German Numbers Explained: 0 to 1,000,000+ — A Complete A1 Guide with Pronunciation Tips

You cannot survive in Germany without numbers — for prices, dates, addresses, phone numbers, ages, and times. The good news? German numbers are 100% logical and follow clear rules. The only "weird" thing is that German says "one-and-twenty" instead of "twenty-one" — and once you learn that one trick, the rest is easy.

This guide takes you from zero to one million, plus ordinals, prices, dates, and phone numbers — everything an A1 student needs.

0 to 12 — Memorize These

• 0 — null
• 1 — eins
• 2 — zwei
• 3 — drei
• 4 — vier
• 5 — fünf
• 6 — sechs
• 7 — sieben
• 8 — acht
• 9 — neun
• 10 — zehn
• 11 — elf
• 12 — zwölf

Pronunciation tip: zwei is sometimes said as "zwo" on phones to avoid confusion with drei.

13 to 19 — Add "-zehn"

Take the digit + zehn:

• 13 — dreizehn
• 14 — vierzehn
• 15 — fünfzehn
• 16 — sechzehn (drop the "s" of sechs!)
• 17 — siebzehn (drop the "en" of sieben!)
• 18 — achtzehn
• 19 — neunzehn

The Tens — 20, 30, 40 ...

• 20 — zwanzig (irregular)
• 30 — dreißig (note: ß, not z)
• 40 — vierzig
• 50 — fünfzig
• 60 — sechzig (no "s")
• 70 — siebzig (no "en")
• 80 — achtzig
• 90 — neunzig

The Famous "und" Pattern (21 to 99)

This is the trick that surprises every English speaker. German says the units BEFORE the tens, joined with und:

• 21 = einundzwanzig (one-and-twenty)
• 22 = zweiundzwanzig
• 35 = fünfunddreißig
• 47 = siebenundvierzig
• 68 = achtundsechzig
• 99 = neunundneunzig

Master Rule: [units] + und + [tens] — written as ONE word. Always.

Note: 21 is einundzwanzig, not einsundzwanzig. The "s" of eins drops when used in compounds.

100 to 999

• 100 — (ein)hundert
• 200 — zweihundert
• 300 — dreihundert ... etc.
• 101 — hunderteins
• 125 — hundertfünfundzwanzig
• 248 — zweihundertachtundvierzig
• 999 — neunhundertneunundneunzig

Pattern: [hundreds] + [tens-units pattern] — all one word.

1,000 and Above

• 1.000 — (ein)tausend
• 2.000 — zweitausend
• 10.000 — zehntausend
• 100.000 — hunderttausend
• 1.000.000 — eine Million
• 1.000.000.000 — eine Milliarde (NOT "billion" — German Milliarde = English billion)

Note the punctuation:

• German uses . (dot) where English uses , (comma) for thousands → 1.000 = 1,000
• German uses , (comma) where English uses . (dot) for decimals → 3,5 = 3.5

Important: "Million" and "Milliarde" are nouns and are written separately (with their article — eine Million). Numbers up to 999,999 are written as one word.

Ordinal Numbers — 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Ordinals end in -te (1–19) or -ste (20+). Most are regular, but the first three are irregular:

• 1. — der/die/das erste (the first)
• 2. — zweite
• 3. — dritte (irregular)
• 4. — vierte
• 5. — fünfte
• 6. — sechste
• 7. — siebte (note: not siebente)
• 8. — achte (note: not achtte)
• 9. — neunte
• 10. — zehnte
• 20. — zwanzigste
• 21. — einundzwanzigste
• 100. — hundertste

Use ordinals for dates, floors, places in a competition:

• Heute ist der 5. Mai. (Heute ist der fünfte Mai.) — Today is the 5th of May.
• Ich wohne im 3. Stock. (im dritten Stock) — I live on the 3rd floor.

Prices and Money

• 1 € = ein Euro
• 1,50 € = "ein Euro fünfzig" or "eins fünfzig"
• 2,99 € = "zwei Euro neunundneunzig"
• 10,00 € = "zehn Euro"
• 1.250 € = "tausendzweihundertfünfzig Euro"

Useful price phrases:

• Was kostet das? — How much does this cost?
• Wie viel macht das? — How much is that?
• Das macht zehn Euro fünfzig. — That comes to €10.50.

Phone Numbers

Phone numbers are usually said in pairs or as single digits:

• 0322 4710128 → "null drei zwo zwo / vier sieben eins null eins zwo acht"

Many Germans say zwo instead of zwei on the phone.

Years

• 1990 — neunzehnhundertneunzig
• 2000 — zweitausend
• 2026 — zweitausendsechsundzwanzig

For years before 2000, Germans split the year into "hundreds + tens-units" — 1990 = nineteen-hundred-ninety.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Saying numbers in English order

❌ zwanzigeins for 21
✅ einundzwanzig

Mistake 2: Spelling numbers as separate words

❌ fünf und zwanzig
✅ fünfundzwanzig

Mistake 3: Confusing thousands separators

1.000 in German = 1,000 in English. Comma and dot are reversed.

Mistake 4: Forgetting "eins" drops the "s"

❌ einsundzwanzig
✅ einundzwanzig

Practice — Read These Out Loud

• 17 → siebzehn
• 43 → dreiundvierzig
• 89 → neunundachtzig
• 156 → hundertsechsundfünfzig
• 2026 → zweitausendsechsundzwanzig
• 1.250 € → tausendzweihundertfünfzig Euro

Summary

• 0–12 are unique — memorize them.
• 13–19 = digit + zehn.
• Tens use -zig (except 30 = dreißig).
• 21–99 follow units + und + tens, written as one word.
• Hundreds and thousands chain together: zweihundertvierundfünfzig.
• Ordinals: -te (1–19) or -ste (20+). Watch out for erste, dritte, siebte, achte.
• Decimal point in German is a comma; thousands separator is a dot.

Daily Practice: Read every price, address, and phone number out loud in German for one week. By day 7, even the long numbers feel automatic.

Want native-pace listening practice and pronunciation correction? GC Language Institute Lahore runs full A1 courses with conversation drills built into every lesson.