Cardinal Numbers in German

In this lesson you learn how to form and pronounce German cardinal numbers from 0 to 9999. We focus on common patterns and key exceptions so you can use numbers confidently in everyday situations.

1Numbers from 0 to 12

These are basic forms you must memorize; they are the building blocks for all larger numbers.

Examples:

• Ich habe zwei Bücher. (I have two books.)
• Er ist elf Jahre alt. (He is eleven years old.)

2Numbers from 13 to 19

These are formed mostly as the unit number + -zehn. There are small changes in some forms.

Notes:

• In sechzehn, the “s” from sechs is dropped.
• In siebzehn, the “en” from sieben is dropped.

Examples:

• Sie kommt um sechzehn Uhr. (She comes at four p.m.)
• Wir sind neunzehn Studenten. (We are nineteen students.)

3Tens: 20, 30, …, 90

Tens usually end in -zig.

Special forms: dreißig (with “ß”), vierzig (without “t”), sechzig, siebzig (shortened forms).

Examples:

• Das kostet zwanzig Euro. (That costs twenty euros.)
• Er läuft neunzig Meter. (He runs ninety metres.)

4Numbers from 21 to 99

Structure: unit + und + ten (different from English order).

Important:

• eins becomes ein: einundzwanzig, not einsundzwanzig.
• Write one single word: vierundvierzig, not vier und vierzig.

Examples:

• Ich wohne in Zimmer einundzwanzig. (I live in room twenty-one.)
• Wir haben achtundsechzig Teilnehmer. (We have sixty-eight participants.)

5Hundreds: 100 to 900

Structure: number + hundert.

Examples:

• Das Buch kostet einhundert Euro. (The book costs one hundred euros.)
• zweihundert Personen kommen. (Two hundred people are coming.)

6Numbers from 101 to 999

Structure: (ein)hundert + number from 1 to 99.

Examples:

• Das Hotel hat zweihundertsechsunddreißig Zimmer. (The hotel has 236 rooms.)
• Es sind vierhundertfünf Kilometer. (It is 405 kilometres.)

7Thousands: 1000 to 9000

Structure: number + tausend.

Examples:

• In der Stadt leben viertausend Menschen. (Four thousand people live in the town.)
• Ich habe zweitausend E-Mails. (I have two thousand emails.)

8Numbers from 1001 to 9999

Structure: thousand + (hundred +) number from 1 to 99. All parts are written together as one word.

Examples:

• Das Jahr eintausendneunhundertdreiundzwanzig ist wichtig. (The year 1923 is important.)
• Es gibt zweitausendsiebenhundertfünfundvierzig Teilnehmer. (There are 2745 participants.)

9Typical pronunciation issues

• Pay attention to the order unit + und + ten: dreiundvierzig is forty-three, not thirty-four.
• Practise the tricky forms sechzehn, sechzig, siebzehn, siebzig.

With regular practice you will quickly recognize, form and use German numbers correctly.