A1 · Numbers, time and dates
Numbers to 100, learnt one by one
the cardinal numbers up to a hundred
Every number from 11 to 99 is a word of its own, and the ones ending in nine look ahead to the next ten.
At a glance
- Remember
- Learn the hundred words one by one, and remember that the nines look ahead: untis is one short of thirty.
- Form
- एक, दो, तीन, चार, पाँच, छह, सात, आठ, नौ, दस1–10
- Signal words
- एक
- दस
- बीस
- पचास
- सौ
- उन-
- Trap
- Wrong:वह बीस-नौ साल का है।Right:वह उनतीस साल का है।
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
| 1–10 | एक, दो, तीन, चार, पाँच, छह, सात, आठ, नौ, दस |
| 11–20 | ग्यारह, बारह, तेरह, चौदह, पंद्रह, सोलह, सत्रह, अठारह, उन्नीस, बीस |
| the tens | तीस, चालीस, पचास, साठ, सत्तर, अस्सी, नब्बे, सौ |
| one short of the next ten | उन्नीस, उनतीस, उनतालीस, उनचास, उनसठ |
| 25, 50, 75 | पच्चीस, पचास, पचहत्तर |
| 89, 99 | नवासी, निन्यानवे |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
From 11 to 99 every number is a word of its own, learnt by heart.
मेरी उम्र बत्तीस साल है।I am thirty-two years old.
A number ending in nine is “one short of” the next ten, with उन-.
वह उनतीस साल का है।He is twenty-nine.
After a number above one the noun is plural.
मेज़ पर तीन किताबें हैं।There are three books on the table.
On paper numbers are usually written in digits.
कमरा नंबर 47 ऊपर है।Room number 47 is upstairs.
Example sentences
मेरा बेटा सात साल का है।My son is seven years old.
कक्षा में पच्चीस बच्चे हैं।There are twenty-five children in the class.
एक दर्जन में बारह अंडे होते हैं।There are twelve eggs in a dozen.
ये आम साठ रुपए किलो हैं।These mangoes are sixty rupees a kilo.
मेरे दादाजी अस्सी साल के हैं।My grandfather is eighty.
इस किताब में निन्यानवे पन्ने हैं।This book has ninety-nine pages.
6 more example sentences
बस नंबर बयालीस यहाँ रुकती है।The number 42 bus stops here.
मुझे चार टिकट चाहिए।I need four tickets.
दूध पचपन रुपए लीटर है।Milk is fifty-five rupees a litre.
हमारी टीम में ग्यारह खिलाड़ी हैं।There are eleven players in our team.
वह सौ तक गिन सकता है।He can count to a hundred.
मेरी नानी नब्बे साल की हैं।My grandmother is ninety.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English builds twenty-nine from twenty and nine, and learners try the same. Hindi has no such combinations: 29 is one word, उनतीस, “one short of thirty”. There is no shortcut but learning the list.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The first ten are short and regular: एक, दो, तीन, चार, पाँच, छह, सात, आठ, नौ, दस. The tens are words of their own too: बीस (20), तीस, चालीस, पचास, साठ, सत्तर, अस्सी, नब्बे and सौ (100).
Everything in between is fused into one word, and the fusion is not regular enough to calculate: 21 is इक्कीस, 32 बत्तीस, 47 सैंतालीस, 55 पचपन, 68 अड़सठ. Native speakers learn them as a list in childhood, and so does every learner. Many educated speakers switch to English for long numbers, which is accepted everywhere — but prices, ages and times are said in Hindi.
One pattern does help. A number ending in nine is said as “one short of” the next ten, with उन-: उन्नीस (19, one short of twenty), उनतीस(29)उनतालीस(39)उनचास(49)उनसठ(59)उनहत्तर(69)उनासी(79) Only 89 and 99 break the pattern: नवासी and निन्यानवे.
After any number above one the noun is plural: दो किताबें, तीन लड़के. On paper, numbers are usually written in the digits 0–9; the Devanagari digits exist but are not used on this site.
A closer look
Patterns that help a little
Inside the fused numbers, the units leave traces. A one shows up as इक- or इक्या- (इकतीस 31, इक्यावन 51), a two as बा- or ब- (बाईस 22, बावन 52), a three as ति- or तैं-, a four as चौ-, a five as पच- or पैं-, a six as छ-, a seven as सत- or सैं-, an eight as अड़- or अट्ठा-. Knowing this lets you guess a number you hear, even before you can produce it.
Phone numbers and long figures
Phone numbers are read digit by digit, often in English. Account numbers, years and long prices are also often said in English by educated speakers. Ages, prices at the market, times and small counts are almost always Hindi.
Worth knowing (2)
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छह, not छः
Six is written छह on this site. The older spelling छः with a visarga is still seen and means the same.
मेरे घर में छह लोग हैं।There are six people in my house.
-
दोनों, तीनों: all of them
Adding -ओं to a small number makes “both” or “all three”: दोनों, तीनों, चारों.
हम तीनों दोस्त हैं।The three of us are friends.
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