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Basic Numbers in German

by 1t2drer71
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German numbers 1 to 10

Numeral German number Pronunciation
1 eins ainzh
2 zwei tsvai
3 drei drai
4 vier feer
5 fünf foonf
6 sechs zehks
7 sieben ZEE-ben
8 acht ahkt
9 neun noin
10 zehn tsehn

German numbers 11 to 20

Numeral German number Pronunciation
11 elf ehlf
12 zwölf tsvoolf
13 dreizehn DRAI-tsehn
14 vierzehn FEER-tsehn
15 fünfzehn FOONF-tsehn
16 sechzehn ZEHK-tsehn
17 siebzehn ZEEB-tsehn
18 achtzehn AHKT-tsehn
19 neunzehn NOIN-tsehn
20 zwanzig TVAN-tseeg

Just like the -teen ending in English, German uses -zehn and the end off all numbers from 13 to 19.

German numbers 21 to 29

Numeral German number Pronunciation
21 einundzwanzig AIN-und-SVAHN-tseeg
22 zweiundzwanzig TSVAI-und-SVAHN-tseeg
23 dreiundzwanzig DRAI-und-SVAHN-tseeg
24 vierundzwanzig FEER-und-SVAHN-tseeg
25 fünfundzwanzig FOONF-und-SVAHN-tseeg
26 sechsundzwanzig ZEHKS-und-SVAHN-tseeg
27 siebenundzwanzig ZEE-ben-und-SVAHN-tseeg
28 achtundzwanzig AHKT-und-SVAHN-tseeg
29 neunundzwanzig NOIN-und-SVAHN-tseeg
30 dreißig DRAI-seeg

In English, we use the formula of tens + ones to make larger numbers, such as thirty-six.

German builds its compound numbers with this formula: ones + und (and) + tens. Let’s look at an example:

25 = fünfundzwanzig = fünf (5) + und (and) + zwanzig (20)

Once you have grasped this you can master the numbers below.

German numbers 31 to 99

Numeral German number
30 dreißig
40 vierzig
50 fünfzig
60 sechzig
70 siebzig
80 achtzig
90 neunzig
100 einhundert

You continue to use the formula of ones + und + tens.

Here are some examples:

31 = einunddreißig = ein (1) + und (and) + dreißig (30)

42 = zweiundvierzig = zwei (2) + und (and) + vierzig (40)

76 = sechsundsiebzig = sechs + und (and) + siebzig (70)

89 = neunundachtzig = neun + und (and) + achtzig (80)

German numbers that are 100 and larger

Numeral German number Pronunciation
100 einhundert ain-HOON-dehrt
1,000 eintausend ain-TAU-zehnd
1,000,000 (million) eine Million AIN-eh MEE-lee-OHN
1,000,000,000 (billion) eine Milliarde AIN-eh MEE-lee-AR-deh
1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) eine Billion AIN-eh BEE-lee-OHN

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