Languages and Counting

TLDR : How do different languages count? (Atleast the ones I know)

I’m always fascinated by languages, and one of the fascinating things is how languages count, or at least how different languages count. Here’s a brief rundown of how 4 languages count between 0 and 100.

English

0 to 9 → Unique ⇒ I
Multiples of 10 till 90→ Unique ⇒ II
11 to 19 → Unique ⇒ III
21 and above (excluding multiples of 10) → Conjugation of (II + I)

Example : Twenty One (20+1), Fifty two (50+2), Seventy Three (70+3)

Telugu

0 to 9 → Unique ⇒ I
Multiples of 10 till 90→ Unique ⇒ II
11 to 12 → Unique ⇒ III
13 and above (excluding multiples of 10) → Conjugation of (II + I)

Example : 13 is called Padamudu i.e. Padi (10) + Mudu (3). Similarly for other numbers. While language conjugation happens in some cases, you can still tell what the root words are.

Hindi

0 to 100 → Unique

Example : Pachpan (55) , Chappan (56) , Paithalees (45)

France

0 to 9 → Unique ⇒ I
Multiples of 10 till 60→ Unique ⇒ II
11 to 16 →Unique ⇒ III
17 to 19 →Conjugation of 10 + (7/8/9) ⇒ IV
21 to 69 →Conjugation of (II + I) ⇒ V
70 to 79 →Conjugation of [60 + (I / III / IV)]
80 to 99 →Conjugation of [(4 + 20) + (I/III/IV)]

Example : Quatre Vingt Dix-neuf (4*20 + 10 + 9 = 99) , Soixante seize (76)

Easiest : Telugu (First one I learnt m8)
Hardest : Hindi (Cuz I can’t memorize so many numbers. If you already know the Hindi system, then I figure the French one will be harder)

If you’re wondering why, I could never remember any of the numbers. I remember once complaining about how numbers in Hindi are annoying to a friend (from Delhi), whereupon she promptly hit me on the head with a stick (metaphorically, of course. In reality, she gave me a stink eye).