Filipino primary schools teach children to count in Filipino and English. As a result of 373 years of Spanish colonization (1521 – 1898) over the Philippines, Spanish derived numbers are used commonly by most of the Filipino population.
English |
Tagalog |
one |
isa
|
two |
dalawa
|
three |
tatlo
|
four |
apat
|
five |
lima
|
six |
anim
|
seven |
pito
|
eight |
walo
|
nine |
siyam
|
ten |
sampu
|
eleven |
labing-isa
|
twelve |
labing-dalawa
|
thirteen |
labintatlo
|
fourteen |
labing-apat
|
fifteen |
labinlima
|
sixteen |
labing-anim
|
seventeen |
labimpito
|
eighteen |
labing-walo
|
nineteen |
labinsiyam
|
twenty |
dalawampu
|
hundred |
daan
|
thousand |
libo
|
million |
milyon
|
Besides counting with Tagalog numbers, Filipinos often use Spanish-derived numbers for telling time and one’s age. Often they provide a faster and simpler way to speak.
For example:
labindalawa (syllables: 5)
twelve
dose (syllables: 2)
twelve (Spanish derived)
Tagalog |
Spanish derived |
isa
one |
uno
one |
dalawa
two |
dos
two |
tatlo
three |
tres
three |
apat
four |
kuatro
four |
lima
five |
sinko
five |
anim
six |
seis
six |
pito
seven |
siete
seven |
walo
eight |
ocho
eight |
siyam
nine |
nueve
nine |
sampu
ten |
diez
ten |
To express a specific number of an object, add ‘ng’ to the number words that end in vowels and add ‘na’ to the number words that end in consonants.
For example:
pito(ng) isda
seven fish
isang bata
one child
anim na sapatos
six shoes
siyam na libro
seven books