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Scottish Gaelic Numerals (Pt. 1) Cheat Sheet by

An overview of the numbers and counting systems used in Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig).

One to Ten

1
Aon [causes lenition, see notes]
2
Dhà [causes lenition]
3
Trì
4
Ceithir
5
Còig
6
Sia
7
Seachd
8
Ochd
9
Naoi
10
Deich
"­Aon­" does not lenite words starting with D, S or T. "­Dhà­" becomes "­Dà" for counting nouns and uses the singlular form noun. For example: "Dà chat" instead of "Dà cait"

Eleven to Twenty

11
Aon Deug
12
Dà Deug
13
Trì Deug
14
Ceithir Deug
15
Còig Deug
16
Sia Deug
17
Seachd Deug
18
Ochd Deug
19
Naoi Deug
20
Fichead

Twenty-one to twenty­-nine

21
Fichead 's a h-aon
22
Fichead 's a dhà
23
Fichead 's a trì
24
Fichead 's a ceithir
25
Fichead 's a còig
26
Fichead 's a sia
27
Fichead 's a seachd
28
Fichead 's a h-ochd
29
Fichead 's a naoi
Aon and Ochd are prefixed with an "­h-". This is because the number itself is a plural form, and these two start with a vowel. This is the same for other plurals starting with a vowel, e.g. "Na h-eisi­rea­n" ("the oyster­s").
  

Over 30: Modern System (Base 10)

30
Trìthead
40
Ceathrad
50
Caogad
60
Seasgad
70
Seachdad
80
Ochdad
90
Naochad
Intervals of these numbers follow the same format as those in the twenties, e.g. "­Thirty one" is "­Trì­thead 's a h-aon"

Over 30: Vigesimal System (Base 20)

30
Deich air fhichead
Ten and twenty
31
Aon deug air fhichead
Elevent and twenty
32
Dà dheug air fhichead
Twelve and twenty
40
Dà fhichead
Two twenties
41
Dà fhichead 's a h-aon
Two twenties and one
50
Leth-cheud
Half a hundred
50
Dà fhichead 's a deich
Two twenties and ten
55
Leth-cheud 's a còig
Half a hundred, plus five
55
Dà fhichead 's a còig deug
Two twenties and fifteen
60
Trì fichead
Three twenties
70
Trì fichead 's a deich
Three twenties and ten
80
Ceithir fichead
Four twenties
90
Ceithir fichead 's a deich
Four twenties
This system is considered the "­old­" way of counting, but is still in use and more common for native speakers.

Note the two versions for expressing quantites of fifty to fifty-­nine. When the "­Let­h-c­heu­d" (half hundred) form is used to count nouns, the noun always takes the singular form. For example, "­Let­h-cheud 's a dhà càr" for "­fifty two cars".
  

One hundred and above

100
Ceud
101
Ceud 's a h-aon
200
Dà cheud
300
Trì ceud
1000
Mìle
2000
Dà mhìle
10000
Deich mìle
100000
Muillean
When "­Mìl­e" or "­Mui­lle­an" are used to count a noun, the form of the noun is the singular, not the plural, e.g. "A million cats" would be expressed as "­Mui­llean càt" instead of "­Mui­llean cait".

Forming larger numbers

We can now form larger numbers in the
modern and older systems alike. Take the
value of "­Eight hundred and sevent­y-t­wo" as
an example.
In the modern system this is "Ochd ceud"
for 800, plus "­Sea­chdad 's a dhà" for the 72
- thus, "Ochd ceud seachdad 's a dhà" is
our final number.
In the older system it is only slightly
different. Remember that we use a base
twenty system for numbers over 30. In this
case the 72 would be expressed as "­Three
twenties plus twelve­".
Three twenties is "Trì fichea­d" and twelve is
"Dà dheug", so we put the 'and' between
them to create the final number form: "Trì
fichead 's a dà dheug".
The 800 part of our number is no different in
the old system, and so our complete
number is "Ochd ceud trì fichead 's a dà
dheug".
Keep in mind that "­190­0" would be
expressed as "­nin­eteen hundre­d" rather
than the more tradit­ional English approach
of "One thousand nine hundre­d", so for the
older system the base 20 rule applies again.
We would express this figure as "Naoi ceud
deug" (nine-­hundred teen I suppose, if
we're trying to be super literal about it).
           
 

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