1.5.1 Numbers 0-100

Table of Contents

Understanding German Numbers up to 100

In this chapter you learn how to count in German from 0 to 100. This is the basis for telling your age, prices, time, and dates later.

Numbers 0 to 12

The numbers from 0 to 12 are irregular. You should simply learn them by heart, just like in English.

Number	German	Pronunciation hint (English-style)
0	null	nool
1	eins	ayns
2	zwei	tsvy
3	drei	dry (as in "dry")
4	vier	feer
5	fünf	fuenf (with short ü)
6	sechs	zex
7	sieben	ZEE-ben
8	acht	aht (with a strong ch sound)
9	neun	noyn
10	zehn	tsayn
11	elf	elf
12	zwölf	tswölf (ö like in “bird”)

Important:
Numbers from 0 to 12 are mostly irregular. Do not try to build them from rules, just memorize them.

Numbers 13 to 19

From 13 to 19 German numbers are built from a basic number plus the ending "-zehn" which means "ten". Some of them change their stem a little.

Number	German	Notes
13	dreizehn	drei + zehn
14	vierzehn	vier + zehn
15	fünfzehn	fünf + zehn (no extra f)
16	sechzehn	sechs loses s: sech + zehn
17	siebzehn	sieben loses en: sieb + zehn
18	achtzehn	acht + zehn
19	neunzehn	neun + zehn

Pattern:
13 to 19 use [number] + zehn as one word: dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn, sechzehn, siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn.

The Tens: 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

The tens have special forms that you must learn. Some are regular, some change.

Number	German	Notes
20	zwanzig	from zwei, spelling changes
30	dreißig	from drei, uses ß
40	vierzig	vier + zig, no extra s
50	fünfzig	fünf + zig
60	sechzig	sechs loses s: sech + zig
70	siebzig	sieben loses en: sieb + zig
80	achtzig	acht + zig
90	neunzig	neun + zig

Note that "dreißig" uses the letter ß. You will learn more about ß in another chapter, here you just need to recognize the word.

Important tens:
20 = zwanzig, 30 = dreißig, 40 = vierzig, 50 = fünfzig, 60 = sechzig, 70 = siebzig, 80 = achtzig, 90 = neunzig.

Combining Numbers: 21 to 99

From 21 up to 99 you combine the units and the tens. German does this in the opposite order to English.

In English you say:
"twenty-one" = 20 + 1

In German you say:
"one and twenty" = 1 + und + 20

For example:

Number	German	Literal meaning
21	einundzwanzig	one and twenty
22	zweiundzwanzig	two and twenty
23	dreiundzwanzig	three and twenty
24	vierundzwanzig	four and twenty
25	fünfundzwanzig	five and twenty
26	sechsundzwanzig	six and twenty
27	siebenundzwanzig	seven and twenty
28	achtundzwanzig	eight and twenty
29	neunundzwanzig	nine and twenty

The same pattern works for all tens.

Number	German	Literal meaning
31	einunddreißig	one and thirty
37	siebenunddreißig	seven and thirty
42	zweiundvierzig	two and forty
58	achtundfünfzig	eight and fifty
64	vierundsechzig	four and sixty
79	neunundsiebzig	nine and seventy
86	sechsundachtzig	six and eighty
93	dreiundneunzig	three and ninety

For 21, 31, 41 and so on, notice that "eins" becomes "ein" in compound numbers.

Formula:
[unit] + "und" + [ten], written as one single word.
Examples:
23 = dreiundzwanzig, 47 = siebenundvierzig, 81 = einundachtzig.

Number 100

The number 100 in German is:

Number	German
100	hundert

In later chapters you will learn how to form numbers above 100. For now, just recognize "hundert".

Reading and Saying Numbers

When you see a number written in digits, you say it according to these rules.

Examples:

Digits	German
14	vierzehn
20	zwanzig
27	siebenundzwanzig
35	fünfunddreißig
48	achtundvierzig
52	zweiundfünfzig
61	einundsechzig
74	vierundsiebzig
89	neunundachtzig
99	neunundneunzig

Be careful with the order. First say the unit, then "und", then the ten.

Key rule:
In numbers from 21 to 99 (except the full tens), say the smaller number first, then "und", then the ten:
56 = sechsundfünfzig, not "fünfzigsechs".

Zero and Simple Uses

"Null" is used for the number 0. You will see it in telephone numbers, scores, and technical contexts. For absolute beginners, it is enough to recognize and say "null".

Examples in simple English sentences with numbers (without full German sentences yet):

"Ich bin 20." uses "zwanzig".
"Ich habe 2 Bücher." uses "zwei".
"Zimmer 14" uses "vierzehn".

You will practice using these numbers with age, prices, and time in later chapters.

New Vocabulary List

German	English	Notes
null	zero	0
eins	one	becomes "ein" in 21, 31, etc.
zwei	two
drei	three
vier	four
fünf	five
sechs	six
sieben	seven
acht	eight
neun	nine
zehn	ten
elf	eleven
zwölf	twelve
dreizehn	thirteen	drei + zehn
vierzehn	fourteen	vier + zehn
fünfzehn	fifteen	fünf + zehn
sechzehn	sixteen	sechs → sech + zehn
siebzehn	seventeen	sieben → sieb + zehn
achtzehn	eighteen	acht + zehn
neunzehn	nineteen	neun + zehn
zwanzig	twenty
dreißig	thirty	with ß
vierzig	forty
fünfzig	fifty
sechzig	sixty	sechs → sech + zig
siebzig	seventy	sieben → sieb + zig
achtzig	eighty
neunzig	ninety
einundzwanzig	twenty-one	21, pattern unit + und + ten
zweiundzwanzig	twenty-two	22
dreiundzwanzig	twenty-three	23
vierundzwanzig	twenty-four	24
fünfundzwanzig	twenty-five	25
sechsundzwanzig	twenty-six	26
siebenundzwanzig	twenty-seven	27
achtundzwanzig	twenty-eight	28
neunundzwanzig	twenty-nine	29
einunddreißig	thirty-one	31
hunder t	one hundred	usually written "hundert"

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