Understanding Latvian Cardinal Numbers
Cardinal numbers in Latvian are used to count things. They tell us 'how many' of something there is.
Important Points
- One - viens
- Two - divi
- Three - trīs
- Four - četri
- Five - pieci
- Six - seši
- Seven - septiņi
- Eight - astoņi
- Nine - deviņi
- Ten - desmit
These are the numbers from one to ten. They are the building blocks for all other numbers.
To form numbers from 11 to 19, we add the word 'padsmit' after the first number. For example, 'vienpadsmit' means eleven.
Examples
- vienpadsmit - eleven
- divpadsmit - twelve
- trīspadsmit - thirteen
For tens like twenty, thirty, and so on, we use a different pattern. We add 'desmit' after the first number, like 'divdesmit' for twenty.
Examples
- divdesmit - twenty
- trīsdesmit - thirty
- četrdesmit - forty
To say numbers like twenty-one or thirty-four, we combine the tens and the unit number. For example, 'divdesmit viens' means twenty-one.
Examples
- divdesmit viens - twenty-one
- trīsdesmit četri - thirty-four
- četrdesmit pieci - forty-five
Hundreds and thousands are similar. We say 'simts' for hundred and 'tūkstotis' for thousand. For example, 'divi simti' means two hundred.
Examples
- simts - one hundred
- divi simti - two hundred
- viens tūkstotis - one thousand