Compound Numbers

Level 3

Join the parts from big to small, and let the last number decide the noun.

How It Works

Bosnian builds numbers like English does, from big to small: trideset sedam is "thirty seven". Bosnian writing more often leaves out i (dvadeset jedan), but dvadeset i jedan is also heard and is not wrong.

NumberWords
21dvadeset jedan
37trideset sedam
125sto dvadeset pet
1900hiljadu devet stotina

The last number word decides what follows. After one, use the singular; after two to four, the counting form (dva studenta); after five and more, the genitive plural. The teens 11 to 14 are the exception: sto dvanaest studenata uses the genitive plural. The one and the two also match gender: dvadeset jedna marka (feminine), dvadeset dvije marke.

Compare: dvadeset jedan student, dvadeset dva studenta, dvadeset pet studenata.

Examples (4)

  1. U autobusu je trideset sedam putnika.

    There are thirty-seven passengers on the bus.

    Sedam decides the genitive plural putnika.

  2. Imam dvadeset jednu marku.

    I have twenty-one marks.

    Jedna agrees with marka, and it is an object.

  3. Kuća ima sto dvadeset pet godina.

    The house is a hundred and twenty-five years old.

    Pet decides the genitive plural godina.

  4. U razredu su dvadeset dva učenika.

    There are twenty-two pupils in the class.

    Dva decides the genitive singular učenika.

Common Mistakes

  • Learners let the first number decide the noun.

    dvadeset dvije marka
    dvadeset dvije marke

    The last number, dvije, sets the form marke.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Compound NumbersLevel 3

Learn This First

Compound numbers combine tens and units.