Is there a special word for the numbers 11 to 19?

Question

In my language (Ukrainian), there are special words describing amounts between 11 and 19. They are constructed in a similar way as the numerals, but do not specify the numeral itself:

Це коштує надцять тисяч ("this costs over-teen thousand" — meaning, "too expensive")
Я вдома вже кільканадцять хвилин ("I'm at home a few-over-teen minutes already");

Is there a special name for amount between 11 and 19 in English? The reason why I'm asking is that I'm thinking in these categories, and I don't want to use less-specific words if there's a better term for it.

I know that a person of that age is called a teenager. But I haven't heard the word teens to describe amount. I've also heard a dozen, which literally means 12, but I have the impression that it is sometimes used to say about 12.

Am I right, and are there other words describing such amount?

Answer 1

English does not have a word referring to this range specifically. Different languages divide up the world differently - this is one of those cases where the languages don't have equivalent terms.

The word teen or teens is close, but it has two limitations:

1. "Teen" refers only to 13 - 19; it cannot refer to 11 or 12. Recently, the term "tween" has been coined to refer to the ages 10-12 for this very reason.
2. "Teen" is most often found in reference to abstract ranges such as ages, years, temperatures and the like. So while we might refer to a "temperature in the teens" to mean a temperature between 13 - 19 (C or F), it's less common to refer to use it with concrete objects. It would be unusual or even wrong to say "I have teens of apples".

Since there is no specific term, you should instead use constructions such as:

• Eleven to nineteen
• In the low two digits
• About 15, 15 or so, around 15, 15 give or take...
• More than ten but less than twenty
• Ten-something (I think this is more understandable and common than the alternative 'tensomething')
• There is a slang term that is close to the meaning and usage, but its use may be marked in certain contexts and it is informal: umpteen; "It'll cost umpteen thousand dollars."
• Or finally, reword your statement to avoid the situation

Answer 2

I don't think there's a word in English that means between 10 and 20. You might as well say "somewhere between 10 and 20", or, if that's too long, you might try "15, give or take."

One set of terms that has come into vogue relatively recently includes words like thirtysomething or fortysomething, which were initially used to describe a person's age, but I suppose those words could be borrowed to describe an amount as well, such as, "We caught twentysomething fish last weekend." However, this would be considered an informal and unconventional use of such terms; when such words are included in the dictionary, there is often explicit mention of age.

At least in the U.S., the term thirtysomething entered the mainstream vernacular along with a hit television series by the same name. Used conversationally, I don't think many people would bat an eye when hearing such words, but the words are far from officially established.

So, I wondered if one might use "tensomething" to go along with twentysomething, thirtysomething, etc. However, there don't seem to be any instances of that word in published works. When I Googled "tensomething," the first tensomething hits were twitter handles and message board names, but, sifting through those results further, I did manage to find a few uses of the word, mostly by bloggers who were referring to someone of that age, like these:

I love the spice girls, they totally rocked my world when I was tensomething.

There he was, this geeky, gawky little tensomething wandering dazed and confused around his native North Carolina, with half his head full of Boz Scaggs and Eric Carmen...

although I did find one person who used the word in the sense you are looking for:

This has happened to meh liek tensomething tiems. [sic]

So, if you want to follow the lead of one careless typist, you have your precedent. Use tensomething. However, don't expect much support from the dictionaries at this time.

Answer 3

Even though it's not a single word and not very common, you could use in the tens (or other uses, like tens of millions - which is reasonably common).

Answer 4

Based on your explanation, one English term you may be looking for is "ten-odd." The modifier '-odd' follows a round number. "Ten-odd" can mean more than ten but less than twenty; for example: "We waited on the platform for ten-odd minutes before catching the train." However, the postpositive '-odd' more generally means "somewhat more than" that particular quantity; for example: "I am a programmer analyst with twenty-odd years of experience." It largely depends on the context.

However, "Я вдома вже кільканадцять хвилин" would probably best be translated as "I've already been home for well over ten minutes" ('well over' denotes 'much more than').

And I think the best translation of your first example, "Це коштує надцять тисяч," would probably be "This costs umpteen thousand (dollars)," as has already been suggested, since the essential meaning is that it is too expensive. 'Umpteen' denotes 'an indefinitely large number.'

Answer 5

The temperature can be referred to sometimes as being "in the teens", or "in the low teens". A quick reference on a website (first thing on Google)