Numbers
Numbers are essential for everyday communication in German. Understanding both cardinal and ordinal numbers will help you with dates, prices, addresses, and more.
Basic Numbers (1-10)
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | eins | eyns |
| 2 | zwei | tsvye |
| 3 | drei | drye |
| 4 | vier | feer |
| 5 | fünf | füünf |
| 6 | sechs | zeks |
| 7 | sieben | ZEE-ben |
| 8 | acht | akht |
| 9 | neun | noyn |
| 10 | zehn | tsayn |
Tens (10-100)
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | zehn | tsayn |
| 20 | zwanzig | TSVAHN-tsikh |
| 30 | dreißig | DRYE-sikh |
| 40 | vierzig | FEER-tsikh |
| 50 | fünfzig | FÜÜNF-tsikh |
| 60 | sechzig | ZEKH-tsikh |
| 70 | siebzig | ZEEP-tsikh |
| 80 | achtzig | AKHT-tsikh |
| 90 | neunzig | NOYN-tsikh |
| 100 | hundert | HUN-dert |
Numbers 11-20
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | elf | elf |
| 12 | zwölf | tsvölf |
| 13 | dreizehn | DRYE-tsayn |
| 14 | vierzehn | FEER-tsayn |
| 15 | fünfzehn | FÜÜNF-tsayn |
| 16 | sechzehn | ZEKH-tsayn |
| 17 | siebzehn | ZEEP-tsayn |
| 18 | achtzehn | AKHT-tsayn |
| 19 | neunzehn | NOYN-tsayn |
| 20 | zwanzig | TSVAHN-tsikh |
Technique for 13-19
Pattern: Base number + "zehn" (ten)
- 13 = 3 + 10 = drei + zehn = dreizehn
- 14 = 4 + 10 = vier + zehn = vierzehn
- 15 = 5 + 10 = fünf + zehn = fünfzehn
- Exception: 16 = 6 + 10 = sechs + zehn = sechzehn (drops the 's' from sechs)
- Exception: 17 = 7 + 10 = sieben + zehn = siebzehn (drops the 'en' from sieben)
Numbers 21-100
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | einundzwanzig | EYN-unt-tsvahn-tsikh |
| 22 | zweiundzwanzig | TSVYE-unt-tsvahn-tsikh |
| 25 | fünfundzwanzig | FÜÜNF-unt-tsvahn-tsikh |
| 30 | dreißig | DRYE-sikh |
| 35 | fünfunddreißig | FÜÜNF-unt-drye-sikh |
| 50 | fünfzig | FÜÜNF-tsikh |
| 67 | siebenundsechzig | ZEE-ben-unt-zekh-tsikh |
| 89 | neunundachtzig | NOYN-unt-akht-tsikh |
| 100 | hundert | HUN-dert |
Technique for 21-99
Pattern: Ones + "und" (and) + tens (reversed from English!)
- 21 = 1 + 20 = ein + und + zwanzig = einundzwanzig
- 34 = 4 + 30 = vier + und + dreißig = vierunddreißig
- 87 = 7 + 80 = sieben + und + achtzig = siebenundachtzig
Numbers 101-120, 180-200
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | einhundertuns | EYN-hun-dert-eyns |
| 102 | einhundertzwei | EYN-hun-dert-tsvye |
| 110 | einhundertzehn | EYN-hun-dert-tsayn |
| 115 | einhundertfünfzehn | EYN-hun-dert-füünf-tsayn |
| 120 | einhundertzwanzig | EYN-hun-dert-tsvahn-tsikh |
| 180 | einhundertachtzig | EYN-hun-dert-akht-tsikh |
| 190 | einhundertneunzig | EYN-hun-dert-noyn-tsikh |
| 200 | zweihundert | TSVYE-hun-dert |
Technique for 101-999
Pattern: Hundreds + remaining number
- 101 = 100 + 1 = hundert + eins = einhunderteins
- 234 = 200 + 34 = zweihundert + vierunddreißig = zweihundertvierunddreißig
- 567 = 500 + 67 = fünfhundert + siebenundsechzig = fünfhundertsiebenundsechzig
Numbers 980-1000
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 980 | neunhundertachtzig | NOYN-hun-dert-akht-tsikh |
| 990 | neunhundertneunzig | NOYN-hun-dert-noyn-tsikh |
| 999 | neunhundertneunundneunzig | NOYN-hun-dert-noyn-unt-noyn-tsikh |
| 1000 | tausend | TAU-zent |
Technique for 900-999
Pattern: Same as hundreds - base number + "hundert" + remaining
- 987 = 900 + 87 = neunhundert + siebenundachtzig = neunhundertsiebenundachtzig
- 999 = 900 + 99 = neunhundert + neunundneunzig = neunhundertneunundneunzig
Large Numbers (Thousands)
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 | tausend | TAU-zent |
| 2000 | zweitausend | TSVYE-tau-zent |
| 3000 | dreitausend | DRYE-tau-zent |
| 4000 | viertausend | FEER-tau-zent |
| 5000 | fünftausend | FÜÜNF-tau-zent |
| 6000 | sechstausend | ZEKHS-tau-zent |
| 7000 | siebentausend | ZEE-ben-tau-zent |
| 8000 | achttausend | AKHT-tau-zent |
| 9000 | neuntausend | NOYN-tau-zent |
| 10000 | zehntausend | TSAYN-tau-zent |
Large Complex Numbers
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1001 | eintausendeins | EYN-tau-zent-eyns |
| 2002 | zweitausendzwei | TSVYE-tau-zent-tsvye |
| 3212 | dreitausendzweihundertzwölf | DRYE-tau-zent-tsvye-hun-dert-tsvölf |
| 10224 | zehntausendzweihundertvierundzwanzig | TSAYN-tau-zent-tsvye-hun-dert-feer-unt-tsvahn-tsikh |
| 22428 | zweiundzwanzigtausendvierhundertachtundzwanzig | TSVYE-unt-tsvahn-tsikh-tau-zent-feer-hun-dert-akht-unt-tsvahn-tsikh |
| 45789 | fünfundvierzigtausendsiebenhundertneunundachtzig | FÜÜNF-unt-feer-tsikh-tau-zent-zee-ben-hun-dert-noyn-unt-akht-tsikh |
| 123456 | einhundertdreiundzwanzigtausendvierhundertsechsundfünfzig | EYN-hun-dert-drye-unt-tsvahn-tsikh-tau-zent-feer-hun-dert-zekhs-unt-füünf-tsikh |
Technique for Complex Numbers
Pattern: Break down into thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones
- 1001 = 1000 + 1 = tausend + eins = eintausendeins
- 2002 = 2000 + 2 = zweitausend + zwei = zweitausendzwei
- 3212 = 3000 + 200 + 12 = dreitausend + zweihundert + zwölf = dreitausendzweihundertzwölf
- 10224 = 10000 + 200 + 24 = zehntausend + zweihundert + vierundzwanzig = zehntausendzweihundertvierundzwanzig
- 22428 = 22000 + 400 + 28 = zweiundzwanzigtausend + vierhundert + achtundzwanzig = zweiundzwanzigtausendvierhundertachtundzwanzig
Powers of Ten
| Number | German | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | zehn | tsayn |
| 100 | hundert | HUN-dert |
| 1000 | tausend | TAU-zent |
| 10000 | zehntausend | TSAYN-tau-zent |
| 100000 | hunderttausend | HUN-dert-tau-zent |
| 1000000 | eine Million | EYN-eh mil-lee-OHN |
| 10000000 | zehn Millionen | tsayn mil-lee-OH-nen |
Ordinal Numbers (1st-20th)
| Number | German | English | English Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | erste | first | EHR-steh |
| 2nd | zweite | second | TSVYE-teh |
| 3rd | dritte | third | DRIT-teh |
| 4th | vierte | fourth | FEER-teh |
| 5th | fünfte | fifth | FÜÜNF-teh |
| 6th | sechste | sixth | ZEKHS-teh |
| 7th | siebte | seventh | ZEEP-teh |
| 8th | achte | eighth | AKH-teh |
| 9th | neunte | ninth | NOYN-teh |
| 10th | zehnte | tenth | TSAYN-teh |
| 11th | elfte | eleventh | ELF-teh |
| 12th | zwölfte | twelfth | TSVÖLF-teh |
| 13th | dreizehnte | thirteenth | DRYE-tsayn-teh |
| 14th | vierzehnte | fourteenth | FEER-tsayn-teh |
| 15th | fünfzehnte | fifteenth | FÜÜNF-tsayn-teh |
| 16th | sechzehnte | sixteenth | ZEKH-tsayn-teh |
| 17th | siebzehnte | seventeenth | ZEEP-tsayn-teh |
| 18th | achtzehnte | eighteenth | AKHT-tsayn-teh |
| 19th | neunzehnte | nineteenth | NOYN-tsayn-teh |
| 20th | zwanzigste | twentieth | TSVAHN-tsikh-steh |
Tips for Learning German Numbers
Key Rules
- Ones before tens: 21 = einundzwanzig (one-and-twenty)
- No spaces: Write compound numbers as one word
- Ordinal endings: Add "-te" for 1st-19th, "-ste" for 20th and above
- Special cases: erste (1st), dritte (3rd), siebte (7th), achte (8th)
Memory Tricks
- Listen to German: Numbers appear frequently in everyday speech
- Practice backwards: Start with large numbers, break them down
- Use in context: Practice with times, dates, prices, addresses
- Count daily: Practice counting objects around you
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Don't forget "und" (and) between ones and tens
- Remember the reversed order (21 = one-and-twenty, not twenty-one)
- Ordinals change based on case and gender in sentences
- "Million" is feminine and plural: "Millionen"