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One word, 26 languages

Numbers in 26 languages

Numbers are some of the first words worth learning in any language – for prices, phone numbers, and telling someone your age. The 26 languages below don't all treat them the same way. Korean actually has two separate number systems, and the one shown here, native Korean, is used for counting people and age rather than dates or phone numbers. Below you can hear one to ten in each language and check the sounds and habits that catch English speakers out first.

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Spanish

uno

OO-noh

Numbers

One word, 26 languages

Languageonetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineten
ArabicوَاحِدWAH-hidاِثْنَانeeth-NAHNثَلَاثَةtha-LAH-thahأَرْبَعَةAR-ba-ahخَمْسَةKHAM-sahسِتَّةSIT-tahسَبْعَةSAB-ahثَمَانِيَةtha-MAH-nee-yahتِسْعَةTIS-ahعَشَرَةAH-sha-rah
AustrianoansohnszwoaTSVOH-ahdreidryvierfeerfünffewnfsechszekssiebenZEE-benachtahkhtneunnoynzehntsayn
Bulgarianедноed-NOHдвеdvehтриtreeчетириCHEH-tee-reeпетpetшестshestседемSEH-demосемOH-semдеветDEH-vetдесетDEH-set
Chinese一ee二are三sahn四suh五woo六lyoh七chee八bah九jyoh十shrr
CroatianjedanYEH-dahndvadvahtritreečetiriCHEH-tee-reepetšestshestsedamSEH-dahmosamOH-sahmdevetDEH-vetdesetDEH-set
DanishenehntotohtretrehfireFEE-ahfemsekssexsyvsyoootteAW-dehnineetitee
DutcheenayntweetvehdriedreevierfeervijffayfzeszevenZAY-venachtahkhtnegenNAY-khentienteen
Englishonetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineten
FinnishyksiEWK-seekaksiKAHK-seekolmeKOHL-mehneljäNEL-yahviisiVEE-seekuusiKOO-seeseitsemänSAYT-seh-mahnkahdeksanKAHKH-dehk-sahnyhdeksänEWKH-dehk-sahnkymmenenKEW-meh-nen
FrenchunuhndeuxduhtroistrwahquatreKAH-truhcinqsanksixseesseptsethuitweetneufnufdixdees
GermaneinseyentszweitsvydreidryvierfeerfünffewnfsechszekssiebenZEE-benachtahkhtneunnoynzehntsayn
GreekέναEH-nahδύοTHEE-ohτρίαTREE-ahτέσσεραTEH-seh-rahπέντεPEN-dehέξιEK-seeεπτάep-TAHοκτώok-TOHεννέαeh-NEH-ahδέκαTHEH-kah
ItalianunoOO-nohdueDOO-ehtretrehquattroKWAHT-trohcinqueCHEEN-kwehseisaysetteSET-tehottoOHT-tohnoveNOH-vehdiecidee-EH-chee
Japanese一ee-chee二nee三sahn四yohn五goh六roh-koo七nah-nah八hah-chee九kyoo十joo
Korean하나hah-nah둘dool셋set넷net다섯dah-suht여섯yuh-suht일곱eel-gohp여덟yuh-duhl아홉ah-hohp열yuhl
Low GermaneenayntweetvehdreedrayveerfayrfieffeefsösszersssövenZER-venachtahkhtnegenNAY-genteihntine
NorwegianénayntotootretrehfireFEE-rehfemsekssexsjushooåtteAWT-tehnineetitee
PolishjedenYEH-dendwadvahtrzytshihczteryCHTEH-rihpięćpyenchsześćsheshchsiedemSHEH-demosiemOH-shemdziewięćJEH-vyenchdziesięćJEH-shench
PortugueseumoomdoisdoysstrêstrehssquatroKWAH-troocincoSEEN-kooseissayshseteSEH-chehoitoOY-toonoveNOH-vehdezdehss
RomanianunuOO-noodoidoytreitraypatruPAH-troocincicheenchșaseSHAH-sehșapteSHAHP-tehoptnouăNOH-wuhzeceZEH-cheh
Russianодинah-DEENдваdvahтриtreeчетыреcheh-TIH-ryehпятьpyahtшестьshestсемьsyemвосемьVOH-syemдевятьDYEH-vyahtдесятьDYEH-syaht
SpanishunoOO-nohdosdohstrestrehscuatroKWAH-trohcincoSEEN-kohseissayssietesee-EH-tehochoOH-chohnuevenoo-EH-vehdiezdee-EHS
SwedishenehntvåtvohtretrehfyraFEE-rahfemsexsjushooåttaAWT-tahnioNEE-ohtioTEE-oh
Syrian ArabicواحدWAH-hadتنينtuh-NAINتلاتةtuh-LAH-tehأربعةAR-ba-ahخمسةKHAM-sehستةSIT-tehسبعةSAB-ahتمانيةtuh-MAH-nyehتسعةTIS-ahعشرةASH-rah
Turkishbirbeerikiee-KEEüçewchdörtdurtbeşbeshaltıahl-TUHyediyeh-DEEsekizseh-KEEZdokuzdoh-KOOZonohn
Ukrainianодинoh-DINдваdvahтриtreeчотириchoh-TIH-rihп'ятьpyahtшістьsheestсімseemвісімVEE-simдев'ятьDEH-vyahtдесятьDEH-syaht

Where you'll actually need them

Numbers come up constantly in prices, phone numbers and telling someone your age. Korean deserves special care here: the words in this table are the native Korean set – the labels even say “(Korean)” – used for counting people and giving your age, while a separate, unrelated set of numbers handles phone numbers and dates instead.

Once you're past ten, most of these languages simply combine words you already see here, the way English builds “sixteen” from “six” and “ten”. German keeps that pattern going cleanly from thirteen through nineteen, and French joins in from seventeen onward, so learning one to ten is worth more than it first looks.

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Tones, stress and one very regular language

Mandarin numbers are one syllable each, so the whole word rides on its tone. “一” (one) and “七” (seven) both sit on a flat high tone, while “五” (five) and “九” (nine) dip low before rising – flatten that dip and the two start to blur together.

Finnish is refreshingly predictable: every number from “yksi” (one) to “kymmenen” (ten) is stressed on its first syllable, so there's no guessing where the emphasis falls. Turkish “altı” (six) needs the unrounded vowel ı in its second syllable, said with the tongue flat and the lips relaxed, not rounded as for an English “oo”.

Where guesswork goes wrong

The most common mistake is expecting a new number word to resemble its English counterpart. Spanish “seis” and Italian “sei” happen to look alike, but that kind of overlap is the exception here, not the rule, and leaning on it elsewhere in the list backfires quickly.

The second is glossing over vowel length, which several of these languages use to tell words apart. Treat the length marks in the pronunciation guide as seriously as the consonants – shortening a long vowel can nudge a number toward sounding like a different word entirely.

Short everyday dialogues

Ordering coffee at a café in Madrid

  • YouDos cafés, por favor.Two coffees, please.
  • Barista¿Dos cafés? Enseguida.Two coffees? Right away.

Buying pastries at a bakery in Lyon

  • YouCinq croissants, s'il vous plaît.Five croissants, please.
  • BakerCinq croissants, ça fait huit euros.Five croissants, that's eight euros.

Talking about a child's birthday in Berlin

  • FriendEr hat heute Geburtstag, er wird sieben.It's his birthday today, he's turning seven.
  • YouSieben schon! Wie die Zeit vergeht.Seven already! Time flies.

Arranging a meeting time in Osaka

  • Colleague三時に会いましょうか。Shall we meet at three?
  • Youはい、三時で大丈夫です。Yes, three works for me.
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Frequently asked questions

How do you count to ten in Japanese?
一 (ichi), 二 (ni), 三 (san), 四 (yon), 五 (go), 六 (roku), 七 (nana), 八 (hachi), 九 (kyū), 十 (jū).
Does Korean have more than one number system?
Yes. The set shown here is native Korean, used for counting and age; a separate borrowed set is used for phone numbers and dates.
How do you pronounce “altı” (six) in Turkish?
AL-tuh, with the tongue flat and lips relaxed for the second vowel, not rounded like an English “oo”.

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