Ahoj! Vitaj späť. Are you wondering how to count and use the Slovak numbers like a real pro? In this post, we will walk you through the intricate details which are related to this topic so that you can hit the road and start speaking Slovak confidently. By the end of this post, I will also give you an idea of the best language learning tool to use to master the Slovak language and continue learning how Slovak numbers are used in real-life sentences. If you are up for that, then let the learnings begin.
Slovakia is undoubtedly a beautiful country where the Slovak language is the official mode of communication. Sure you can maybe try to ‘English’ your way around Slovakia once you arrive there, but while English is gaining popularity in Slovakia, it is still not a language everyone uses. In fact, most of the languages that are spoken in Slovakia have nothing to do with English – for more information, click here. So, if you are a traveler looking to navigate the country without any hassles, learning some of the basic Slovak numbers can definitely help.
Slovak Numbers
- Numbers in Slovak is called ‘číslovky’
- In Slovak, the cardinal numbers do not have any gender differentiation, except the first two digits, 1 and 2. Both of them have a masculine, neuter and feminine version that will have to cater to the noun placed after the number.
- Meanwhile, the ordinal numbers are gendered forms, meaning they have different forms in masculine, neuter, and feminine.
Cardinal Numbers
Let me share with you some rules regarding Slovak numbers. Let’s start with the singles digits and then the tens. As a rule of thumb please do remember that numbers one and two have gendered forms. One can be ‘jeden’ or ‘jedno’ or ‘jedna’ which are the masculine, neutral, and female forms respectively. The same goes for number two – dva, dve, and dve respectively. Aside from that, the numbers all take the ones’ form as seen on the table below:
| Numbers | Slovak Numbers |
|---|---|
| 3 | tri |
| 4 | štyri |
| 5 | päť |
| 6 | šesť |
| 7 | sedem |
| 8 | osem |
| 9 | deväť |
| 0 | nula |
Additional Notes
- For 10 to 19: You have to be aware that it is easier to just memorize numbers one to twenty. That’s because the numbers before 20 were a bit unique while the numbers after 20 all follow the same rule. The number 11 to 19 all uses the same suffix -násť, which can also be translated as the suffix -teen in English, only it is used from 11 to 19.
- Ten is called desať; meanwhile, the others use the suffix mentioned before: 11 = jedenásť ;12 = dvanásť ; 13 = trinásť ; 14 = štrnásť ; 15 = pätnásť ; 16 = šestnásť ; 17 = sedemnásť ; 18 = osemnásť ; 19 = devätnásť.
- Moving on to the tens. Since the number ten is desať, hence, you can just use the basic numbers you have learned above and add dsať or desiat at the end of each number, without spacing: 20 = dvadsať ; 30 = tridsať ; 40 = štyridsať ; 50 = päťdesiat ; 60 = šesťdesiat ; 70 = sedemdesiat ; 80 = osemdesiat ; 90 = deväťdesiat
- The same rules applies to the hundreds, which is by adding ‘sto‘ to the multiplier digit, except for 100: 100 = sto ; 200 = dvesto ; 300 = tristo ; 400 = štyristo ; 500 = päťsto ; 600 = šesťsto ; 700 = sedemsto ; 800 = osemsto ; 900 = deväťsto (it is dvesto instead of dvasto because ‘sto‘ is in neuter form.
- Thousands are formed the same way too, by adding tisíc (1000) after the multiplier. Tisíc is also neuter, hence why 2000is dvetisíc , not dvatisíc. 3000 = tritisíc ; 4000 = štyritisíc ; 5000 = päťtisíc ; 6000 = šesťtisíc ; 7000 = sedemtisíc ; 8000 = osemtisíc ; 9000 = deväťtisíc.
- For compound numbers after the number 20, you can use the tens, hundreds and thousands forms from above and add the digits behind. For example:
- Twenty-four = 20+4 = dvadsať štyri
- Fifty-five = 50+5 = päťdesiatpäť
- Sixty-nine = 60+9 = šesťdesiatdeväť
- One hundred and two = 100+2 = sto dva
Here is the Cardinal number table to ease your studies:
| Numbers | Slovak Numbers |
|---|---|
| 0 | nula |
| 1 | jeden |
| 2 | dva |
| 3 | tri |
| 4 | štyri |
| 5 | päť |
| 6 | šesť |
| 7 | sedem |
| 8 | osem |
| 9 | deväť |
| 10 | desať |
| 11 | jedenásť |
| 12 | dvanásť |
| 13 | trinásť |
| 14 | štrnásť |
| 15 | pätnásť |
| 16 | šestnásť |
| 17 | sedemnásť |
| 18 | osemnásť |
| 19 | devätnásť |
| 20 | dvadsať |
| 30 | tridsať |
| 40 | štyridsať |
| 50 | päťdesiat |
| 60 | šesťdesiat |
| 70 | sedemdesiat |
| 80 | osemdesiat |
| 90 | deväťdesiat |
| 100 | sto |
| 200 | dvesto |
| 300 | tristo |
| 400 | štyristo |
| 500 | päťsto |
| 600 | šesťsto |
| 700 | sedemsto |
| 800 | osemsto |
| 900 | deväťsto |
| 1000 | tisíc |
| 2000 | dvetisíc |
| 3000 | tritisíc |
| 4000 | štyritisíc |
| 5000 | päťtisíc |
| 6000 | šesťtisíc |
| 7000 | sedemtisíc |
| 8000 | osemtisíc |
| 9000 | deväťtisíc |
| 10 | desaťtisíc |
| 100 | stotisíc |
| 1,000,000 | milión |
| 10,000,000 | desať miliónov |
| 100,000,000 | sto miliónov |
Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers or radové číslovky are the numbers telling you the order of things or the rank and position, they do not tell you the quantity. The Ordinal numbers in slovenčina have gender forms, hence they will be in masculine, feminine, and neutral forms. Here is the list of Ordinal numbers in Slovak.
| Numbers | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| 0 | nultý | nultá | nulté |
| 1st | prvý | prvá | prvé |
| 2nd | druhý | druhá | druhé |
| 3rd | tretí | tretia | tretie |
| 4th | štvrtý | štvrtá | štvrté |
| 5th | piaty | piata | piate |
| 6th | šiesty | šiesta | šieste |
| 7th | siedmy | siedma | siedme |
| 8th | ôsmy | ôsma | ôsme |
| 9th | deviaty | deviata | deviate |
| 10th | desiaty | desiata | desiate |
| 11th | jedenásty | jedenásta | jedenáste |
| 12th | dvanásty | dvanásta | dvanáste |
| 13th | trinásty | trinásta | trináste |
| 14th | štrnásty | štrnásta | štrnáste |
| 15th | pätnásty | pätnásta | pätnáste |
| 16th | šestnásty | šestnásta | šestnáste |
| 17th | sedemnásty | sedemnásta | sedemnáste |
| 18th | osemnásty | osemnásta | osemnáste |
| 19th | devätnásty | devätnásta | devätnáste |
| 20th | dvadsiaty | dvadsiata | dvadsiate |
To make it clear about the gender categorization, here are some example sentences and phrases that make use of counting numbers:
| Male | Female | Neutral |
| The first man walks away. Prvý muž odchádza. | The first woman walks away. Prvá žena odchádza. | The first child walks away. Prvé dieťa odíde. |
| The second table Druhý stôl | The second chair Druhá stolička | The second apple Druhé jablko |
| The sixth dictionary Šiesty slovník | The sixth book Šiesta kniha | The sixth place Šieste miesto |
As you can see, the ending of each ordinal number has the same suffix for each gender, making it easier for you to memorize. Though, to be honest, it’s fine for you to memorize just up until the tenth, as a beginner. Good luck!
Ready For The Next Step?
Have you memorized the numbers and the rules? What’s next after the numbers and counting? Maybe look into what numbers and counting for other languages look like or you can try to learn Slovak as a whole. Learning a new language is not easy but why go the hard way when you have the easy way? Ling App offers an easy way for folks like us to learn a new language, where you can familiarize yourself with the grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and many other aspects you need to know to master a language. So, don’t wait and go download the Ling App right now!
