Counting in Alsatian

Language overview

Forty-two in Alsatian Alsatian (Elsässisch) is a group of Alemannic and Franconian dialects spoken in the French region of Alsace. Belonging to the Indo-European language family, and more specifically to the West Germanic group, it counts about 700,000 speakers. We describe here the dialect spoken in the region of Colmar.

Alsatian numbers list

  • 1 – eins
  • 2 – zwei
  • 3 – drèï
  • 4 – viar
  • 5 – femf
  • 6 – sex
  • 7 – sewwa
  • 8 – ååcht
  • 9 – nîn
  • 10 – zeh
  • 11 – elf
  • 12 – zwelf
  • 13 – drize
  • 14 – viarze
  • 15 – fùffze
  • 16 – sæchze
  • 17 – sewweze
  • 18 – åchtze
  • 19 – nînze
  • 20 – zwånzig
  • 30 – drissig
  • 40 – viarzig
  • 50 – fùffzig
  • 60 – sæchzig
  • 70 – sewwezig
  • 80 – åchtzig
  • 90 – nînzig
  • 100 – hùnd’rt
  • 1,000 – toisig

Alsatian numbering rules

Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).

  • Digits and numbers from one to twelve are specific words: eins [1], zwei [2], drèï [3], viar [4], femf [5], sex [6], sewwa [7], ååcht [8], nîn [9], zeh [10], elf [11], and zwelf [12].
  • From thirteen to nineteen, the numbers are formed from the matching digits, adding the word for ten (ze(h)) at the end: drize [13], viarze [14], fùffze [15], sæchze [16], sewweze [17], åchtze [18], and nînze [19].
  • The tens are formed by adding the suffix -zig at the end of the digits, with the exception of ten: zeh [10], zwånzig [20], drissig [30], viarzig [40], fùffzig [50], sæchzig [60], sewwezig [70], åchtzig [80], and nînzig [90].
  • From twenty-one to ninety-nine, the tens and units are joined with the word a (and), but the unit is said before the ten (e.g.: einadrissig [31], femfadrissig [35]).
  • Hundred (hùnd’rt) and thousand (toisig) are not separated from the other numbers by a space (e.g.: hùnd’rteinazwånzig [121], toisigzweihùnd’rtnînze [1,219]).
  • The unit eins (one) loses its final -s when composed in a number, unless it is the only value after a scale name (e.g.: hùnd’rteins [101], toisigeins [1,001]).
  • One million is e Million (Millione in the plural form).

Write a number in full in Alsatian

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Alsatian. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.

Books

L’alsacien pour les nuls L’alsacien pour les nuls
by , editors First Editions (2010)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com Kindle - Amazon.com]

Guide de conversation alsacien Guide de conversation alsacien
by , editors Assimil (2010)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

L’alsacien de poche L’alsacien de poche
by , editors Assimil (2004)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

West Germanic languages

Afrikaans, Alsatian, Bavarian, English, German, Gottscheerish, Hunsrik, Luxembourgish, North Frisian, Pennsylvania German, Plautdietsch, Saterland Frisian, Scots, Swiss German, West Frisian, Wymysorys, and Yiddish.

Other supported languages

As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.