Unit 8 - Simple counting and reading the clock
Dè ’n uair a tha e? "What is the time?"
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions
For anyone used to numerals in other Indo-European languages, remembering Gaelic numbers is quite straightforward. The common origin with other tongues in this family is evident so learning to tell the time is fairly easy.
It’s worth making two points however: firstly, the 24-hour clock has still not caught on to any great degree in the Gaelic world – telling the time is still based on the 12-hour clock, morning and afternoon. Secondly, counting was traditionally based on twenties (like the old English "score") and this is still the manner in which older fluent speakers deal with numbers in Gaelic. Nowadays children in Gaelic-medium education are taught the decimal system – so learners of the language should ideally be familiar with both systems.
Let’s start by looking at the basics of counting. Up to twenty, it is identical in both systems
- aon
- one
- dhà
- two
- trì
- three
- ceithir
- four
- còig
- five
- sia
- six
- seachd
- seven
- ochd
- eight
- naoi
- nine
- deich
- ten
