Counting to ten in Basque
One to ten, for prices, platforms, rooms and how many beers. Play the ten Basque words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Basque phrases in this lesson
- Batbat
- One
- Bibee
- Two
- HiruHEE-roo
- Three
- Laulow
- Four
- Bostbost
- Five
- SeiSAY
- Six
- ZazpiSAS-pee
- Seven
- ZortziSOR-tsee
- Eight
- Bederatzibe-de-RA-tsee
- Nine
- HamarA-mar
- Ten
In Basque, the number comes after the noun: "garagardo bat" (one beer). This is the opposite of English and trips up many learners at first.
Short and easy. Used to order doubles or ask for two of anything. Hold up two fingers to remove all ambiguity.
The "h" in Basque is silent in most dialects, so this can sound like "ee-roo." Do not worry too much: context and fingers make numbers clear.
Rhymes with the English word "low." Simple and memorable. Useful for table sizes: "lau pertsona" (four people).
One syllable, easy to remember. Basque number words are entirely unique: they share no roots with Spanish, French, or any other European language.
"Zazpiak bat", the seven are one, is the old motto of the seven Basque provinces.
Basque counts in twenties: forty is berrogei (be-rro-GAY), two twenties.