Just ask the Danish how to “calculate” their word for 90, and you will consider the French approach simplicistic.
In a way, Danish is more clear than French, because all numbers between 50 and 90 are based on the vigesimal (base-20) system.
Oh yea, “half to five” aka 4.5 times 20. Very intuitive…
90 = Half fives.
50 = Half sixty.
70 = Half (I don’t even know how to translate this)
70 = halfway to the fourth twenty
In other words, three twenties are 60, four twenties are 80, halfway between them is 70.
Same for the other ones: 50 is halfway to the third twenty, 90 is half more than the fourth twenty.
Huh? 50 is halvtreds (20 * 2.5)
70 is actually halvfjerdensindstyve, literally “half to the four(th20) times 20”. So the base number (20) * 3.5…
The problem is, Danish people can’t understand each other even with the simplest of words, so they just say halvfjerds.
🤓 Technically there are septante, octante, nonante, but it’s either considered local to some region (belgium, switzerland, etc) or old-school
or old-school
That’s the crazy part.
Septante, huitante, nonante
🇨🇭🇨🇭🇨🇭
What the fuck is wrong with people believing “octante” is used anywhere??? This is so prevailing. As far as I know no-one on earth uses “octante”. We say “huitante” And the belgians were undecisive and still use “quatre-vingt”
It seems to be the old-school version for france. I’ll edit the comment !
Re-reading my comment, I seen that it seems a bit mean, sorry. I just cannot believe how widespread this misconception is.
Parce qu’on a eu la Gaule trop longtemps !
Nonante does exist in Belgian French!
So does in Switzerland, Congo and Vallée d’Aoste.
Did you say four-twenties? 🍁💨😏
four twenties nine… four twenties ten… four twenties eleven …
Four twenties ten nine thank you very much
Ten before half four, blaze it
“French” does indeed have them, it’s just that the French don’t use them. Luckily the Belgians do.
But 70,80,90 are English numbers
Ask german how 9999 is written
Four score and seven years ago…
…flows better and sounds grander than “Eighty seven years ago”.
“Four-point-three-five score years ago”
English doesn’t have proper words for 13 to 19.
I feel like most other European languages I have heard do not either. (Well, what is “proper” anyways?) Care to share a language that does?
You need to ask OP. I’m just using “proper word” within the same context that OP is using.
I’d guess ten one, ten two, ten three
Thirteen is basically just three-ten, fourteen is four-ten, etc.
I’d argue we do have proper words for 13-19, but don’t have proper words for 11&12
Base 12 represent!
Don’t you mean base 10 ;)
You’re annoying, but thats what you wanted right?
I mean, I was being a pedantic ass, but I was trying to be playful about it.
Hehe yeah, and i was trying to give you a playful hard time too :p
Tone is hard via text.
It really is haha
Yeah Danish is a bit wild with numbers too.
What did you expect from the French
Captain Picard is French so he ought to be in a better position to answer the question than most of us.
Captain Picard and his brother were sent off to an old fashioned English boarding school by their luddite father that didn’t allow them to transport home in the evening or weekends, thus their English accents (my head canon).
Picard’s brother became indoctrinated into the same fucked up luddite philosophy and didn’t even allow 24th century fire safety technology in his home, leading to the death of him, his wife and his son due to a fire (actual canon).
I liked when they got drunk together though
we talking picard or stewart?
Considering we don’t have 24th century fire tech yet I’m guessing this is about Star Trek.
hey speak for yourself
Quatre vingt dix nuts lol gottem
Basé et nombre pilé
Me in high school french:
70: soixante-dix ohhh trippy, 60 10, why not start at 50, that’s strange so 80 will be soixante-vingt (60 20) right? … right?
80: quatre-vingt 4 20’s?
but why 60 20 and then 4 20?
Seems like my lifelong hatred for the French was justified after all!
Quatre-vingt blaze iet
