tjugo

Tjugo is the Swedish word for the number twenty. It serves as the base of the Swedish counting system in the twenties and is used in everyday language for ages, quantities, and measurements. The word also appears in various time- and date-related expressions and is a common component when forming compound numbers in the twenty range.

Etymology and cognates: Tjugo traces back to Old Norse tjúgu, and is part of the West Scandinavian family of numbers. It is closely related to Norwegian tjue and Icelandic tuttugu, and it shares a common ancestry with Danish tyve and English twenty. The development of the form reflects sound changes typical of Nordic languages, while the exact spelling and pronunciation have evolved in modern Swedish.

Usage and formation: In Swedish, tjugo remains the key element for the twenty range. Numbers from 21 to 29 are formed by combining tjugo with the unit, though the exact orthography can vary by tradition and context. The word also appears in common phrases such as expressing age—for example, a person who is twenty years old is described as tjugo år gammal.

See also: tjue, tuttugu, tyve. These related forms illustrate how the same numerical concept appears across Germanic languages with regional variations in spelling and pronunciation.