Numbers Above Ten
Add -padsmit for 11 to 19 (divpadsmit, 12) and -desmit for the tens (trīsdesmit, 30). Put a number from one to nine after a ten as a separate word: trīsdesmit pieci (35).
How It Works
1. Eleven to nineteen: -padsmit.
- 11 vienpadsmit, 12 divpadsmit, 13 trīspadsmit
- 14 četrpadsmit, 15 piecpadsmit, 16 sešpadsmit
- 17 septiņpadsmit, 18 astoņpadsmit, 19 deviņpadsmit
The small number loses its ending: četri → četrpadsmit, pieci → piecpadsmit.
2. The tens: -desmit. 20 divdesmit, 30 trīsdesmit, 40 četrdesmit, 50 piecdesmit, 60 sešdesmit, 70 septiņdesmit, 80 astoņdesmit, 90 deviņdesmit. For 100 and more, see hundreds and thousands.
3. Numbers in between. Write the ten and the unit as two words: divdesmit viens (21), trīsdesmit pieci (35), deviņdesmit deviņi (99). A teen or a round ten is one word.
4. Which part changes. The -padsmit and -desmit words never change for gender or case. The last word from one to nine agrees like any small number:
- divdesmit divi galdi, divdesmit divas mājas
- Es nopirku trīsdesmit piecus ābolus. (I bought thirty-five apples.)
- Klasē ir divdesmit viens skolēns. A number ending in viens takes the singular. See twenty-one with the singular.
5. The noun after a teen or a round ten. The noun itself still changes for case: pēc piecpadsmit minūtēm (in fifteen minutes), ar divdesmit studentiem. In the nominative and accusative, everyday Latvian uses the ordinary plural (divdesmit studenti), and careful Latvian often uses the genitive plural (divdesmit studentu). See numbers with the genitive plural.
6. Clock times. In time expressions these numbers do take endings: vienpadsmitos (at eleven), līdz divpadsmitiem (until twelve). See telling the time.
Examples (5)
- Manā klasē ir divdesmit trīs skolēni.
There are twenty-three pupils in my class.
- Šajā ielā ir trīsdesmit piecas mājas.
There are thirty-five houses on this street.
Māja is feminine, so the last number is piecas.
- Autobuss atiet pēc piecpadsmit minūtēm.
The bus leaves in fifteen minutes.
Piecpadsmit does not change, but the noun takes the dative after pēc: minūtēm.
- Viņai ir četrdesmit divi gadi.
She is forty-two.
Gads is masculine, so the last number is divi.
- Klasē ir divdesmit viens skolēns.
There are twenty-one pupils in the class.
A number ending in viens takes a singular noun.
Common Mistakes
Writing the ten and the unit as one word.
Man ir trīsdesmitpieci gadi.Man ir trīsdesmit pieci gadi.Only the teens and the round tens are single words. A ten followed by one to nine is written as two words.
Using a masculine last number with a feminine noun.
Šajā ielā ir divdesmit pieci mājas.Šajā ielā ir divdesmit piecas mājas.Divdesmit does not change, but pieci agrees with māja, which is feminine: piecas.
Keeping the full ending of the small number before -padsmit.
Autobuss atiet pēc piecipadsmit minūtēm.Autobuss atiet pēc piecpadsmit minūtēm.The small number drops its ending before -padsmit: pieci → piecpadsmit, četri → četrpadsmit.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Numbers above ten build on one to ten.
Related Patterns
- Numbers That Agree
How the last word of a longer number agrees with the noun.
Level 2 - divdesmit viens + SingularTwenty-One with the Singular
Why twenty-one takes a singular noun.
Level 3 - desmit / simts / tūkstotis + Genitive PluralTen, A Hundred and a Thousand with the Genitive
The genitive plural noun after desmit and the teens in careful Latvian.
Level 4 - simts / tūkstotisHundreds and Thousands
The next step: hundreds and thousands.
Level 3 - Telling the Time
Clock times, where these numbers take the ending -os.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Numbers Above Ten in Bubblegum
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