How to Count in Cornish from One to One Hundred

Learning the Cornish numbers from one to one hundred gives beginners a practical way to start using the language in everyday situations. Numbers appear in greetings, prices, dates, ages, addresses, bus times, and descriptions of quantities. They also reveal an important feature of Cornish: larger numbers often follow a traditional score-based system built around twenty.

The spelling used below follows common modern Cornish forms, with minor differences appearing between standardized varieties and teaching materials. You may see compounds written with spaces or hyphens, and some words change slightly according to the noun they describe. For a broader set of phrases and vocabulary, Learn Cornish provides useful resources for building a foundation beyond numbers.

Cornish number words become much easier once the first ten are familiar. From there, the teens are recognizable, and the numbers above twenty follow a small number of repeated patterns. Learning the structure is more valuable than memorizing one long sequence without understanding how it works.

The Building Blocks Of Cornish Numbers

The basic numbers from one to ten are unn, dew, tri, peswar, pymp, hwegh, seyth, eth, naw, and deg. Their meanings are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. The number two is often written dew, while three and four can vary with grammatical gender in some contexts.

The forms tri and peswar are generally associated with masculine nouns, while teyr and peder may occur with feminine nouns. Beginners can use the common counting forms first and study these grammatical differences as their vocabulary grows. Cornish numbers can also cause initial consonant mutations, so the form before a noun may not always look exactly like the form learned in a counting list.

The word ugens means twenty, and kans means one hundred. Cornish traditionally uses a vigesimal, or base-twenty, way of expressing many larger numbers. This is similar to older counting systems found in other Celtic languages and explains why 40, 60, and 80 are built around multiples of twenty.

Numbers One To Twenty

Here is the essential sequence for the first twenty numbers:

• 1 — unn
• 2 — dew
• 3 — tri
• 4 — peswar
• 5 — pymp
• 6 — hwegh
• 7 — seyth
• 8 — eth
• 9 — naw
• 10 — deg
• 11 — unnek
• 12 — dewdhek
• 13 — trydhek
• 14 — peswardhek
• 15 — pymthek
• 16 — hweghdhek
• 17 — seythek
• 18 — ethek
• 19 — naw-dhek
• 20 — ugens

The ending -dhek appears throughout the teens, although spelling and spacing can vary. It is useful to learn the teens as a connected group: dewdhek resembles two-ten, trydhek resembles three-ten, and peswardhek resembles four-ten. The forms for five through nine are less visually predictable, so repeated speaking practice helps fix them in memory.

Pronunciation deserves attention from the beginning. The hw in hwegh represents a breathy sound, while the gh at the end is pronounced in the back of the mouth rather than like the English “g” in “go.” Listening to native or fluent speakers is especially useful for hwegh, seyth, and ugens, since their sounds may not be obvious from English spelling.

Counting From Twenty-One To One Hundred

For numbers from 21 to 29, Cornish commonly places the unit before warn ugens, meaning “on twenty.” Thus, 21 is unn warn ugens, 22 is dew warn ugens, and 29 is naw warn ugens. The number 30 is often expressed as deg warn ugens, literally “ten on twenty.”

From 31 to 39, the unit is joined to ten before the phrase connected with twenty. A useful pattern is unn ha deg warn ugens for 31, literally “one and ten on twenty.” The same structure continues through naw ha deg warn ugens for 39. In everyday learning materials, punctuation and hyphenation may differ, but the numerical relationship remains the same.

The complete sequence from 21 to 100 can be written as follows:

• 21 — unn warn ugens
• 22 — dew warn ugens
• 23 — tri warn ugens
• 24 — peswar warn ugens
• 25 — pymp warn ugens
• 26 — hwegh warn ugens
• 27 — seyth warn ugens
• 28 — eth warn ugens
• 29 — naw warn ugens
• 30 — deg warn ugens
• 31 — unn ha deg warn ugens
• 32 — dew ha deg warn ugens
• 33 — tri ha deg warn ugens
• 34 — peswar ha deg warn ugens
• 35 — pymp ha deg warn ugens
• 36 — hwegh ha deg warn ugens
• 37 — seyth ha deg warn ugens
• 38 — eth ha deg warn ugens
• 39 — naw ha deg warn ugens
• 40 — dew ugens
• 41 — unn ha dew ugens
• 42 — dew ha dew ugens
• 43 — tri ha dew ugens
• 44 — peswar ha dew ugens
• 45 — pymp ha dew ugens
• 46 — hwegh ha dew ugens
• 47 — seyth ha dew ugens
• 48 — eth ha dew ugens
• 49 — naw ha dew ugens
• 50 — deg ha dew ugens
• 51 — unn ha deg ha dew ugens
• 52 — dew ha deg ha dew ugens
• 53 — tri ha deg ha dew ugens
• 54 — peswar ha deg ha dew ugens
• 55 — pymp ha deg ha dew ugens
• 56 — hwegh ha deg ha dew ugens
• 57 — seyth ha deg ha dew ugens
• 58 — eth ha deg ha dew ugens
• 59 — naw ha deg ha dew ugens
• 60 — tri ugens
• 61 — unn ha tri ugens
• 62 — dew ha tri ugens
• 63 — tri ha tri ugens
• 64 — peswar ha tri ugens
• 65 — pymp ha tri ugens
• 66 — hwegh ha tri ugens
• 67 — seyth ha tri ugens
• 68 — eth ha tri ugens
• 69 — naw ha tri ugens
• 70 — deg ha tri ugens
• 71 — unn ha deg ha tri ugens
• 72 — dew ha deg ha tri ugens
• 73 — tri ha deg ha tri ugens
• 74 — peswar ha deg ha tri ugens
• 75 — pymp ha deg ha tri ugens
• 76 — hwegh ha deg ha tri ugens
• 77 — seyth ha deg ha tri ugens
• 78 — eth ha deg ha tri ugens
• 79 — naw ha deg ha tri ugens
• 80 — peswar ugens
• 81 — unn ha peswar ugens
• 82 — dew ha peswar ugens
• 83 — tri ha peswar ugens
• 84 — peswar ha peswar ugens
• 85 — pymp ha peswar ugens
• 86 — hwegh ha peswar ugens
• 87 — seyth ha peswar ugens
• 88 — eth ha peswar ugens
• 89 — naw ha peswar ugens
• 90 — deg ha peswar ugens
• 91 — unn ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 92 — dew ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 93 — tri ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 94 — peswar ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 95 — pymp ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 96 — hwegh ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 97 — seyth ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 98 — eth ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 99 — naw ha deg ha peswar ugens
• 100 — kans

How The Score-Based System Works

The main pattern becomes clearer when the milestone numbers are compared. Multiples of twenty are formed by placing a number before ugens. Forty is dew ugens, sixty is tri ugens, and eighty is peswar ugens. A hundred is not five twenties in the ordinary learner sequence; it has its own word, kans.

Number range	Cornish pattern	Example	Meaning
21–29	unit + warn ugens	tri warn ugens	three on twenty
30	deg warn ugens	deg warn ugens	ten on twenty
31–39	unit + ha deg warn ugens	pymp ha deg warn ugens	five and ten on twenty
40–59	unit or ten + ha dew ugens	naw ha dew ugens	nine and two twenties
60–79	unit or ten + ha tri ugens	deg ha tri ugens	ten and three twenties
80–99	unit or ten + ha peswar ugens	dew ha deg ha peswar ugens	two and ten and four twenties
100	kans	kans	one hundred

The conjunction ha means “and.” It links a smaller unit to a group of twenty, or links ten and a unit within a larger number. Once ugens, dew ugens, tri ugens, and peswar ugens are recognized, the sequence from 21 to 99 becomes far less intimidating.

Different Cornish standards and publications may present some forms differently. Learners should therefore treat the list as a dependable starting point while checking the spelling preferred by their course, tutor, or local language community. The underlying arithmetic remains consistent even when orthographic details vary.

Using Cornish Numbers In Real Phrases

Counting aloud is the quickest way to turn written number words into usable vocabulary. Begin with one to ten, then practise the teens in both directions. After that, alternate between milestone numbers and randomly chosen examples: ugens, dew ugens, tri ugens, kans, followed by numbers such as 24, 47, 68, and 93.

Numbers become easier to remember when connected to meaningful information. You can say your age, count objects around the house, read a price, or describe the number of people in a group. Try pairing a number with familiar Cornish vocabulary for days, months, places, food, or family members. This turns a vocabulary list into short, repeatable language practice.

Place names provide another useful connection. Learning about Cornish language background can make number study feel part of a wider exploration of Cornwall’s history, landscape, and Celtic heritage. Numbers are especially valuable when reading historical dates, population figures, distances, and references to local traditions.

A Practical Routine For Memorising Them

A short daily routine is more effective than occasional long sessions. Say the numbers aloud, write them from memory, and then compare your spelling with a trusted reference. Pay particular attention to hwegh, seythek, naw-dhek, warn ugens, and the repeated ha deg ha pattern, since these are likely to slow beginners down.

• Memorise one to ten before tackling the larger patterns.
• Learn 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 as fixed landmarks.
• Practise 21–39 separately from 41–99.
• Say random numbers aloud instead of reciting only in order.
• Record yourself and compare your pronunciation with a reliable audio model.

Writing numbers as equations can reinforce the vigesimal structure. For example, 47 can be understood as 7 + 40, while 76 is 6 + 70. This mental division helps learners produce a number rather than search for it as an isolated item. With regular practice, the repeated forms begin to sound natural.

The Cornish counting system offers more than a memorization exercise. It introduces learners to the language’s grammar, sound patterns, traditional structure, and connection with Celtic culture. Mastering the numbers from unn to kans creates a useful base for dates, prices, measurements, conversations, and further study. Begin with a few forms today, speak them aloud, and gradually use the full sequence in real Cornish learning activities.