German numbers are quite easy to understand, and we will make it easier for you in this article. We all know that what makes a language easy to learn is how it has general rules and sticks to them. In other words, the more exceptions there are to grammar rules, the more difficult it gets. That is why german numbers are so easy to get a grasp of.
They follow a rule; that is it.
To make things easier for you, we have divided german numbers into seven groups:
- German numbers from 0 to 10.
- German numbers from 11 to 19.
- German numbers – multiples of 10.
- German numbers from 21 to 99.
- German numbers 100 – 900 (hundreds).
- German numbers 1000 – 10.000 (thousands).
- German numbers beyond 10.000.
- Common rules summary.
German Numbers 0 – 10
You should learn these numbers as is. These are the building blocks that you are going to use later to form bigger numbers.
English | German |
0 | Null |
1 | Eins |
2 | Zwei |
3 | Drei |
4 | Vier |
5 | Fünf |
6 | Sechs |
7 | Sieben |
8 | Acht |
9 | Neun |
10 | Zehn |
German Numbers 11 – 19
English | German |
11 | Elf |
12 | Zwölf |
13 | Dreizehn |
14 | Vierzehn |
15 | Fünfzehn |
16 | Sechszehn |
17 | Siebzehn |
18 | Achtzehn |
19 | Neunzehn |
The first two numbers in this table (11 and 12) do not follow a rule, and you have to learn them as is. However, you may have noticed a pattern here similar to the one in English.
That’s right, starting from 13 to 19, you can use the first four letters of the number (3 – 9) followed by “zehn”, which means ten.
So fourteen becomes four + ten = vier + zehn (vierzehn).
seventeen becomes seven + ten = sieb + zehn (siebzehn), and so on.
German Numbers – Multiples of 10
Apart from the first two numbers (20 and 30), the rule here is fairly simple.
To form the multiples of ten, all you need to do is to take the first four letters of the number between 4 and 9, followed by the word “zig”.
English | German |
20 | Zwanzig |
30 | Dreiiβig |
40 | Vierzig |
50 | Fünfzig |
60 | Sechzig |
70 | Siebzig |
80 | Achtzig |
90 | Neunzig |
German Numbers 21 – 99
English | German |
21 | Einundzwanzig |
22 | Zweiundzwanzig |
23 | Dreiundzwanzig |
24 | Vierundzwanzig |
25 | Fünfundzwanzig |
26 | Sechsundzwanzig |
27 | Siebenundzwanzig |
28 | Achtundzwanzig |
29 | Neunundzwanzig |
30 | Dreiβig |
31 | Einunddreiβig |
32 | Zweiunddreiβig |
33 | Dreiunddreiβig |
34 | Vierunddreiβig |
35 | Fünfunddreiβig |
36 | Sechsunddreiβig |
37 | Siebenunddreiβig |
38 | Achtunddreiβig |
39 | Neununddreiβig |
40 | Vierzig |
41 | Einundvierzig |
42 | Zweiundvierzig |
43 | Dreiundvierzig |
44 | Vierundvierzig |
45 | Fünfundvierzig |
46 | Sechsundvierzig |
47 | Siebenundvierzig |
48 | Achtundvierzig |
49 | Neunundvierzig |
50 | Fünfzig |
51 | Einundfünfzig |
52 | Zweiundfünfzig |
53 | Dreiundfünfzig |
54 | Vierundfünfzig |
55 | Fünfundfünfzig |
56 | Sechsundfünfzig |
57 | Siebenundfünfzig |
58 | Achtundfünfzig |
59 | Neunundfünfzig |
60 | Sechzig |
61 | Einundsechzig |
62 | Zweiundsechzig |
63 | Dreiundsechzig |
64 | Vierundsechzig |
65 | Fünfundsechzig |
66 | Sechsundsechzig |
67 | Siebenundsechzig |
68 | Achtundsechzig |
69 | Neunundsechzig |
70 | Siebzig |
71 | Einundsiebzig |
72 | Zweiundsiebzig |
73 | Dreiundsiebzig |
74 | Vierundsiebzig |
75 | Fünfundsiebzig |
76 | Sechsundsiebzig |
77 | Siebenundsiebzig |
78 | Achtundsiebzig |
79 | Neunundsiebzig |
80 | Achtzig |
81 | Einundachtzig |
82 | Zweiundachtzig |
83 | Dreiundachtzig |
84 | Vierundachtzig |
85 | Fünfundachtzig |
86 | Sechsundachtzig |
87 | Siebenundachtzig |
88 | Achtundachtzig |
89 | Neunundachtzig |
90 | Neunzig |
91 | Einundneunzig |
92 | Zweiundneunzig |
93 | Dreiundneunzig |
94 | Vierundneunzig |
95 | Fünfundneunzig |
96 | Sechsundneunzig |
97 | Siebenundneunzig |
98 | Achtundneunzig |
99 | Neunundneunzig |
The rule here is the easiest, although it is not like English. It is the easiest because there are no exceptions to this rule.
For example, in English, to say the number 23, you start from left to right (you say the bigger number first, then the smaller one). This is exactly the opposite in German. In German, we start with the smaller number first, followed by the bigger one (from right to left).
So 23 in English “twenty-three” becomes in german “three and twenty = drei + und + zwanzig = dreiundzwanzig”.
91 in german is “one and ninety = ein + und + neunzig = einundneunzig” and so on.
Here’s a fun video that teaches you how to say all the previously mentioned numbers (from 1 to 100) in German.
German Numbers 100 – 900 (Hundreds)
As in English, all you need to say one to nine hundred is just to add the first number between one and nine and then add the word “hundert”, very similar to the English word hundred.
English | German |
100 | Einhundert |
200 | Zweihundert |
300 | Dreihundert |
400 | Vierhundert |
500 | Fünfhundert |
600 | Sechshundert |
700 | Siebenhundert |
800 | Achthundert |
900 | Neunhundert |
But what about the numbers in between these hundreds?
Well, the rule is not so complicated.
- For numbers from 101 to 119, it is the same as in English, but without the word “and” between numbers; for example, 106 is “einhundert + sechs = einhundertsechs”.
- For numbers above 20, you can easily apply the rule mentioned in the section above (reading the number from right to left). For example, 143 is “one hundred, three and forty = einhundertdreiundvierzig”.
German Numbers 1000 – 10.000 (Thousands)
The same rule mentioned in the previous section on hundreds can be applied here. You just add the word for numbers between one to nine followed by the word for thousand in German, “tausend”.
Quite easy, isn’t it?
English | German |
1000 | Eintausend |
2000 | Zweitausend |
3000 | Dreitausend |
4000 | Viertausend |
5000 | Fünftausend |
6000 | Sechstausend |
7000 | Siebentausend |
8000 | Achttausend |
9000 | Neuntausend |
10.000 | Zehntausend |
German Numbers Beyond 10.000
English | German |
10.000 | Zehntausand |
20.000 | Zwanzigtausend |
30.000 | Dreißigtausend |
40.000 | Vierzigtausend |
50.000 | Fünfzigtausend |
60.000 | Sechzigtausend |
70.000 | Siebzigtausend |
80.000 | Achtzigtausend |
90.000 | Neunzigtausend |
100.000 | Hunderttausend |
Million | Million |
Billion | Milliarde |
Trillion | Billion |
As you see here, the bigger the number, the longer its name gets, which is somehow overwhelming as, unlike English, in German, there’s no space or dash written between numbers to make them easier to read. Take the number 999.999, for example, which is written in german as follows:
neunhundertneunundneunzigtausendneunhundertneunundneunzig.
Check out this video to know how to say numbers above 100.
Common Rules Summary
Now we have already gone through all the numbers in german, and we want to provide a summary of all the rules mentioned in the sections above to make it easier for you by giving you the bigger picture.
- First of all, you have to learn the following numbers by heart: numbers from 0 to 10, 11, 12, 20, 30, and the word for hundred and thousand.
- Then you fill in the gaps by following the rules mentioned in every section of this article, and here’s a quick summary for you:
- For numbers from 13 to 19, add the first four letters of the number from 3 to 9, then add the word “zehn” to the end of it.
- For multiples of 10, add the first four letters of the number from 4 to 9, then add the word “zig” to the end.
- For numbers from 21 to 99, just read the word from right to left and add the word “und which means and” in between.
- Hundreds and thousands are exactly the same in English; you just add the word for the number from one to nine, followed by the word “hundert or tausend”.
Check out this website that transforms any number you give it to its German name to practice more.
Conclusion
At the end of this article, we hope you feel more comfortable using german numbers. Telling the time, giving your phone number, saying your age or anything that has numbers should come as second nature to you by then.
To reinforce what you have learned in this article, we have designed a short quiz for you to test yourself out.
Ready?
Q (1). One in German is:
- Null.
- Zwei.
- Eins.
- Fünfzehn.
Q (2). How do you say five hundred in German?
- Fünfhundert.
- Vierhundert.
- Dreihundert.
- Neuntausend.
Q (3). What is 25 in German?
- Zweiundfünfzig.
- Fünfundvierzig.
- Fünfzig.
- Fünfundzwanzig.
Q (4). The word “siebenundsechzig” means in English:
- 67.
- 79.
- 76.
- 66.
Q (5). How do you say 87 in German?
- Siebenundachtzig.
- Sechsundachtzig.
- Achtundfünfzig.
- Achtundsiebzig.
Q (6). What is 117 in German?
- Einhundertsieben.
- Einhundertsiebzehn.
- Einhundertsiebzig.
- Siebenhundertzehn.
Q (7). What is this number “vierhundertdreiundzwanzig” in English?
- 423.
- 432.
- 342.
- 234.
Q (8). This number “eintausendzwölf” translates into …… in English.
- 1011.
- 111.
- 1012.
- 1112.
Q (9). How to say this number “386” in German?
- Dreihundertachtundsechzig.
- Dreihundertsechsundsechzig.
- Dreihundertachtundachtzig.
- Dreihundertsechsundachtzig.
Q (10). What is “siebentausendfünfhundertneunundzwanzig” in English?
- 7529.
- 7295.
- 7592.
- 7519.
Q (11). Achttausenddreihundertfünfundzwanzig is …….
- 8324.
- 8253.
- 8425.
- 8325.
Q (12). How to say 419 in German?
- Vierhundertneunzehn.
- Vierhundertneun.
- Vierhundertneunzig.
- Vierhundertneunundneunzig.
Q (13). How to say 57 in German?
- Fünfundsiebzig.
- Siebenundfünfzig.
- Siebenundsiebzig.
- Fünfundfünfzig.
Q (14). Sixteen in German is…..
- Sechzehn.
- Siebzehn.
- Fünfzehn.
- Achtzehn.
Q (15). Sechstausendzweihundertfünfunddreißig is….
- 6253.
- 6234.
- 6235.
- 6243.
The correct answers.
Q (1) – 3
Q (2) – 1
Q (3) – 4
Q (4) – 1
Q (5) – 1
Q (6) – 2
Q (7) – 1
Q (8) – 3
Q (9) – 4
Q (10) – 1
Q (11) – 4
Q (12) – 1
Q (13) – 2
Q (14) – 1
Q (15) – 3
Match each of the following numbers with its correct German name
Number in English | Its German Name |
46 | Elf |
99 | Zweiundsiebzig |
11 | Sechsundvierzig |
38 | Einhundertfünfundachtzig |
185 | Einundfünfzig |
72 | Achthundertdreiundsechzig |
51 | Neunundneunzig |
863 | Viertausendsiebenhundertachtzig |
4780 | Achtunddreißig |
The correct answers:
Number in English | Its German Name |
46 | Sechsundvierzig |
99 | Neunundneunzig |
11 | Elf |
38 | Achtunddreißig |
185 | Einhundertfünfundachtzig |
72 | Zweiundsiebzig |
51 | Einundfünfzig |
863 | Achthundertdreiundsechzig |
4780 | Viertausendsiebenhundertachtzig |
Some relevant articles:
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