Martin Gardner: Words to Numbers

Take any whole number and write out its numeral in
English, such as FIVE for the usual 5.

Count the number of characters in the spelling.
In this case, it is 4 — or FOUR.
So, work now with the 4 or FOUR.
Repeat with 4 to get 4 again.

Take, ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE for a total count of 23.

(Include spaces and hyphens in your count.)

ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE -> TWENTY THREE -> TWELVE -> SIX -> THREE -> FIVE -> FOUR.

Try with any other number, and see if it always works

In English we end up with 4 as the final number. It would be interesting to find out what numbers we end up in other languages.

Since I'm fluent in Italian and in French, I'll find out.

Try it in Italian:

Italian Cardinal Numbers: 1 - 100

1 ............... uno ............... (=3)
2 ............... due ............. (=3)
3 ............... tre ............. (=3)
4 ............... quattro ......... (=7)
5 ............... cinque .......... (=6)
6 ............... sei ............. (=3)
7 ............... sette ........... (=5)
8 ............... otto ............ (=4)
9 ............... nove ............ (=4)
10 ............... dieci .......... (=5)
11 ............... undici ......... (=6)
12 ............... dodici ......... (=6)
13 ............... tredici ........ (=7)
14 ............... quattordici ..... (=11)
15 ............... quindici ........ (=8)
16 ............... sedici .......... (=6)
17 ............... diciassette
18 ............... diciotto
19 ............... diciannove
20 ............... venti
21 ............... ventuno
22 ............... ventidue
23 ............... ventitré
24 ............... ventiquattro
25 ............... venticinque
26 ............... ventisei
27 ............... ventisette
28 ............... ventotto
29 ............... ventinove
30 ............... trenta
40 ............... quaranta
50 ............... cinquanta
60 ............... sessanta
70 ............... settanta
80 ............... ottanta
90 ............... novanta
100 ............... cento

The numbers venti, trenta, quaranta, cinquanta, and so on drop the final vowel when combined with uno and otto. Tre is written without an accent, but ventitré, trentatré, and so on are written with an accent.

So, if we start with 5 or CINQUE (=6) ->


Numbers 1 - 100 in French

1 ... un ............................. 11 ... onze
2 ... deux ........................... 12 ... douze
3 ... trois .......................... 13 ... treize
4 ... quatre ......................... 14 ... quatorze
5 ... cinq ........................... 15 ... quinze
6 ... six ............................ 16 ... seize
7 ... sept ........................... 17 ... dix-sept
8 ... huit ........................... 18 ... dix-huit
9 ... neuf ........................... 19 ... dix-neuf
10 ... dix ........................... 20 ... vingt

21 ... vingt et un ........................ 31 ... trente et un
22 ... vingt-deux ......................... 32 ... trente-deux
23 ... vingt-trois ........................ 33 ... trente-trois
24 ... vingt-quatre ....................... 34 ... trente-quatre
25 ... vingt-cinq ......................... 35 ... trente-cinq
26 ... vingt-six .......................... 36 ... trente-six
27 ... vingt-sept ......................... 37 ... trente-sept
28 ... vingt-huit ......................... 38 ... trente-huit
29 ... vingt-neuf ......................... 39 ... trente-neuf
30 ... trente ............................. 40 ... quarante

41 ... quarante et un ........................... 51 ... cinquante et un
42 ... quarante-deux ............................ 52 ... cinquante-deux
43 ... quarante-trois ........................... 53 ... cinquante-trois
44 ... quarante-quatre .......................... 54 ... cinquante-quatre
45 ... quarante-cinq ............................ 55 ... cinquante-cinq
46 ... quarante-six ............................. 56 ... cinquante-six
47 ... quarante-sept ............................ 57 ... cinquante-sept
48 ... quarante-huit ............................ 58 ... cinquante-huit
49 ... quarante-neuf ............................ 59 ... cinquante-neuf
50 ... cinquante ................................ 60 ... soixante

61 ... soixante et un ........................... 71 ... soixante et onze
62 ... soixante-deux ............................ 72 ... soixante-douze
63 ... soixante-trois ........................... 73 ... soixante-treize
64 ... soixante-quatre .......................... 74 ... soixante-quatorze
65 ... soixante-cinq ............................ 75 ... soixante-quinze
66 ... soixante-six ............................. 76 ... soixante-seize
67 ... soixante-sept ............................ 77 ... soixante-dix-sept
68 ... soixante-huit ............................ 78 ... soixante-dix-huit
69 ... soixante-neuf ............................ 79 ... soixante-dix-neuf
70 ... soixante-dix ............................. 80 ... quatre-vingts

80 ... quatre-vingts ......................... 91 ... quatre-vingt-onze
81 ... quatre-vingt-un ....................... 92 ... quatre-vingt-douze
82 ... quatre-vingt-deux ..................... 93 ... quatre-vingt-treize
83 ... quatre-vingt-trois .................... 94 ... quatre-vingt-quatorze
84 ... quatre-vingt-quatre ................... 95 ... quatre-vingt-quinze
85 ... quatre-vingt-cinq ..................... 96 ... quatre-vingt-seize
86 ... quatre-vingt-six ...................... 97 ... quatre-vingt-dix-sept
87 ... quatre-vingt-sept ..................... 98 ... quatre-vingt-dix-huit
88 ... quatre-vingt-huit ..................... 99 ... quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
89 ... quatre-vingt-neuf ..................... 100 ... cent
90 ... quatre-vingt-dix ...................... 101 ... cent-un

So, if we start with 5 or CINQ (=4) then ->