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Southeast Asian · Pilipinas

Numbers in
Tagalog

't = contracted at ("and")
10 minread
7sections
Native + Spanishtwo parallel systems
649
anim na daan at apatnapu't siyam
00

The big picture

Tagalog has two number systems running in parallel — a native Austronesian set (isa, dalawa, tatlo) and a Spanish-borrowed set (uno, dos, tres) absorbed during the colonial era. Native is used for general counting; Spanish forms appear in time, money, and age. The native system has three connector idioms worth learning: 't, na, and -ng.

i
If you only remember one thing: 't is a contraction of at ("and"). It connects tens and units in any compound number: dalawampu't isa = 21, apatnapu't pito = 47. The apostrophe is required — never write it as at in this position.
01

Zero to ten

Eleven words to memorize — all native Austronesian roots. After this, everything builds on them with prefixes and connectors.

0
sero
SEH-ro
1
isa
EE-sah
2
dalawa
da-LA-wa
3
tatlo
TAT-lo
4
apat
AH-pat
5
lima
LEE-ma
6
anim
AH-neem
7
pito
PI-to
8
walo
WA-lo
9
siyam
SHEE-yam
10
sampu
SAM-poo
02

11 – 99: labing-, -pu, & 't

Three building blocks. labing- (with -m/-n/-ng assimilation) prefixes the unit for 11-19. -pu suffixes the digit for tens. 't connects tens to units in compounds.

11 – 19: labing- + digit

11
labing-isa
la-bing-EE-sah
12
labindalawa
la-bin-da-LA-wa
13
labintatlo
la-bin-TAT-lo
14
labing-apat
la-bing-AH-pat
15
labinlima
la-bin-LEE-ma
16
labing-anim
la-bing-AH-neem
-m-
17
labimpito
la-bim-PI-to
18
labingwalo
la-bing-WA-lo
19
labinsiyam
la-bin-SHEE-yam
!
Sound assimilation in labing-. The prefix shifts based on the following consonant: labing-isa (before vowel), labintatlo (before t/d/s), labimpito (before p). Same pattern Spanish learners see with en/em.

20 – 90: digit + -pu

20
dalawampu
da-la-wam-POO
30
tatlumpu
tat-lum-POO
na linker
40
apatnapu
a-pat-na-POO
50
limampu
li-mam-POO
na linker
60
animnapu
a-nim-na-POO
70
pitumpu
pi-tum-POO
80
walumpu
wa-lum-POO
na linker
90
siyamnapu
shi-yam-na-POO
i
Vowel vs consonant ending changes the connector. Digits ending in vowels (dalawa, tatlo, lima, pito, walo) fuse with -mpu/-mpu. Digits ending in consonants (apat, anim, siyam) take a separating na between the digit and pu.

Compounds: [tens] + 't + [units]

21
dalawampu't isa
da-la-wam-POOT EE-sah
37
tatlumpu't pito
tat-lum-POOT PI-to
47
apatnapu't pito
a-pat-na-POOT PI-to
54
limampu't apat
li-mam-POOT AH-pat
66
animnapu't anim
a-nim-na-POOT AH-neem
81
walumpu't isa
wa-lum-POOT EE-sah
99
siyamnapu't siyam
shi-yam-na-POOT SHEE-yam
[tens] + 't + [units] — never 't if the units digit is zero (e.g. 50 = limampu)
03

Hundreds, thousands, millions

daan = 100, libo = 1,000, milyon = 10⁶, bilyon = 10⁹ (the last two borrowed from Spanish). Each takes a -ng/na linker from the preceding digit, by the same vowel-vs-consonant rule.

The linker rule

2 → -ng dalawang daan = 200 vowel ending → -ng suffix
3 → -ng tatlong daan = 300 vowel ending → -ng suffix
4 → na apat na daan = 400 consonant ending → separate na
5 → -ng limang daan = 500 vowel ending → -ng suffix
6 → na anim na daan = 600 consonant ending → separate na
9 → na siyam na daan = 900 consonant ending → separate na

The full pattern

100
isang daan (sandaan)
SAN-daan
200
dalawang daan
500
limang daan
1,000
isang libo (sanlibo)
2,000
dalawang libo
1 M
isang milyon
10⁹
1 B
isang bilyon
649
anim na daan at apatnapu't siyam
600 + at + (40 + 't + 9) — between place-value groups, at is spelled out
2,575
dalawang libo at limang daan at pitumpu't lima
!
Two forms of "and." Between place-value groups (hundreds/thousands and the rest), use the full at: anim na daan at apatnapu't siyam. Between tens and units inside one group, use the contracted 't: apatnapu't siyam. Same word, two written forms.
04

Spanish-borrowed forms

Three centuries of Spanish rule left a parallel number system that's still used every day for telling time, prices, and ages. The forms are recognizable from any Romance language — uno, dos, tres, etc. — pronounced with Tagalog spelling conventions.

1
uno
OO-no — used for time, money
2
dos
DOHS
3
tres
TREHS
5
singko
SING-ko
10
diyes
DEE-yes
20
beynte
BAYN-teh
2:00
alas dos
"2 o'clock" — Spanish forms standard for time
₱25
beynte singko piso
"twenty-five pesos" — Spanish forms standard for money
i
When to pick which system. For general counting (objects, people, abstract quantities) → native (isa, dalawa, tatlo…). For clock time (alas dos, alas tres), peso amounts, and ages over 30 → Spanish-borrowed forms. Both are correct; using the wrong one in context sounds slightly off but is always understood.
05

Ordinals

Two prefixes work: ika- or pang-, attached to the cardinal. The only true irregular is una for "first" — ikaisa exists but feels formal. From 2nd onward, the prefixes are interchangeable, though ika- is more common.

irreg
1st
una / ikaisa
OO-na
2nd
ikalawa / pangalawa
3rd
ikatlo / pangatlo
4th
ikaapat
5th
ikalima
6th
ikaanim
7th
ikapito
8th
ikawalo
9th
ikasiyam
10th
ikasampu
06

Things to remember

Five rules covering the connectors, linker, and dual system.

1.
't between tens and units. Contracted from at ("and"). Dalawampu't isa = 21. No 't when units digit is zero.
2.
Full at between place-value groups. Hundreds + the rest takes the full word: anim na daan at apatnapu't siyam = 649.
3.
The -ng / na linker. Digit ends in vowel → suffix -ng: dalawang daan. Digit ends in consonant → separate na: apat na daan. Applies to daan, libo, milyon, bilyon.
4.
labing- for teens, with assimilation. labing-isa (11), labimpito (17), labintatlo (13). The final consonant shifts to match.
5.
Two systems coexist. Use native for general counting; use Spanish-borrowed (uno, dos, tres, alas dos) for clock time and money. Both are correct Tagalog.
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