Finnish numerals
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Numbers in Finnish are highly systematic, but they can throw a few surprises too. For details of other aspects of the language, please see the Finnish language grammar article.
[edit] Cardinal numbers
These are the ordinary counting numbers: here are 0 to 10:
| Cardinal numbers | |
|---|---|
| Finnish | English |
| nolla | zero |
| yksi | one |
| kaksi | two |
| kolme | three |
| neljä | four |
| viisi | five |
| kuusi | six |
| seitsemän | seven |
| kahdeksan | eight |
| yhdeksän | nine |
| kymmenen | ten |
To get the teens, 'toista' is added to the base number: yksitoista, kaksitoista ... yhdeksäntoista. ('Toista' actually means 'of second [decade]'. Formerly it has been used for numbers over 19, too: e.g. 35 would be 'viisineljättä', 'five-of-fourth'.)
Twenty is simply 'kaksikymmentä' = 'two tens' (with kymmenen appearing in the partitive after a number as is normal for nouns). Then the decades are kolmekymmentä, neljäkymmentä ... yhdeksänkymmentä.
100 is 'sata', 200 is 'kaksisataa' and so on.
1000 is 'tuhat', 2000 is 'kaksituhatta' and so on.
So, 3721 = 'kolme-tuhatta-seitsemän-sataa-kaksi-kymmentä-yksi' (actually written as one long word with no dashes in between).
Long numbers (like 32534756) are separated in three numbers sections with space beginning from the end of the number (for example 32 534 756). Writing it with letters follow the spacing, in the example (in numbers over one million, 'miljoona' ('million') is written separately) 'kolme-kymmentä-kaksi miljoonaa viisi-sataa-kolme-kymmentä-neljä-tuhatta seitsemän-sataa-viisi-kymmentä-kuusi'. (No dashes, they are only to make the number look clear.)
Numbers can be inflected in cases; all parts of the number except 'toista' are inflected.
Nouns following a number in the nominative singular are usually in the singular partitive case, IF the noun does not need to be in any other case AND if the number is any number other than yksi (one).
If the number is yksi (one) AND it is in the nominative singular then the noun and any adjectives following it will also be in the singular nominative.
But if the sentence structure demands that the noun is in some case other than the nominative, the number as well as the noun and any adjectives following it will take that other case. For example:
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| kaksi päivää | two day-PART |
| kahtena päivänä | on/during two days |
| kahdessatoista maassa | in twelve countries |
| kolmellekymmenelleviidelle hengelle | for thirty-five persons |
Numerals have also plural forms, which usually refer to things naturally occurring in pairs or other similarly well-defined sets, such as body parts and clothing items. Also names of celebrations are usually in the plural. The plural forms are inflected in cases in the same way as the corresponding nouns. For instance:
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| kahdet saappaat | two pairs of boots |
| kolmissa jalanjäljissä | in three sets of footprints |
| Neljät häät ja yhdet hautajaiset | Four Weddings and a (One) Funeral |
Numbers from one to six are apparently original in etymology. The words kahdeksan "eight" and yhdeksän "nine" have no confirmed etymology. One theory is that they are compounds: *kaks-teksa "10–2", or "eight" and *yks-teksa "10–1", or "nine", where the reconstructed word *teksa is similar to the Indo-European words for "ten".
[edit] Ordinal numbers
These are the 'ordering' form of the numbers - first, second, third and so on. Ordinal numbers are generally formed by adding an '-s' ending, but 'first' and 'second' are completely different, and for the others then stems are not straightforward:
| Ordinal numbers 1-10 | |
|---|---|
| Finnish | English |
| ensimmäinen | first |
| toinen | second |
| kolmas | third |
| neljäs | fourth |
| viides | fifth |
| kuudes | sixth |
| seitsemäs | seventh |
| kahdeksas | eighth |
| yhdeksäs | ninth |
| kymmenes | tenth |
For teens, you change the first part of the word; however note how 'first' and 'second' lose their irregularity in 'eleven' and 'twelve':
| Ordinal numbers 11-19 | |
|---|---|
| Finnish | English |
| yhdestoista | eleventh |
| kahdestoista | twelfth |
| kolmastoista | thirteenth |
| neljästoista | fourteenth |
| viidestoista | fifteenth |
| kuudestoista | sixteenth |
| seitsemästoista | seventeenth |
| kahdeksastoista | eighteenth |
| yhdeksästoista | nineteenth |
For twenty through ninety-nine, all parts of the number get the '-s' ending. 'First' and 'second' take the irregular form only at the end of a word. The regular forms are possible for them but they are less common.
| Ordinal numbers 20- | |
|---|---|
| Finnish | English |
| kahdeskymmenes | twentieth |
| kahdeskymmenesensimmäinen | twenty-first (also 'kahdeskymmenesyhdes') |
| kahdeskymmenestoinen | twenty-second (also 'kahdeskymmeneskahdes') |
| kahdeskymmeneskolmas | twenty-third |
100th is 'sadas', 1000th is 'tuhannes', 3721st is 'kolmas-tuhannes-seitsemäs-sadas-kahdes-kymmenes-ensimmäinen'. (Again, dashes only included here for clarity; the word is properly spelled without them.)
Like cardinals, ordinal numbers can also be inflected:
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| kolmatta viikkoa | for (already) the third week |
| viidennessätoista kerroksessa | in the fifteenth floor |
| tuhannennelle asiakkaalle | to the thousandth customer |
The 'toista' in the 'teens' is actually the partitive of 'toinen', which is why 'toista' gets no further inflection endings. (Literally 'yksitoista || one-of-the-second'.)
Long ordinal numbers in Finnish are typed in almost the same way than the long cardinal numbers. 32534756 would be (in numbers over one million, 'miljoona' ('million') is written separately) 'kolmas-kymmenes-kahdes miljoonas viides-sadas-kolmas-kymmenes-neljäs-tuhannes seitsemäs-sadas-viides-kymmenes-kuudes'. (Still, no dashes.)
[edit] Names of numbers
This is a feature of Finnish which doesn't have an exact counterpart in English (but in colloquial German it does, for example: 7er, 190er, 205er). These forms are used to refer to the actual number itself, rather than the quantity or order which the number represents. This should be clearer from the examples below, but first here is the list:
| Names of numbers | |
|---|---|
| Finnish | English |
| nolla | nil, number zero |
| ykkönen | number one |
| kakkonen | number two |
| kolmonen | number three |
| nelonen | number four |
| viitonen | number five |
| kuutonen | number six |
| seitsemän | number seven (vernacular: 'seiska') |
| kahdeksan or kahdeksikko | number eight (vernacular: 'kasi') |
| yhdeksän or yhdeksikkö | number nine (vernacular: 'ysi') |
| kymmenen | number ten (vernacular: 'kymppi', 'kybä') |
| satanen | number hundred |
Also, 'kahdeksikko' refers to the shape of the number. Some examples of how these are used:
- The 'number three tram' is the 'kolmonen' — when you are riding it, you are 'kolmosella'
- A magazine has the title '7' and is called 'Seiska'
- My car, a '93 model, is an 'ysi kolmonen' when buying spare parts
- If the car is a 190E Mercedes, it would be a 'sataysikymppi'.
- If a car has tyres in size of 205, they would be called 'kaks(i)sataviitoset' resp. kaks(i)sataviitosia'.
- The '106' bus is the 'sata kuutonen'
- A 5 € bill may be called "vitonen", a 10 € bill "kymppi" (in plural: "kympit"/"kymppejä"), a 20 € "kaksikymppinen", a 100 € bill "satanen", etc.
