When learning foreign languages, can we say that counting is a skill?

Well... not actually.

But that doesn’t mean that counting isn’t one of the essentials. In fact, knowing how to count in a foreign language is the basic knowledge every language learner should have.

If you know numbers, you can ask for a coffee in a coffee shop, you can ask for a price, or you can even use it in some important conversations.

We have to admit that learning to count isn’t something extraordinarily fun and entertaining, but it is quite important for every language, even your native.

Why counting is so important in learning a foreign language, how to make all the fun of it, and how to count in different languages, find out in the following lines.

Let’s dive in.

Why Learn to Count in a Foreign Language?

Numbers are essential in any language.

Often, we aren’t even aware of using numbers. We can say that we use numbers and counting practically every day both in our native language and foreign ones.

Start paying attention to numbers and counting during one ordinary day. How many hours do you spend talking on the telephone? Or perhaps driving a car to work or taking a walk?

Maybe how much money do you spend in a store buying groceries?

Now you see how numbers and counting are important.

We simply can’t live without them.

How to Learn Counting in Different Languages The Entertaining Way?

As much as important counting is, we can’t say that it is fun to learn it.

On the contrary, it can be pretty dull.

Luckily, today many clever people came up with ideas for learning numbers and counting in an entertaining way.

Here are some tips:

• Make fun of counting practically everything. Start counting stairs, cars, steps, everything you can think of during one day.
• Use special apps to learn to count. Today, there are plenty of useful and fun apps that can help you learn to count in a fun way. Download the app, and start counting. Some apps are suitable for multiple languages, so you don’t have to learn counting only in one language.

One of these apps is Polynuminal. This app is amazing because it offers you to learn counting in more than 50 different languages.

• Count with catchy songs on YouTube. One of the best resources for practically everything is YouTube. Therefore, no further explanations but go to YouTube and find some catchy songs in foreign languages where counting is one of the topics. You’ll surely have quite fun!

Here’s one YouTube video where you can learn to count from one to ten by singing.

Learn to Count in 8 Different Languages

Counting in Arabic

Besides being the most spoken language in Africa, Arabic is also quite challenging to learn.

However, the beauty of the language only makes it more and more popular.

In the following lines, you can start with learning numbers and counting in Arabic.

Number

Number in Arabic

Transcription

0

صفر

Sifr

1

واحد

wahed

2

اثنين

ethnein

3

ثلاثة

thalatha

4

أربعة

arba-a

5

خمسة

khamsa

6

ستة

sitta

7

سبعة

sab-a

8

ثمانية

thamanya

9

تسعة

tis-a

10

عشرة

ashara

Counting in Chinese

Besides being the most difficult language to learn, Chinese is also the number one most spoken language.

Therefore, learning to count in Chinese can be both useful and fun because numbers in Chinese culture and tradition take a very important place, so you have to list them in your basic Chinese words and phrases basket.

Number

Number in Chinese

Pronunciation

0

零

Líng

1

一

Yī

2

二

Èr

3

三

sān

4

四

Sì

5

五

Wǔ

6

六

Liù

7

七

Qī

8

八

Bā

9

九

Jiǔ

10

十

Shí

Counting in French

If you want to visit at least one of the French-speaking countries in Africa or try to communicate in Canadian French, numbers are something you should know in the middle of the night.

Number

Number in French

Pronunciation

0

Zéro

zay-ro

1

Un

uh

2

Deux

duh

3

Trois

twah

4

Quatre

kat-ruh

5

Cinq

sank

6

Six

sees

7

Sept

set

8

Huit

wheet

9

Neuf

nuhf

10

Dix

dees

Counting in German

No matter if you still haven’t started learning German because you don’t know is German easy to learn or you haven’t decided if you’ll visit some of the German-speaking countries, sometimes it is good to be prepared in advance.

Learning to count in German from zero to ten is, undoubtedly, is something you should start right now. You can also try learning to count with this tune as well.

Number

Number in German

Pronunciation

0

Null

nul

1

eins

eyns

2

zwei

tsvey

3

drei

dry

4

vier

feer

5

fünf

fuhnf

6

sechs

zex

7

sieben

Zee-bin

8

acht

akt

9

neun

noin

10

zehn

tsayn

Counting in Japanese

Even though it might seem similar to Chinese, Japanese surely isn’t.

The language of the Land of the rising Sun is worth learning.

Among common Japanese words, you should know, numbers and counting are, undoubtedly, one of them.

The following numbers are Syno- Japanese numbers, which are the most common ones.

Number

Number in Japanese

Pronunciation

0

れい、ゼロ、マル

rei, zero, maru

1

いち

ichi

2

に

ni

3

さん

san

4

し、よん

Shi, yon

5

ご

go

6

ろく

roku)

7

しち、なな

shichi, nana

8

はち

hachi

9

く、きゅう

ku, kyuu

10

じゅう

juu

Counting in Portuguese

If among you there are language learned who fight Portuguese Vs. Spanish battles here is good news.

If you want to see how similar these two languages are, you can start comparing numbers and counting.

Here are the Portuguese ones.

Number

Number in Portuguese

Pronunciation

0

Zero

zeh-ro

1

um

oohm

2

dois

doy-z

3

três

treh-z

4

quatro

kwah-troh

5

cinco

seen-coh

6

seis

say-z

7

sete

seh-chee

8

oito

oy-too

9

nove

noh-vee

10

dez

deh-z

Counting in Russian

If not the most beautiful, this is definitely the most spoken Slavic language.

Besides being melodical, Russian is also a synonym for romantic winters when you sit by the fireplace and listen to the Russian fairy tales.

But before you get to that cozy point, first you need to learn the basic Russian, which means number and counting.

Number

Number in Russian

Pronunciation

0

ноль

nol’

1

один

a'deen

2

два

dva

3

три

tri

4

четыре

chetyre

5

пять

pyat'

6

шесть

shest

7

семь

sem'

8

восемь

vosem'

9

девять

devyat'

10

десять

'desyat'

Counting in Spanish

A little bit more about passion and warmth.

Spanish counting is one of the essentials, if you want to communicate with the locals from the Spanish-speaking countries.

Besides, it is quite similar to Portuguese, which will help you easily memorize numbers from both languages.

If you want to learn further more numbers, try with Don Quijote. Not only will you learn to count up to 100 but you will get a short history lesson on numbers as well.

Number

Number in Spanish

Pronunciation

0

cero

say-roh

1

uno

oo-noh

2

dos

dohs

3

tres

trays

4

cuatro

kwah-troh

5

cinco

seen-koh

6

seis

says

7

siete

see-ay-tay

8

ocho

oh-choh

9

nueve

new-ay-vay

10

diez

dee-ays

Final Thoughts

Now that you have numbers and counting in 8 different languages in one place, there’s only one thing left to do. Don’t stop here. Continue learning to count.

And keep practicing and learning counting in a fun way, by playing games, singing catchy songs  with numbers, or watching entertaining videos on YouTube.

Good luck!

Why Learn to Count in a Foreign Language?

Numbers are essential in any language. Often, we aren’t even aware of using numbers. We can say that we use numbers and counting practically every day both in our native language and foreign ones. Start paying attention to numbers and counting during one ordinary day. How many hours do you spend talking on the telephone? Or perhaps driving a car to work or taking a walk? Maybe how much money do you spend in a store buying groceries? Now you see how numbers and counting are important. We simply can’t live without them. The same as practicing speaking skills with tutors, or expanding your vocabulary, counting in different languages is important for overall communication.

How to Learn Counting in Different Languages The Entertaining Way?

As much as important counting is, we can’t say that it is fun to learn it. On the contrary, it can be pretty dull. Luckily, today many clever people came up with ideas for learning numbers and counting in an entertaining way. Here are some tips: Make fun of counting practically everything. Start counting stairs, cars, steps, everything you can think of during one day. Use special apps to learn to count. Today, there are plenty of useful and fun apps that can help you learn to count in a fun way. Download the app, and start counting. Some apps are suitable for multiple languages, so you don’t have to learn counting only in one language. One of these apps is Polynuminal. This app is amazing because it offers you to learn counting in more than 50 different languages. Count with catchy songs on YouTube. One of the best resources for practically everything is YouTube. Therefore, no further explanations but go to YouTube and find some catchy songs in foreign languages where counting is one of the topics. You’ll surely have quite fun!

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