Numbers in Latvian



Learn numbers in Latvian

Knowing numbers in Latvian is probably one of the most useful things you can learn to say, write and understand in Latvian. Learning to count in Latvian 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 Latvian is the most widely spoken language, and you want to be able to shop and even bargain with a good knowledge of numbers in Latvian.

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 Latvian?

Latvian language (latviešu valoda) belongs to the Baltic group of the Indo-European family. Official language of Latvia, it counts about 1.5 million speakers.

List of numbers in Latvian

Here is a list of numbers in Latvian. We have made for you a list with all the numbers in Latvian 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 Latvian. We also close the list by showing you what the number 1000 looks like in Latvian.

  • 1) viens
  • 2) divi
  • 3) trīs
  • 4) četri
  • 5) pieci
  • 6) seši
  • 7) septiņi
  • 8) astoņi
  • 9) deviņi
  • 10) desmit
  • 11) vienpadsmit
  • 12) divpadsmit
  • 13) trīspadsmit
  • 14) četrpadsmit
  • 15) piecpadsmit
  • 16) sešpadsmit
  • 17) septiņpadsmit
  • 18) astoņpadsmit
  • 19) deviņpadsmit
  • 20) divdesmit
  • 30) trīsdesmit
  • 40) četrdesmit
  • 50) piecdesmit
  • 60) sešdesmit
  • 70) septiņdesmit
  • 80) astoņdesmit
  • 90) deviņdesmit
  • 100) simts
  • 1,000) tūkstoš
  • one million) miljons
  • one billion) miljards
  • one trillion) triljons

Numbers in Latvian: Latvian numbering rules

Each culture has specific peculiarities that are expressed in its language and its way of counting. The Latvian is no exception. If you want to learn numbers in Latvian 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 Latvian with ease.

The way numbers are formed in Latvian is easy to understand if you follow the rules explained here. Surprise everyone by counting in Latvian. Also, learning how to number in Latvian 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 Latvian 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 Latvian

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  • Digits from zero to nine have two forms: a masculine form and a feminine one. Masculine numbers are: nulle [0], viens [1], divi [2], trīs [3], četri [4], pieci [5], seši [6], septiņi [7], astoņi [8], and deviņi [9]. As for feminine numbers, they are: nulle [0], viena [1], divas [2], trīs [3], četras [4], piecas [5], sešas [6], septiņas [7], astoņas [8], and deviņas [9].
  • From ten (which is desmit) up, there is only one gender and the following noun is always set to genitive. The noun remains subject to declension, except for numbers between ten and nineteen, and simple tens (10, 20, 30…).
  • From eleven to nineteen, cardinal numbers end with -padsmit, meaning on ten, and begin with the root of the digit: vienpadsmit [11], divpadsmit [12], trīspadsmit [13], četrpadsmit [14], piecpadsmit [15], sešpadsmit [16], septiņpadsmit [17], astoņpadsmit [18], and deviņpadsmit [19].
  • Tens end with -desmit (ten) preceded by the ten digit, except for ten itself: desmit [10], divdesmit [20], trīsdesmit [30], četrdesmit [40], piecdesmit [50], sešdesmit [60], septiņdesmit [70], astoņdesmit [80], and deviņdesmit [90].
  • Hundreds are formed by putting the word for hundred (simt) after the multiplier unit root with no space, with the exception of one hundred itself: simts [100] (note the -s at the end), divsimt [200], trīssimt [300], četrsimt [400], piecsimt [500]…
  • Thousands are formed the same way, by attaching the word for thousand (tūkstoš, or tūkstoši, in nominative plural) after the multiplier unit, with the exception of one thousand itself: tūkstoš [1,000], divtūkstoši [2,000], trīstūkstoši [3,000], četrtūkstoši [4,000], piectūkstoši [5,000]…
  • Compound numbers are formed by putting the ten before the unit (e.g.: trīsdesmit divi [32], četrdesmit trīs [43], piecdesmit četri [54]), the hundred before the ten and the unit (e.g.: divsimt trīsdesmit pieci [235], trīssimt viens [301]), the thousand before the hundred, the ten and the unit (e.g.: tūkstoš deviņsimt septiņdesmit viens [1,971], divtūkstoši četri [2,004]).
  • Latvian uses the short scale system as English to create big numbers: each name of number bigger than one million is one thousand times bigger than the previous one. Thus, we have miljons (one million, 106), miljards (one billion, 109), triljons (one trillion, 1012), kvadriljons (one quadrillion, 1015)…
  • The scale words from thousand up have to be set in genitive when following a number, as any other noun (e.g.: desmit tūkstošu [10,000], trīs miljonu [3 million], septiņi miljardu [7 billions]).
  • Numbers in different languages