The two major European Germanic languages (German & English) share a similar pattern. Eleven means "one left (over)" and twelve means "two left (over)". The next seven numbers follow the pattern of "x + ten".

The major European Romance languages share a flexible pattern. Each number set begins with the "x + ten" pattern and ends with the "ten + x" pattern, but the point of transition varies. In Spanish and Portuguese, the transistion occurs after fifteen, but in Italian and French, it occurs after sixteen. Curiously, Latin (the root of all Romance languages) follows the "x + ten" pattern from eleven to seventeen and then transitions to "two from twenty" for eighteen and "one from twenty" for nineteen.


Germanic

English

11: eleven, "one left (over)"
12: twelve, "two left (over)"
---
13: thirteen, "three + ten"
14: fourteen, "four + ten"
15: fifteen, "five + ten"
16: sixteen, "six + ten"
17: seventeen, "seven + ten"
18: eighteen, "eight + ten"
19: nineteen, "nine + ten"

German

11: elf, "one left (over)"
12: zwölf "two left (over) "
---
13: dreizehn, "three + ten"
14: vierzehn, "four + ten"
15: fünfzehn, "five + ten"
16: sechzehn, "six + ten"
17: siebzehn, "seven + ten"
18: achtzehn, "eight + ten"
19: neunzehn, "nine + ten"

Romance

Latin (included as a reference)

11: undecim, "one + ten"
12: duodecim, "two + ten"
13: tredecim, "three + ten"
14: quattuordecim, "four + ten"
15: quindecim, "five + ten"
16: sedecim, "six + ten"
17: septumdecim, "seven + ten"
---
18: duodeviginti, "two from twenty"
19: undeviginti, "one from twenty"

French

11: onze, "one + ten"
12: douze, "two + ten"
13: treize, "three + ten"
14: quatorze, "four + ten"
15: quinze, "five + ten"
16: seize, "six + ten"
---
17: dix-sept, "ten + seven"
18: dix-huit, "ten + eight"
19: dix-neuf, "ten + nine"

Spanish

11: once, "one + ten"
12: doce, "two + ten"
13: trece, "three + ten"
14: catorce, "four + ten"
15: quince, "five + ten"
---
16: dieciseis, "ten + six"
17: diecisiete, "ten + seven"
18: dieciocho, "ten + eight"
19: diecinueve, "ten + nine"

Portuguese

11: onze, "one + ten"
12: doze, "two + ten"
13: treze, "three + ten"
14: quatorze, "four + ten"
15: quinze, "five + ten"
---
16: dezesseis, "ten + six"
17: dezessete, "ten + seven"
18: dezoito, "ten + eight"
19: dezenove, "ten + nine"

Italian

11: undici, "one + ten"
12: dodici, "two + ten"
13: tredici, "three + ten"
14: quattordici, "four + ten"
15: quindici, "five + ten"
16: sedici, "six + ten"
---
17: diciassette, "ten + seven"
18: diciotto, "ten + eight"
19: diciannove, "ten + nine"

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.