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How do you count to 100 in Hindi?

Hindi numbers are learnt, not built. English gives you twenty-one from "twenty" plus "one"; Hindi gives you इक्कीस (ikkis), which you simply have to know. There are effectively 100 separate words. The good news is that the tens are regular, patterns rhyme in blocks, and most conversation only ever needs 1–20, the round tens, and prices.

Why this is harder than it looks

Most languages let you assemble numbers. Hindi largely does not. 21 is ikkis, 22 is baais, 23 is teis — each one an independent word, worn down over centuries from Sanskrit compounds.

Start with these

1–10: एक ek, दो do, तीन teen, चार chaar, पाँच paanch, छह chhah, सात saat, आठ aath, नौ nau, दस das

The tens: दस das (10), बीस bees (20), तीस tees (30), चालीस chaalees (40), पचास pachaas (50), साठ saath (60), सत्तर sattar (70), अस्सी assee (80), नब्बे nabbe (90), सौ sau (100)

The trick that saves you

Within each block of ten, the ending rhymes with the coming ten, not the current one. 29 is उनतीस (untees) — it leans on tees (30), not bees (20). Same for 39 (उनतालीस, untaalees), 49, and so on. Once you hear that, the nines stop feeling random.

What you actually need first

Numbers 1–20, the round tens, and सौ (100) and हज़ार (thousand). That covers prices, ages, times and phone numbers — which is most of what a number is for in a conversation.

In shops

Prices are usually said in full: दो सौ पचास (do sau pachaas) is 250. Listen for सौ (hundred) as the pivot; everything before it is the multiplier and everything after is the remainder.

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