"eighteen" in seven languages
Meaningeighteen
Spanish
dieciocho
/djeθiˈotʃo/
inherited
French
dix-huit
/dizɥit/
inherited
Italian
diciotto
/diˈtʃɔtto/
inherited
Portuguese
dezoito
/dezˈojtu/
inherited
Romanian
optsprezece
/ˈoptsprezetʃe/
other source · Romanian compound opt spre zece 'eight upon ten'
Catalan
divuit
/diˈbujt/
inherited
English
eighteen
/eɪˈtin/
Indo-European kin · PIE *oḱtṓw + *déḱm̥
English → ItalianeighteendiciottoDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
DECEM + OCTŌ‘ten + eight (a Romance compound; Latin said DUODĒVĪGINTĪ, 'two from twenty')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin counted 18 and 19 backwards from 20; the sisters simply add on to ten.
Learn it
More in Numbers
- nineteendiecinuevedix-neufdiciannovedezenovenouăsprezecedinou
- twentyveintevingtventivintedouăzecivint
- thirtytreintatrentetrentatrintatreizecitrenta
- fortycuarentaquarantequarantaquarentapatruzeciquaranta
- fiftycincuentacinquantecinquantacinquentacincizecicinquanta
- sixtysesentasoixantesessantasessentașaizeciseixanta