Counting in Czech

Language overview

Forty-two in Czech The Czech language (čeština, český jazyk) is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages group. Official language in the Czech Republic, it is also a recognised minority language in Slovakia and Poland. In fact, it is even mutually intelligible with Slovak. The Czech language is spoken by about 10.6 million people.

Czech numbers list

  • 1 – jedna
  • 2 – dva
  • 3 – tři
  • 4 – čtyři
  • 5 – pět
  • 6 – šest
  • 7 – sedm
  • 8 – osm
  • 9 – devět
  • 10 – deset
  • 11 – jedenáct
  • 12 – dvanáct
  • 13 – třináct
  • 14 – čtrnáct
  • 15 – patnáct
  • 16 – šestnáct
  • 17 – sedmnáct
  • 18 – osmnáct
  • 19 – devatenáct
  • 20 – dvacet
  • 30 – třicet
  • 40 – čtyřicet
  • 50 – padesát
  • 60 – šedesát
  • 70 – sedmdesát
  • 80 – osmdesát
  • 90 – devadesát
  • 100 – sto
  • 1,000 – tisíc
  • one million – milión
  • one billion – miliarda

Czech 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 are specific words, namely nula [0], jeden [1], dva [2], tři [3], čtyři [4], pět [5], šest [6], sedm [7], osm [8], and devět [9]. The digits one and two are gendered forms: jeden/jedna/jedno and dva/dvě/dvě (masculine/feminine/neuter).
  • From eleven to nineteen, numbers are suffixed by -náct (-teen): jedenáct [11], dvanáct [12], třináct [13], čtrnáct [14], patnáct [15], šestnáct [16], sedmnáct [17], osmnáct [18], and devatenáct [19].
  • Tens are formed by adding ten (cet/desát) to the end of the multiplier digit root, with the obvious exception of ten itself: deset [10], dvacet [20], třicet [30], čtyřicet [40], padesát [50], šedesát [60], sedmdesát [70], osmdesát [80], and devadesát [90].
  • For numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, we state the ten, then the unit separated with a space (e.g.:dvacet tři [23], třicet dva [32]).
  • Hundreds are formed the same way as the tens, i.e. by setting a form of the word for hundred (sto/stě/sta/set, neuter) after the multiplier digit, except for one hundred itself: sto [100], dvě stě or dvě sta [200], tři sta [300], čtyři sta [400], pět set [500], šest set [600], sedm set [700], osm set [800], and devět set [900]. The form stě is a relic of the grammatical dual number; sta is the nominative case of plural, while set is the genitive case of plural.
  • Thousands follow the same rule, setting a form of the word for thousand (tisíc/tisíce, masculine) after the multiplier digit, except fo one thousand itself: tisíc [1,000], dva tisíce [2,000], tři tisíce [3,000], čtyři tisíce [4,000], pět tisíc [5,000], šest tisíc [6,000], sedm tisíc [7,000], osm tisíc [8,000], and devět tisíc [9,000]. If tisíc is the genitive case of plural (and also the nominative case of singular for 1,000), tisíce is the nominative case of plural.
  • Millions also follow the same rule, setting a form of the word for million (milión/miliony/milionů, masculine) after the multiplier digit, except for one million itself: milión [1 million], dva miliony [2 millions], tři miliony [3 millions], čtyři miliony [4 millions], pět milionů [5 millions], šest milionů [6 millions], sedm milionů [7 millions], osm milionů [8 millions], and devět milionů [9 millions]. Again, milionů is the genitive case of plural, and miliony is the nominative case of plural.
  • Quite expectedly, billions do follow the same rule, setting a form of the word for billion (miliarda/miliardy/miliard, which is feminine) after the multiplier digit, except for one billion itself: miliarda [1 billion], dvě miliardy [2 billions], tři miliardy [3 billions], čtyři miliardy [4 billions], pět miliard [5 billions], šest miliard [6 billions], sedm miliard [7 billions], osm miliard [8 billions], and devět miliard [9 billions]. Again, miliard is the genitive case of plural, and miliardy is the nominative case of plural.
  • The Czech language uses the long numeric scale to name big numbers, alternating the -ión and -iarda suffixes for the powers of ten multiples of three. Thus, we get milión (million, 106), then miliarda (billion, 109), bilión (trillion, 1012), biliarda (quadrillion, 1015)…

Write a number in full in Czech

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

Czech: An Essential Grammar Czech: An Essential Grammar
by , editors Routledge (2005)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Tchèque express Tchèque express
by , editors Éditions du Dauphin (2002)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

La langue tchèque La langue tchèque
by , editors Éditions Ophrys (2000)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Articles

Source

West Slavic languages

Czech, Lower Sorbian, Polish, Slovak, and Upper Sorbian.

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.