-kymmentä

Tens with -kymmentä

Level 1

To say 20, 30, 40, etc., take the number (2–9) and add -kymmentä. For example: kaksi (2) + -kymmentä = kaksikymmentä (20).

How It Works

The word -kymmentä is used for all multiples of ten from 20 to 90. It is always written as one word with the multiplier.

1. The Basic Rule:
Combine the nominative (basic) form of the number with -kymmentä:

  • 20: kaksikymmentä
  • 30: kolmekymmentä
  • 40: neljäkymmentä
  • ...and so on up to 90 (yhdeksänkymmentä).

2. The Exception (10):
The number 10 is simply kymmenen. You never say "yksikymmentä."

3. Spoken Finnish:
In spoken Finnish, these long words are almost always shortened. The suffix -kymmentä usually becomes -kyt or -kyttä.

  • Standard: kaksikymmentä → Spoken: kakskyt
  • Standard: viisikymmentä → Spoken: viiskyt

4. Inflection:
If the number needs a case ending (like "in twenty"), both parts of the word must change. For example, "in twenty" is kahdessakymmenessä, not kaksikymmenessä. This is a more advanced topic covered in numbers in cases.

Examples (5)

  1. kaksikymmentä

    twenty

    Word by Word: two-tens (partitive)

    Formed by taking 'kaksi' (2) and adding '-kymmentä'.

  2. Tämä kirja maksaa kolmekymmentä euroa.

    This book costs thirty euros.

    Word by Word: This book costs three-tens euros.

    Note that 'euroa' is also in the partitive because it follows a number.

  3. Hän on viisikymmentä vuotta vanha.

    He/she is fifty years old.

    Word by Word: He/she is five-tens year old.

    Numbers are written as a single continuous word.

  4. kahdeksankymmentäneljä

    eighty-four

    Word by Word: eight-tens-four

    To add single digits, just attach them to the end of the tens word.

  5. Asumme talossa numero seitsemänkymmentä.

    We live in house number seventy.

    Word by Word: We live in house number seven-tens.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'yksikymmentä' for the number 10.

    Minulla on yksikymmentä euroa.
    Minulla on kymmenen euroa.

    The number 10 is always 'kymmenen'. The '-kymmentä' pattern only starts from 20.

  • Using kaksitoista (12) when you mean 20.

    Different Meaningkaksitoista
    kaksikymmentä

    '-toista' is for 11–19 (e.g., kaksitoista = 12). '-kymmentä' is for multiples of ten (e.g., kaksikymmentä = 20).

  • Writing the number as two separate words.

    viisi kymmentä
    viisikymmentä

    A tens number is written as one word with its unit: viisikymmentä, kaksikymmentäviisi.

How It Connects

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

-kymmentäLevel 1Tens with -kymmentä

Learn This First

To form tens in Finnish, you need to know the basic numbers 1-10 and understand that numbers (other than one) trigger the partitive case, which is why 'kymmenen' becomes '-kymmentä'.

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Words in This Pattern

kymmenen