1 2
1 21 , 2nd1+2
One, two, three, four, five, and exhale.
One, two, three, four, five, und ausatmen.
Marine One, Two and Three on final approach to Somerset House.
Marine 1, 2 und 3 im Landeanflug auf Somerset House.
Was there any difference between one, two and three?
Gab es einen Unterschied zwischen 1, 2 und 3?
I better start over. One, two… CHATTERING.
Ich fang nochmal an. 1, 2… Durcheinandergerede.
Band 10, los. 1, 2, fertig.
Wir machen das noch mal. 1, 2.
Blank rows after every one, two, three… rows.
Leere Zeilen nach jeder, zwei, drei… Zeilen einfügen.
Zwei, drei, vier, fünf- tapfer.
One, two… three, four… Shoulders back!
One, two
, one, two,
left, right, cuckoo.
Eins, zwei,
eins zwei,
rechts und links und Zwiebelei.
Zwei. Drei. Vier Schnäpse.
Night trains offer sleeper cabins for one, two or three persons.
Nachtzüge bieten Schlafwagenabteile für ein, zwei oder drei Personen an.
And it this is zero, one, two, three, four, five.
Du würdest sagen Null, Eine, Zwei, Drei, Vier, Fünf.
Will you be cooking for one, two or twenty?
Wollen Sie nur für sich, für zwei oder für zwanzig kochen?
Activate the Wireframe or Bounding Box mode in one, two… all panes.
Aktivieren Sie Drahtgitter oder Gitterbox in einem, zwei… allen Ansichtsbereichen.
TPM+ endurance, servo actuator with one, two or three-stage gearbox and output flange.
TPM+ endurance, Servoaktuator mit ein-, zwei- oder dreistufigem Getriebe und Flansch.
There are one, two and three-room apartments with a available barbecue in the garden.
Es gibt Ein-, Zwei- und Dreizimmerwohnungen mit Grill im Garten.
Using Constant Force Technology, you can move one, two or three monitors with ease.
Mithilfe der Constant Force-Technologie können Sie einen, zwei oder drei Monitore problemlos bewegen.
Bedrooms(one, two and three-bed rooms) with bathroom.
Schlafzimmer(Ein- Zwei- und Dreibett-Zimmer) Alle mit eigenem Bad.
One, two, three, four more days until Mom comes home.
Results: 1865,
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You may need to learn how to count to 10 in German for travel, work, or just curiosity. Learning how to count in German is as easy as eins, zwei, drei! German is a very common language that is spoken by upwards of 100 million people worldwide, so it can be useful to learn a little of it.
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1
Hold your mouth tightly when you speak. It doesn’t do any good to learn words in German if you’re not saying them right. Remember that Germans have a lot of tension in their cheeks when they speak. To sound like a German, you need to hold your mouth right.
- When you open your mouth, shape it as if you are forming a large «o» or a lowercase «u.»
- Try to find videos of people speaking German so you can understand how they keep their mouth when speaking. Germans also pronounce some consonants and vowels differently than English speakers would.
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Learn how to pronounce German vowels. Although German does share some things in common with English, some of the vowels are pronounced differently. This will be very important when you try to count in German.[1]
- In German, the vowel combination of «ei» is pronounced like the «i» in «lie» or the «y» in «dry.» For example, the word «drei» in German means three. However, it’s pronounced «dry.» Similarly, the word «frei» means free in German. It’s pronounced «fry.»
- It’s the opposite for the vowel combination «ie.» This combination is pronounced like the «ee» in the English word «free.» So when you say the German word for four («vier») remember to pronounce the «ie» in it as «ee.»
- The vowel combination of «eu» is pronounced «oy» in German.
- If you see an umlaut over a vowel, you pronounce that vowel differently. The German word for «five» has an umlaut: fünf. The ü should sound like «oo» but with rounded lips.
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Understand how to pronounce German consonants. One of the key ways that speaking German differs from English is how you pronounce some consonants. Some will be pronounced similarly to English, but not all.[2]
- The consonant «v» is pronounced as an «f» sound. So make an «f» sound, not a «v» sound, when you pronounce the German word for four.
- In German, the consonant «s» is pronounced as a «z» when it starts a word, such as «sieben» (the German word for seven).
- When the letter «r» ends a word, it’s pronounced lightly, as in «uh.» The letter «r» is also pronounced very lightly when it’s in the middle of a word. Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth as you say it.[3]
- So, the word in German for four «vier» is pronounced «feeah.» When the consonant «z» starts a word, pronounce it as «ts.»
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1
Start counting from 1 to 10 in German by saying the word «eins» for one. To pronounce «eins,» say the word «eye» but pronounce the ending «nz.» It’s pretty easy to count to 10 in German now that you know how to pronounce some of the key consonants and vowels.[4]
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2
Say «zwei» for the number two. In German, «zwei» is pronounced as «tsvy.» The «zw» is not pronounced as an English «z» would be, but rather is said as a «ts» sound.[5]
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3
Say «drei» for the number three. Pronounce it as «dry,» with the «r» pronounced guttural.[6]
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Use the word «vier» for the number four. This word also has different consonant sounds than English. Pronounce «vier» like the English word «fear,» but remember not to end with a hard «r.» Say it more like «feeah.»[7]
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5
Say «fünf» for the number five. Say it like «foonf,» and put a big accent on the «u» and make it an elongated sound.[8]
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6
Use the word «sechs» for six in German. In this case, you do use a «z» sound. Pronounce it «zecks.»[9]
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Say the word for seven as «sieben.» Pronounce it as «zeebhen.» The «s» sound when it starts a sentence sounds like an English «z.»[10]
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8
Use the word «acht» for the word eight. Pronounce this German word as «ahkt.»[11]
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Say «neun» for nine. Pronounce it «noyn.»[12]
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Complete your counting with the word for ten, which is «zehn.» Don’t forget the German rule that the «z» starting a sentence is pronounced with a «ts» sound; thus, pronounce «zehn» as «tsehn.»[13]
- You might also need to know how to say the word for zero in German once you’ve mastered how to count 1 through 10. Zero is «null,» but that’s pronounced as «nool.»
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Understand how to count past 10 in German. Once you’ve mastered basic German pronunciation and how to count past 10, try counting higher! It’s easy.[14]
- Put the word «zehn» after each number to indicate you’ve added 10 when counting from 13-19. So, «neunzehn» is how you say 19 and «achtzehn» is how you say 18, and so on. Eleven is pronounced «elf» and 12 is «zwölf.»
- Twenty is «zwanzig.» To count past 20, start with the German word for the second number and add the word for the number 1-10 and «und» and then «zwanzig.» So, 21 is «einundzwanzig,» which literally means «1 and 20» (while dropping the «s» in «eins.») To say 22, follow the same process. The word for 22 is «zweiundzwanzig.» And so on through 29.
- Follow the same process all the way up to 100. However, instead of zwanzig, put the words for 30 («dreißig» — the ß is «ss» in German and pronounced the same as the «s» in English), 40 («vierzig» — pronounced «feahtsig’), 50 («funfzig»), 60 («sechzig»), 70 («siebzig»), 80 («achtzig»), and 90 («neunzig»). The German word for 100 is «(ein)hundert» (pronounce the «d» like a «t» and the «u» like «oo.»)
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Find a native speaker. One beauty of the Internet is that it’s easier than ever before to find native speakers of foreign languages to practice with. The same is true of German.
- Various language sites online will match you with native speakers. Some allow you to hear pronunciation by putting your cursor on a letter.[15]
- Look up You Tube videos of people speaking German, including counting from 1 to 10, so that you can hear the words before you try speaking them.[16]
Some sites use music and song to teach children and others how to count in German.[17]
- Various language sites online will match you with native speakers. Some allow you to hear pronunciation by putting your cursor on a letter.[15]
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Take a language course online or at a university. German is a very common language at universities. It should be pretty easy to find a local school that teaches the language if you live in a big enough city. Otherwise, you could check online.[18]
- You could also record yourself counting to 10 in German, and then play it back. This is one of the best ways to perfect your speech.
- Traveling to or living in Germany is going to greatly enhance your language abilities. Speaking a foreign language repeatedly to native speakers is really the best way to learn it.
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Question
What is the pronunciation of the number 36?
Sechs und dreizig, pronounced approximately as «secks oond dry-sigg».
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Question
How do you count from 100-1000 in German?
100= Hundert…101= Hunderteins…102= Hundertzwei. (Always say «Hundert» plus a number.) 200= Zweihundert. (Just put the 2 or 3 or whatever before the 100.) 300= Dreihundert…301= Dreihunderteins; and so forth. 1000= tausend or eintausend. (It’s the same with tausend and one tausend.)
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Question
How do I say «want» in German?
You say «will» (vill). For example, Ich will ein glas milch = (I want one glass of milk).
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Try to memorize the numbers by memorizing the first five first, and then the last five.
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German numbers are not capitalized, unless you turn them into a noun, as in «The three …», or «Die Drei …»
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If you are serious about knowing how to count further in German, consider a German tutor or teaching software.
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Article SummaryX
To count to 10 in German, start by saying the word «eins» for one and «zwei» for the number two. Say «drei» for the number three and be sure to pronounce it like «dry.» Use the word «vier» for the number four and «fünf» for the number five. Say «sechs» for six and «sieben» for seven. Use the word «acht» for the word eight and «neun» for nine. Lastly, use the word «zehn» for 10! To learn more about German pronunciation, read on!
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| 1 | eins |
| 10 | zehn |
| 100 | (ein)hundert |
| 1.000 | (ein)tausend |
| 10.000 | zehntausend |
| 100.000 | (ein)hunderttausend |
| 1.000.000 | eine Million |
| 10.000.000 | zehn Millionen |
| 100.000.000 | (ein)hundert Millionen |
| 1.000.000.000 | eine Milliarde |
| 10.000.000.000 | zehn Milliarden |
| 100.000.000.000 | (ein)hundert Milliarden |
| 1.000.000.000.000 | eine Billion |
Today you are going to learn the numbers in German. I’ll start out with a few simple numbers. Then I will show you how to do simple math problems all in German. After that you will learn about big German numbers and how to read them.
This lesson is a part of Herr Antrim’s new e-book “Beginner German with Herr Antrim“. Within the e-book, this lesson includes a worksheet and answer key to practice the skills you are about to learn. You will also get access to online flashcards and a whole lot more. Find out more about the e-book here.
eins – Ich bin eins. Ich bin ein Jahr alt.
one – I am one. I am one year old.
zwei – Ich habe zwei Kinder.
two – I have two children.
drei – Das sind drei Katzen.
three – These are three cats.
vier – Ich esse jeden Tag vier Äpfel.
four – I eat four apples everyday.
fünf – Das sind fünf Bären.
five – These are five bears.
sechs – Er hat sechs Karten.
six – He has six cards.
sieben – Wir sind auf Wolke sieben.
seven – We are on cloud nine (literally seven).
acht – Es ist acht Uhr.
eight – It is eight o’clock.
neun – Die Katze hat neun Leben.
nine – The cat has nine lives.
zehn – Ich kann auf Deutsch bis zehn zählen!
ten – I can count to ten in German.
elf – Es gibt elf Elfen in dem Baum.
eleven – There are eleven elves in the tree.
zwölf – Der Wolf pustet zwölf Mal, aber das Haus bleibt stehen.
twelve – The wolf blows twelve times, but the house stays standing.
German Numbers 13-19
The numbers after zwölf (12) follow a pattern. Up to and including 19, the numbers end with “zehn” and start with the same word as the numbers drei (3) to neun (9). Just be careful with sechzehn (16) and siebzehn (17), as they drop a letter or two to form the new number.
dreizehn – Dreizehn ist eine Unglückszahl.
thirteen – Thirteen is an unlucky number.
vierzehn – Vierzehn Kinder sind zu viel.
fourteen – Fourteen children are too many.
fünfzehn – Meine Schwester ist fünfzehn Jahre alt.
fifteen – My sister is fifteen years old.
sechzehn – Ab sechzehn kann man in den USA fahren.
sixteen – Starting at sixteen, you can drive in the USA.
siebzehn – Siebzehn ist eine Zeitschrift in den USA.
seventeen – Seventeen is a magazine in the USA.
achtzehn – Ab achtzehn kann man in Deutschland ohne Eltern fahren.
eighteen – Starting at eighteen, you can drive in Germany without parents.
neunzehn – Die Duggars haben neunzehn Kinder.
nineteen – The Duggars have nineteen children.
German Numbers 20-29
After neunzehn (19) we have a similar pattern. All of the number up to and including neunundneunzig (99) follow the pattern of ones place + und + tens place. Obviously, if there is a zero in the ones place, you don’t bother saying it out loud. If the number eins (1) is in the ones place, you don’t say the “S” at the end of the word “eins” and instead just say “ein” + und + tens place. Here are the numbers from 21 to 29 as an example.
einundzwanzig – twenty-one
zweiundzwanzig – twenty-two
dreiundzwanzig – twenty-three
vierundzwanzig – twenty-four
fünfundzwanzig – twenty-five
sechsundzwanzig – twenty-six
siebenundzwanzig – twenty-seven
achtundzwanzig – twenty-eight
neunundzwanzig – twenty-nine
Counting in German by 10s
Once you have mastered this pattern of number creation, you simply have to learn the words for the tens places. I’ll count by tens to show you what they are. Things to note about these numbers: dreißig is the only one spelled with an eszett (ß) instead of “Z”. Both sechs and sieben get shortened again, as they did in the teens, to become sechzig (60) and siebzig (70).
zehn – ten
zwanzig – twenty
dreißig – thirty
vierzig – forty
fünfzig – fifty
sechzig – sixty
siebzig – seventy
achtzig – eighty
neunzig – ninety
Beyond 100
Once you get to neunundneunzig (99) in German, you get to “einhundert”, which you can also say as just “hundert”. Then you just put the number after the hundred behind the word “hundert”. If you have more than one hundred, you put the number of hundreds you have in front of the hundred.
einhunderteins – one hundred one
zweihundertdreiundvierzig – two hundred forty-three
achthundertsiebenundachtzig – eight hundred eighty-seven
Beyond 900
Just like in English, you can use eleven through the teens to express numbers in German over one thousand. Anything beyond the teens has to be expressed with the word “tausend”
elfhundertzweiundzwanzig – eleven hundred twenty-two
neunzehnhundertneunundneunzig – nineteen hundred ninety-nine
zweitausendneunzehn – two thousand nineteen
Fantastic Fact About the German Number 1
Your fantastic fact of the day is about the number “eins” in German. You may have noticed, I mentioned that there is a difference between “ein Uhr” (one o’clock) and “eine Uhr” (a clock). That’s because the word “ein” (and also its other forms, eine, and einen) all stem from the German word for one, eins.
This means that you can use it like I did in my first example sentence “Ich bin ein Jahr alt.” and translate it as “I am one year old.” or “I am a year old.”, as the word “ein” can also mean “a” or “an” in that sentence. This is also true of other times when you use “ein” in a sentence. For example: “Ich habe einen Hund.” can be translated as “I have a dog.” or “I have one dog.”
Now for the mind-blowing part. All of that is true, because “eins” is being used as a pronoun. It replaces something in every sentence in which it is ever used. It doesn’t have any of the other endings like “eine” or “einen”, because it is being used as a kind of generic pronoun that doesn’t necessarily point to a particular noun, so it takes the neuter form “eins”. For example: Ist das ein Blatt Papier? Ja, das ist eins.
If the noun that is being replaced is known, you do need to change “ein” to fit the gender of the noun being replaced and the case in which the pronoun is used. For example: “Hilfe! Ich brauche einen Arzt. Er ist einer.”
Since this post is designed for A1 learners, I’ll just point out that if you are going to use “ein” in this manner, you should probably wait until you have learned a bit more German.
Pages: 1 2
Today you will learn the German numbers 1 up to 999,999.
No need to learn all numbers by heart ❌ There’s a system.
Counting in German is easy if you do it right!
Numbers One to Five in German
Let’s start simple.
Listen to the numbers in German 12345 and also the 4 vocabulary words you need for the exercise further down the page.
| eins (1) | one |
| zwei (2) | two |
| drei (3) | three |
| vier (4) | four |
| fünf (5) | five |
| Was ist…? | What is…? |
| plus | plus |
| minus | minus |
| gleich | equals |
German numbers | How to count in German (1 to 999,999)
Now it’s getting serious.
But don’t worry, you don’t need to learn all German numbers up to 999,999 by heart. If you see the pattern you are able to continue the series of numbers by yourself.
By the way, usually we don’t write numbers in words. We write one to ten in words, then we write just numbers 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 …
Please also note that in some cases the g at the end of a word sounds rather like a ch especially when the word ends with ig.
Let’s listen to the numbers in German, starting with one in German
Counting in German 1 to 10
1 = eins
2 = zwei
3 = drei
4 = vier
5 = fünf
6 = sechs
7 = sieben
8 = acht
9 = neun
10 = zehn
The German numbers from 11 to 20 can also be a little tricky
11 = elf
12 = zwölf
13 = dreizehn
14 = vierzehn
15 = fünfzehn
16 = sechzehn
17 = siebzehn
18 = achtzehn
19 = neunzehn
20 = zwanzig
Here you can clearly see the pattern in the numbers
21 = einundzwanzig
22 = zweiundzwanzig
23 = dreiundzwanzig
24 = vierundzwanzig
25 = fünfundzwanzig
30 = dreißig
31 = einunddreißig
32 = zweiunddreißig
33 = dreiunddreißig
40 = vierzig
50 = fünfzig
60 = sechzig
70 = siebzig
80 = achtzig
90 = neunzig
100 = einhundert (hundert)
101 = einhunderteins
102 = einhundertzwei
103 = einhundertdrei
110 = einhundertzehn
111 = einhundertelf
120 = einhundertzwanzig
121 = einhunderteinundzwanzig
130 = einhundertdreißig
131 = einhunderteinunddreißig
140 = einhundertvierzig
150 = einhundertfünfzig
200 = zweihundert
201 = zweihunderteins
210 = zweihundertzehn
300 = dreihundert
400 = vierhundert
1.000 = eintausend (tausend)
1.001 = eintausendeins
1.100 = eintausendeinhundert
2.000 = zweitausend
3.000 = dreitausend
10.000 = zehntausend
100.000 = einhunderttausend
999.999
= neunhundertneunundneunzigtausendneunhundertneunundneunzig
Calculate with the German numbers 1 to 5
Now you will learn how to calculate in German.
Don’t worry, it is not that difficult.
Have you listened to the vocabulary words from the top of the page? Now you need them. Try to answer the questions out loud.
One to five in German – Questions and Answers
Frage:
Was ist eins und eins? (1 + 1)
Kurze Antwort:
Zwei
Lange Antwort:
Eins und eins ist zwei.
Was ist eins plus zwei? (1 + 2)
Drei
Eins plus zwei ist drei.
Was ist vier minus drei? (4 – 3)
Eins
Vier minus drei ist eins.
Was ist fünf minus eins? (5 – 1)
Vier
Fünf minus eins ist vier.
Oder: Fünf minus eins ist gleich vier.
Und was ist drei plus zwei? (3 + 2)
Fünf
Drei plus zwei ist gleich fünf.
Was ist 789621598 + 45968521255?
Ich mache nur Spaß!
Just kidding.
Period or comma in numbers?
I know that the use of the comma and the period in German numbers often leads to confusion. You just have to remember the following:
In German we use the comma as the decimal separator and the period as the thousands separator.
In Germany it is in contrast to e.g. England. In England you write it the other way around.
In Germany:
one thousand = 1.000
In England:
one thousand = 1,000
Here you can learn the German punctuation.
Es spielt keine Rolle, wie langsam du gehst, solange du nicht aufhörst.
= It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
~ Confucius
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German Numbers Overview
Learning a new language is always interesting, but also very challenging. One of the first challenges that many of us experience is learning to count in our chosen language. I wish I could say it’s always “as easy as one, two, three”, but we language learners know that that is not always the case.
Thankfully, if you’re learning German, you have nothing to fear. German numbers may look a little different from English, but they are actually very similar. Don’t believe me? Well, read on and you’ll see how easy this can be.
We’ll start with a little background information about the German language to help give you a fuller understanding of why German numbers are so similar to their English counterparts. After that, we’ll go over all the numbers that you’ll need to know to help you along the way to German fluency.
German Vs. English
I’m sure you’re already aware of this, but just in case you’re not, German is one of the Germanic languages, just like English! To be more specific, English and German as well as Dutch, are considered West Germanic languages.
This means that these languages have the same roots. Although they’ve clearly evolved into very different sounding languages, you’ll find that many German words sound like their English equivalent. In fact, there are a lot of German words that we use every day without even knowing it!
Words like gas, wind, camera (kamera in German), auto, and motor are all the same in German as in English. You’ll also find words that are spelled very differently but sound similar, such as the word Tochter (pronounced tauhk-ter) which means daughter.
These similarities can make it easier for English speakers to learn German, but they can also make things a bit tricky.
Because German is mostly written with the Latin alphabet and has so many similar words, it can be easy to assign English sounds to the words or letters that we’re seeing.
Don’t do that! Learn the sounds of German before you start memorizing words so that you don’t waste time memorizing incorrect pronunciations. Practicing German numbers is actually a great way to learn some of those sounds!
Remember how I said this would be easy? Well, guess what? You already know your first German number. The German word for zero is ‘null’, just like in the common phrase, “Null and void.” Feeling more confident now? Good, let’s dive in and learn some more numbers!
German Numbers 1-10
Similar to most languages, the German number system is based mainly on the first 10 numbers. They will pop up over and over throughout all the higher numbers, so it is very important to memorize one through ten correctly. I should mention here that it’s really important to memorize 1-12, but we’ll stick with 1-10 to start with.
Here is a quick reference list:
|
English |
German |
|---|---|
|
1 |
Eins |
|
2 |
Zwei |
|
3 |
Drei |
|
4 |
Vier |
|
5 |
Fünf |
|
6 |
Sechs |
|
7 |
Sieben |
|
8 |
Acht |
|
9 |
Neun |
|
10 |
Zehn |
These may seem difficult to memorize at first, but if you listen closely, you’ll find that many of these numbers bear a striking resemblance to their English counterparts. Consider sieben, acht, and neun, a bit like seven, eight, and nine, wouldn’t you say? Just remember to pronounce them carefully!
As I mentioned, these ten numbers will pop up a lot, so it is very important to memorize them correctly. There are a variety of techniques that you can use to help you. Personally, I like to practice the numbers to music. YouTube is full of fun videos to help with this technique.
Some language learners prefer to create mnemonics such as, “Two children zwei for attention” or “Three boxes of drei cereal”. You can use whatever turn of phrase helps you to remember.
Expert Tip: When practicing your numbers, be sure to change up the order now and then. If you just keep repeating them in order over and over, you could forget which word represents which number. You may even find yourself having to count up to each number to recall which word stands for the number you want to say. You don’t want to have to do that when you’re in the middle of a conversation.
A fun way to practice your numbers out of order is to practice number sequences that you’re already familiar with such as your phone number, postal code, or house number. Practice saying, «Meine Nummer ist…» followed by your phone number and you’ll soon sound like a natural.
Practicing the individual numbers out of numerical order will help you to assign the proper meaning to each number so that you’ll never have to fumble around for the correct word.
Conjugating Number One
Before we move on to our next set of numbers, I think it is a good idea for us to discuss a little conjugation. Don’t panic! I know that conjugation can seem intimidating, but if you take it one step at a time, you shouldn’t have any trouble.
Having to conjugate a number may seem a bit unusual, but we do it in English all the time! We rarely say, “I have one cup.” or “You have one apple.” Instead we say, “I have a cup.” or “You have an apple.” German is very similar.
If you’re a language enthusiast, you’re probably thinking, “These are not conjugations of the word ‘one’, they’re indefinite articles!” and you would be right. But we often use these words in lieu of using the word ‘one’ in our everyday conversations. For that reason, I feel it is important to include this information within this article.
When you are counting people or objects, you’ll always say ‘eins’, the word for the number one. In all other situations you’ll use one of these forms:
|
Hindu-Arabic |
Masculine |
Neuter |
Feminine |
Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nominative |
Ein |
Ein |
Eine |
Es ist ein schönes Haus (It’s a nice house) |
|
Accusative |
Einen |
Ein |
Eine |
Ich rufe einen Kollegen an (I’m calling a (male) colleague) |
|
Genitive |
Eines |
Eines |
Einer |
Es ist das Auto einer Freundin (It’s the car of a (female) friend) |
|
Dative |
Einem |
Einem |
Einer |
Das Land gehört einem Unternehmen (The land belongs to a (neutral) company) |
Cases are somewhat too complicated for me to cover in this article, but they are a very important part of becoming fluent in German, so be sure to study up!
Numbers 11 to 20 In German
Okay, let’s get back to the numbers. Just like with English, eleven and twelve don’t follow any pattern, but after that the numbers should seem very familiar to anyone who has memorized 1 through 10.
|
English |
German |
|---|---|
|
11 |
Elf |
|
12 |
Zwölf |
|
13 |
Dreizehn |
|
14 |
Vierzehn |
|
15 |
Fünfzehn |
|
16 |
Sechzehn |
|
17 |
Siebzehn |
|
18 |
Achtzehn |
|
19 |
Neunzehn |
|
20 |
Zwanzig |
Do you see the pattern? Each of the numbers from 13 to 19 starts with the first four letters of the single-digit followed by ‘zehn’, or the number ten. Another striking resemblance to English, wouldn’t you say?
Counting By Tens in German
Counting by tens is almost as easy as getting from 10 to 20.
|
English |
German |
|---|---|
|
10 |
Zehn |
|
20 |
Zwanzig |
|
30 |
Dreiiβig |
|
40 |
Vierzig |
|
50 |
Fünfzig |
|
60 |
Sechzig |
|
70 |
Siebzig |
|
80 |
Achtzig |
|
90 |
Neunzig |
Now that you’re on your way to being a German number pro, you probably picked out the pattern in this bunch as well. Zwanzig (20) and dreiiβig (30) are unique, but after that, you can see that each number starts with the first four letters of the single-digit and ends with ‘zig’.
Now we reach the one thing about German numbers that most English speakers struggle with: the number order. All the numbers between 21 and 99 are said in the reverse from how we would normally say them. Instead of saying ‘eighty-four’, you would say ‘four and eighty’.
I like to think of it as though I’ve gone back in time to when everyone said things like ‘a fortnight’, ‘four score’, and things like that. It makes saying four-and-twenty seem a bit more natural. Here are is another chart to help give you the full picture:
|
English |
German |
|---|---|
|
21 |
Einundzwanzig |
|
22 |
Zweiundzwanzig |
|
23 |
Dreiundzwanzig |
|
24 |
Vierundzwanzig |
|
25 |
Fünfundzwanzig |
|
26 |
Sechsundzwanzig |
|
27 |
Siebenundzwanzig |
|
28 |
Achtundzwanzig |
|
29 |
Neunundzwanzig |
All the numbers between 31 and 99 are just the same. For example, eighty-four would be said vierundachtzig (literally ‘fourandeighty’), seventy-nine would be neunundseibzig (literally ‘nineandseventy’), and so on.
Since the number in the ones’ place is always said first, German children are often taught to write that digit first and then fill in the number in the tens’ place. For example, if you were writing 84, you would write the 4, then fill in the 8. You may want to practice writing your numbers this way to better reinforce how to say your German numbers.
Counting From 100 to 999 In German
Once you’ve mastered the two-digit numbers, three-digit numbers will be as easy as can be, especially since the German word for hundred is ‘hundert’. All you have to do is say how many hundreds you have followed by the word hundert, just like we do in English. So one-hundred would be einhundert, two-hundred would be dreihundert, and so on.
|
English |
German |
|---|---|
|
100 |
Einhundert |
|
200 |
Zweihundert |
|
300 |
Dreihundert |
|
400 |
Vierhundert |
|
500 |
Fünfhundert |
|
600 |
Sechshundert |
|
700 |
Siebenhundert |
|
800 |
Achthundert |
|
900 |
Neunhundert |
When counting from 1 to 19 in any of the hundreds, you would say the numbers just like you would in English. One-hundred and eight becomes einhundertundacht, seven-hundred and sixteen becomes siebenhundertundsechszehn, and so on.
Once you get past 19, you drop the ‘und’ after hundert and simply say the hundreds followed by the two digit number. Remember, you still say the ones’ place before the tens’ place! Here are a few examples for the sake of clarity:
|
English |
German |
|---|---|
|
123 |
Einhundertvierundzwanzig |
|
245 |
Zweihundertfünfundvierzig |
|
332 |
Dreihundertzweiunddreiβig |
|
456 |
Vierhundertsechsundfünfzig |
|
572 |
Fünfhundertzweiundsiebenzig |
|
693 |
Sechshundertdreiundneunzig |
|
788 |
Siebenhundertachtundachtzig |
|
861 |
Achthunderteinundsechzig |
|
999 |
Neunhundertneunundneunzig |
By now I’m sure you can see why I said it was so important to memorize the lower numbers and the patterns that go with them. Once you’ve memorized those, the larger numbers will come to you very easily.
Counting From 1,000 to 10,000 In German
The German word for ‘thousand’ is: tausend. Much like hundert, tausend sounds almost just like its English counterpart only with a German accent, so it’s super easy to remember.
Numbers in the thousands are said just like we say them in English. One thousand would be said ‘eintausend’, two thousand would be zweitausend, and so on.
|
English |
German |
|---|---|
|
1,000 |
Eintausend |
|
2,000 |
Zweitausend |
|
3,000 |
Dreitausend |
|
4,000 |
Viertausend |
|
5,000 |
Fünftausend |
|
6,000 |
Sechstausend |
|
7,000 |
Siebentausend |
|
8,000 |
Achttausend |
|
9,000 |
Neuntausend |
|
10,000 |
Zehntausend |
Pretty simple, right? Just combine that with the hundreds you just learned and you can say any number you want. For example, 2,245 would be zweitausendzweihundertfünfundvierzig.
I know that’s a lot of letters, but if you break it up into its individual parts, it becomes quite simple.
Zweitausend (two thousand) — zweihundert (two hundred) — fünfundvierzig (five and forty).
Other than the ones’ place coming before the tens’ place, the format is the same as it is in English.
Count From 10,000 to Infinity And Beyond In German
The similarities between the German format and the English format for saying numbers continue on into the higher numbers as well. Just like they do in English, these bigger numbers can become a mouthful, but don’t be intimidated! If you break them down into their smaller components, you’ll be able to say these numbers with ease.
For any number between 10,000 and 999,000, you simply say however many thousands you have followed by the word tausend. Forty thousand would be vierzigtausend, five hundred thousand would be fünfhunderttausend, and so forth.
You’re probably getting tired of hearing this, but I have to remind you just once more: the ones’ place still comes before the tens’ place, even with these large numbers.
Here are a few examples:
- Zweiunddreiβigtausend (32,000)
- Einundvierzigtausend (41,000)
- Siebenundneunzigtausend (97,000)
For hundreds of thousands, the same rules apply:
- Dreihundertsechsundsechzigtausend (366,000)
- neunhundertvierundsiebenzigtausend (974,000)
- achthundertfünfundvierzigtausend (845,000)
Here’s a little test for you, before scrolling any further see if you can figure out what this number is:
Siebenhundertsechsundvierzigtausendvierhundertdreiundneunzig
Apply all the rules you’ve learned so far and see what you come with!
Let’s break it down into its separate components:
Siebenhundert (seven hundred) — sechsundvierzig (six and forty) tausend (thousand) — vierhundert (four hundred) — dreiundneunzig (three and ninety)
So what do we have? That’s right, 746,493.
Thankfully, you won’t have to write out these long numbers very often, but you may have to say them now and again, so it’s good to practice.
Here are some of the higher denominations you may want to learn as well:
- Million: Million
- Milliarde: Billion
- Billion: Trillion
Note that the word ‘billion’ in German actually represents trillion, so be very careful with that one!
All of the rules that you’ve learned so far can be applied to the larger numbers, all the way up to infinity if you choose to count that high. Although at that point, you may just want to bust out your calculator.
German Numbers: Final Thoughts
You now have all the knowledge you need to master German numbers from zero to infinity! That wasn’t too bad, was it?
As language learners, we know that the only way to truly master a new language is to practice. Thankfully, there are lots of tools and techniques that you can use to help you memorize everything you’ve learned here today.
You can put the numbers to music, invent mnemonics, use physical or digital flashcards, or even just write the numbers down and post them around the house. Or, if you like variety, you could use all of these techniques.
Remember, don’t just practice counting from one to ten over and over, mix it up a bit. Practicing your numbers in a random order will help you to assign the proper quantity to each word instead of just remembering a list of words.
Try writing your grocery list with German numbers or saying your phone number in German. Try using German instead of English for all the simple numbers you use throughout the day and you’ll have it down in no time.
Don’t forget the most important element: Proper pronunciation! All the practice in the world won’t help you if you aren’t saying the words correctly from the start. Be sure to listen to native speakers very carefully and try to replicate their pronunciation. There are all kinds of language learning apps and YouTube videos that can help you with this.
I hope this article has given you all the confidence you need to tackle German numbers! Remember that every language learning journey takes time and patience, so be kind to yourself even if you don’t feel like you’re learning fast enough. Keep practicing and you’ll be speaking German before you know it.