Twenty in different languages

Twenty in Different Languages

Discover 'Twenty' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The number twenty is significant in many cultures and languages around the world. In English, we often associate twenty with a sense of abundance and completeness, as seen in phrases like 'twenty-something' and 'two dozen'. But did you know that in Chinese, the word for twenty is 'èrshí', which is a combination of the words for 'two' and 'ten'? Or that in Japanese, the word for twenty is 'hatachi', which also means 'the age of twenty'?

Understanding the translations of twenty in different languages can give us insight into the unique cultural and linguistic traditions of different societies. For example, in some African languages, the word for twenty is based on the concept of 'two hands', reflecting the importance of community and collaboration in these cultures. And in many indigenous languages of the Americas, the word for twenty is related to the concept of 'completeness', as it is often used to describe a full cycle or a complete set.

So whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or just someone who's curious about different cultures, learning the translations of twenty in different languages is a great place to start. Here are some examples to get you started:

Twenty


Twenty in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanstwintig
In Dutch, "twintig" means "twenty", while its cognate "twintig" in Afrikaans can also mean "quarrel".
Amharicሃያ
The Amharic word "ሃያ" also means "one hundred" when used in the context of counting money.
Hausaashirin
The word ashirin also means 'the period of 20 days following the birth of a child'.
Igboiri abụọ
"Iri abụọ" is an Igbo compound word meaning "second ten". It is used to count objects or people in groups of ten.
Malagasyroa-polo amby
“Roa-polo amby” derives from "roa-polo" (ten-ten) and "amby" (half)
Nyanja (Chichewa)makumi awiri
The word "makumi awiri" derives from the words "makumi" (tens) and "awiri" (two), reflecting its literal meaning of "two tens".
Shonamakumi maviri
Somalilabaatan
Alternate meanings of 'labaatan' include 'twentieth' and 'decade'.
Sesothomashome a mabeli
Swahiliishirini
*Ishirini* likely derives from Proto-Bantu *kumi na ishiri* "ten and one more group".
Xhosaamashumi amabini
The Xhosa word 'Amashumi amabini' is also used as an idiom to refer to a large number or an unspecified quantity.
Yorubaogún
The word "ogún" can also refer to a traditional Yoruba deity associated with war and ironworking.
Zuluamashumi amabili
The word amashumi amabili means "twenty" in Zulu and is often used when referring to a group of people, animals, or things.
Bambaramugan
Eweblaeve
Kinyarwandamakumyabiri
Lingalantuku mibale
Lugandaamakumi abiri
Sepedimasomepedi
Twi (Akan)aduonu

Twenty in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicعشرين
The word "عشرين" may also refer to the number of days of the lunar month or to the day of atonement in the Jewish calendar.
Hebrewעשרים
The term "עשרים" ("twenty") is rooted in the Semitic word for "ten," as opposed to the Indo-European basis for most other Hebrew numbers.
Pashtoشل
The Pashto word "شل" can also mean "a large basket" or "a large pot".
Arabicعشرين
The word "عشرين" may also refer to the number of days of the lunar month or to the day of atonement in the Jewish calendar.

Twenty in Western European Languages

Albaniannjëzet
The Albanian word
Basquehogei
The word “hogei” is a Basque loanword, likely of Celtic origin, having a cognate in Breton “hugain.”
Catalanvint
Vint comes from Latin 'viginti', which also relates to 'twin' as 'vinculum', and is the origin of 'vendetta'.
Croatiandvadeset
The word "dvadeset" is likely derived from the Proto-Slavic word "dъva" (two) and the word "desęte" (ten). Alternatively, it might also be derived from the Proto-Indo-European word "dvi" (two) and the word "dekat" (ten).
Danishtyve
The word "tyve" in Danish can also mean "thief" or "rogue".
Dutchtwintig
The word 'twintig' is derived from the Old Dutch word 'tweentig', meaning 'two tens'.
Englishtwenty
The word 'twenty' originates from the Old English word 'twentig,' which means 'two tens.'
Frenchvingt
The French word "vingt" originates from the Latin word "viginti", which also means "twenty."
Frisiantweintich
In Frisian, "tweintich" is also used to refer to a specific type of bread baked in West Frisia and eaten on the 20th of December.
Galicianvinte
The word "vinte" (twenty in Galician) comes from the Latin word "viginti" with the same meaning.
Germanzwanzig
The word "zwanzig" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*twai-huntigaz" meaning "two tens".
Icelandictuttugu
"Tuttugu" is also an archaic variant spelling of "tútta", meaning "horn" in Icelandic.
Irishfiche
"Fiche" also means "tooth" or "knowledge" in Irish.
Italianventi
"venti" is derived from the Latin "viginti", meaning "twenty".
Luxembourgishzwanzeg
The word "zwanzeg" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*twai tiguns", meaning "two tens".
Maltesegħoxrin
The Maltese word "għoxrin" ultimately derives from the Arabic word "ʿiqrūn" meaning "ten and ten".
Norwegiantjue
The word tjue derives from the Old Norse word `tvigu`, meaning `branch` or `fork`.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)vinte
The word "vinte" comes from the Latin "viginti" and can also mean a musical instrument similar to a guitar.
Scots Gaelicfichead
The Scots Gaelic word "fichead" is cognate with Irish "fiche" and Latin "viginti," and it also means "a score" or "twenty people or things."
Spanishveinte
The word "veinte" comes from the Latin word for "ten" and "two", and still means "ten and two" or "twelve" in some dialects.
Swedishtjugo
"Tjugo" comes from "ti" (ten), and the suffix "-go" (to go).
Welshugain
The word 'ugain' can also refer to an 'interval of twenty' in Welsh.

Twenty in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianдваццаць
"Dvaццать" is a word of common Slavic origin and is also used in Russian and Ukrainian
Bosniandvadeset
The term "dvadeset" in Bosnian, like most other numbers from "11" to "19", contains the stem "-naest" meaning "ten, decade", thus indicating the number of tens and the number of units, for example "dvadeset" - "two tens"}
Bulgarianдвайсет
The word "двайсет" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *dvadesęte, which itself is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *dwóh₁-déḱm̥, meaning "two tens".
Czechdvacet
The word "dvacet" in Czech, meaning "twenty", derives from the Proto-Slavic word "dъvati", meaning "two tens".
Estoniankakskümmend
The Estonian word “kakskümmend” is formed by combining “kaks” (two) and “kümmend” (ten), suggesting that the Estonian people once used a base-20 numerical system.
Finnishkaksikymmentä
The root 'kaksin-' in the word 'kaksikymmentä' ('twenty') is thought to derive from the Indo-European root '*kak-', meaning 'two'.
Hungarianhúsz
"Húsz" is a compound word of Proto-Turkic origin, from *on "ten" and *üč "three".
Latviandivdesmit
"Divdesmit" originated from Proto-Baltic "*deśimtъ", meaning "ten" as in "two tens".
Lithuaniandvidešimt
The word “dvidešimt” means “two times ten”, which is an alternative to the modern expression “dvylika ir aštuoni” (“twelve plus eight”).
Macedonianдваесет
"Дваесет" (dvaeset) derives from the Proto-Slavic *dvъdesęte and is cognate with the Sanskrit *dviṃśát (
Polishdwadzieścia
In Old Polish, 'dwadzieścia' also meant 'two tens', and this is the only Slavic language in which the word for 'twenty' did not originally mean 'one score'.
Romaniandouăzeci
"Douăzeci" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*dḱm̥t" meaning "ten".
Russian20
In Russian, '20' is sometimes referred to as 'score', which also means 20 in English
Serbianдвадесет
"Двадесет" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *dъvaɪdesęti, which is derived from the root *dъva (2)."
Slovakdvadsať
Dvadsať is a compound of the words for 'two' (dva) and 'ten' (desať)
Sloveniandvajset
The word "dvajset" in Slovenian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "dъva" (two) and "desętъ" (ten).
Ukrainianдвадцять
The word 'двадцять' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word '*dvъ', meaning 'two', and the suffix '-дцять', meaning 'ten'.

Twenty in South Asian Languages

Bengaliবিশ
"বিশ" (bisha) is also the name of a plant, a type of poisonous creeper.
Gujaratiવીસ
The word 'વીસ' (vis) in Gujarati is derived from the Sanskrit word 'विंशति' (viṃśati), which also means 'twenty'. In some contexts, 'વીસ' can also refer to a group of twenty or a period of twenty years.
Hindiबीस
The word 'बीस' is also used in Hindi to refer to a group of 20 things, like a pack of cigarettes or a set of playing cards.
Kannadaಇಪ್ಪತ್ತು
"ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತು" is derived from the Dravidian root "ippat" meaning "to add" and the Sanskrit suffix "-attu" meaning "ten".
Malayalamഇരുപത്
The word 'ഇരുപത്' can also mean 'two parts' in Malayalam, referring to the ancient practice of counting in pairs.
Marathiवीस
Derived from the Sanskrit word "viṃśati", which means "twenty". Also refers to the twentieth day of the lunar month in the Hindu calendar.
Nepaliबीस
The Nepali word "बीस" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*dwi" meaning "two".
Punjabiਵੀਹ
The word "ਵੀਹ" is derived from the Prakrit word "विस" (vis), which also means "poison". This is because in ancient times, twenty was considered an unlucky number associated with death and misfortune.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)විසි
විසි (wisi) is also believed to mean 'to be scattered' or 'to be distributed' in some contexts.
Tamilஇருபது
In addition to its primary meaning of 'twenty', 'இருபது' also denotes 'both', 'pair' and 'double'.
Teluguఇరవై
The word "ఇరవై" comes from the Sanskrit word "dviradasha" meaning "twenty". It can also refer to a type of Indian musical instrument.
Urduبیس
The word 'بیس' can also refer to 'basis', 'foundation', or 'groundwork' in Urdu.

Twenty in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)二十
"二十" originally meant the twentieth constellation and is composed of three suns and one moon.
Chinese (Traditional)二十
二十 is the result of concatenating the words '两' ('two') and '十' ('ten'), and it also refers to the character's glyph in traditional Chinese, which looks like the profile of an outstretched human body.
Japanese20
The character for "20" in Japanese (二十) can also be read as "hatsuka" or "nijyuu" in on'yomi and "hatachi" in kun'yomi, and is used in words such as "hatsuka" (the 20th day of the month), "nijyuuichi" (21), and "ichijuuni" (12), respectively.
Korean이십
이십 (십) '십' (ten) + '이' (two)
Mongolianхорин
The word "хорин" likely derives from the Mongolian root word "хор" meaning "pair".
Myanmar (Burmese)နှစ်ဆယ်

Twenty in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiandua puluh
"Dua puluh" is derived from the Malay word "duapulu" meaning "one score" and "puluh" meaning "ten."
Javaneserong puluh
The word "rong puluh" (twenty) in Javanese comes from the Old Javanese "rong welas" (two times ten).
Khmerម្ភៃ
In Khmer, "ម្ភៃ" not only refers to the number "20", but also means "a large crowd" or "a multitude".
Laoຊາວ
The word "ຊາວ" in Lao is derived from the Sanskrit word "catvāriṃśat", meaning "forty". It is also used to refer to a group of twenty people.
Malaydua puluh
The Malay word 'dua puluh' is a calque from Sanskrit 'dvi daśa', meaning 'two tens'.
Thaiยี่สิบ
"ยี่สิบ" is a Thai word derived from the Mon-Khmer language, originally meaning "group of two" or "paired".
Vietnamesehai mươi
"Hai mươi" also means "twenty days" in Vietnamese
Filipino (Tagalog)dalawampu

Twenty in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniiyirmi
The word "iyirmi" also means "sweet" in Azerbaijani.
Kazakhжиырма
The Kazakh word "жиырма" not only means "twenty" but also refers to a type of traditional Kazakh feast.
Kyrgyzжыйырма
The Kyrgyz word "жыйырма" is derived from the Old Turkic word "jigirmi", which also means "twenty". It is cognate with the Kazakh word "жиырма" and the Uzbek word "yigirma".
Tajikбист
The word is also used in some dialects to mean "many," "much," or "a lot," though the more common variant "зиёд" is preferred
Turkmenýigrimi
Uzbekyigirma
The word "yigirma" is derived from Proto-Turkic *yigirmi "twenty," and is related to words like "yirmi" in Turkish and "йырыма" in Kazakh.
Uyghurيىگىرمە

Twenty in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianiwakālua
The word "iwakālua" can also mean "a division of land containing eight or ten small house lots".
Maorirua tekau
Rua tekau is also the Maori term for 'a group of twenty', or 'a score'.
Samoanlua sefulu
"Lua" means "two" and "sefulu" means "ten". "Lua sefulu" therefore literally translates to "two ten".
Tagalog (Filipino)dalawampu
'Dalawampu' is also used to refer to a group of twenty people or things.

Twenty in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarapä tunka
Guaranimokõipa

Twenty in International Languages

Esperantodudek
The Esperanto word 'dudek' comes from the French word 'douze' (twelve) and is also used in the expression 'unu dudek procento' (one percent).
Latinviginti
The Latin word "viginti" originates from the Proto-Indo-European root "*dwei-g<sup>w</sup>ʰnt-i" meaning "twice ten".

Twenty in Others Languages

Greekείκοσι
The word 'είκοσι' derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wek- or *dwei-, meaning 'two'.
Hmongnees nkaum
The word "nees nkaum" is composed of two parts: "nees" meaning "ten" and "nkaum" meaning "two". When combined, they literally translate to "two tens".
Kurdishbîst
In Kurdish, "bîst" is cognate with Persian "bist" and ultimately derives from Old Persian "visata". It also has the alternate meaning of "a lot" or "many".
Turkishyirmi
In Turkic languages, 'yirmi' is also used as a generic way to refer to large numbers.
Xhosaamashumi amabini
The Xhosa word 'Amashumi amabini' is also used as an idiom to refer to a large number or an unspecified quantity.
Yiddishצוואַנציק
It could be derived the German word “zwanzig” (“twenty”) or the Low German “twintig.”
Zuluamashumi amabili
The word amashumi amabili means "twenty" in Zulu and is often used when referring to a group of people, animals, or things.
Assameseবিশ
Aymarapä tunka
Bhojpuriबीस
Dhivehiވިހި
Dogriबीह्
Filipino (Tagalog)dalawampu
Guaranimokõipa
Ilocanobente
Kriotwɛnti
Kurdish (Sorani)بیست
Maithiliबीस
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯀꯨꯟ
Mizosawmhnih
Oromodiigdama
Odia (Oriya)କୋଡ଼ିଏ
Quechuaiskay chunka
Sanskritविंशति
Tatarегерме
Tigrinyaዒስራ
Tsongamakumembirhi

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