German numbers 1 to 100 – and everything after

German numbers 0 to 20

The first twenty numbers are the ones you must learn by heart. Everything above 20 is built from them. Watch the spelling of sechzehn (no s) and siebzehn (no -en) – they lose a few letters.

Tip: elf (11) and zwölf (12) are special words, like English “eleven” and “twelve”. From 13 to 19 you simply put the unit before zehn: drei + zehn = dreizehn.

21 to 29: the “unit before ten” rule

This is the big one. In German you say the unit first, then und (and), then the ten – all written as one word. So 21 is literally “one-and-twenty”. Note that eins becomes ein here.

The same pattern works for every number up to 99: 34 = vierunddreißig, 58 = achtundfünfzig, 76 = sechsundsiebzig, 99 = neunundneunzig. When you hear a number, write the second digit first – it becomes automatic after a few days.

The tens up to 100

Most tens are the unit + -zig. Only three are a little irregular.

Hundreds, thousands and a million

Bigger numbers are put together like building blocks, from big to small – only the last two digits keep the “unit before ten” order. Everything below one million is written as one word. Million and Milliarde are separate nouns with a plural.

Careful: German eine Milliarde is the English billion, and German eine Billion is a million million (an English trillion). German also writes 1.000 with a dot (or a space) and uses a comma for decimals: 2,5 = “zwei Komma fünf”.

Prices: drei Euro fünfzig

For prices you say the euros, then the word Euro, then the cents – usually without the word Cent. The euro symbol normally comes after the number.

Useful sentences: Was kostet das? (How much is that?) – Das kostet drei Euro fünfzig. At the till you will often hear Das macht zwölf Euro, bitte.

Phone numbers and “zwo”

Germans read phone numbers either digit by digit or in pairs. Because zwei and drei can sound alike on the phone, many people say zwo for 2. You will also hear zwo in announcements – it is correct, just extra clear.

Example: 0176 23 45 89 → “null eins sieben sechs – dreiundzwanzig – fünfundvierzig – neunundachtzig”, or digit by digit: “null eins sieben sechs, zwo drei, vier fünf, acht neun”.

Ask for a number with Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer? (formal) or Wie ist deine Handynummer? (informal).

Years: neunzehnhundertneunundneunzig

Years up to 1999 are said in hundreds, like in English: 19 hundred + 99. From 2000 on, Germans say zweitausend…. Say a year on its own (Ich bin 1999 geboren) or with im Jahr (im Jahr 2024) – never “in 2024”.

Ordinal numbers: erste, zweite, dritte

Ordinals (first, second, third…) are used for dates and floors. From 1 to 19 you add -te, from 20 on you add -ste. In writing, a dot after the number makes it an ordinal: der 1. Mai is read “der erste Mai”.

Ordinals take adjective endings. For dates you need two forms: Heute ist der dritte Oktober. (today is…) and am dritten Oktober (on the third of October). More in our guide to days and months in German.

Clock times in brief

In everyday speech Germans use the 12-hour clock with Viertel (quarter) and halb (half). The trap: halb neun means 8:30 – half to nine, not half past nine. Timetables, shops and the radio use the 24-hour clock.

Ask Wie spät ist es? (What time is it?) or Um wie viel Uhr…? (At what time…?). The full rules, including fünf vor halb, are on the telling the time page.

Learn and practise German numbers

1. Learn 0–20 by heart. Say them out loud, then backwards. The numbers grammar page has extra examples and exercises.
2. Train your ear. Numbers are easy to read and hard to hear. The listening gym drills numbers, prices, times, dates and phone numbers.
3. Use them every day. Read prices, house numbers and bus times in German. Review the words in the numbers, time & dates vocabulary list, then follow Lesson 2 and Lesson 7 of the course.

More German basics