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Lesson 9A1

Numbers 11–100

Numbers 11–100

Beyond ten, Portuguese numbers settle into a predictable rhythm — a handful of new words for the tens, then simple combinations for everything in between.

Grammar Comparison

Grammar Comparison

11–15 are their own words, then a clear pattern kicks in

Portuguese

onze, doze, treze, catorze, quinze — then dezasseis (ten-six), dezassete (ten-seven)

English

eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen — then sixteen, seventeen

Like English ("eleven", "twelve"), Portuguese has irregular standalone words for 11–15. From 16 onward, though, the pattern becomes transparent: dezasseis is literally "ten-six", dezassete "ten-seven" — dez (ten) plus the digit, joined with e (and) is not even needed here, unlike the 20s onward.

From 21 up, tens and units join with e ("and")

Portuguese

vinte e um (twenty-and-one = 21), trinta e cinco (thirty-and-five = 35)

English

twenty-one, thirty-five

Where English just runs the words together with a hyphen ("twenty-one"), Portuguese keeps the word e ("and") between the tens and the unit: vinte e um, trinta e cinco. This e is not optional — dropping it would sound distinctly wrong, unlike English where the hyphen is purely a spelling convention with no spoken equivalent.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

onzeOHN-zeh
English
eleven
dozeDOH-zeh
English
twelve
quinzeKEEN-zeh
English
fifteen
dezasseisdeh-zah-SAYSH
English
sixteen
vinteVEEN-teh
English
twenty
trintaTREEN-tah
English
thirty
quarentakwah-REN-tah
English
forty
cinquentaseen-KWEN-tah
English
fifty
vinte e umVEEN-teh ee oong
English
twenty-one
trinta e cincoTREEN-tah ee SEEN-koo
English
thirty-five
cemseng
English
one hundred