Would you like to learn how to read and write German numbers naturally? This page is the best place to start. German numbers are highly useful in everyday situations such as giving prices, telling time, saying dates, reading addresses, understanding quantities, and following directions.

This guide takes you step by step through the German number system. You will begin with the most important numerals to memorize, then learn the basic rules from 1 to 1000, and finally see how larger numbers are formed and used in real life.

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Every German Numeral You Need First

First, take a bird’s-eye view. These are the key numerals you should know by heart. Any other German number is written as a combination of them.

Number	German	Number	German
0	null	21	ein und zwanzig
1	eins / ein	30	dreißig
2	zwei	40	vierzig
3	drei	50	fünfzig
4	vier	60	sechzig
5	fünf	70	siebzig
6	sechs	80	achtzig
7	sieben	90	neunzig
8	acht	100	hundert / ein hundert
9	neun	101	ein hundert eins
10	zehn	200	zwei hundert
11	elf	300	drei hundert
12	zwölf	400	vier hundert
13	dreizehn	500	fünf hundert
14	vierzehn	600	sechs hundert
15	fünfzehn	700	sieben hundert
16	sechzehn	800	acht hundert
17	siebzehn	900	neun hundert
18	achtzehn	1000	tausend / eintausend
19	neunzehn	1,000,000	eine Million
20	zwanzig	2,000,000	zwei Millionen

Once these forms become familiar, the rest of the German number system becomes much easier to understand.

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The Rules: German Numbers 1–1000

Main Numbers in German: Units and Tens

Start by learning the units from 0 to 9 and the main tens from 10 to 90. These are the foundation of nearly everything else.

Units	German	Tens	German
0	null	10	zehn
1	eins	20	zwanzig
2	zwei	30	dreißig
3	drei	40	vierzig
4	vier	50	fünfzig
5	fünf	60	sechzig
6	sechs	70	siebzig
7	sieben	80	achtzig
8	acht	90	neunzig
9	neun

Once you know these, you can already form many more numbers. German often combines units and tens into one word.

Examples in Use

• Ich habe acht Bücher. — I have eight books.
• Der Film kostet vierzig Euro. — The film costs forty euros.
• Der Zug fährt um neunzig Minuten verspätet? — Avoid this kind of unnatural example; instead use quantities like neunzig Seiten — ninety pages.

Special Numbers 11–19

The numbers from 11 to 19 need special attention because they do not follow the later “unit + und + ten” pattern. A few of them are especially important to memorize exactly.

Number	German
11	elf
12	zwölf
13	dreizehn
14	vierzehn
15	fünfzehn
16	sechzehn
17	siebzehn
18	achtzehn
19	neunzehn

Notice that sechzehn and siebzehn are slightly shortened compared with sechs and sieben.

Examples in Use

• Meine Tochter ist elf Jahre alt. — My daughter is eleven years old.
• Wir haben zwölf Gäste. — We have twelve guests.
• Der Kurs beginnt in sechzehn Tagen. — The course begins in sixteen days.

How German Builds 21–99

One of the most important German patterns is that the unit comes before the ten, joined by und. In English we say twenty-one, but in German it is more like one-and-twenty: ein und zwanzig.

Number	German
21	ein und zwanzig
22	zwei und zwanzig
31	ein und dreißig
45	fünf und vierzig
58	acht und fünfzig
67	sieben und sechzig
79	neun und siebzig
84	vier und achtzig
99	neun und neunzig

As soon as you know the units and tens, this pattern lets you build almost all numbers from 21 to 99.

Quick pattern: unit + und + ten

Examples in Use

• Das kostet ein und zwanzig Euro. — That costs twenty-one euros.
• Wir haben vierunddreißig Bücher. — We have thirty-four books.
• Der Film dauert acht und fünfzig Minuten. — The film lasts fifty-eight minutes.

Counting 100 to 1000

Once you can count from 1 to 99, moving into the hundreds is much more manageable. German forms the hundreds by combining the number with hundert.

Number	German
100	hundert / ein hundert
200	zwei hundert
300	drei hundert
400	vier hundert
500	fünf hundert
600	sechs hundert
700	sieben hundert
800	acht hundert
900	neun hundert

To form the rest of the numbers, combine the hundreds with the remaining number exactly as before.

Number	German
101	ein hundert eins
125	ein hundert fünf und zwanzig
242	zwei hundert zwei und vierzig
518	fünf hundert achtzehn
999	neun hundert neun und neunzig

Examples in Use

• Zimmer zwei hundertfünf und vierzig ist im zweiten Stock. — Room 245 is on the second floor.
• Das Buch hat neun hundert neun und neunzig Seiten. — The book has 999 pages.
• Im Saal sitzen fünf hundert achtzehn Personen. — Five hundred eighteen people are sitting in the hall.

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Large Numbers in German

To count into the thousands and millions, you only need a few more key words.

Number	German
1,000	tausend / eintausend
2,000	zweitausend
10,000	zehntausend
100,000	hunderttausend
1,000,000	eine Million
2,000,000	zwei Millionen

Thousands are usually formed by combining the number directly with tausend, just as hundreds are combined with hundert. Millions are a little different because Million behaves like a noun and changes in the plural.

Number	German
1,225	ein tausend zwei hundert fünf und zwanzig
22,000	zwei und zwanzig tausend
305,400	drei hundert fünf tausend vier hundert
2,300,000	zwei Millionen drei hunderttausend

Examples in Use

• Die Stadt hat zweitausendfünf hundert Einwohner. — The town has 2,500 inhabitants.
• Zwölftausenddrei hundertfünf und vierzig Besucher kamen ins Museum. — 12,345 visitors came to the museum.
• Zwei Millionen Menschen sehen die Sendung. — Two million people watch the program.

The Word “Million” Is a Noun

In German, Million behaves like a noun. That means it changes in the plural and appears separately from the rest of the number.

• eine Million Euro — one million euros
• zwei Millionen Menschen — two million people
• drei Millionen Bücher — three million books

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Useful Notes About German Numbers

• eins vs. ein: eins is used when the number stands alone, but forms like ein und zwanzig and ein hundert use ein.
• One long word: German often writes whole numbers as one combined word, especially below one million.
• Special spelling: dreißig, sechzig, and siebzig are especially worth memorizing.
• Millions are nouns: eine Million, zwei Millionen.

Real-Life German Number Examples

• Das kostet neunzehn Euro neun und neunzig. — That costs €19.99.
• Ich bin fünfundzwanzig Jahre alt. — I am twenty-five years old.
• Ich wohne in der Lindenstraße 48. — I live at 48 Linden Street.
• Heute ist der zwölfte März. — Today is the twelfth of March.
• Es ist sieben Uhr dreißig. — It is 7:30.

Continue Learning German Numbers

Once you understand the main patterns, it becomes much easier to read, write, and recognize German numbers in context. Use the chart pages, date lessons, time lessons, and quiz pages to keep strengthening your understanding.