this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2025
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Ok, Lemmy, let's play a game!

Post how many languages in which you can count to ten, including your native language. If you like, provide which languages. I'm going to make a guess; after you've replied, come back and open the spoiler. If I'm right: upvote; if I'm wrong: downvote!

My guess, and my answer...My guess is that it's more than the number of languages you speak, read, and/or write.

Do you feel cheated because I didn't pick a number? Vote how you want to, or don't vote! I'm just interested in the count.

I can count to ten in five languages, but I only speak two. I can read a third, and I once was able to converse in a fourth, but have long since lost that skill. I know only some pick-up/borrow words from the 5th, including counting to 10.

  1. My native language is English
  2. I lived in Germany for a couple of years; because I never took classes, I can't write in German, but I spoke fluently by the time I left.
  3. I studied French in college for three years; I can read French, but I've yet to meet a French person who can understand what I'm trying to say, and I have a hard time comprehending it.
  4. I taught myself Esperanto a couple of decades ago, and used to hang out in Esperanto chat rooms. I haven't kept up.
  5. I can count to ten in Japanese because I took Aikido classes for a decade or so, and my instructor counted out loud in Japanese, and the various movements are numbered.

I can almost count to ten in Spanish, because I grew up in mid-California and there was a lot of Spanish thrown around. But French interferes, and I start in Spanish and find myself switching to French in the middle, so I'm not sure I could really do it.

Bonus question: do you ever do your counting in a non-native language, just to make it more interesting?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I can count to ten in just four languages, sadly.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (5 children)

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier, Fünf, Sechs, Sieben, Acht, Neun, Zehn (German, Native)

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten (English, know this pretty well)

Un, Deux, Trois, Quatre, Cinq, Six, Sept, Huit, Neuf, Dix (French, least sure about this one)

いち、に、さん、よん、ご、ろく、なな、はち、きゅう、じゅう (日本語, I love it but it's still hard)

一、二、三、四、後、六、七、八、九、十 (also 日本語 but with kanji)

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (4 children)

English (school/friends): one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten

German (school): eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs (hehe sex), sieben, acht, neun, zehn

Marathi (native): Ek, don, teen, char, pach, saha, saat, aath, naoo, daha

Hindi (friends/school): Ek, do, teen, char, panch, cchah, saat, aath, naww, thus

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

English, French, Spanish, Japanese.

French is lapsed, Spanish broken, and Japanese I know only that required for karate class.

My French was conversational, my Spanish was touristy (what time does the bank open? Where's the bathroom? Etc), and my Japanese was never getting better. But I miss the fluidity of thought and I'm sad to have lost ground on my language goals since COVID.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

I find it hilarious that so many of us know how to count to 10 in a language just because of martial arts.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

5 languages so far (German, french, english, 2 african languages). It would probably be 9 when mandarin, cantonese, spanish and arabic gets up to par in a few years.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Currently it's only English and Japanese. At one point I looked up how to count to ten in French, but I clearly don't remember it. I can also count to seven in Chinese (pitch probably incorrect) because of a song that starts off counting and stops at seven for whatever reason.

Though if we're counting writing, I'd be obligated to add Chinese because, at the very least, 1-10 in Japanese and Chinese are the same for just the numbers alone.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Norwegian
English
Swedish
Danish
German
Spanish
Korean
Japanese
Chinese
Arabic

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

Russian as native
English as expected
Danish as I'm integrating
Korean as I was doing Taekwondo (can't say much more actually)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Just 3; English, Spanish and Japanese.

1-10 was actually like the first or second lesson I had in Japanese, along with phrases related to telling time or paying for things.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

3.8

I can’t remember the German words for 8 and 9

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Three: English, Welsh, German.

I used to be able to do French, Italian and Japanese, but I've managed to forget everything above about five.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

german english latin italian spanish japanese

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

English, Cantonese, Mandarin, German, Japanese

I'm native at the first two, fluent in Mandarin, currently learning German, and Japanese I learned by watching Puyo Puyo gameplay.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I speak three languages and I can count in ten.

Not a hard guess, to be honest, lots of people pick up numbers from popular culture (Spanish songs are big on counting, but weirdly, German ones as well). And if you study an Eastern martial art, chances are you'll learn to count to ten in the corresponding language from your instructor.

Or I don't know, maybe my brain is weird and I'm collecting numbers, that's a non-zero possibility.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

German, English, French and Upper Sorabian

Bonus: nope, but I sometimes try counting in Binary with my fingers.

But damn there are some smart people here!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Four. Sign language, Mandarin + Mandarin hand signs, Spanish, English - and yes, I do use the other languages to entertain myself.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Spoken: 3 at best. Counting to 10: 6.

Not just counting, but sometimes I might say a word or a phrase in another language because I find it sounds humorous in the moment. Poor Italian gets ridiculed the most 🤌🤌.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

English, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, probably a few others I'm forgetting, I'm not good with translating numbers into sounds, I'd probably have more on the list if you ask me what languages i can say "it's okay" in, oh yeah i got the itchy knee I can do Japanese too. I think I learned Thai at some point before I gave up on their alphabet.

also counting in different romance languages is lame, show me how many language FAMILIES you can count in. oh shit you got the Bantu! oh yeah I can also do turkish

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (6 children)

Four. English, Hindi, Marathi (native) and Kannada. Sanskrit as well, but it's a dead language, and I can't speak Sanskrit because the grammar is extremely complicated. Had it in school for 3 years. So 5, if you're counting Sanskrit.

I generally count in English, unless I am using another language with my friends (excluding Sanskrit).

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Six: Spanish, Basque, English, French, German and Polish. Natives are Basque and Spanish.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

I don't know much about Basque; I'd probably know nothing I'd it weren't for the separatists; conflict is about the only way foreign news makes it into the US :-/

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

4: English, Spanish, French, and Japanese Bonus: Yes

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

Eight: English, German, French, Spanish, Latin, Russian, Japanese, ASL.

Bonus question: do you ever do your counting in a non-native language, just to make it more interesting?

Russian occasionally. ASL when I'm counting how many seconds the cat has to stay quiet before I give her a treat.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

English, French, Spanish, Esperanto

As a bonus: binary, hexadecimal, octal (really most bases but I can only go past that up to hexatrigesimal without looking up the symbols) Roman numerals, tally marks

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Yeah! I didn't think about Roman numerals. Those have to count, although I don't know the Italian words for the numbers.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Cool idea. Got a few where I might know just enough to pass this.

attempts collapsedOne two three four five six seven eight nine ten

Ett två tre fyra fem sex sju åtta nio tio

Ein zwei drei vier fünf sechs sieben acht neun zehn

Yksi kaksi kolme neljä viisi kuusi seitsemän kahdeksan yhdeksän kymmenen

Üks kaks kolm neli viis kuus seitse kaheksa üheksa kümme

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I never remember German 9 and 10 because the song only goes up to 8.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

the song only goes up to 8.

The link to clarify which song is a bit redundant lol

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Ha yeah, figured someone might disagree about which song to call THE song or just haven't heard this one.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (2 children)

...3? English, Spanish and German.

Though as I say this I am struggling to remember how to say 10 Spanish (I failed Spanish 3 times in highschool).

So let's calling it 2.9 lol

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

5: English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese.

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