Counting in Breton
Language overview
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
by Roparz Hemon, editors Evertype (2011)
[ Amazon.com]
Colloquial Breton
by Herve Ar Bihan & Ian Press, editors Routledge (2003)
[ Amazon.com]
Le breton - Guide de conversation pour les nuls
by Gwendal Denis, Hervé Le Bihan & Martial Ménard, editors First (2016)
[ Kindle - Amazon.com, Amazon.com]
Le Breton - Brezhoneg
by Divi Kervella, editors Assimil (2016)
[ Amazon.com]
Petite grammaire du breton moderne
by Yann Desbordes, editors Mouladurioù Hor Yezh (1999)
[ 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.