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German numbers: how to count from 0 to a million

The numbers up to twelve are short words to learn by heart. After that, German builds every number from the same few parts, with one twist: from 21 on, the ones come before the tens. Here is every number you need, each with audio and a respelling, plus how Germans say years, prices and dates.

0 to 12

The building blocks. Learn these twelve and the rest is assembly.

  • null

    Say it: NUL

    0, zero

  • eins

    Say it: AINS

    1, one

    Counting on its own it is eins; inside a bigger number it is ein: einundzwanzig, einhundert.

  • zwei

    Say it: TSVAI

    2, two

    On the phone and in announcements you will often hear zwo (TSVOH), so it can't be confused with drei.

  • drei

    Say it: DRAI

    3, three

  • vier

    Say it: FEER

    4, four

  • fünf

    Say it: FEWNF

    5, five

  • sechs

    Say it: ZEKS

    6, six

  • sieben

    Say it: ZEE-ben

    7, seven

  • acht

    Say it: AKHT

    8, eight

  • neun

    Say it: NOYN

    9, nine

  • zehn

    Say it: TSAYN

    10, ten

  • elf

    Say it: ELF

    11, eleven

  • zwölf

    Say it: TSVURLF

    12, twelve

13 to 19

Built like English: the number plus -zehn, 'ten'. Watch sechzehn and siebzehn, which lose a few letters.

  • dreizehn

    Say it: DRAI-tsayn

    13, thirteen

    literally three-ten

  • vierzehn

    Say it: FEER-tsayn

    14, fourteen

  • fünfzehn

    Say it: FEWNF-tsayn

    15, fifteen

  • sechzehn

    Say it: ZEKH-tsayn

    16, sixteen

    The s of sechs drops: sechzehn, and later sechzig.

  • siebzehn

    Say it: ZEEP-tsayn

    17, seventeen

    The -en of sieben drops: siebzehn, and later siebzig.

  • achtzehn

    Say it: AKHT-tsayn

    18, eighteen

  • neunzehn

    Say it: NOYN-tsayn

    19, nineteen

The tens: 20 to 90

Most tens are the number plus -zig. Zwanzig and dreißig are the irregular ones.

  • zwanzig

    Say it: TSVAN-tsikh

    20, twenty

  • dreißig

    Say it: DRAI-sikh

    30, thirty

    The odd one out: -ßig, not -zig like every other ten.

  • vierzig

    Say it: FEER-tsikh

    40, forty

  • fünfzig

    Say it: FEWNF-tsikh

    50, fifty

  • sechzig

    Say it: ZEKH-tsikh

    60, sixty

  • siebzig

    Say it: ZEEP-tsikh

    70, seventy

  • achtzig

    Say it: AKHT-tsikh

    80, eighty

  • neunzig

    Say it: NOYN-tsikh

    90, ninety

21 to 99: ones before tens

Say the ones digit, then und (and), then the ten, all as one word. 47 is siebenundvierzig, ‘seven-and-forty’. Eins shortens to ein inside the number.

  • einundzwanzig

    Say it: AIN-unt-tsvan-tsikh

    21, twenty-one

    literally one-and-twenty

  • zweiunddreißig

    Say it: TSVAI-unt-drai-sikh

    32, thirty-two

    literally two-and-thirty

  • siebenundvierzig

    Say it: ZEE-ben-unt-feer-tsikh

    47, forty-seven

    literally seven-and-forty

  • neunundneunzig

    Say it: NOYN-unt-noyn-tsikh

    99, ninety-nine

    literally nine-and-ninety

Hundreds, thousands and a million

Hundreds and thousands go in front, in the English order, and whatever is under a hundred follows the ones-before-tens rule: 158 is hundert + acht-und-fünfzig. Germans write thousands with a point, so 1.000 is one thousand.

Hundreds, thousands and millions in German
NumberIn GermanListen
100hundertor einhundert
101hunderteinsa hundred and one
158hundertachtundfünfziga hundred and fifty-eight
200zweihunderttwo hundred
365dreihundertfünfundsechzigthree hundred and sixty-five
999neunhundertneunundneunzignine hundred and ninety-nine
1.000tausendor eintausend
1.500tausendfünfhundertone thousand five hundred
10.000zehntausendten thousand
100.000hunderttausenda hundred thousand
1.000.000eine Milliona million
2.000.000zwei Millionentwo million
1.000.000.000eine Milliardea billion (not eine Billion)

Hundert and tausend can take ein or not, as you like. Million and Milliarde are nouns: they are written apart, with a capital, and take a plural.

Years

Up to 1999, years are said in hundreds, as in English; from 2000 on, as ordinary numbers.

Years in German
NumberIn GermanListen
1989neunzehnhundertneunundachtzignineteen hundred and eighty-nine
2000zweitausendtwo thousand
2026zweitausendsechsundzwanzigtwo thousand and twenty-six

To say when, use the year on its own (2026 war ein gutes Jahr) or im Jahr 2026. ‘In 2026’ is an English habit.

Prices, decimals and phone numbers

German swaps the comma and the point: 2,50 € is two euros fifty, said zwei Euro fünfzig, and 0,5 is null Komma fünf. Euro does not take a plural after a number: zehn Euro.

Phone numbers are read digit by digit or in pairs, and pairs follow the ones-first rule: 47 is siebenundvierzig. That is where zwo for 2 is most useful.

First, second, third: ordinal numbers

Add -te up to 19 and -ste from 20 on. Erste, dritte, siebte and achte are the irregular ones. In writing, a full stop after the digit makes it an ordinal: der 3. Oktober.

  • der erste

    Say it: dayr AYRS-tuh

    the first (1.)

  • der zweite

    Say it: dayr TSVAI-tuh

    the second (2.)

  • der dritte

    Say it: dayr DRIT-tuh

    the third (3.)

  • der vierte

    Say it: dayr FEER-tuh

    the fourth (4.)

  • der siebte

    Say it: dayr ZEEP-tuh

    the seventh (7.)

  • der achte

    Say it: dayr AKH-tuh

    the eighth (8.)

  • der zwanzigste

    Say it: dayr TSVAN-tsikh-stuh

    the twentieth (20.)

Numbers in use

Ages and prices: the two places you will need numbers first.

  • Wie alt bist du?

    Say it: vee ALT bist doo

    How old are you? (informal)

    Ich bin vierunddreißig Jahre alt.

    I'm thirty-four years old.

  • Wie viel kostet das?

    Say it: vee FEEL KOS-tet das

    How much does that cost?

  • Das kostet zehn Euro.

    Say it: das KOS-tet TSAYN OY-roh

    That costs ten euros.

Questions

How do you count to 10 in German?

eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn. Zero is null, eleven is elf and twelve is zwölf.

Why do Germans say numbers 'backwards'?

From 21 to 99 German puts the ones first, joined by und: 21 is einundzwanzig, 'one-and-twenty', and 47 is siebenundvierzig, 'seven-and-forty'. English did the same in older rhymes ('four-and-twenty blackbirds'). It takes practice, especially with phone numbers and prices.

Are German numbers written as one word?

Yes. Every number below a million is one word, however long: 365 is dreihundertfünfundsechzig. Only Million and Milliarde are separate nouns with a capital letter: zwei Millionen.

What is a billion in German?

Eine Milliarde. German uses the long scale, so eine Billion is a trillion (a million million). It is a classic false friend in news reports.

Why is 30 spelled dreißig?

It is the only ten written with ß instead of -zig, a leftover of older spelling. It is still pronounced like the others, just with an s sound: DRAI-sikh.

How do Germans write decimals and thousands?

The other way round from English: a comma for decimals and a point (or a space) for thousands. 2,50 € is two euros fifty, read zwei Euro fünfzig, and 1.000 is one thousand. 0,5 is read null Komma fünf.

How do you say years in German?

Years up to 1999 are said in hundreds: 1989 is neunzehnhundertneunundachtzig. From 2000 on they are said like ordinary numbers: 2026 is zweitausendsechsundzwanzig. Say either the year alone or im Jahr 2026, never 'in 2026'.

Keep going

Numbers are lesson 3 of the course, with drills and a quiz, and it is one of the three free lessons. Dates and ordinals come later, at A2.