NumbersHindi numbers: how the counting works
Hindi counting is harder to learn than English counting for one reason: every number from 1 to 100 has its own word. In English, once you know twenty and one to nine, you can make twenty-one to twenty-nine. In Hindi, 21 is इक्कीस, 22 is बाईस, 23 is तेईस, and each must be learnt. This page explains the patterns that make the job much lighter, the Hindi numerals, and the names of big numbers.
The Hindi (Devanagari) numerals
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ० | १ | २ | ३ | ४ | ५ | ६ | ७ | ८ | ९ |
| शून्य | एक | दो | तीन | चार | पाँच | छह | सात | आठ | नौ |
These are the digits of the Devanagari script. They work exactly like 0 to 9, with the same place value. Government use and most printing in India today use the international digits 0 to 9, and the Devanagari digits are seen in Hindi books, calendars, wedding cards and some newspapers.
Pattern 1: the ones come first
A Hindi number word puts the ones part before the tens part. In चौबीस (24), चौ is from चार (4) and बीस is 20: "four-twenty". In पैंतालीस (45), पैं is from पाँच (5) and तालीस from चालीस (40).
Pattern 2: the tens endings
| Tens | Word | Ending seen in that ten | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | बीस | -ईस, -बीस | चौबीस (24) |
| 30 | तीस | -तीस | चौंतीस (34) |
| 40 | चालीस | -तालीस, -वालीस | चौवालीस (44) |
| 50 | पचास | -वन, -पन | चौवन (54) |
| 60 | साठ | -सठ | चौंसठ (64) |
| 70 | सत्तर | -हत्तर | चौहत्तर (74) |
| 80 | अस्सी | -आसी | चौरासी (84) |
| 90 | नब्बे | -नवे | चौरानवे (94) |
Pattern 3: the "one less" numbers
The numbers ending in 9 are named from the next ten, with उन (un, "one less") in front. 19 is उन्नीस, "one less than twenty". 29 is उनतीस, 39 उनतालीस, 49 उनचास, 59 उनसठ, 69 उनहत्तर and 79 उन्यासी. The two exceptions are 89, नवासी, and 99, निन्यानवे, which are built from nine.
This is the pattern that confuses learners most: उनतीस is 29, not 39, and उनतालीस is 39, not 49.
Pairs that sound alike
- उनतीस (29) and उनतालीस (39)
- सैंतीस (37) and सैंतालीस (47)
- अड़तीस (38) and अड़तालीस (48)
- सड़सठ (67) and अड़सठ (68)
- उन्यासी (79) and नवासी (89)
- पच्चीस (25) and पचास (50) and पचपन (55)
- उनहत्तर (69) and उन्यासी (79)
Hundreds and beyond
After 100 the system becomes regular. Say the count, then the unit: दो सौ (200), पाँच हज़ार (5,000), तीन लाख (3,00,000). A full number is read from the largest unit down:
५,४३,२१,६७८ = पाँच करोड़ तैंतालीस लाख इक्कीस हज़ार छह सौ अठहत्तर
| Unit | Hindi | Value | Zeros |
|---|---|---|---|
| hundred | सौ | 100 | 2 |
| thousand | हज़ार | 1,000 | 3 |
| lakh | लाख | 1,00,000 | 5 |
| crore | करोड़ | 1,00,00,000 | 7 |
| arab | अरब | 1,00,00,00,000 | 9 |
| kharab | खरब | 1,00,00,00,00,000 | 11 |
| neel | नील | 1,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 13 |
In everyday Hindi, सौ करोड़ and अरब are both used for a hundred crore. खरब and नील are found in books and old accounts more than in daily speech.
Special words
- डेढ़ (dedh) is one and a half, and ढाई (dhaai) is two and a half: डेढ़ सौ is 150 and ढाई हज़ार is 2,500.
- सवा (sava) adds a quarter and पौने (paune) takes a quarter away: सवा दो is 2¼ and पौने तीन is 2¾. सवा सौ is 125.
- साढ़े (saadhe) adds a half from three onwards: साढ़े तीन is 3½.
Spelling variants
You will see small differences in print: छह and छः for 6, पाँच and पांच for 5, हज़ार and हजार for thousand. These are spelling choices, not different numbers. This site uses the forms most common in current school books.
See the full list of Hindi numbers from 1 to 100, or type any number into the converter to see it in Hindi words. The traditional Hindi multiplication chant is on our Tables site.