this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2026
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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Just ask the Danish how to "calculate" their word for 90, and you will consider the French approach simplicistic.

[–] daddycool@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

90 = Half fives.

50 = Half sixty.

70 = Half (I don't even know how to translate this)

[–] kungen@feddit.nu 5 points 3 days ago

Huh? 50 is halvtreds (20 * 2.5)

70 is actually halvfjerdensindstyve, literally "half to the four(th20) times 20". So the base number (20) * 3.5...

The problem is, Danish people can't understand each other even with the simplest of words, so they just say halvfjerds.

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[–] Scrollone@feddit.it 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

In a way, Danish is more clear than French, because all numbers between 50 and 90 are based on the vigesimal (base-20) system.

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[–] nightwatch_admin@lemmy.world 102 points 4 days ago (26 children)

I take no complaints on that subject from people who measure in inches, feet and ounces.

[–] Dookieman12@piefed.social 26 points 4 days ago (4 children)

We adopted the standard. The boat with the official measurements sank on the way over, you unread swine.

[–] justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io 28 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Fun fact: the moon landing was programmed and calculated in metric.

So, laughs in moon landing units.

[–] Zwiebel@feddit.org 22 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

US units have all been redefined in relation to metric, so technically they use metric just with wierd factors

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[–] agent_nycto@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

Attacking the person and not the argument is an ad hominem fallacy.

[–] MojoMcJojo@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago (9 children)

And yards...and Fahrenheits!

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[–] Limonene@lemmy.world 22 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Quatre vingt dix nuts lol gottem

[–] Rekonok@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 days ago

Basé et nombre pilé

[–] Kennystillalive@feddit.org 17 points 4 days ago (5 children)

Septante, huitante et nonante

[–] Scrollone@feddit.it 3 points 3 days ago (3 children)
[–] Jacob_Mandarin@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

And belgium

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[–] Slayan@lemmy.ca 20 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Tough, though, throw, trough, thorough, through, thought.

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[–] Takapapatapaka@tarte.nuage-libre.fr 36 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

🤓 Technically there are septante, octante/huitante, nonante, but it's either considered local to some region (belgium, switzerland, etc) or old-school

[–] plyth@feddit.org 24 points 4 days ago

or old-school

That's the crazy part.

[–] aldhissla@piefed.world 9 points 4 days ago

Septante, huitante, nonante

🇨🇭🇨🇭🇨🇭

[–] LegoBrickOnFire@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (3 children)

What the fuck is wrong with people believing "octante" is used anywhere??? This is so prevailing. As far as I know no-one on earth uses "octante". We say "huitante" And the belgians were undecisive and still use "quatre-vingt"

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[–] Batman@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Back in Frances time these were large numbers. One million five hundred thousand one hundred eight, like ???? That's how people in the future will look at you when you say that number in English. Stop counting people, our brains are not meant for this

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Me in high school french:

70: soixante-dix ohhh trippy, 60 10, why not start at 50, that's strange so 80 will be soixante-vingt (60 20) right? ... right?

80: quatre-vingt 4 20's?

but why 60 20 and then 4 20?

[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

Quatre-vingt blaze iet

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Seems like my lifelong hatred for the French was justified after all!

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

LOL, They weren't so bad. I even went to Paris. TBH, I think the American tourists over there was much worse :) Prisians give off an NYC leave me the fuck alone vibe.

[–] Hapankaali@lemmy.world 25 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Four score and seven years ago...

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[–] Hansae@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Lol wait until you find out about the Danish counting system, truly unhinged.

[–] BlaestEgnen@feddit.dk 8 points 3 days ago (3 children)

What's wrong about it?

Halvfjerds, half fourth. Clearly that's seventy.

But it's short for halvfjerdsindstyvende. Half fourth's in twenties. Yep that's seventy my friend

[–] AEsheron@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I assume the name refers to the fact that you are halfway to the fourth twenty from the third?

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[–] weps@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Belgians are better at French than the French

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[–] randomname01@feddit.nl 23 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Nonante does exist in Belgian French!

[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 12 points 4 days ago

So does in Switzerland, Congo and Vallée d'Aoste.

"French" does indeed have them, it's just that the French don't use them. Luckily the Belgians do.

[–] Armand1@lemmy.world 17 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I love having to use 4 words to describe the number 99 (cope)

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[–] ryper@lemmy.ca 14 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (5 children)

Captain Picard is French so he ought to be in a better position to answer the question than most of us.

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[–] pseudo@jlai.lu 14 points 4 days ago

That is a proper base-20 heritage. May you live to six-twenties.

[–] AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 12 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Brother, thats nothing, have you seen their vowels? Vowel chart is insane:

And also they distinguish diphtongs(like ai in pain), hiatus (like saying pain but saying it like "pa" from "papa" and then "in") and even fucking glides so "ai" and "aj" are not the same 💀

Edit: Fixed the image with LogicalDrivel@sopuli.xyz 's help

[–] LogicalDrivel@sopuli.xyz 12 points 4 days ago (3 children)

have you seen their vowels?

Just barely.

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