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 have 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 (the same in both systems). Because we do not have the same space restrictions as books have, we are going to give you both systems up to a hundred (traditional first and further down the new old system) and then plenty of examples above 100. Because we will need to explain a few things half way and again, we have made a break after the 10's and the 20's and stuck in the explanations there and then and then continue with 11/31 etc. There are two examples each, one for masculine and one for feminine nouns.

№	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 gob deich bròg	an deicheamh gob an deicheamh bròg

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

1) Aon and dà lenite the following consonant (bearing the rule about blocked lenition in mind). Is the noun 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. This isn't as bizarre as it may sound (yet again). Old Irish had something called the 'dual' a special number for counting two's - forms which looked very similar to the singular, so when the dual case went out of the window, pairs of things were grouped with the singular (in grammatical terms anyway). The only thing which is a reminder of this not being the singular case but something else is with feminine nouns, which slenderise after dà i.e. dà bhròig. Today this is mostly restricted to written Gaelic - but not to such a degree that you will sound odd if you do use it in spoken Gaelic, so the choice is yours. Dà also lenites adjectives following a noun regardless of its gender but does not slenderise e.g. dà ghob mhór, dà bhròig mhór. Is the numeral phrase 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 will 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 (length, monetary units etc) e.g. sgillinn (but not not 'pound' which has a plural, notaichean), mìle, tròigh, pùnnd, clach ...
Bliadhna, which actually IS an old plural form, does not change either 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 e.g. seachd craobhan móra but seachd guib mhóra.

6) Instead of aon, aonan can be used in an emphatic sense, e.g 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 and nothing before vowels for feminine nouns and t- before vowels for masculine nouns. A' chiad however is always a' chiad regardless of the gender of the noun. 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'.
EXCEPT that only a' chiad lenites a following noun i.e. even though it may be followed by a feminine noun, a' cheathramh never lenites.

8) Instead of aonamh you will see a number of variations such as aon and aona. Some people prefer to use a' chiad instead of aonamh altogether. Tritheamh is a variant of treas (behaves exactly the same way) as is dara of dàrna (behaving the same way too). We recommend the use of the system outlined here, however.

9) Ordinal numbers are "abbreviated" as follows: a' chiad > 1d; an dàrna > 2na; an treas > 3as; -eamh > Nmh. 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, e.g. 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's the numbers up to 30 No 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 naoi guib dheug naoi brògan deug an naoitheamh gob deug an naoitheamh 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 dheug ar fhichead trì brògan deug ar fhichead an treas gob ar fhichead an treas bròg ar fhichead 24 a ceithir ar fhichead ceithir guib dheug ar fhichead ceithir brògan deug ar fhichead an ceathramh gob ar fhichead a' cheathramh bròg ar fhichead 25 a cóig ar fhichead cóig guib dheug ar fhichead cóig brògan deug ar fhichead an cóigeamh gob ar fhichead a' chóigeamh bròg ar fhichead 26 a sia ar fhichead sia guib dheug ar fhichead sia brògan deug ar fhichead an siathamh gob ar fhichead an t-siathamh bròg ar fhichead 27 a seachd ar fhichead seachd guib dheug ar fhichead seachd brògan deug ar fhichead an seachdamh gob ar fhichead an t-seachdamh bròg ar fhichead 28 a h-ochd 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 29 a naoi ar fhichead naoi guib dheug ar fhichead naoi brògan deug ar fhichead an naoitheamh gob deug ar fh. an naoitheamh bròg dheug ar fh. 30 a deich ar fhichead fichead gob deug fichead bròg dheug am ficheadamh gob deug an fhicheadamh bròg dheug

   Where to start?  Slightly contrary to current usage (and of course GOC), we have 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 (thar shortened to ar).  Ok, it still doesn't explain the lenition really, but it does explain why many people pronounce air here as /aɾ/ rather than /ɛɾʲ/.  Some people do pronounce it with a slender r, probably because of seing it written air all the time.

   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 it's plural by slenderisation ... don't you just love it?

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

Ok, you're bursting for more, yes?

No counting coardinal numbers ordinal numbers 31 a h-aon deug ar fhichead aon ghob deug ar fhichead aon bhròg dheug ar fhichead an t-aonamh gob deug ar fh. an aonamh bròg dheug ar fh. 32 a dhà dheug ar fhichead dà ghob dheug ar fhichead dà bhròig dheug ar fhichead an dàrna gob deug ar fh. an dàrna bròg dheug ar fh. 33 a trì deug ar fhichead trì guib dheug ar fhichead trì brògan deug ar fhichead an treas gob deug ar fh. an treas bròg dheug ar fh. 34 a ceithir deug ar fhichead ceithir guib dheug ar fhichead ceithir brògan deug ar fhichead an ceathramh gob deug ar fh. a' cheathramh bròg dheug ar fh. 35 a cóig deug ar fhichead cóig guib dheug ar fhichead cóig brògan deug ar fhichead an cóigeamh gob deug ar fh. a' chóigeamh bhròg dheug ar fh. 36 a sia deug ar fhichead sia guib dheug ar fhichead sia brògan deug ar fhichead an siathamh gob deug ar fh. an t-siathamh bròg dheug ar fh. 37 a seachd deug ar fhichead seachd guib dheug ar fhichead seachd brògan deug ar fhichead an seachdamh gob deug ar fh. an t-seachdamh bròg dheug ar fh. 38 a h-ochd deug ar fhichead ochd guib dheug ar fhichead ochd brògan deug ar fhichead an t-ochdamh gob deug ar fh. an ochdamh bròg dheug ar fh. 39 a naoi deug ar fhichead naoi guib dheug ar fhichead naoi brògan deug ar fhichead an naoitheamh gob deug ar fh. an naoitheamh bròg dheug ar fh. 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 naoi dàichead gob is a naoi dàichead bròg is a naoi an dàicheadamh gob is a naoi an dàicheadamh bròg is a naoi 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 40mh gob is a h-aon deug an 40mh 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 40mh gob is a dhà dheug an 40mh bròg is a dhà dheug 53 dàichead is a trì deug dàichead gob is a trì deug dàichead bròg is a trì deug an 40mh gob is a trì deug an 40mh bròg is a trì deug 54 dàichead is a ceithir deug dàichead gob is a ceithir deug dàichead bròg is a ceithir deug an 40mh gob is a ceithir deug an 40mh bròg is a ceithir deug 55 dàichead is a cóig deug dàichead gob is a cóig deug dàichead bròg is a cóig deug an 40mh gob is a cóig deug an 40mh bròg is a cóig deug 56 dàichead is a sia deug dàichead gob is a sia deug dàichead bròg is a sia deug an 40mh gob is a sia deug an 40mh bròg is a sia deug 57 dàichead is a seachd deug dàichead gob is a seachd deug dàichead bròg is a seachd deug an 40mh gob is a seachd deug an 40mh 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 40mh gob is a h-ochd deug an 40mh bròg is a h-ochd deug 59 dàichead is a naoi deug dàichead gob is a naoi deug dàichead bròg is a naoi deug an 40mh gob is a naoi deug an 40mh bròg is a naoi 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 20mh gob is a h-aon an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a dhà an trì 20mh bròg is a dhà 63 trì fichead is a trì trì fichead gob is a trì trì fichead bròg is a trì an trì 20mh 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 20mh 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 20mh gob is a cóig an trì 20mh bròg is a cóig 66 trì fichead is a sia trì fichead gob is a sia trì fichead bròg is a sia an trì 20mh gob is a sia an trì 20mh bròg is a sia 67 trì fichead is a seachd trì fichead gob is a seachd trì fichead bròg is a seachd an trì 20mh gob is a seachd an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a h-ochd an trì 20mh bròg is a h-ochd 69 trì fichead is a naoi trì fichead gob is a naoi trì fichead bròg is a naoi an trì 20mh gob is a naoi an trì 20mh bròg is a naoi 70 trì fichead is a deich trì fichead gob is a deich trì fichead bròg is a deich an trì 20mh gob is a deich an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a h-aon deug an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a dhà dheug an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a trì deug an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a ceithir deug an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a cóig deug an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a sia deug an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a seachd deug an trì 20mh 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 20mh gob is a h-ochd deug an trì 20mh bròg is a h-ochd deug 79 trì fichead is a naoi deug trì fichead gob is a naoi deug trì fichead bròg is a naoi deug an trì 20mh gob is a naoi deug an trì 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a h-aon an 4 20mh bròg is a h-aon 82 ceithir fichead is a dhà ceithir fichead gob is a dhà ceithir fichead bròg is a dhà an 4 20mh gob is a dhà an 4 20mh bròg is a dhà 83 ceithir fichead is a trì ceithir fichead gob is a trì ceithir fichead bròg is a trì an 4 20mh gob is a trì an 4 20mh bròg is a trì 84 ceithir fichead is a ceithir ceithir fichead gob is a ceithir ceithir fichead bròg is a ceithir an 4 20mh gob is a ceithir an 4 20mh bròg is a ceithir 85 ceithir fichead is a cóig ceithir fichead gob is a cóig ceithir fichead bròg is a cóig an 4 20mh gob is a cóig an 4 20mh bròg is a cóig 86 ceithir fichead is a sia ceithir fichead gob is a sia ceithir fichead bròg is a sia an 4 20mh gob is a sia an 4 20mh bròg is a sia 87 ceithir fichead is a seachd ceithir fichead gob is a seachd ceithir fichead bròg is a seachd an 4 20mh gob is a seachd an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a h-ochd an 4 20mh bròg is a h-ochd 89 ceithir fichead is a naoi ceithir fichead gob is a naoi ceithir fichead bròg is a naoi an 4 20mh gob is a naoi an 4 20mh bròg is a naoi 90 ceithir fichead is a deich ceithir fichead gob is a deich ceithir fichead bròg is a deich an 4 20mh gob is a deich an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a h-aon deug an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a dhà dheug an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a trì deug an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a ceithir deug an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a cóig deug an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a sia deug an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a seachd deug an 4 20mh 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 4 20mh gob is a h-ochd deug an 4 20mh bròg is a h-ochd deug 99 ceithir fichead is a naoi deug ceithir fichead gob is a naoi deug ceithir fichead bròg is a naoi deug an 4 20mh gob is a naoi deug an 4 20mh bròg is a naoi 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

And the footnotes:

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

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

   Dàichead is a shortened form of dà fhichead.  It is not only easier to read, but also reflects the actual stress placement better (only on the dà-) when counting which is why we prefer it.

   Once you reach ceudamh, no gender distinctions are necessary anymore.

   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.

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 will get an understanding of how to tackle 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, but first of all that is 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 alway use the Gaelic numbers regardless of with whom you are speaking and then gloss it by following it with the number in English.

No counting cardinal numbers ordinal numbers 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 cheudamh, dàichead gob is a dhà dheug 592 cóig ceud, ceithir fichead is a dhà dheug cóig ceud, ceithir fichead gob is a dhà dheug an ceithir ceudamh, ceithir fichead gob is a dhà dheug 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 mìleamh, dà cheud, ochd guib dheug ar fhichead 4,673 ceithir mìle, sia ceud, trì fichead is trì deug ceithir mìle, sia cheud, trì fichead gob is trì deug an ceithir mìleamh, sia cheud, trì fichead gob is trì deug 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, dàichead gob is a cóig an sia mìleamh deug, seachd ceud, dàichead gob is a cóig 56,965 dàichead mìle is sia deug, naoi ceud, trì fichead is a cóig dàichead mìle is a sia deug, naoi ceud, trì fichead gob is a cóig an dàichead mìleamh is sia deug, naoi ceud, trì fichead gob is a cóig 200,000 dà cheud mìle dà cheud mìle gob an dà cheud mìleamh gob 143,976 ceud mìle dàichead is a trì, naoi ceud, trì fichead is a sia ceud mìle dàichead is a trì, naoi ceud, trì fichead gob is a sia an ceud mìleamh dàichead is a trì, naoi ceud, trì fichead gob is a sia 999,999 naoi ceud mìle ceithir fichead is a naoi deug, naoi ceud, ceithir fichead is a naoi deug naoi ceud mìle ceithir fichead is a naoi deug, naoi ceud, ceithir fichead gob is a naoi deug naoi ceud mìleamh ceithir fichead is a naoi deug, naoi ceud, ceithir fichead gob is a naoi deug 1,000,000 millean millean gob am milleanamh gob 5,867,835 cóig millean, ochd ceud mìle trì fichead is seachd, ochd ceud, cóig deug ar fhichead cóig millean, ochd ceud mìle trì fichead is a seachd, ochd ceud, cóig guib dheug ar fhichead an cóig milleanamh, ochd ceud mìle trì fichead is seachd, ochd ceud, cóig guib dheug ar fhichead

Footnote or ten ...

   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.

   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 remining vestiges of something Gaelic lost.  Traditionally (well, several hundred years back in Gaelic terms), the number 1-6 lenite while the numbers 7-10 nasalize.  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 also come across things like trì thaighean occasionally.

   Between 1001 and 9999, you can employ "splitting" into hundreds as you would with a year, e.g. 1267 as dà cheud dheag, trì fichead is a seachd.

   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.

   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

   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. An so on.

   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 ...

   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 dàichead 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.