diff --git a/mo/util_format.py b/mo/util_format.py
index a794ad03a4e94212b3a91cffb14c283e44ffa4cc..5b352aa272b3f01fd4d1a7ee8463feea42849f35 100644
--- a/mo/util_format.py
+++ b/mo/util_format.py
@@ -15,6 +15,15 @@ def inflect_number(n: int, w1: str, w234: str, wother: str, unitprefix: str = ''
         return f'{n} {unitprefix}{wother}'
 
 
+def inflect_by_number(n: int, w1: str, w234: str, wother: str, unitprefix: str = '') -> str:
+    if n == 1:
+        return f'{unitprefix}{w1}'
+    elif 2 <= n <= 4:
+        return f'{unitprefix}{w234}'
+    else:
+        return f'{unitprefix}{wother}'
+
+
 def timeformat(dt: datetime) -> str:
     if dt is None:
         return '–'