deicheanna
The English word "tens" is translated into Irish as deicheanna.
deicheanna is the plural form of the noun deich, which means ten.
Meaning: plural of 'ten' (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
deicheanna is the plural form of deich. In certain formal contexts involving numbers, such as forming the 'teens', the word déag is used instead.
Did you know?
- While deicheanna is the plural of ten, Irish uses a completely different counting system for numbers 11 through 19, which describes the number as being 'on top of' ten.
- The root of deich is shared with the Latin 'decem' and the English 'decimal', showing a common ancient Indo-European origin for the number ten.
- The pluralisation of deich into deicheanna follows the standard rule for nouns ending in a vowel, but many English speakers are surprised that Irish treats numbers as nouns that can take plural endings.
Example conversation
Oisín and Saoirse are organizing money into piles.
- OisínSaoirse, cá bhfuil na deicheanna?Saoirse, where are the tens?
- SaoirseTá na deicheanna ar an bord.The tens are on the table.
- OisínGo raibh maith agat, a Saoirse.Thank you, Saoirse.
- SaoirseNínimh fadhb, a Oisín.No problem, Oisín.
