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Lesson 3A1

Numbers 0–10

సంఖ్యలు 0–10

The first ten numbers show up constantly — ages, prices, phone numbers, quantities — and they set up the pattern the rest of the number system builds on.

Grammar Comparison

వ్యాకరణ పోలిక

jeden Changes Like an Adjective — Telugu Numbers Never Do

Polish

jeden, jedna, jedno

Telugu

ఒకటి (ఎప్పుడూ మారదు)

Unlike the other numbers, 'one' agrees with the gender of the noun it counts: jeden dom (one house, masculine), jedna książka (one book, feminine), jedno okno (one window, neuter). Telugu numbers have no equivalent behavior — ఒకటి ('one') stays the same whether you're counting ఇల్లు (a house) or పుస్తకం (a book), so this gender-matching habit for 'one' is genuinely new territory, not something to map onto an existing Telugu instinct.

Age: 'To Have' in Polish, Neither 'To Be' Nor 'To Have' in Telugu

Polish

Mam dwadzieścia lat.

Telugu

నాకు ఇరవై సంవత్సరాలు.

Polish says age with mieć (to have) — Mam dwadzieścia lat is literally 'I have twenty years'. Telugu takes a third path, different from both Polish and a direct 'to be' translation: నాకు ఇరవై సంవత్సరాలు (naaku iravai samvatsaraalu) is literally 'to-me twenty years', using the dative 'to me' rather than either 'having' or 'being'. Since Telugu already avoids saying age with 'to be', the Polish habit of reaching for mieć instead of być won't feel entirely foreign — just don't assume Telugu's dative construction transfers directly, since Polish still needs its own 'I have' verb form here, not a 'to me' phrase.

Vocabulary

పదజాలం

zeroZEH-roh
Telugu
సున్నాsunnaa
English
zero
jedenYEH-den
Telugu
ఒకటిokati
English
one
dwadvah
Telugu
రెండుrendu
English
two
trzytshih
Telugu
మూడుmoodu
English
three
czteryCHTEH-rih
Telugu
నాలుగుnaalugu
English
four
pięćpyenych
Telugu
ఐదుaidu
English
five
sześćshehshch
Telugu
ఆరుaaru
English
six
siedemSHYEH-dem
Telugu
ఏడుedu
English
seven
osiemOH-shyem
Telugu
ఎనిమిదిenimidi
English
eight
dziewięćJEH-vyenych
Telugu
తొమ్మిదిtommidi
English
nine
dziesięćJEH-shyenych
Telugu
పదిpadi
English
ten
Ile masz lat?EE-leh mahsh laht
Telugu
నీకు ఎంత వయస్సు?neeku enta vayassu?
English
How old are you?