English (and Swedish and Norwegian) all used to use the backwards form. (I know the English form mostly from an old nursery rhyme, with the line "four and twenty blackbirds" [1].) Before that, counting was also in twenties (score), as in "three score and ten".
I wish Danish had made the same changes. "Tres", "firs" are clearly something about three and four, and "halv" is half -- it's difficult not to think about 3, 4 and ½, and with the "sinds-tyve" omitted, there's no time to think before then next word is spoken. I also have difficulty distinguishing "halv" and "og" in "tre half tres" / "tre og tres".
This website will be useful practise.
I've found [2]
"A Scandinavist language reform movement tried to get the 20-based forms replaced by 10-based like Norwegian and Swedish have. With absolutely no success.
Danish 10-based forms are only used in inter-Scandinavian communication and money documents like cheques.
They are: femti, seksti, syvti, ot(te)ti, niti"
I suspect English numbers would be better understood by the average Dane...
I wish Danish had made the same changes. "Tres", "firs" are clearly something about three and four, and "halv" is half -- it's difficult not to think about 3, 4 and ½, and with the "sinds-tyve" omitted, there's no time to think before then next word is spoken. I also have difficulty distinguishing "halv" and "og" in "tre half tres" / "tre og tres".
This website will be useful practise.
I've found [2]
"A Scandinavist language reform movement tried to get the 20-based forms replaced by 10-based like Norwegian and Swedish have. With absolutely no success.
Danish 10-based forms are only used in inter-Scandinavian communication and money documents like cheques. They are: femti, seksti, syvti, ot(te)ti, niti"
I suspect English numbers would be better understood by the average Dane...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing_a_Song_of_Sixpence#Lyrics
[2] http://www.olestig.dk/dansk/numbers.html