Numerals or How to write a cheque in Gaelic

Numbers ... yes, oh what joy, but there's no avoiding them. There are three sets of numbers in Gaelic, just to keep life interesting, plus an old 'new way' they've dug up to make mathematics 'easier' for children in Gaelic Medium Education.

The first set of numbers is the "basic" set of numbers, the one you use for counting things. The second set is used if you're simply counting or giving a phone number, and the third for counting people which is the same in both systems. Because we do not have the same space restrictions as books have, we're going to give you both systems up to a hundred. The traditional shows first, the new old system shows further down, and then come plenty of examples above 100. Because we'll need to explain a few things half way, and again, we've made a break after the 10's and the 20's, stuck in the explanations at those breaks, and then continue with 11/31, etc. There are two examples for each number, one for masculine and one for feminine nouns.

Zero to ten

№	counting	cardinal numbers (one beak, two beaks ...)	ordinal numbers (first, second ...)
0	a neoini	neoini gob neoini bròg
1	a h-aon	aon ghob (m) aon bhròg (f)	a' chiad ghob a' chiad bhròg
2	a dhà	dà ghob dà bhròig	an dàrna gob an dàrna bròg
3	a trì	trì guib trì brògan	an treas gob an treas bròg
4	a ceithir	ceithir guib ceithir brògan	an ceathramh gob a' cheathramh bròg
5	a cóig	cóig guib cóig brògan	an cóigeamh gob a' chóigeamh bròg
6	a sia	sia guib sia brògan	an siathamh gob an t-siathamh bròg
7	a seachd	seachd guib seachd brògan	an seachdamh gob an t-seachdamh bròg
8	a h-ochd	ochd guib ochd brògan	an t-ochdamh gob an ochdamh bròg
9	a naoidh	naoidh guib naoidh brògan	an naoidheamh gob an naoidheamh bròg
10	a deich	deich guib deich brògan	an deicheamh gob an deicheamh bròg

Notes

Fun, isn't it? It's going to get even better ... but first the footnotes:

1) Aon and dà lenite the following consonant but keep in mind the rule about blocked lenition. If the noun is followed by adjectives, dà lenites these as well e.g. dà thaigh mhór bhrèagha.

2) Dà is not followed by the plural, but what appears to be the singular. Yet again, this is not as bizarre as it may sound. Old Irish had something called the 'dual', a special number for counting things that presented in the number two. The dual forms looked very similar to the singular. So, when the dual case went out the window, pairs of things were grouped with the singular, in grammatical terms anyway. The only reminder of this not being the singular case, but something else, is seen with feminine nouns which slenderise after dà i.e. dà bhròig. Today, this is mostly restricted to written Gaelic - but not restricted to such a degree that you'll sound odd if you use it in spoken Gaelic, so the choice is yours. Dà also lenites adjectives following a noun regardless of its gender, but it does not slenderise, for example, dà ghob mhór, dà bhròig mhór. If the numeral phrase is in the dative or genitive, the adjectives decline normally, thus: leis an dà ghob mhór, leis an dà bhròig mhóir and an dà ghuib mhóir, an dà bhròige móire. Notice that an is used in the genitive with feminine nouns rather than na.

3) When preceded by a, dà changes to a dhà. Notwithstanding, you'll hear people say things like dhà chù. Also, a prefixes h- to the numbers beginning with a vowel, thus you get a h-aon and a h-ochd.

4) The singular is used with dusan, fichead, multiples of fichead, ceud and mìle, millean etc. The singular is also used with measures such as length and monetary units such as mìle, tròigh, pùnnd, clach. With sgillinn, the singular is used but it's not used with not, a 'pound', which takes the plural, notaichean...
Bliadhna, which actually IS an old plural form, also does not change when counting, even though you say things like bliadhnaichean air ais 'years ago'. Other time terms take the plural just as other nouns e.g. uairean, mionaidean, seachdainnean ...

5) Remember to lenite your adjectives after a masculine noun that pluralises by slenderisation, for example, seachd craobhan móra but seachd guib mhóra.

6) Instead of aon, aonan can be used in an emphatic sense, for example, có mheud a bha ann? Aonan!! 'How many were there? One!!'. Alternatively, you could answer Dìreach aon!

7) The ordinal numbers obey the rules for case according to gender i.e. prefix t- in front of s, nothing before vowels for feminine nouns, and t- before vowels for masculine nouns. However, a' chiad is always a' chiad. It's an anomaly, because the a' always lenites chiad, whatever the gender of the following noun, for example, a' chiad bhròg and a' chiad taigh. One would except *an ciad taigh, but that never happens.

Deug lenites after feminine nouns as if it were an adjective. Adjectives themselves behave "normally" as if it were a simple noun phrase i.e. an t-siathamh bhròg mhór dheug 'the 16th big shoe' or air an t-siathamh bhròig mhóir dheug 'on the 16th big shoe'. Also note that a' cheathramh never lenites.

8) Instead of aonamh you will see a number of variations such as aon and aona. Some people always prefer to use a' chiad instead of aonamh. Similarly, tritheamh is a variant of treas, as is dara of dàrna. They behave the same way, meaning nothing happens, so you can have an dàrna/dara taigh/cas, or an treas/tritheamh taigh/cas. However, we recommend the use of the system outlined here.

9) Ordinal numbers are "abbreviated" as follows: a' chiad » 1d; an dàrna » 2na; an treas » 3as and over that, -(e)amh (ceathreamh, còigeamh, siathamh...). Above 20, however, 1d becomes 1mh because it changes from a' chiad to an aonamh.

10) a' chiad becomes na ciad in phrases like na ciad eòin 'the first birds', similarly na dàrna, na treas etc. Ordinal numbers can also be lenited, for example, by the possessive pronouns do dhàrna bean 'your second wife'.

11) There is a strong tendency in the spoken language to neutralise the masc/fem distinction if a numeral occurs between the definite article and the thing being counted. In other words, lots of people say an aonamh gob deug instead of an t-aonamh gob deug.

OK, enough footnotes ... here are the numbers up to 30

Eleven to thirty

№	counting	cardinal numbers (one beak, two beaks ...)	ordinal numbers (first, second ...)
11	a h-aon deug	aon ghob deug aon bhròg dheug	an t-aonamh gob deug an aonamh bròg dheug
12	a dhà dheug	dà ghob deug dà bhròig dheug	an dàrna gob deug an dàrna bròg dheug
13	a trì deug	trì guib dheug trì brògan deug	an treas gob deug an treas bròg dheug
14	a ceithir deug	ceithir guib dheug ceithir brògan deug	an ceathramh gob deug a' cheathramh bròg dheug
15	a cóig deug	cóig guib dheug cóig brògan deug	an cóigeamh gob deug a' chóigeamh bròg dheug
16	a sia deug	sia guib dheug sia brògan deug	an siathamh gob deug an t-siathamh bròg dheug
17	a seachd deug	seachd guib dheug seachd brògan deug	an seachdamh gob deug an t-seachdamh bròg dheug
18	a h-ochd deug	ochd guib dheug ochd brògan deug	an t-ochdamh gob deug an ochdamh bròg dheug
19	a naoi deug	naoidh guib dheug naoidh brògan deug	an naoidheamh gob deug an naoidheamh bròg dheug
20	fichead	fichead gob fichead bròg	am ficheadamh gob an fhicheadamh bròg
21	a h-aon ar fhichead	aon ghob ar fhichead aon bhròg ar fhichead	an t-aonamh gob ar fhichead an aonamh bròg ar fhichead
22	a dhà ar fhichead	dà ghob ar fhichead dà bhròig ar fhichead	an dàrna gob ar fhichead an dàrna bròg ar fhichead
23	a trì ar fhichead	trì guib ar fhichead trì brògan ar fhichead	an treas gob ar fhichead an treas bròg ar fhichead
24	a ceithir ar fhichead	ceithir guib ar fhichead ceithir brògan ar fhichead	an ceathramh gob ar fhichead a' cheathramh bròg ar fhichead
25	a cóig ar fhichead	cóig guib ar fhichead cóig brògan ar fhichead	an cóigeamh gob ar fhichead a' chóigeamh bròg ar fhichead
26	a sia ar fhichead	sia guib ar fhichead sia brògan ar fhichead	an siathamh gob ar fhichead an t-siathamh bròg ar fhichead
27	a seachd ar fhichead	seachd guib ar fhichead seachd ar fhichead	an seachdamh gob ar fhichead an t-seachdamh bròg ar fhichead
28	a h-ochd ar fhichead	ochd guib ar fhichead ochd brògan ar fhichead	an t-ochdamh gob ar fhichead an ochdamh bròg ar fhichead
29	a naoidh ar fhichead	naoidh guib ar fhichead naoidh ar fhichead	an naoidheamh gob ar fhichead an naoidheamh bròg ar fhichead
30	a deich ar fhichead	fichead gob deug fichead bròg dheug	am ficheadamh gob deug an fhicheadamh bròg dheug

Notes

1) Where to start? Slightly contrary to current usage (and of course GOC), we've used ar instead of air. Actually the Gaelic way of saying thirty etc. is not <ten on twenty> but <ten over twenty> - deich thar fhichead, with thar shortened to ar. OK, it still doesn't really explain the lenition, but it does explain why many people pronounce air as /ar/ rather than /ɛrʲ/ in this situation. Some people do pronounce it with a slender r, probably because of seeing it written air all the time.

2) Note that the nouns lenite the numbers as if they were adjectives - so bròg being feminine lenites deug and guib lenites deug because it is an indefinite masculine noun which forms its plural by slenderisation. Don't you just love it?

3) Full multiples of twenty are not preceded by a when counting, thus a deich, but fichead, and fichead is a deich, but dàichead.

OK, you're bursting for more, yes?

Thirty to 100+

№	counting	cardinal numbers (one beak, two beaks ...)	ordinal numbers (first, second ...)
31	a h-aon deug ar fhichead	aon ghob deug ar fhichead aon bhròg dheug ar fhichead	an t-aonamh gob deug ar fhichead an aonamh bròg dheug ar fhichead
32	a dhà dheug ar fhichead	dà ghob dheug ar fhichead dà bhròig dheug ar fhichead	an dàrna gob deug ar fhichead an dàrna bròg dheug ar fhichead
33	a trì deug ar fhichead	trì guib dheug ar fhichead trì brògan deug ar fhichead	an treas gob deug ar fhichead an treas bròg dheug ar fhichead
34	a ceithir deug ar fhichead	ceithir guib dheug ar fhichead ceithir brògan deug ar fhichead	an ceathramh gob deug ar fhichead a' cheathramh bròg dheug ar fhichead
35	a cóig deug ar fhichead	cóig guib dheug ar fhichead cóig brògan deug ar fhichead	an cóigeamh gob deug ar fhichead a' chóigeamh bhròg dheug ar fhichead
36	a sia deug ar fhichead	sia guib dheug ar fhichead sia brògan deug ar fhichead	an siathamh gob deug ar fhichead an t-siathamh bròg dheug ar fhichead
37	a seachd deug ar fhichead	seachd guib dheug ar fhichead seachd brògan deug ar fhichead	an seachdamh gob deug ar fhichead an t-seachdamh bròg dheug ar fhichead
38	a h-ochd deug ar fhichead	ochd guib dheug ar fhichead ochd brògan deug ar fhichead	an t-ochdamh gob deug ar fhichead an ochdamh bròg dheug ar fhichead
39	a naoidh deug ar fhichead	naoidh guib dheug ar fhichead naoidh brògan deug ar fhichead	an naoidheamh gob deug ar fhichead an naoidheamh bròg dheug ar fhichead
40	dàichead	dàichead gob dàichead bròg	an dàicheadamh gob an dàicheadamh bròg
41	dàichead is a h-aon	dàichead gob is a h-aon dàichead bròg is a h-aon	an dàicheadamh gob is a h-aon an dàicheadamh bròg is a h-aon
42	dàichead is a dhà	dàichead gob is a dhà dàichead bròg is a dhà	an dàicheadamh gob is a dhà an dàicheadamh bròg is a dhà
43	dàichead is a trì	dàichead gob is a trì dàichead bròg is a trì	an dàicheadamh gob is a trì an dàicheadamh bròg is a trì
44	dàichead is a ceithir	dàichead gob is a ceithir dàichead bròg is a ceithir	an dàicheadamh gob is a ceithir an dàicheadamh bròg is a ceithir
45	dàichead is a cóig	dàichead gob is a cóig dàichead bròg is a cóig	an dàicheadamh gob is a cóig an dàicheadamh bròg is a cóig
46	dàichead is a sia	dàichead gob is a sia dàichead bròg is a sia	an dàicheadamh gob is a sia an dàicheadamh bròg is a sia
47	dàichead is a seachd	dàichead gob is a seachd dàichead bròg is a seachd	an dàicheadamh gob is a seachd an dàicheadamh bròg is a seachd
48	dàichead is a h-ochd	dàichead gob is a h-ochd dàichead bròg is a h-ochd	an dàicheadamh gob is a h-ochd an dàicheadamh bròg is a h-ochd
49	dàichead is a naoidh	dàichead gob is a naoidh dàichead bròg is a naoidh	an dàicheadamh gob is a naoidh an dàicheadamh bròg is a naoidh
50	dàichead is a deich	dàichead gob is a deich dàichead bròg is a deich	an dàicheadamh gob is a deich an dàicheadamh bròg is a deich
51	dàichead is a h-aon deug	dàichead gob is a h-aon deug dàichead bròg is a h-aon deug	an dàicheadamh gob is a h-aon deug an dàicheadamh bròg is a h-aon deug
52	dàichead is a dhà dheug	dàichead gob is a dhà dheug dàichead bròg is a dhà dheug	an dàicheadamh gob is a dhà dheug an dàicheadamh bròg is a dhà dheug
53	dàichead is a trì deug	dàichead gob is a trì deug dàichead bròg is a trì deug	an dàicheadamh gob is a trì deug an dàicheadamh bròg is a trì deug
54	dàichead is a ceithir deug	dàichead gob is a ceithir deug dàichead bròg is a ceithir deug	an dàicheadamh gob is a ceithir deug an dàicheadamh bròg is a ceithir deug
55	dàichead is a cóig deug	dàichead gob is a cóig deug dàichead bròg is a cóig deug	an dàicheadamh gob is a cóig deug an dàicheadamh bròg is a cóig deug
56	dàichead is a sia deug	dàichead gob is a sia deug dàichead bròg is a sia deug	an dàicheadamh gob is a sia deug an dàicheadamh bròg is a sia deug
57	dàichead is a seachd deug	dàichead gob is a seachd deug dàichead bròg is a seachd deug	an dàicheadamh gob is a seachd deug an dàicheadamh bròg is a seachd deug
58	dàichead is a h-ochd deug	dàichead gob is a h-ochd deug dàichead bròg is a h-ochd deug	an dàicheadamh gob is a h-ochd deug an dàicheadamh bròg is a h-ochd deug
59	dàichead is a naoidh deug	dàichead gob is a naoidh deug dàichead bròg is a naoidh deug	an dàicheadamh gob is a naoidh deug an dàicheadamh bròg is a naoidh deug
60	trì fichead	trì fichead gob trì fichead bròg	an trì ficheadamh gob an trì ficheadamh bròg
61	trì fichead is a h-aon	trì fichead gob is a h-aon trì fichead bròg is a h-aon	an trì ficheadamh gob is a h-aon an trì ficheadamh bròg is a h-aon
62	trì fichead is a dhà	trì fichead gob is a dhà trì fichead bròg is a dhà	an trì ficheadamh gob is a dhà an trì ficheadamh bròg is a dhà
63	trì fichead is a trì	trì fichead gob is a trì trì fichead bròg is a trì	an trì ficheadamh gob is a trì an trì 20mh bròg is a trì
64	trì fichead is a ceithir	trì fichead gob is a ceithir trì fichead bròg is a ceithir	an trì ficheadamh gob is a ceithir an trì 20mh bròg is a ceithir
65	trì fichead is a cóig	trì fichead gob is a cóig trì fichead bròg is a cóig	an trì ficheadmh gob is a cóig an trì ficheadamh bròg is a cóig
66	trì fichead is a sia	trì fichead gob is a sia trì fichead bròg is a sia	an trì ficheadamh gob is a sia an trì ficheadamh bròg is a sia
67	trì fichead is a seachd	trì fichead gob is a seachd trì fichead bròg is a seachd	an trì ficheadamh gob is a seachd an trì ficheadamh bròg is a seachd
68	trì fichead is a h-ochd	trì fichead gob is a h-ochd trì fichead bròg is a h-ochd	an trì ficheadamh gob is a h-ochd an trì ficheadamh bròg is a h-ochd
69	trì fichead is a naoidh	trì fichead gob is a naoidh trì fichead bròg is a naoidh	an trì ficheadamh gob is a naoidh an trì ficheadamh bròg is a naoidh
70	trì fichead is a deich	trì fichead gob is a deich trì fichead bròg is a deich	an trì ficheadamh gob is a deich an trì ficheadamh bròg is a deich
71	trì fichead is a h-aon deug	trì fichead gob is a h-aon deug trì fichead bròg is a h-aon deug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a h-aon deug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a h-aon deug
72	trì fichead is a dhà dheug	trì fichead gob is a dhà dheug trì fichead bròg is a dhà dheug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a dhà dheug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a dhà dheug
73	trì fichead is a trì deug	trì fichead gob is a trì deug trì fichead bròg is a trì deug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a trì deug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a trì deug
74	trì fichead is a ceithir deug	trì fichead gob is a ceithir deug trì fichead bròg is a ceithir deug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a ceithir deug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a ceithir deug
75	trì fichead is a cóig deug	trì fichead gob is a cóig deug trì fichead bròg is a cóig deug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a cóig deug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a cóig deug
76	trì fichead is a sia deug	trì fichead gob is a sia deug trì fichead bròg is a sia deug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a sia deug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a sia deug
77	trì fichead is a seachd deug	trì fichead gob is a seachd deug trì fichead bròg is a seachd deug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a seachd deug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a seachd deug
78	trì fichead is a h-ochd deug	trì fichead gob is a h-ochd deug trì fichead bròg is a h-ochd deug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a h-ochd deug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a h-ochd deug
79	trì fichead is a naoidh deug	trì fichead gob is a naoidh deug trì fichead bròg is a naoidh deug	an trì ficheadamh gob is a naoidh deug an trì ficheadamh bròg is a naoi deug
80	ceithir fichead	ceithir fichead gob ceithir fichead bròg	an ceithir ficheadamh gob an ceithir ficheadamh bròg
81	ceithir fichead is a h-aon	ceithir fichead gob is a h-aon ceithir fichead bròg is a h-aon	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a h-aon an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a h-aon
82	ceithir fichead is a dhà	ceithir fichead gob is a dhà ceithir fichead bròg is a dhà	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a dhà an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a dhà
83	ceithir fichead is a trì	ceithir fichead gob is a trì ceithir fichead bròg is a trì	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a trì an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a trì
84	ceithir fichead is a ceithir	ceithir fichead gob is a ceithir ceithir fichead bròg is a ceithir	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a ceithir an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a ceithir
85	ceithir fichead is a cóig	ceithir fichead gob is a cóig ceithir fichead bròg is a cóig	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a cóig an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a cóig
86	ceithir fichead is a sia	ceithir fichead gob is a sia ceithir fichead bròg is a sia	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a sia an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a sia
87	ceithir fichead is a seachd	ceithir fichead gob is a seachd ceithir fichead bròg is a seachd	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a seachd an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a seachd
88	ceithir fichead is a h-ochd	ceithir fichead gob is a h-ochd ceithir fichead bròg is a h-ochd	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a h-ochd an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a h-ochd
89	ceithir fichead is a naoi	ceithir fichead gob is a naoidh ceithir fichead bròg is a naoidh	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a naoidh an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a naoidh
90	ceithir fichead is a deich	ceithir fichead gob is a deich ceithir fichead bròg is a deich	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a deich an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a deich
91	ceithir fichead is a h-aon deug	ceithir fichead gob is a h-aon deug ceithir fichead bròg is a h-aon deug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a h-aon deug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a h-aon deug
92	ceithir fichead is a dhà dheug	ceithir fichead gob is a dhà dheug ceithir fichead bròg is a dhà dheug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a dhà dheug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a dhà dheug
93	ceithir fichead is a trì deug	ceithir fichead gob is a trì deug ceithir fichead bròg is a trì deug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a trì deug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a trì deug
94	ceithir fichead is a ceithir deug	ceithir fichead gob is a ceithir deug ceithir fichead bròg is a ceithir deug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a ceithir deug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a ceithir deug
95	ceithir fichead is a cóig deug	ceithir fichead gob is a cóig deug ceithir fichead bròg is a cóig deug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a cóig deug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a cóig deug
96	ceithir fichead is a sia deug	ceithir fichead gob is a sia deug ceithir fichead bròg is a sia deug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a sia deug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a sia deug
97	ceithir fichead is a seachd deug	ceithir fichead gob is a seachd deug ceithir fichead bròg is a seachd deug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a seachd deug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a seachd deug
98	ceithir fichead is a h-ochd deug	ceithir fichead gob is a h-ochd deug ceithir fichead bròg is a h-ochd deug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a h-ochd deug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a h-ochd deug
99	ceithir fichead is a naoidh deug	ceithir fichead gob is a naoidh deug ceithir fichead bròg is a naoidh deug	an ceithir ficheadamh gob is a naoidh deug an ceithir ficheadamh bròg is a naoidh deug
100	ceud	ceud gob ceud bròg	an ceudamh gob an ceudamh bròg
101	ceud is a h-aon	ceud gob is a h-aon ceud bròg is a h-aon	an ceudamh gob is a h-aon an ceudamh bròg is a h-aon
102	ceud is a dhà	ceud gob is a dhà ceud bròg is a dhà	an ceudamh gob is a dhà an ceudamh bròg is a dhà
103	ceud is a trì	ceud gob is a trì ceud bròg is a trì	an ceudamh gob is a trì an ceudamh bròg is a trì

Notes

And the footnotes:

1) 50: Instead of dàichead is a deich, leth cheud can be used, which does not lenite.

2) In spoken Gaelic, is a is often shortened to 's a /sə/ - not to be confused with sa 'in the'.

3) Dàichead is a shortened form of dà fhichead. Dàichead is both easier to read and also reflects the actual stress placement better (only on the dà-) when counting, which is why we prefer it.

4) Once you reach ceudamh, no gender distinctions are necessary any more.

5) Sometimes, the vigesimal system is used up to 200 i.e. cóig fichead, sia fichead, seachd fichead, ochd fichead, naoi fichead, but never beyond that.

Higher Still

Yes, we said we'd only go up to a hundred, but in real life we need to tackle larger numbers too. So, here are a few further key numbers so you'll get an understanding of how to deal with larger numbers. And yes, many a Gaelic teacher will tell you that most Gaels use English numbers when counting anything complex above 50 or 100. First of all, that's beside the point, and secondly that has much to do with the fact that almost all Gaelic speaking adults over 20 have been educated through the medium of English, particularly when it comes to maths which is not a subject commonly taught in GME, especially not at secondary level. Go on, how good are your number skills in French or German over 50?

So, do learn how to express these numbers, but we advise caution as to with whom you can use them: learners, teachers, very literate native speakers and young people who have had GME. If you feel like doing some language planning, you can always use the Gaelic numbers, regardless of with whom you're speaking, then gloss it by following it with the number in English.

№	counting	cardinal numbers (one beak, two beaks ...)	ordinal numbers (first, second ...)
105	ceud is a cóig	ceud gob is a cóig	an ceudamh gob is a còig
125	ceud, fichead is a cóig	ceud, fichead gob is a cóig	an ceudamh, cóig guib ar fhichead
220	dà cheud is fichead	dà cheud gob is fichead	an dà cheudamh gob ar fhichead
400	ceithir ceud	ceithir cheud gob	an ceithir cheudamh gob
552	cóig cheud, dàichead is a dhà dheug	cóig cheud, dàichead gob is a dhà dheug	an cóig ceud, caogadamh gob is a dhà
592	cóig ceud, ceithir fichead is a dhà dheug	cóig ceud, ceithir fichead gob is a dhà dheug	an ceithir ceud, naochadamh gob is a dhà
1,000	mìle	mìle gob	am mìleamh gob
1,238	mìle, dà cheud, ochd deug ar fhichead	mìle, dà cheud, ochd guib dheug ar fhichead	am mìle, dà cheud, tritheadamh gob 's a h-ochd deug
4,673	ceithir mìle, sia ceud, trì fichead is trì deug	ceithir mìle, sia cheud, seasgad gob is trì deug	an ceithir mìle, sia ceud, seachdadmh gob is a trì
10,000	deich mìle	deich mìle gob	an deich mìleamh gob
16,745	sia mìle deug, seachd ceud, dàichead is a cóig	sia mìle deug, seachd ceud, ceathrad gob is a cóig	an sia mìle deug, seachd ceud, ceathradamh gob is a cóig
56,965	dàichead mìle is sia deug, naoidh ceud, trì fichead is a cóig	ceathrad mìle is a sia deug, naoidh ceud, trì fichead gob is a cóig	an caogad mìle ’s sia, naoidh ceud, seasgadamh gob is a cóig
200,000	dà cheud mìle	dà cheud mìle gob	an dà cheud mìleamh gob
143,976	ceud ceathrad ’s a trì mìle, naoidh ceud, trì fichead is a sia	ceud mìle ceathrad is a trì, naoidh ceud, trì fichead gob is a sia	an ceud mìle ceathrad is a trì, naoidh ceud, seachdadamh gob is a sia
999,999	naoidh ceud mìle ceithir fichead is a naoidh deug, naoidh ceud, ceithir fichead is a naoidh deug	naoidh ceud mìle ceithir fichead is a naoidh deug, naoidh ceud, ceithir fichead gob is a naoidh deug	naoidh ceud naochad ’s a naoidh mìle, naoidh ceud naochadamh gob is a naoidh
1,000,000	millean	millean gob	am milleanamh gob
5,867,835	cóig millean, ochd ceud mìle seasgad ’s a seachd, ochd ceud, trithead 's a cóig	cóig millean, ochd ceud mìle seasgad 's a seachd, ochd ceud, cóig guib dheug ar fhichead	an cóig millean, ochd ceud seasgad mìle is a seachd, ochd ceud, tritheadamh gob 's a cóig

Notes

Footnotes related to 10:

1) The comma is only "notional" that is, it's a "speech break" you put in when saying the number. You don't actually write it when spelling out numbers. We just put them in here to demonstrate where the breaks would be.

2) The numbers 2-6 lenite ceud, so you get dà cheud, trì cheud, ceithir cheud, cóig cheud and sia cheud. This is NOT completely arbitrary but the last remaining vestiges of something Gaelic lost. Traditionally (well, several hundred years back in Gaelic terms), the number 1-6 lenited while the numbers 7-10 nasalized. Meaning? Well, seeing Irish still does this, let's have a look at how you count boats in Irish: bád, dhá bhád, trí bhád, ceithre bhád, cúig bhád, sé bhád, seacht mbád, ocht mbád, naoi mbád, deich mbád. Cool, isn't it? Gaelic stopped doing this a long time ago - except with the word ceud, for whatever reason. In older texts, you might occasionally come across things like trì thaighean.

3) Between 1001 and 9999, you can employ "splitting" into hundreds as you would with a year, e.g. 1267 as dà cheud deug, seasgad is a seachd.

4) As mentioned above, there is the possibility to express numbers up to 200 in twenties e.g. 136 as ceud, sia deug ar fhichead or sia fichead is a sia deug. So 136 ice-creams would be sia fichead reòiteag is a deich.

5) Leth refers to a half of the previous largest round 100, 1,000, 10,000 etc unit. This gives a value of 50, 500, 5,000 etc. These are then combined to give 150, 1,500, 15,000 etc. Enter the "illogical" step. You might imagine that trì cheud gu leth equals 450. Wrong. It equals 350. This principle applies at each level (100, 1,000, 10,000 etc). You can then add the numbers 1-9 to these expressions, but once you hit the next full 10, you have to revert to the "normal" way of counting, e.g. dà mhìle gu leth, dà mhìle gu leth is a h-aon, dà mhìle gu leth is a dhà ... dà mhìle gu leth is a naoi, dà mhìle is trì fichead. Leth cheud, leth mhìle etc. work the same way. Alternatively, you can just stick to the "normal" numbers

6) Possessives ... the ones that lenite, lenite numbers and the ones that add n- add n- to numbers beginning with vowels: mo dhà shùil, a thrì taighean, ar n-ochd caraidean, and so on.

7) Plurals. Numbers form their plurals 'relatively' regularly by adding -(e)an, -than, -dhean, -tean: aon » aonan, dà » dàthan, trì » trìthean, ceithir » ceithirean, cóig » cóigean, sia » siathan, seachd » seachdan, ochd » ochdan, naoi » naoidhean, deich » deichean, fichead » ficheadan, ceud » ceudan, mìle » mìltean, millean » milleanan. When will you ever need that? Well, try saying "I shook four sixes in a row" without using a plural of six ...

8) And last but not least, there is a tendency to stick the thing being counted at the very end with large numbers, especially with monetary units, so ¥51.655 would be leth-cheud mìle, sia ceud, trì fichead is a cóig Yen rather than dàichead mìle, sia ceud, trì fichead Yen is a cóig.

Hooray, you've cracked it ... except that Gaelic educationalists have had other plans .... Oh, and there's a separate page on how to give the date and time in Gaelic.