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Lesson 2
Numbers 1–10
സംഖ്യകൾ 1–10
English numbers compound almost as cleanly as Malayalam's from thirteen onward — but eleven and twelve are a small irregular pocket worth knowing about upfront.
Grammar Comparison
വ്യാകരണ താരതമ്യം
Thirteen onward is transparent, eleven and twelve aren't
English
thirteen = three + teen ('ten'); but eleven, twelve don't visibly mean 'ten-one', 'ten-two'
Malayalam
പതിമൂന്ന് = പത്ത് + മൂന്ന്; പതിനൊന്ന്, പന്ത്രണ്ട് are equally transparent
From thirteen to nineteen, English does what Malayalam does the whole way through: fuse a unit-word with '-teen' (a worn-down form of 'ten'). But eleven and twelve break that pattern — they don't visibly decompose the way Malayalam's teens do. Treat eleven and twelve as two irregular words to memorize, then the pattern resumes.
Vocabulary
വാക്കുകൾ
| English | Pronunciation | Malayalam |
|---|---|---|
| one | wun | ഒന്ന്onnu |
| two | too | രണ്ട്randu |
| three | three | മൂന്ന്moonu |
| four | for | നാല്naalu |
| five | fyv | അഞ്ച്anchu |
| six | siks | ആറ്aaru |
| seven | SEH-vn | ഏഴ്ezhu |
| eight | ate | എട്ട്ettu |
| nine | nyn | ഒൻപത്onpathu |
| ten | ten | പത്ത്patthu |