Hindi numbers: from 0 to a million

In English, 21 is just “twenty” plus “one”. In Hindi, every number from 1 to 100 is a separate word. They look a little like the numbers they come from, but not in a regular way, so they have to be learned one by one. Start with 1–20 and the tens; the rest come with use.

Zero is शून्य (shoonya), but in phone numbers most people just say “zero”. छह (chhah, six) is usually said “chhe”.

Numbers are usually written with ordinary digits (1, 2, 3). You will also see the Devanagari digits on signs, forms and old buildings: ० 0, १ 1, २ 2, ३ 3, ४ 4, ५ 5, ६ 6, ७ 7, ८ 8, ९ 9. So २०२६ is 2026.

Learn the tens first: दस (das) 10, बीस (bees) 20, तीस (tees) 30, चालीस (chaalees) 40, पचास (pachaas) 50, साठ (saath) 60, सत्तर (sattar) 70, अस्सी (assee) 80, नब्बे (nabbe) 90, सौ (sau) 100.

Some patterns help. Numbers ending in 9 are “one less than” the next ten and start with उन- (un-): उन्नीस (unnees) 19, उनतीस (untees) 29, उनतालीस (untaalees) 39, उनचास (unchaas) 49, उनसठ (unsath) 59, उनहत्तर (unhattar) 69, उन्यासी (unyaasee) 79. But 89 and 99 are different: नवासी (navaasee), निन्यानवे (ninyaanve).

Numbers ending in 1 often start with इक- (ik-), those ending in 3 with ते-, तैं-, तिर- or ति-, and those ending in 8 with अठ-, अट्ठ- or अड़-. Watch out for 49 and 50 and for 59 and 60: they sound close, so listen carefully to prices.

From 71 to 78 the numbers end in -हत्तर (-hattar), the eighties in -आसी (-aasee) and the nineties in -आनवे (-aanve). Tricky ones: सड़सठ (sarsath) 67, अड़सठ (arsath) 68, उन्यासी (unyaasee) 79 and नवासी (navaasee) 89.

When you're not sure of a number, you can always say the digits one by one: सात आठ (saat aath) for 78. People will understand you.

सौ (sau) is a hundred and हज़ार (hazaar) a thousand. Put the number in front: दो सौ (do sau) 200, पाँच हज़ार (paanch hazaar) 5,000. They don't change in the plural. After 99,999 Hindi counts in lakhs (लाख, laakh, 100,000) and crores (करोड़, karor, 10,000,000). A million is दस लाख (das laakh), ten lakh.

The commas follow this system too: after the first three digits they come every two digits. So 1,00,000 is one lakh, 10,00,000 is ten lakh (a million), and 1,00,00,000 is one crore. You'll hear “lakh” and “crore” in Indian English as well.

Years before 2000 are said in hundreds, like “nineteen hundred”: 1998 is उन्नीस सौ अट्ठानवे (unnees sau atthaanve). From 2000 on, people say दो हज़ार (do hazaar): 2026 is दो हज़ार छब्बीस (do hazaar chhabbees). “In 2026” is दो हज़ार छब्बीस में (do hazaar chhabbees men).

The first four are irregular, and so is 6. From 5 on, add -वाँ (-vaan) to the number: पाँचवाँ (paanchvaan) fifth, ग्यारहवाँ (gyaarahvaan) eleventh, बीसवाँ (beesvaan) twentieth, सौवाँ (sauvaan) hundredth.

Ordinals are adjectives ending in -आ, so they change like अच्छा (achchhaa): पहला दिन (pahlaa din) the first day, पहली मंज़िल (pahlee manzil) the first floor, पहले दो दिन (pahle do din) the first two days. The -वाँ forms become -वीं (-veen) and -वें (-ven): पाँचवीं मंज़िल (paanchveen manzil), the fifth floor.

Prices: the number comes before रुपये (rupaye), rupees; one rupee is एक रुपया (ek rupayaa). Ask कितने का है? (kitne kaa hai?), how much is it? Phone numbers are read one digit at a time: 98 is नौ आठ (nau aath).

Hindi has special words for halves and quarters, used with money, time and big numbers. साढ़े (saadhe) means “plus a half” from 3 upwards, but 1½ and 2½ have their own words, डेढ़ (dedh) and ढाई (dhaaee). सवा (savaa) is “plus a quarter” and पौने (paune) “minus a quarter”.

Time uses बजे (baje), o'clock: सात बजे (saat baje), at seven. For dates, say the number and then the month: बारह मार्च (baarah maarch), 12 March. Ask आज कितनी तारीख़ है? (aaj kitnee taareekh hai?), what's the date today?