Numbers

1. Ein, tveir, tríggir

   Ain, tvayir, trig-yir

   One, two, three

   Usage

   Faroese numbers 1–3, useful in markets and when ordering

   Grammar Note

   Faroese numerals have grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)

2. Fýra, fimm, seks

   Fyur-a, fim, seks

   Four, five, six

   Usage

   Faroese numbers 4–6

   Grammar Note

   "fimm" and "seks" are similar to Icelandic and Norwegian cognates

3. Sjey, átta, níggju

   Shey, aw-ta, niy-yü

   Seven, eight, nine

   Usage

   Faroese numbers 7–9

   Grammar Note

   "sjey" (7) shares the root with Icelandic "sjö", both from Old Norse "sjau"

4. Tíggju

   Tiy-yü

   Ten

   Usage

   Faroese number 10

   Grammar Note

   Derived from Old Norse "tíu" (10), with sound changes unique to Faroese

5. Tjúgu, hundrað, túsund

   Tyü-gu, hun-drad, tü-sünd

   Twenty, hundred, thousand

   Usage

   Larger numbers used when stating prices or quantities

   Grammar Note

   "hundrað" and "túsund" share Germanic roots with English "hundred" and "thousand"

6. Ellivu, tólv, trettan

   El-li-vu, tolv, tret-tan

   Eleven, twelve, thirteen

   Usage

   Faroese numbers 11–13, used for ages, times, and counts

   Grammar Note

   "ellivu" shares its Old Norse root with Icelandic "ellefu" and English "eleven"

7. Hvat er klokkan?

   Kvat er klok-kan?

   What time is it?

   Usage

   The standard phrase for asking the time

   Grammar Note

   "klokkan" (the clock/time) is shared across Scandinavian languages, from Dutch "klok"

8. Fyrstur, annar, triðji

   Fyrs-tur, an-nar, trid-yi

   First, second, third

   Usage

   Ordinal numbers for hotel floors, order sequences, and rankings

   Grammar Note

   Ordinals inflect for gender: "fyrstur" (masc.), "fyrsta" (fem./neut.)

9. Hálvur, heilt

   Hal-vur, haylt

   Half, whole

   Usage

   Basic quantity expressions for amounts and proportions

   Grammar Note

   "hálvur" derives from Old Norse "hálfr", cognate with English "half"

10. Tveir og tjúgu

    Tvayir og tyü-gu

    Twenty-two

    Usage

    Demonstrating how compound numbers are formed in Faroese

    Grammar Note

    Faroese compound numbers follow the pattern "units + og (and) + tens"

11. Eg eri sjey og tjúgu ára gamal

    Eg e-ri shey og tyü-gu aw-ra ga-mal

    I'm 27 years old

    Usage

    Giving your age — the answer to "Hvussu gamal ert tú?" A female speaker says "gomul" instead of "gamal"

    Grammar Note

    Age is "numeral + ára + gamal", with "ár" (year) in the genitive plural "ára". "gamal" is the masculine form; a female speaker uses "gomul". The compound numeral follows the "unit og ten" order, as in "tveir og tjúgu"

12. Í ár fylli eg átta og tjúgu ár

    Ui awr fil-li eg awt-ta og tyü-gu awr

    I turn 28 this year

    Usage

    Saying what age you will reach during the current year

    Grammar Note

    "fylla X ár" means to turn an age, as in "tað árið, ið barnið fyllir 6 ár" (the year in which the child turns six). Faroese is V2, so the fronted "í ár" pushes the verb "fylli" before the subject "eg". Here "ár" is accusative plural, not the genitive "ára"

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