"sixteen" in seven languages
Meaningsixteen
Spanish
dieciséis
/djeθiˈseis/
other source · Spanish compound diez y seis 'ten and six'
French
seize
/sɛz/
inherited
Italian
sedici
/ˈseditʃi/
inherited
Portuguese
dezesseis
/dezeˈsejs/
other source · Portuguese compound dez e seis 'ten and six'
European Portuguese spells it dezasseis.
Romanian
șaisprezece
/ˈʃajsprezetʃe/
other source · Romanian compound șase spre zece 'six upon ten', contracted
Catalan
setze
/ˈsɛdzə/
inherited
Like French and Italian, Catalan keeps the Latin '-teen' form up to 16.
English
sixteen
/sɪksˈtin/
Indo-European kin · PIE *swéḱs + *déḱm̥
English → ItaliansixteensediciDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
SĒDECIM‘sixteen’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The great divide: Spanish switches to 'ten-and-six' at 16, while French and Italian keep the Latin '-teen' form one step longer.
Learn it
More in Numbers
- seventeendiecisietedix-septdiciassettedezesseteșaptesprezecedisset
- eighteendieciochodix-huitdiciottodezoitooptsprezecedivuit
- nineteendiecinuevedix-neufdiciannovedezenovenouăsprezecedinou
- twentyveintevingtventivintedouăzecivint
- thirtytreintatrentetrentatrintatreizecitrenta
- fortycuarentaquarantequarantaquarentapatruzeciquaranta