Counting in Breton

Language overview

Forty-two in Breton The Breton language (Brezhoneg) belongs to the Celtic languages of the Indo-European languages family. Spoken in the French region of Brittany, it is considered as a regional language, and counts about 210,000 speakers.

Breton numbers list

  • 1 – unan
  • 2 – daou
  • 3 – tri
  • 4 – pevar
  • 5 – pemp
  • 6 – c’hwec’h
  • 7 – seizh
  • 8 – eizh
  • 9 – nav
  • 10 – dek
  • 11 – unnek
  • 12 – daouzek
  • 13 – trizek
  • 14 – pevarzek
  • 15 – pemzek
  • 16 – c’hwezek
  • 17 – seitek
  • 18 – triwec’h
  • 19 – naontek
  • 20 – ugent
  • 30 – tregont
  • 40 – daou-ugent
  • 50 – hanter-kant
  • 60 – tri-ugent
  • 70 – dek ha tri-ugent
  • 80 – pevar-ugent
  • 90 – dek ha pevar-ugent
  • 100 – kant
  • 1,000 – mil

Breton 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 from zero to nine are rendered by specific words: mann [0], unan [1], daou / div (masculine/feminine) [2], tri / teir (masculine/feminine) [3], pevar / peder (masculine/feminine) [4], pemp [5], c’hwec’h [6], seizh [7], eizh [8], and nav [9].
  • The tens are following a vigesimal system (based on twenty): dek [10], ugent [20], tregont [30], daou-ugent (2*20) [40], hanter-kant (half-hundred) [50], tri-ugent (3*20) [60], dek ha tri-ugent (10+3*20) [70], pevar-ugent (4*20) [80], and dek ha pevar-ugent (10+4*20) [90].
  • Teens are formed by starting with the unit, directly followed by the root of the word for ten (dek): unnek [11], daouzek [12], trizek [13], pevarzek [14], pemzek [15], c’hwezek [16], seitek [17], triwec’h (litterally, three six) [18], and naontek [19].
  • Compound numbers from twenty-one to twenty-nine are formed starting with the unit, followed by the particle warn (over), then the word for twenty (e.g.: unan warn ugent [21], c’hwec’h warn ugent [26]).
  • Compound numbers from thirty-one to ninety-nine are formed starting with the unit or the teen, followed by the particle ha (and), then the ten (e.g.: tri ha tregont [33], seizh ha hanter-kant [57], pevarzek ha tri-ugent [74]).
  • Hundreds are formed by stating the multiplier digit before the word for hundred (kant or c’hant), except for one hundred: kant [100], daou c’hant [200], tri c’hant [300], pevar c’hant [400], pemp kant [500], c’hwec’h kant [600], seizh kant [700], eizh kant [800], and nav c’hant [900].
  • Thousands are formed by stating the multiplier digit before the word for thousand (mil or vil), except for one thousand: mil [1,000], daou vil [2,000], tri mil [3,000], pevar mil [4,000], pemp mil [5,000], c’hwec’h mil [6,000], seizh mil [7,000], eizh mil [8,000], and nav mil [9,000].
  • One million is ur million, and one billion, ur milliard.

Write a number in full in Breton

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Breton. 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

Breton Grammar Breton Grammar
by , editors Evertype (2011)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Colloquial Breton Colloquial Breton
by , editors Routledge (2003)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Le breton - Guide de conversation pour les nuls Le breton - Guide de conversation pour les nuls
by , editors First (2016)
[Kindle - Amazon.com Kindle - Amazon.com, Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Le Breton - Brezhoneg Le Breton - Brezhoneg
by , editors Assimil (2016)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Petite grammaire du breton moderne Petite grammaire du breton moderne
by , editors Mouladurioù Hor Yezh (1999)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Celtic languages

Breton, Cornish, Irish, Manx Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh.

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.