover how to say numbers over 20. These numbers have a consistent rule underlying them. Specifically, you will firstly want to say the first digit in the number. For example, if the number is 30, you will want to firstly say ‘tray’. Then, you follow this by saying ‘daiture’. Below is a graph with each multiple of 10 up to 100.

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To say any number from 20-99 in Polari that is not a multiple of 10, you will want to say the multiple of 10 first, and then say ‘and’ followed by the final digit in the number. Below are some examples.

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It is difficult to acquire these numbers from the outset, and you will likely need to go back over these numbers again if you are looking to memorise them. To help with this, you can test your knowledge using the quiz below.