Numbers 11–100
எண்கள் 11–100
Beyond ten, Tamil numbers fuse into single compound words, but Polish keeps its compound numbers as separate words side by side — and Polish hides a distinctive quirk Tamil counting has no equivalent for.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Compound Numbers Stay as Separate Words, Unlike Tamil's Fused Ones
dwadzieścia jeden
இருபத்தி ஒன்று (ஒரே சொல்லாக இணைந்தது)
Tamil fuses its compound numbers into a single word — இருபத்தி ஒன்று (twenty-one) reads as one continuous word, with இருபது (twenty) shortened and joined to ஒன்று (one). Polish does the opposite: it simply places the parts side by side as separate words — dwadzieścia jeden (twenty one), trzydzieści osiem (thirty eight) — with nothing fused or shortened. This actually makes Polish compound numbers easier to read once you know the parts, since each one keeps its own familiar shape rather than blending together.
Numbers Change the Noun That Follows — Tamil Nouns Don't Shift Like This
dwie książki, pięć książek
இரண்டு புத்தகங்கள், ஐந்து புத்தகங்கள்
In Tamil, புத்தகங்கள் (books) stays exactly the same whether you're counting இரண்டு (two) or ஐந்து (five) of them — the noun's plural form never changes based on the number. Polish works completely differently: the number itself decides what form the counted noun takes. 1 pairs with the plain singular, 2–4 trigger one special plural form, and 5 and up trigger a different one entirely (5 książek looks quite different from 2 książki). You don't need to master this yet, but it's worth knowing it's coming, since nothing in Tamil counting prepares you for it.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
- Tamil
- பதினொன்றுpadhiṉoṉṟu
- English
- eleven
- Tamil
- பன்னிரண்டுpaṉṉiraṇṭu
- English
- twelve
- Tamil
- பதிமூன்றுpadhimūṉṟu
- English
- thirteen
- Tamil
- பதினான்குpadhiṉāṉku
- English
- fourteen
- Tamil
- பதினைந்துpadhiṉaindhu
- English
- fifteen
- Tamil
- இருபதுirupadhu
- English
- twenty
- Tamil
- முப்பதுmuppadhu
- English
- thirty
- Tamil
- நாற்பதுnāṟpadhu
- English
- forty
- Tamil
- ஐம்பதுaimpadhu
- English
- fifty
- Tamil
- நூறுnūṟu
- English
- one hundred
- Tamil
- இருபத்தி ஒன்றுirupatthi oṉṟu
- English
- twenty-one
- Tamil
- இருபத்தி எட்டுirupatthi eṭṭu
- English
- twenty-eight