Counting in Irish

Language overview

Forty-two in Irish The Irish language (Gaeilge), or Irish Gaelic, belongs to the Celtic languages of the Indo-European languages family. Spoken in Ireland and Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, it counts about 78,000 speakers.

Irish numbers list

  • 1 – aon
  • 2 – dó
  • 3 – trí
  • 4 – ceathair
  • 5 – cúig
  • 6 – sé
  • 7 – seacht
  • 8 – ocht
  • 9 – naoi
  • 10 – deich
  • 11 – aon déag
  • 12 – dó dhéag
  • 13 – trí déag
  • 14 – ceathair déag
  • 15 – cúig déag
  • 16 – sé déag
  • 17 – seacht déag
  • 18 – ocht déag
  • 19 – naoi déag
  • 20 – fiche
  • 30 – tríocha
  • 40 – ceathracha
  • 50 – caoga
  • 60 – seasca
  • 70 – seachtó
  • 80 – ochtó
  • 90 – nócha
  • 100 – céad
  • 1,000 – míle
  • one million – milliún

Irish 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 have specific names: neoni [0], aon (or haon when preceded with the particle a) [1], [2], trí [3], ceathair [4], cúig [5], [6], seacht [7], ocht (or hocht when preceded with the particle a) [8], and naoi [9].
  • The tens are: deich [10], fiche [20], tríocha [30], ceathracha [40], caoga [50], seasca [60], seachtó [70], ochtó [80], and nócha [90].
  • Teens are formed by starting with the unit, followed by déag or dhéag (for twelve): aon déag [11], dó dhéag [12], trí déag [13], ceathair déag [14], cúig déag [15], sé déag [16], seacht déag [17], ocht déag [18], and naoi déag [19].
  • Compound numbers beyond twenty-one are formed starting with the ten, followed by the counting particle a, then the unit (e.g.: fiche a cúig [25], ceathracha a trí [43]).
  • Hundreds are formed by stating the multiplier digit before the word for hundred (céad), except for one hundred: céad [100], dó céad [200], trì céad [300], ceathair céad [400], cúig céad [500], sé céad [600], seacht céad [700], ochd céad [800], and naoi céad [900].
  • Thousands are formed by stating the multiplier digit before the word for thousand (míle), except for one thousand: míle [1,000], dó míle [2,000], trì míle [3,000], ceathair míle [4,000], cúig míle [5,000], sé míle [6,000], seacht míle [7,000], ocht míle [8,000], and naoi míle [9,000].
  • The word for million is milliún.

Write a number in full in Irish

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

Step-by-Step Irish: An Irish Language Workbook for Beginners Step-by-Step Irish: An Irish Language Workbook for Beginners
by , editors CreateSpace (2017)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Living Language Irish Living Language Irish
editors Living Language (2014)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Gaeilge gan Stró! Beginners Level: A Multimedia Irish Language Course for Adults Gaeilge gan Stró! Beginners Level: A Multimedia Irish Language Course for Adults
by , editors Gaelchultur Teoranta (2011)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Diccionario Pocket Irlandés Diccionario Pocket Irlandés
by , editors Independently published (2017)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com Kindle - Amazon.com]

Dictionnaire Poche Irlandais Dictionnaire Poche Irlandais
by , editors Independently published (2017)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com Kindle - 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.