HeyRuaCounting out loud: 1 to 10
This is the list for the time, phone numbers, bus numbers, page numbers and maths. Each number carries a short a in front of it, and that a puts an h before a vowel: a haon, a hocht.
| 11 to 20 | The tens | Bigger |
|---|---|---|
| 11 a haon déag | 20 fiche | 100 céad |
| 12 a dó dhéag | 30 tríocha | 200 dhá chéad |
| 13 a trí déag | 40 daichead | 1,000 míle |
| 14 a ceathair déag | 50 caoga | 2,000 dhá mhíle |
| 15 a cúig déag | 60 seasca | 1,000,000 milliún |
| 16 a sé déag | 70 seachtó | |
| 17 a seacht déag | 80 ochtó | |
| 18 a hocht déag | 90 nócha | |
| 19 a naoi déag | 100 céad | |
| 20 fiche |
Tens first, then the unit: 21 is fiche a haon, 35 is tríocha a cúig, 99 is nócha a naoi. Twelve is a dó dhéag: dó is the one number that puts an h on déag.
Counting things: three rules
The number goes first, the thing stays singular, and the number decides what happens to the first letter of the thing.
Nothing changes. amháin comes after the thing.
An h goes in after the first letter. That is the séimhiú.
A letter goes in front. That is the urú.
| cat starts with c | bord starts with b | úll starts with a vowel | What happens | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | cat amháin | bord amháin | úll amháin | nothing; amháin after the thing |
| 2 | dhá chat | dhá bhord | dhá úll | séimhiú: an h after the first letter. A vowel has nothing to take an h, so it stays as it is. |
| 3 | trí chat | trí bhord | trí úll | |
| 4 | ceithre chat | ceithre bhord | ceithre úll | |
| 5 | cúig chat | cúig bhord | cúig úll | |
| 6 | sé chat | sé bhord | sé úll | |
| 7 | seacht gcat | seacht mbord | seacht n-úll | urú: a letter in front. g before c, m before b, n- before a vowel. |
| 8 | ocht gcat | ocht mbord | ocht n-úll | |
| 9 | naoi gcat | naoi mbord | naoi n-úll | |
| 10 | deich gcat | deich mbord | deich n-úll |
- Two numbers change shape
- Out loud it is a dó and a ceathair; before a thing it is dhá and ceithre.
- 11 to 19
- Add déag after the thing: aon chat déag (11), dhá chat déag (12), seacht gcat déag (17). When the thing ends in a vowel, déag takes an h: dhá bhó dhéag (12 cows), cúig lá dhéag (15 days). The special plurals below keep déag: trí bliana déag (13 years).
- The tens, a hundred, a thousand
- Nothing changes: fiche cat (20), tríocha cat (30), céad cat (100), míle cat (1,000).
- 21 and up: two ways
- Both are correct. Count the thing as above and add the ten after it: cat is fiche (21), dhá chat is fiche (22), seacht gcat is fiche (27). Or say the number first, as when counting out loud, and change nothing: fiche a haon cat, fiche a dó cat, fiche a seacht cat.
Three words that break the rules
uair (time), bliain (year) and ceann (one of them) keep an old plural after three to ten. They are the words you count most, so they are worth knowing on their own.
| 1 | uair amháin | once |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | dhá uair | twice |
| 3 | trí huaire | three times |
| 4 | ceithre huaire | four times |
| 5 | cúig huaire | five times |
| 6 | sé huaire | six times |
| 7 | seacht n-uaire | seven times |
| 8 | ocht n-uaire | eight times |
| 9 | naoi n-uaire | nine times |
| 10 | deich n-uaire | ten times |
From three up, uair becomes uaire. Three to six put an h before it, seven to ten put n- before it. Bhí mé ann trí huaire, I was there three times.
| 1 | bliain amháin | one year |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | dhá bhliain | two years |
| 3 | trí bliana | three years |
| 4 | ceithre bliana | four years |
| 5 | cúig bliana | five years |
| 6 | sé bliana | six years |
| 7 | seacht mbliana | seven years |
| 8 | ocht mbliana | eight years |
| 9 | naoi mbliana | nine years |
| 10 | deich mbliana | ten years |
From three up, bliain becomes bliana, with no h after three to six, and m in front after seven to ten. Tá sí trí bliana d’aois, she is three years old.
| 1 | ceann amháin | one of them |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | dhá cheann | two of them |
| 3 | trí cinn | three of them |
| 4 | ceithre cinn | four of them |
| 5 | cúig cinn | five of them |
| 6 | sé cinn | six of them |
| 7 | seacht gcinn | seven of them |
| 8 | ocht gcinn | eight of them |
| 9 | naoi gcinn | nine of them |
| 10 | deich gcinn | ten of them |
ceann is how Irish counts a thing it has already named: Cé mhéad úll? Trí cinn. How many apples? Three. From three up it is cinn, and seven to ten put g in front.
A few more follow the same idea: seachtain (week): trí seachtaine; troigh (foot): trí troithe; pingin (penny): trí pingine.
In a sentence
More numbers
Counting in Irish: the questions people ask
How do you count from 1 to 10 in Irish?
a haon, a dó, a trí, a ceathair, a cúig, a sé, a seacht, a hocht, a naoi, a deich. The a in front puts an h before a vowel: a haon, a hocht.
How do you count to 20 in Irish?
11 to 19 add déag: a haon déag, a dó dhéag, a trí déag, a ceathair déag, a cúig déag, a sé déag, a seacht déag, a hocht déag, a naoi déag. Twenty is fiche.
How do you count to 100 in Irish?
The tens are fiche (20), tríocha (30), daichead (40), caoga (50), seasca (60), seachtó (70), ochtó (80), nócha (90), céad (100). Tens first, then the unit: fiche a haon (21), caoga a cúig (55), nócha a naoi (99).
How do you say “two cats” in Irish?
dhá chat. Before a thing, two is dhá, and it adds a séimhiú. The thing stays singular: dhá chat, not dhá chait. One cat is simply cat amháin.
Why is it seacht gcat and not seacht cat?
Seven, eight, nine and ten add an urú (eclipsis) to the thing: seacht gcat, ocht mbord, naoi bpunt, deich n-úll. Two to six add a séimhiú instead: trí chat, sé bhord.
How do you say 21 in Irish?
Counting: fiche a haon. With a thing there are two correct ways: cat is fiche or fiche a haon cat, twenty-one cats; dhá chat is fiche or fiche a dó cat, twenty-two cats.
Does the noun go plural after a number in Irish?
No, it stays singular: trí chat, deich gcat, fiche cat. A few everyday words keep a special plural after 3 to 10: trí huaire (three times), trí bliana (three years), trí cinn (three of them), trí seachtaine (three weeks).
How do you say “three times” and “three years” in Irish?
trí huaire and trí bliana. uair and bliain are two of the words with a special form after 3 to 10; seven times is seacht n-uaire, seven years seacht mbliana. After two they are ordinary: dhá uair, dhá bhliain.