Once you have 0–10, the numbers up to a hundred are mostly built from pieces you already know — but with two spelling quirks, two irregular tens, and one trap that catches every learner: the teens 11–14 do not behave like 2, 3, 4. They take the genitive plural. This page gives you the teens, the tens (including the irregular со́рок and девяно́сто), the compounds, and the rule that the noun's case is decided by the last word of the number.
The teens 11–19: the -надцать numbers
The teens are formed by stacking a digit onto -надцать (a worn-down form of "on ten" — historically "one-on-ten"). The stress sits on the first part for most of them. Two spellings are worth a second look: двена́дцать (12, not двана́дцать) and *четы́рнадцать (14, which drops a vowel — not *четырена́дцать).
| Numeral | Russian | Built from |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | оди́ннадцать | оди́н + надцать (double н) |
| 12 | двена́дцать | две + надцать (note: две-, stress on -на-) |
| 13 | трина́дцать | три + надцать |
| 14 | четы́рнадцать | четыр- + надцать (drops -е-; stress on четы́р-) |
| 15 | пятна́дцать | пят + надцать (no soft sign) |
| 16 | шестна́дцать | шест + надцать |
| 17 | семна́дцать | сем + надцать |
| 18 | восемна́дцать | восем + надцать |
| 19 | девятна́дцать | девят + надцать |
The tens 20–90 and сто
The tens 20–80 are built transparently, but со́рок (40) and девяно́сто (90) are completely irregular — they are not built from 4 and 9 at all and must be memorized as one-offs. Note also the soft sign in the middle of пятьдеся́т, шестьдеся́т, се́мьдесят, во́семьдесят.
| Numeral | Russian | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | два́дцать | два + дцать |
| 30 | три́дцать | три + дцать |
| 40 | со́рок | IRREGULAR — not built from 4 |
| 50 | пятьдеся́т | soft sign in the middle; stress on -сят |
| 60 | шестьдеся́т | soft sign in the middle; stress on -сят |
| 70 | се́мьдесят | soft sign in the middle; stress on се́м- |
| 80 | во́семьдесят | soft sign in the middle; stress on во́- |
| 90 | девяно́сто | IRREGULAR — not built from 9 |
| 100 | сто | monosyllable |
В на́шей шко́ле у́чится о́коло восьмисо́т ученико́в, а учителе́й — со́рок.
About eight hundred pupils study at our school, and there are forty teachers. (со́рок — irregular 40; со́рок takes the genitive plural учителе́й)
Ба́бушке в э́том году́ испо́лнилось девяно́сто лет.
Grandma turned ninety this year. (девяно́сто — irregular 90; + genitive plural лет)
Compound numbers 21–99
Compounds are written and said as separate words, biggest part first: два́дцать оди́н (21), три́дцать пять (35), со́рок два (42), девяно́сто де́вять (99). There is no "and" between the parts. The last component is a plain unit (оди́н, два, три…) and behaves exactly as it would alone — which is the key to the government rule below.
Ему́ испо́лнилось два́дцать оди́н год.
He turned twenty-one. (compound: два́дцать + оди́н; год after a number ending in 1)
В кла́ссе три́дцать пять ученико́в.
There are thirty-five pupils in the class. (compound: три́дцать + пять)
Government: the case is keyed to the LAST word
In a compound number, you ignore the tens part and let the final unit decide the noun's case. This is the same 1 / 2–4 / 5+ rule from 0–10, applied to whatever digit ends the number:
- ends in 1 (два́дцать оди́н) → nominative singular: два́дцать оди́н рубль
- ends in 2, 3, 4 (два́дцать два) → genitive singular: два́дцать два рубля́
- ends in 5–9 or 0 (два́дцать пять) → genitive plural: два́дцать пять рубле́й
Биле́т сто́ит два́дцать оди́н рубль.
The ticket costs twenty-one roubles. (ends in 1 → nominative singular рубль)
Кни́га сто́ит два́дцать два рубля́.
The book costs twenty-two roubles. (ends in 2 → genitive singular рубля́)
Обе́д сто́ит два́дцать пять рубле́й.
Lunch costs twenty-five roubles. (ends in 5 → genitive plural рубле́й)
Notice that "twenty-one roubles" is grammatically singular — два́дцать оди́н рубль — even though there are clearly twenty-one of them. The number says "twenty plus one," and the "one" forces a singular. This feels deeply wrong to an English speaker and is the part most worth drilling.
The 11–14 trap
Here is the catch that makes the teens different from 2, 3, 4. Even though 12, 13, 14 end in 2, 3, 4, the teens 11, 12, 13, 14 always take the genitive plural, never the genitive singular. The reason is that the "-надцать" ending is itself a unit (it does not break into "ten + four"), so the whole teen counts as a single number above ten — and numbers above ten in this range govern the genitive plural.
В кни́ге оди́ннадцать глав.
There are eleven chapters in the book. (11 → genitive plural глав, NOT genitive singular)
До за́втрака оста́лось двена́дцать мину́т.
There are twelve minutes left until breakfast. (12 → genitive plural мину́т, despite ending in 'два')
В гру́ппе четы́рнадцать студе́нтов.
There are fourteen students in the group. (14 → genitive plural студе́нтов, NOT singular студе́нта)
How this differs from English
English teens and tens are inert: "twenty-one tickets," "ninety roubles" — the noun is just plural, always. Russian asks two extra things. First, the shape of some numbers is irregular in unexpected places (со́рок and девяно́сто bear no resemblance to 4 and 9; English forty/ninety at least keep the four/nine root). Second, and far more disruptive, the noun's case follows the last word, so "twenty-one roubles" is singular (рубль), "twenty-two" is genitive singular (рубля́), and "twenty-five" is genitive plural (рубле́й) — three different forms of the same noun depending on a digit that, to an English ear, is irrelevant. The 11–14 exception has no English analogue whatsoever; it is pure morphological history.
Common Mistakes
❌ В кни́ге оди́ннадцать глава́.
Incorrect — 11 takes the genitive plural, not the genitive singular: глав, not глава́.
✅ В кни́ге оди́ннадцать глав.
There are eleven chapters in the book. (11 → genitive plural глав)
❌ Оста́лось двена́дцать мину́ты.
Incorrect — 12 ends in 'два' but is a teen, so it takes the genitive PLURAL мину́т, not the genitive singular мину́ты.
✅ Оста́лось двена́дцать мину́т.
Twelve minutes are left. (12 → genitive plural мину́т)
❌ Биле́т сто́ит два́дцать оди́н рубле́й.
Incorrect — a number ending in 1 takes the nominative singular: два́дцать оди́н рубль.
✅ Биле́т сто́ит два́дцать оди́н рубль.
The ticket costs twenty-one roubles. (ends in 1 → nominative singular рубль)
❌ Ей со́рок четы́ре лет.
Incorrect — the number ends in 4, so the noun is the genitive singular го́да, not лет (лет is for 5+ and teens).
✅ Ей со́рок четы́ре го́да.
She is forty-four years old. (ends in 4 → genitive singular го́да)
❌ В кла́ссе три́дцать пять ученика́.
Incorrect — a number ending in 5 takes the genitive plural: ученико́в, not ученика́.
✅ В кла́ссе три́дцать пять ученико́в.
There are thirty-five pupils in the class. (ends in 5 → genitive plural ученико́в)
Key Takeaways
- Teens 11–19 are built with -надцать; mind the spellings оди́ннадцать (double н), двена́дцать, четы́рнадцать.
- Tens: два́дцать, три́дцать, со́рок (irregular 40), пятьдеся́т, шестьдеся́т, се́мьдесят, во́семьдесят, девяно́сто (irregular 90), сто. Soft sign sits in the middle of 50–80.
- Compounds are separate words, biggest first: два́дцать оди́н, три́дцать пять. No "and."
- The noun's case follows the last word: ends in 1 → nominative singular (два́дцать оди́н рубль); 2–4 → genitive singular (два́дцать два рубля́); 5–9/0 → genitive plural (два́дцать пять рубле́й).
- The 11–14 trap: teens always take the genitive plural (оди́ннадцать рубле́й, двена́дцать мину́т), even though 12–14 end in 2/3/4.
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- The Numeral Government Rule in DepthA2 — The single most important rule in Russian numbers, stated definitively for the nominative/accusative: a number ending in 1 (except 11) puts the noun in the NOMINATIVE SINGULAR (два́дцать оди́н дом); ending in 2, 3, 4 (except 12–14) → GENITIVE SINGULAR (два до́ма, три рубля́); ending in 0, 5–9, or being 11–14 → GENITIVE PLURAL (пять домо́в, двена́дцать книг). Plus where the rule comes from (the genitive singular is a fossilized dual), how adjectives agree inside a numeral phrase (два больши́х до́ма), and how compounds key on the final word (сто оди́н дом).
- Numbers 0-10A1 — The first ten Russian cardinals — ноль/нуль, оди́н, два/две, три, четы́ре, пять, шесть, семь, во́семь, де́вять, де́сять — with their stress and a first look at the rule that makes them so different from English: оди́н agrees like an adjective (оди́н стол, одна́ кни́га, одно́ окно́); два/две (the only cardinal that changes for gender), три and четы́ре put the counted noun in the GENITIVE SINGULAR (два стола́, три кни́ги); and пять through де́сять put it in the GENITIVE PLURAL (пять столо́в, де́сять книг).
- Hundreds, Thousands, MillionsA2 — The hundreds (две́сти, три́ста, четы́реста, пятьсо́т…девятьсо́т) with their irregular forms and stress; and the big nouns ты́сяча, миллио́н, миллиа́рд. The crucial difference: ты́сяча, миллио́н and миллиа́рд are NOUNS — they govern the genitive plural of what they count (ты́сяча рубле́й, два миллио́на люде́й) AND are themselves counted by the 1 / 2–4 / 5+ rule (одна́ ты́сяча, две ты́сячи, пять ты́сяч). Plus how to read large compound numbers and years (ты́сяча девятьсо́т во́семьдесят четы́ре = 1984).
- Genitive After Quantity WordsA2 — мно́го, ма́ло, немно́го, не́сколько, ско́лько, сто́лько, бо́льше, ме́ньше all govern the genitive: genitive PLURAL for things you can count (мно́го книг, ско́лько люде́й) and genitive SINGULAR for mass/abstract nouns (мно́го воды́, ма́ло вре́мени). Measures behave the same (килогра́мм я́блок, буты́лка вина́, ча́шка ко́фе). The count/mass split — invisible in English's much/many — decides singular vs plural.