Counting in Yiddish
Language overview
Yiddish (יידיש), also known as Judaeo-German, is a High-German-derived language historically spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews. As such, it belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family. Yiddish originated in Central Europe in the 9th century, influenced by Hebrew, Aramaic and Slavic languages on top of High-German vernacular dialect. Written in the Hebrew alphabet, it can also be written in the Latin alphabet. The about 2 million Yiddish speakers nowadays can be found in Ashkenazi communities in Ukraine, Israel, and the United States.
Yiddish numbers list
- 1 – eyns (אײנס)
- 2 – tsvey (צװײ)
- 3 – dray (דרײַ)
- 4 – fir (פֿיר)
- 5 – finf (פֿינף)
- 6 – zeks (זעקס)
- 7 – zibn (זיבן)
- 8 – akht (אכט)
- 9 – nayn (נײַן)
- 10 – tsen (צען)
- 11 – elf (עלף)
- 12 – tsvelf (צוועלף)
- 13 – draytsn (דרײַצן)
- 14 – fertsn (פערצן)
- 15 – fuftsn (פופצן)
- 16 – zekhtsn (זעכצן)
- 17 – zibetsn (זיבעצן)
- 18 – akhtsn (אַכצן)
- 19 – nayntsn (נײַנצן)
- 20 – tsvantsik (צוואַנציק)
- 30 – draysik (דרײַסיק)
- 40 – fertsik (פערציק)
- 50 – fuftsik (פופציק)
- 60 – zekhtsik (זעכציק)
- 70 – zibetsik (זיבעציק)
- 80 – akhtsik (אַכציק)
- 90 – nayntsik (נײַנציק)
- 100 – hundert (הונדערט)
- 1,000 – toyznt (טויזנט)
Yiddish 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 zero to twelve are specific words: nul (נול) [0], eyns (אײנס) [1], tsvey (צװײ) [2], dray (דרײַ) [3], fir (פֿיר) [4], finf (פֿינף) [5], zeks (זעקס) [6], zibn (זיבן) [7], akht (אכט) [8], nayn (נײַן) [9], tsen (צען) [10], elf (עלף) [11], and tsvelf (צוועלף) [12].
- From thirteen to nineteen, the numbers are formed from the matching unit digits, adding a form of the word for ten (tsn, צן) at the end: draytsn (דרײַצן) [13], fertsn (פערצן) [14], fuftsn (פופצן) [15], zekhtsn (זעכציק) [16], zibetsn (זיבעצן) [17], akhtsn (אַכצן) [18], and nayntsn (נײַנצן) [19].
- The tens are formed by adding the suffix tsik (ציק) at the end of the multiplier digit: tsen (צען) [10], tsvantsik (צוואַנציק) [20], draysik (דרײַסיק) [30], fertsik (פערציק) [40], fuftsik (פופציק) [50], zekhtsik (זעכציק) [60], zibetsik (זיבעציק) [70], akhtsik (אַכציק) [80], and nayntsik (נײַנציק) [90].
- From twenty-one to ninety-nine, the tens and units are joined with the conjonction un / און (and) separated with spaces, the unit being said before the ten (e.g.: fir un fuftsik (פֿיר און פופציק) [54], akht un nayntsik (אכט און נײַנציק) [98]).
- Hundreds are formed starting with the multiplier digit followed by the word for hundred (hundert, הונדערט), except for one hundred: hundert (הונדערט) [100], tsvey hundert (צװײ הונדערט) [200], dray hundert (דרײַ הונדערט) [300], fir hundert (פֿיר הונדערט) [400], finf hundert (פֿינף הונדערט) [500], zeks hundert (זעקס הונדערט) [600], zibn hundert (זיבן הונדערט) [700], akht hundert (אכט הונדערט) [800], and nayn hundert (הונדערט נײַן) [900].
- Thousands are formed starting with the multiplier digit followed by the word for thousand (toyznt, טויזנט), except for one thousand: toyznt (טויזנט) [1,000], tsvey toyznt (צװײ טויזנט) [2,000], dray toyznt (דרײַ טויזנט) [3,000], fir toyznt (פֿיר טויזנט) [4,000], finf toyznt (פֿינף טויזנט) [5,000], zeks toyznt (זעקס טויזנט) [6,000], zibn toyznt (זיבן טויזנט) [7,000], akht toyznt (אכט טויזנט) [8,000], and nayn toyznt (טויזנט נײַן) [9,000].
- The Yiddish big scale numbers above thousand are: milyon (מיליאָן) (106, million), bilyon (ביליאָן) (109, billion), trilyon (טריליאָן) (1012, trillion)…
Write a number in full in Yiddish
Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Yiddish. 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
Conversational Yiddish Quick and Easy: The Most Innovative Technique to Learn the Yiddish Language
by Yatir Nitzany, editors Yatir Nitzany (2019)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
Colloquial Yiddish
by Lily Kahn, editors Routledge (2015)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
Basic Yiddish: A Grammar and Workbook
by Rebecca Margolis, editors Routledge (2011)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
Le Yiddish
by Annick Prime-Margules, editors Assimil (2010)
[ Amazon.com]
West Germanic languages
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