Numbers 11–100
எண்கள் 11–100
Dutch numbers turn transparent almost immediately — eleven and twelve are the only irregular ones, and from thirteen onward every number visibly shows its 'unit + ten' pieces, much like Tamil's பதி-series.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
elf and twaalf: two irregular words, then it opens up
elf (11), twaalf (12) — don't visibly contain tien ('ten')
பதினொன்று, பன்னிரண்டு (11–12, தெளிவாக பத்து + இலக்கம்)
Only elf and twaalf are true irregular standalone words needing memorization — a much shorter irregular list than Spanish's five (once through quince) or English's own eleven/twelve. From thirteen on, Dutch becomes fully transparent.
dertien onward: unit + tien, fused into one word
dertien (13 = der- + tien, 'three-teen'), zestien (16 = zes + tien)
பதின்மூன்று (13 = பத்து + மூன்று)
From 13 to 19, Dutch fuses the unit and tien ('ten') into a single word, unit-first — dertien, veertien, vijftien — the same 'ten-plus-unit' logic Tamil's பதி-series has used since eleven, just with the pieces in the opposite order (unit-then-ten in Dutch, ten-then-unit in Tamil).
Units before tens from 21 onward — the reverse of Tamil and English
eenentwintig (21 = een + en + twintig, literally 'one-and-twenty')
இருபத்தி ஒன்று (21 = இருபது + ஒன்று, 'twenty-one' — tens first)
This is the single biggest habit to unlearn: from 21 up, Dutch says the unit before the ten, joined by en ('and') — eenentwintig, literally 'one-and-twenty', matching old-fashioned English 'four-and-twenty' rather than modern 'twenty-four'. Tamil, like modern English, always states the ten first (இருபத்தி ஒன்று, 'twenty-one'). Reading Dutch numbers aloud correctly takes deliberate practice, since the digits appear to a Tamil speaker in reverse order from what they'd expect.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| Dutch | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| elf | elf | பதினொன்றுpadhinoṉṟu | eleven |
| twaalf | twahlf | பன்னிரண்டுpaṉṉiraṇṭu | twelve |
| vijftien | VAYF-teen | பதினைந்துpadhinaindhu | fifteen |
| zestien | ZESS-teen | பதினாறுpadhināṟu | sixteen |
| twintig | TWIN-tikh | இருபதுirubadhu | twenty |
| eenentwintig | AYN-en-twin-tikh | இருபத்தி ஒன்றுirubatthi oṉṟu | twenty-one |
| dertig | DER-tikh | முப்பதுmuppadhu | thirty |
| veertig | FAYR-tikh | நாற்பதுnāṟpadhu | forty |
| vijftig | FAYF-tikh | ஐம்பதுaimpadhu | fifty |
| zestig | ZESS-tikh | அறுபதுaṟubadhu | sixty |
| zeventig | ZAY-ven-tikh | எழுபதுeḻubadhu | seventy |
| tachtig | TAHKH-tikh | எண்பதுeṇbadhu | eighty |
| negentig | NAY-khen-tikh | தொண்ணூறுtoṇṇūṟu | ninety |
| honderd | HON-dert | நூறுnūṟu | one hundred |