Majority of French speakers say 80 as "4 × 20": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/q... | Hacker News

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nousermane on Nov 28, 2021 | parent | context | favorite | on: Why are German numbers backwards?

Majority of French speakers say 80 as "4 × 20":

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quatre-vingts#French

varajelle on Nov 28, 2021 [–]

Not "4×20", but "4 20", and in a single word that means "80" without thinking about 4 and 20.

When you say eighteen, you think just "18" and not "8 teens". (Similarly, when you say "backwards" you think of the direction, not of "back wards")

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