Ordinals

Ordinal Numbers

Except for ordinals first, second and third all others are formed by adding -eamh / -amh to the cardinal number. The definite article is always used and must agree with gender and declension of noun. Examples are given for both masculine (cat (m) - cat) and feminine (cearc - hen) nouns

**Ordinals from 1st to 10th** :
Ordinal	With Masculine Noun	With Feminine Noun
1^st - 1^mh	a' chiad chat *	a' chiad chearc *
2^nd - 2^mh	an dàrna cat ‡	an dàrna cearc
3^rd - 3^mh	an treas cat †	an treas cearc
4^th - 4^mh	an ceathramh cat	a' cheathramh cearc
5^th - 5^mh	an còigeamh cat	a' chòigeamh cearc
6^th - 6^mh	an siathamh cat	an t-siathamh cearc
7^th - 7^mh	an seachdamh cat	an t-seachdamh cearc
8^th - 8^mh	an t-ochdamh cat	an ochdamh cearc
9^th - 9^mh	an naoidheamh cat	an naoidheamh cearc
10^th - 10^mh	an deicheamh cat	an deicheamh cearc

* in the nominative ciad always appears as a' chiad irrespective of gender and, whenever possible, lenites the following noun
† the more regular but less common trìtheamh may also be heard
‡ dara is an optional form

**Ordinals from 11th to 20th**
For ordinals from 11th upwards aona † replaces **ciad** :
Ordinal	With Masculine Noun	With Feminine Noun
11^th - 11^mh	an t-aona cat deug	an t-aona chearc dheug ‡ §
12^th - 12^mh	an dàrna cat deug	an dàrna cearc dheug
13^th - 13^mh	an treas cat deug	an treas cearc dheug
14^th - 14^mh	an ceathramh cat deug	a' cheathramh cearc dheug
15^th - 15^mh	an còigeamh cat deug	a' chòigeamh cearc dheug
16^th - 16^mh	an siathamh cat deug	an t-siathamh cearc dheug
17^th - 17^mh	an seachdamh cat deug	an t-seachdamh cearc dheug
18^th - 18^mh	an t-ochdamh cat deug	an ochdamh cearc dheug
19^th - 19^mh	an naoidheamh cat deug	an naoidheamh cearc dheug
20^th - 20^mh	am ficheadamh cat	an fhicheadamh cearc

† aona is derived from aonamh which may still be found in some literature
‡ an t-aona is used even with feminine nouns
§ as with other adjectives deug should be lenited after singular feminine nouns

As with cardinal numbers (met in and ) there are two concurrent systems for numbers above twenty : a) traditional; based on units of twenty and b) decimal (preferred in education and formal literature)

**a. Traditional**
Ordinal	With Masculine Noun	With Feminine Noun
21^st - 21^mh	an t-aona cat air fhichead	an t-aona chearc air fhichead
22^nd - 22^mh	an dàrna cat air fhichead	an dàrna cearc air fhichead
23^rd - 23^mh	an treas cat air fhichead	an treas cearc air fhichead
24^th - 24^mh	an ceathramh cat air fhichead	a' cheathramh cearc air fhichead
25^th - 25^mh	an còigeamh cat air fhichead	a' chòigeamh cearc air fhichead
26^th - 26^mh	an siathamh cat air fhichead	an t-siathamh cearc air fhichead
27^th - 27^mh	an seachdamh cat air fhichead	an t-seachdamh cearc air fhichead
28^th - 28^mh	an t-ochdamh cat air fhichead	an ochdamh cearc air fhichead
29^th - 29^mh	an naoidheamh cat air fhichead	an naoidheamh cearc air fhichead
30^th - 30^mh	an deicheamh cat air fhichead	an deicheamh cearc air fhichead
31^st - 31^mh	an t-aona cat deug air fhichead	an t-aona cearc dheug air fhichead
39^th - 39^mh	an naoidheamh cat deug air fhichead	an naoidheamh cearc dheug air fhichead
40^th - 40^mh	an dà fhicheadamh cat	an dà fhicheadamh cearc
41^st - 41^mh	an dà fhicheadamh cat 's a h-aon	an dà fhicheadamh cearc 's a h-aon
49^th - 49^mh	an dà fhicheadamh cat 's a naoi	an dà fhicheadamh cearc 's a naoi
50^th - 50^mh	an dà fhicheadamh cat 's a deich an lethcheudamh cat	an dà fhicheadamh cearc 's a deich an lethcheudamh cearc
51^st - 51^mh	an dà fhicheadamh cat 's a h-aon deug an lethcheudamh cat 's a h-aon	an dà fhicheadamh cearc 's a h-aon deug an lethcheudamh cearc 's a h-aon
59^th - 59^mh	an dà fhicheadamh cat 's a naoi deug an lethcheudamh cat 's a naoi	an dà fhicheadamh cearc 's a naoi deug an lethcheudamh cearc 's a naoi
60^th - 60^mh	an trì ficheadamh cat	an trì ficheadamh cearc
61^st - 61^mh	an trì ficheadamh cat 's a h-aon	an trì ficheadamh cearc 's a h-aon
69^th - 69^mh	an trì ficheadamh cat 's a naoi	an trì ficheadamh cearc 's a naoi
70^th - 70^mh	an trì ficheadamh cat 's a deich	an trì ficheadamh cearc 's a deich
71^st - 71^mh	an trì ficheadamh cat 's a h-aon deug	an trì ficheadamh cearc 's a h-aon deug
79^th - 79^mh	an trì ficheadamh cat 's a naoi deug	an trì ficheadamh cearc 's a naoi deug
80^th - 80^mh	an ceithir ficheadamh cat	a' cheithir ficheadamh cearc
81^st - 81^mh	an ceithir ficheadamh cat 's a h-aon	a' cheithir ficheadamh cearc 's a h-aon
89^th - 89^mh	an ceithir ficheadamh cat 's a naoi	a' cheithir ficheadamh cearc 's a naoi
90^th - 90^mh	an ceithir ficheadamh cat 's a deich	a' cheithir ficheadamh cearc 's a deich
91^st - 91^mh	an ceithir ficheadamh cat 's a h-aon deug	a' cheithir ficheadamh cearc 's a h-aon deug
99^th - 99^mh	an ceithir ficheadamh cat 's a naoi deug	a' cheithir ficheadamh cearc 's a naoi deug
100^th - 100^mh	an ceudamh cat	a' cheudamh cearc

**b. Decimal**
Although the preferred system in education and formal writing it is rarely heard by older speakers :
Ordinal	With Masculine Noun	With Feminine Noun
21^st - 21^mh	am ficheadamh cat 's a h-aon	an fhicheadamh cearc 's a h-aon
22^nd - 22^mh	am ficheadamh cat 's a dhà	an fhicheadamh cearc 's a dhà
23^rd - 23^mh	am ficheadamh cat 's a trì	an fhicheadamh cearc 's a trì
29^th - 29^mh	am ficheadamh cat 's a naoi	an fhicheadamh cearc 's a naoi
30^th - 30^mh	an tritheadamh cat	an tritheadamh cearc
31^st - 31^mh	an tritheadamh cat 's a h-aon	an tritheadamh cearc 's a h-aon
40^th - 40^mh	an ceathradamh cat	a' cheathradamh cearc
41^st - 41^mh	an ceathradamh cat 's a h-aon	a' cheathradamh cearc 's a h-aon
50^th - 50^mh	an caogadamh cat	a' chaogadamh cearc
51^st - 51^mh	an caogadamh cat 's a h-aon	a' chaogadamh cearc 's a h-aon
60^th - 60^mh	an seasgadamh cat	an t-seasgadamh cearc
61^st - 61^mh	an seasgadamh cat 's a h-aon	an t-seasgadamh cearc 's a h-aon
70^th - 70^mh	an seachdadamh cat	an t-seachdadamh cearc
71^st - 71^mh	an seachdadamh cat 's a h-aon	an t-seachdadamh cearc 's a h-aon
80^th - 80^mh	an t-ochdadamh cat	an ochdadamh cearc
81^st - 81^mh	an t-ochdadamh cat 's a h-aon	an ochdadamh cearc 's a h-aon
90^th - 90^mh	an naochadamh cat	an naochadamh cearc
91^st - 91^mh	an naochadamh cat 's a h-aon	an naochadamh cearc 's a h-aon
100^th - 100^mh	an ceudamh cat	a' cheudamh cearc
101^st - 101^mh	an ceudamh cat 's a h-aon	a' cheudamh cearc 's a h-aon
201^st - 201^mh	an dà cheudamh cat 's a h-aon	an dà cheudamh cearc 's a h-aon
315^th - 315^mh	an trì ceudamh cat 's a còig deug	an trì ceudamh cearc 's a còig deug
423^rd - 423^mh	an ceithir ceudamh cat, fichead 's a trì	a' cheithir ceudamh cearc, fichead 's a trì
532^nd - 532^mh	an còig ceudamh cat, trithead 's a dhà	a' chòig ceudamh cearc, trithead 's a dhà
648^th - 648^mh	an sia ceudamh cat, ceathrad 's a h-ochd	an t-sia ceudamh cearc ceathrad 's a h-ochd
755^th - 755^mh	an seachd ceudamh cat, caogad 's a còig	an t-seachd ceudamh cearc, caogad 's a còig
863^th - 863^mh	an t-ochd ceudamh cat, seasgad 's a trì	an ochd ceudamh cearc, seasgad 's a trì
996^th - 996^mh	an naoi ceudamh cat, naochad 's a sia	an naoi ceudamh cearc, naochad 's a sia
1000^th - 1000^mh	am mìleamh cat	a' mhìleamh cearc
2001^st - 2001^mh	an dà mhìleamh cat 's a h-aon	an dà mhìleamh cearc 's a h-aon
3015^th - 3015^mh	an trì mìleamh cat 's a còig deug	an trì mìleamh cearc 's a còig deug
4023^rd - 4023^mh	an ceithir mìleamh cat, fichead 's a trì	a' cheithir mìleamh cearc, fichead 's a trì
5101^st - 5101^mh	an còig mìleamh cat, ceud 's a h-aon	a' chòig mìleamh cearc, ceud 's a h-aon
6205^th - 6205^mh	an sia mìleamh cat, dà cheud 's a còig	an t-sia mìleamh cearc, dà cheud 's a còig
7519^th - 7519^mh	an seachd mìleamh cat, còig ceud 's a naoi deug	an t-seachd mìleamh cearc, còig ceud 's a naoi deug
8622^nd - 8622^mh	an t-ochd mìleamh cat, sia ceud, fichead 's a dhà	an ochd mìleamh cearc, sia ceud, fichead 's a dhà
9385^th - 9385^mh	an naoi mìleamh cat, ochdad 's a còig	an naoi mìleamh cearc, ochdad 's a còig
10000^th - 10000^mh	an deich mìleamh cat	an deich mìleamh cearc
11000^th - 11000^mh	an t-aona mìleamh deug cat	an t-aona mìleamh deug cearc
23000^th - 23000^mh	am fichead 's a trì mìleamh cat	an fhichead 's a trì mìleamh cearc
45001^st - 45001^mh	an ceathrad 's a còig mìleamh cat 's a h-aon	a' cheathrad 's a còig mìleamh cearc 's a h-aon
65013^st - 650013^mh	an seasgad 's a còig mìleamh cat 's a trì deug	an t-seasgad 's a còig mìleamh cearc 's a trì deug
83022^nd - 83022^mh	an t-ochdad 's a trì mìleamh cat, fichead 's a dhà	an ochdad 's a trì mìleamh cearc, fichead 's a dhà
1000000^th - 1000000^mh	an milleanamh cat	a' mhilleanamh cearc

For traditional ordinals above 100 the decimal element of method b should be replaced by the equivalent unit of twenty value, e.g.
532^nd - 532^mh	an còig ceudamh cat, fichead 's a dhà dheug	a' chòig ceudamh cearc, fichead 's a dhà dheug
648^th - 648^mh	an sia ceudamh cat, dà fhichead 's a h-ochd	an t-sia ceudamh cearc dà fhichead 's a h-ochd
755^th - 755^mh	an seachd ceudamh cat, dà fhichead 's a còig deug	an t-seachd ceudamh cearc, dà fhichead 's a còig deug
863^th - 863^mh	an t-ochd ceudamh cat, trì fichead 's a trì	an ochd ceudamh cearc, trì fichead 's a trì
996^th - 996^mh	an naoi ceudamh cat, ceithir fichead 's a sia deug	an naoi ceudamh cearc, ceithir fichead 's a sia deug

**Traditional Ordinal Numbers Above 100**
In a number of situations units of twenty have persisted up to 200, particularly among older speakers and notably in psalm numbering, where **thar** replaces **air** in conjunction :
138^th - 138^mh	an sia ficheadamh cat 's a h-ochd deug	an t-sia ficheadamh cearc 's a h-ochd deug
	an t-ochdamh salm deug thar sia fichead - the 138th psalm

NEW WORDS

**Adjectives**
coltach (ri) - similar (to)	mu dheireadh - last

**Adverbs**
tarsainn - across

**Nouns**
gnàth-cheannaiche (m) - customer	paca (m) - pack
salm (m) - psalm	tòimhseachan (m) - puzzle
tòimhseachan-tarsainn (m) - crossword puzzle
deuchainn (f) - examination, test	rèile (f) - railway
pàirt (f) - part

**Verbs**
meal, mealtainn - enjoy	pàirtich, pàirteachdh - share

**Verbal Phrases**
meal do naidheachd! - congratulations! (informal and singular)
mealaibh ur naidheachd! - congratulations! (formal and plural)

**EXERCISE 1 Translate into English**
1.'S e sin a' chòigeamh mìlseag a ghabh thu	2.Seinnidh sinn an sia ficheadamh salm
3.Bha a' chiad chearc gu math coltach ris an dàrna tè	4.Bha gach dàrna uinneag aig an t-seann taigh briste
5.Thàinig e anns an deicheamh àite anns a' cho-fharpais	6.'S e an dà fhicheadamh co-là-breith a tha agam a-màireach
7.Nach e sin a' mhilleanamh uair a dh'innis mi sin dhut sin a dhèanamh?	8.Bha na truinnsearan air mullach na treas sgeilpe bhuamsa
9.Thoir seo dhan chiad duine a chì thu	10.Bha iad nan suidhe anns a' cheathradamh sreath 's a naoi
11.Tha an leabharlann mu choinneimh na treas bùth air an làimh chlì	12.Bha i na suidhe anns an trì ficheadamh sreath 's a deich
13.Cha do thuig mi e a' chiad turas a chuala mi e a' bruidhinn Gàidhlig	14a.'S e seo deireadh na ciad pàirte 14b.'S e seo deireadh a' chiad phàirt (a' chiad commonly persists in the genitive with feminine nouns)

**EXERCISE 2 Translate into Gàidhlig**
1.Do you know the sixth answer across of this crossword puzzle?	2.That's your third and last chance
3.He married for the second time yesterday	4.You will not get a second chance
5.Congratulations on your sixty fifth year	6.That was the ninety ninth car to go under the bridge
7.A queen was the forty third card in the pack	8.He came in the one hundred and fifty first place in the marathon
9.Two pupils shared second place in the examination	10.This is my sixth job in three years
11.Take the fifth turn on the right after the second railway bridge	12.Armstrong was the first man who walked on the moon
13.The fire started on the ninety second floor of the building	14.He was the millionth customer in the shop

**ANSWERS - EXERCISE 1**
1.That's the fifth sweet you've taken	2.We will sing the one hundred and twentieth psalm
3.The first hen was much the same as the second one	4.Every second (alternate) window of the old house was broken
5.He came in tenth place in the competition	6.It's my fortieth birthday tomorrow
7.Isn't that the millionth time I told you to do that	8.Tha plates were on top the third shelf from me
9.Give this to the first person you see	10.They were sitting in the forty ninth row
11.The library is opposite the third shop on the left	12.She was sitting in the seventieth row
13.I didn't understand him the first time I heard him speaking Gàidhlig	14.This is the end of the first part

**ANSWERS - EXERCISE 2**
1.A bheil fios agad air an t-siathamh freagairt tarsainn dhen tòimhseachan-tarsainn seo?	2.'S e sin an treas is an cothrom mu dheireadh agad
3.Phòs e airson an dàrna turais an-dè	4.Chan fhaigh thu an dàrna cothrom
5a.Mealaibh ur naidheachd air ur trì ficheadamh bliadhna 's a còig 5b.Mealaibh ur naidheachd air ur seasgadamh bliadhna 's a còig	6a.B' e sin an ceithir ficheadamh càr 's a naoi deug ri dhol fon drochaid 6b.B' e sin an naochadamh càr 's a naoi ri dhol fon drochaid
7a.B' e bànrigh an dà fhicheadamh cairt 's a trì anns a' phaca 7b.B' e bànrigh a' cheathradamh cairt 's a trì anns a' phaca	8a.Ràinig e anns a' cheudamh àite, dà fhichead 's a deich anns a' mharaton 8b.Ràinig e anns a' cheudamh àite 's a caogad anns a' mharaton
9.Phàirtich dithis sgoilearan an dàrna àite anns an deuchainn	10a.Seo mo shiathamh obair ann an trì bliadhna 10b.Seo an t-siathamh obair agam ann an trì bliadhna
11.Gabh an còigeamh tionndadh air an làimh dheis às dèidh na dàrna drochaide-rèile	12.B' e Armstrong a' chiad duine a choisich air a' ghealaich
13a.Thòisich an teine air a' cheithir ficheadamh ùrlar 's a dhà dhen togalach 13b.Thòisich an teine air an naochadamh ùrlar 's a dhà dhen togalach	14a.Bha e na mhilleanamh gnàth-cheannaiche anns a' bhùth 14b.B' esan am milleanamh gnàth-cheannaiche anns a' bhùth

This lesson in PDF format

dm©lelland - Faodar na leasanan seo ath-riochdachadh le aithneachadh dhan ùghdar
dm©lelland - These lessons may be reproduced with credit to the author