Numbers in Basque



Learn numbers in Basque

Knowing numbers in Basque is probably one of the most useful things you can learn to say, write and understand in Basque. Learning to count in Basque may appeal to you just as a simple curiosity or be something you really need. Perhaps you have planned a trip to a country where Basque is the most widely spoken language, and you want to be able to shop and even bargain with a good knowledge of numbers in Basque.

It's also useful for guiding you through street numbers. You'll be able to better understand the directions to places and everything expressed in numbers, such as the times when public transportation leaves. Can you think of more reasons to learn numbers in Basque?

Basque (euskara) is an isolate language, i.e. with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages. Official in the Basque country and the autonomous community of Navarre in Spain, it is also in use in the French part of the Basque country. It counts about 750,000 speakers for whom it is their mother tongue.

List of numbers in Basque

Here is a list of numbers in Basque. We have made for you a list with all the numbers in Basque from 1 to 20. We have also included the tens up to the number 100, so that you know how to count up to 100 in Basque. We also close the list by showing you what the number 1000 looks like in Basque.

• 1) bat
• 2) bi
• 3) hiru
• 4) lau
• 5) bost
• 6) sei
• 7) zazpi
• 8) zortzi
• 9) bederatzi
• 10) hamar
• 11) hamaika
• 12) hamabi
• 13) hamahiru
• 14) hamalau
• 15) hamabost
• 16) hamasei
• 17) hamazazpi
• 18) hemezortzi
• 19) hemeretzi
• 20) hogei
• 30) hogeita hamar
• 40) berrogei
• 50) berrogeita hamar
• 60) hirurogei
• 70) hirurogeita hamar
• 80) laurogei
• 90) laurogeita hamar
• 100) ehun
• 1,000) mila
• one million) bat milioi
• one billion) bat miliar

Numbers in Basque: Basque numbering rules

Each culture has specific peculiarities that are expressed in its language and its way of counting. The Basque is no exception. If you want to learn numbers in Basque you will have to learn a series of rules that we will explain below. If you apply these rules you will soon find that you will be able to count in Basque with ease.

The way numbers are formed in Basque is easy to understand if you follow the rules explained here. Surprise everyone by counting in Basque. Also, learning how to number in Basque yourself from these simple rules is very beneficial for your brain, as it forces it to work and stay in shape. Working with numbers and a foreign language like Basque at the same time is one of the best ways to train our little gray cells, so let's see what rules you need to apply to number in Basque

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Digits from zero to ten are specific words, namely zero [0], bat [1], bi [2], hiru [3], lau [4], bost [5], sei [6], zazpi [7], zortzi [8], and bederatzi [9].

The Basque tens follow a vigesimal system. Thus we find alternatingly the word for ten (hamar) and multiples of twenty (hogei): hamar [10], hogei [20], hogeita hamar [30] (20 and 10), berrogei [40] (2 times 20), berrogeita hamar [50] (2 times 20 and 10), hirurogei [60] (3 times 20), hirurogeita hamar [70] (3 times 20 and 10), laurogei [80] (4 times 20), and laurogeita hamar [90] (4 times 20 and 10).

Numbers from eleven to nineteen are formed prefixing the unit digit with the root of the word for ten (hama(r)), with some exceptions: hamaika [11] (exception), hamabi [12], hamahiru [13], hamalau [14], hamabost [15], hamasei [16], hamazazpi [17], hamazortzi (or hemezortzi) [18], and hemeretzi [19] (phonetic contraction).

Compound numbers beyond nineteen are formed starting with the ten to which we add like a suffix the conjunction (e)ta (and), then the unit digit separated with a space (e.g.: berrogeita bat [41], hirurogeita zortzi [68]). Attention however to the compound numbers based on tens which are not multiples of twenty: they are formed composing the unit digit with the additional ten (e.g.: hogeita hamalau [34], or 20 and 14, berrogeita hamabost [55], or 40 and 15).

Hundreds are formed prefixing the word for hundred (ehun) by the multiplier digit, except for one hundred: ehun [100], berrehun [200], hirurehun [300], lauehun [400], bostehun [500], seiehun [600], zazpiehun [700], zortziehun [800], and bederatziehun [900].

Thousands are formed starting with the multiplier digit, then the word for thousand (mila) separated with a space, with the exception of one thousand: mila [1,000], bi mila [2,000], hiru mila [3,000], lau mila [4,000], bost mila [5,000], sei mila [6,000], zazpi mila [7,000], zortzi mila [8,000], and bederatzi mila [9,000].

The word for million is milioi, and the word for billion, miliar.