German numbers

You need numbers from your first day: prices, phone numbers, ages, times and bus routes all depend on them.

Units before tens

From 21 to 99, German says the units first and joins them to the tens with und, like the old English "four-and-twenty":

  • einundzwanzig — twenty-one ("one-and-twenty")
  • fünfundvierzig — forty-five ("five-and-forty")

This is the biggest trap for English speakers, especially when someone reads out a phone number. Listen for the last part of the word and hold the first part in your head.

Written as one word

Numbers below a million are written as a single word, however long: dreihundertvierundfünfzig (354).

Small traps

  • eins is the number on its own; before a noun it becomes ein or eine: ein Kaffee.
  • On the phone people often say zwo instead of zwei, so it can't be confused with drei.
  • German swaps the comma and the point: 1.000 is a thousand and 2,50 € is two euros fifty.

Practise with flashcards

Every word on this page, with its pronunciation and an example sentence, is in the deck below. Add it to your decks and Echoes will bring each card back just before you would forget it.

German Numbers (A1)

a122 words

22 common German numbers, from zero to a thousand.

  • null · zero
  • eins · one
  • zwei · two
  • drei · three
  • vier · four
  • fünf · five
Show all words
WordMeaningExample
null/nʊl/zeroMeine Nummer beginnt mit null.My number starts with zero.
eins/aɪ̯ns/oneEins, zwei, drei – los!One, two, three – go!
zwei/tsvaɪ̯/twoZwei Kaffee, bitte.Two coffees, please.
drei/dʁaɪ̯/threeWir haben drei Kinder.We have three children.
vier/fiːɐ̯/fourDas Treffen ist um vier.The meeting is at four.
fünf/fʏnf/fiveIch arbeite fünf Tage pro Woche.I work five days a week.
sechs/zɛks/sixSie ist sechs Jahre alt.She is six years old.
sieben/ˈziːbn̩/sevenDie Woche hat sieben Tage.There are seven days in a week.
acht/axt/eightIch stehe um acht auf.I get up at eight.
neun/nɔɪ̯n/nineDer Laden öffnet um neun.The shop opens at nine.
zehn/tseːn/tenDas kostet zehn Euro.That costs ten euros.
elf/ɛlf/elevenMein Sohn ist elf.My son is eleven.
zwölf/tsvœlf/twelveWir essen um zwölf zu Mittag.We have lunch at twelve.
dreizehn/ˈdʁaɪ̯tseːn/thirteenDreizehn Schüler sind in der Klasse.There are thirteen pupils in the class.
sechzehn/ˈzɛçtseːn/sixteenMeine Schwester ist sechzehn.My sister is sixteen.
siebzehn/ˈziːptseːn/seventeenDer Bus Nummer siebzehn fährt zum Bahnhof.Bus number seventeen goes to the station.
zwanzig/ˈtsvantsɪç/twentyIch bin zwanzig Jahre alt.I'm twenty years old.
einundzwanzig/ˈaɪ̯nʊntˌtsvantsɪç/twenty-oneEinundzwanzig plus eins ist zweiundzwanzig.Twenty-one plus one is twenty-two.
dreißig/ˈdʁaɪ̯sɪç/thirtyDas Zimmer kostet dreißig Euro pro Nacht.The room costs thirty euros a night.
vierzig/ˈfɪʁtsɪç/fortyMein Vater ist vierzig.My father is forty.
hundert/ˈhʊndɐt/a hundredHier sind hundert Leute.There are a hundred people here.
tausend/ˈtaʊ̯zn̩t/a thousandDas Fahrrad kostet tausend Euro.The bike costs a thousand euros.