German numbers are built systematically from a small base of 0–20. Once you learn those twenty words and two key rules—ones before tens from 21 to 99, and the long scale for millions and billions—you can build any number up to the trillions.
Cardinal Numbers 0–20 (Grundzahlen)
| Number | German | Number | German |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | null | 11 | elf |
| 1 | eins | 12 | zwölf |
| 2 | zwei (zwo on phone) | 13 | dreizehn |
| 3 | drei | 14 | vierzehn |
| 4 | vier | 15 | fünfzehn |
| 5 | fünf | 16 | sechzehn (no “s”!) |
| 6 | sechs | 17 | siebzehn (no “en”!) |
| 7 | sieben | 18 | achtzehn |
| 8 | acht | 19 | neunzehn |
| 9 | neun | 20 | zwanzig |
| 10 | zehn |
Notice the two shortened stems in the teens: sechzehn drops the -s from sechs, and siebzehn drops -en from sieben. On the telephone, Germans often say zwo instead of zwei so it isn’t misheard as drei!
Tens (20–90)
| Number | German | Spelling Note |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | zwanzig | Irregular stem zwan- |
| 30 | dreißig | Written with -ßig, NOT -zig |
| 40 | vierzig | Regular + -zig |
| 50 | fünfzig | Regular + -zig |
| 60 | sechzig | Drops -s (not sechszig) |
| 70 | siebzig | Drops -en (not siebenzig) |
| 80 | achtzig | Regular + -zig |
| 90 | neunzig | Regular + -zig |
The Reversal Rule (21–99)
Between 21 and 99, units come BEFORE tens, linked by und and written as one single word:
- 21 = einundzwanzig (one-and-twenty — note eins drops its -s)
- 34 = vierunddreißig (four-and-thirty)
- 37 = siebenunddreißig (seven-and-thirty)
- 57 = siebenundfünfzig
- 99 = neunundneunzig
Hundreds, Thousands, Millions & Punctuation
- 100: (ein)hundert · 200: zweihundert · 345: dreihundertfünfundvierzig
- 1.000: (ein)tausend · 2.026: zweitausendsechsundzwanzig
Watch the Decimal & Thousands Separators!
German swaps the period and comma compared to English:
- Period (
.) = thousands separator (1.000,25.000,1.500.000) - Comma (
,) = decimal point (3,5= drei Komma fünf;12,99 €= zwölf Euro neunundneunzig)
The Million / Billion Scale Trap
German uses the long scale, meaning every new “-iarde” steps up by a factor of 1,000, and millions/billions are feminine nouns written separately and capitalized:
- 1.000.000 = eine Million (zwei Millionen) → English million
- 1.000.000.000 = eine Milliarde (zwei Milliarden) → English billion
- 1.000.000.000.000 = eine Billion → English trillion
Ordinal Numbers (Ordinalzahlen: 1st, 2nd, 3rd…)
In German writing, any digit followed by a period is read as an ordinal (am 1. Mai = am ersten Mai).
- 1st–19th: Stem + -te (with four irregular/shortened stems)
- 20th and up: Stem + -ste
| Ordinal | Base Form (after der/die/das) | Rule / Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1. (1st) | der/die/das erste | Irregular |
| 2. (2nd) | der/die/das zweite | Regular + -te |
| 3. (3rd) | der/die/das dritte | Irregular |
| 4. (4th) | der/die/das vierte | Regular + -te |
| 7. (7th) | der/die/das siebte | Shortened stem (also siebente) |
| 8. (8th) | der/die/das achte | Only one t (not achtte) |
| 20. (20th) | der/die/das zwanzigste | 20+ adds -ste |
| 31. (31st) | der/die/das einunddreißigste | 20+ adds -ste |
Remember that ordinals act like regular attributive adjectives and take case endings when used with am (Dative: am ersten Juli, am siebten Mai).
Practice converting any integer, ordinal, Euro price, or clock time aloud with our German Number & Currency Converter.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Mistake | Why It Happens | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| *zwanzigeins or *dreißigsieben | Using English tens-then-ones order | Reverse 21–99 with und: einundzwanzig, siebenunddreißig. |
| Writing *dreizig instead of dreißig | Assuming every ten ends in -zig | 30 is the only ten spelled with -ßig: dreißig. |
| Translating eine Billion as “a billion” | False-friend number scale | eine Milliarde = 1 billion; eine Billion = 1 trillion. |
| Writing *siebente or *achtte without knowing the rule | Over-regularizing ordinals | Prefer der siebte (though siebente exists) and always write der achte with one t. |
Continue to Telling Time & Dates to put cardinal and ordinal numbers straight into daily schedules.