German numbers — einundzwanzig and beyond, made clear.

0 to 20

On the phone, zwei is sometimes said as zwo, so it is not confused with drei.

21 to 99: the Hindi advantage

From 21, German says the unit first, then und, then the ten, all as one word:

• 21 — einundzwanzigone-and-twenty · इक्कीस (एक + बीस)
• 35 — fünfunddreißigfive-and-thirty · पैंतीस (पाँच + तीस)
• 99 — neunundneunzignine-and-ninety

Hindi numbers also put the unit before the ten, so the German order feels natural. The difference is that German is perfectly regular, while Hindi has a separate word for each number. Tens: zwanzig, dreißig, vierzig, fünfzig, sechzig, siebzig, achtzig, neunzig. Note dreißig with ß, and sechzig, siebzig, which shorten sechs and sieben. In compounds, eins becomes ein: einundzwanzig.

Hundreds, thousands, lakh and crore

Compound numbers are written as one word up to a million: 345 = dreihundertfünfundvierzig, 2.026 = zweitausendsechsundzwanzig. And note the grouping: India writes 1,00,000; Germany writes 100.000.

Prices, years, phone numbers

• 3,50 € — drei Euro fünfzigComma for decimals; say "Euro" in the middle.
• 1998 — neunzehnhundertachtundneunzigYears before 2000: "nineteen hundred …".
• 2026 — zweitausendsechsundzwanzigFrom 2000: "two thousand …". For a year, say im Jahr 2026 or just 2026, never "in 2026".
• 0176 23 45 67 — null eins sieben sechs, dreiundzwanzig, fünfundvierzig, siebenundsechzigPhone numbers are often read in pairs; digit by digit is fine too.

Numbers are central in the Goethe A1 listening test: prices, times, phone numbers. See the A1 exam guide and the telling the time guide.

First, second, third

Ordinals add -te up to 19 and -ste from 20, with three irregular ones: der erste, der zweite, der dritte, der vierte … der siebte, der achte … der zwanzigste. In writing, a dot marks an ordinal: am 5. November = am fünften November.

Common mistakes

1. Not zwanzigeinsBut einundzwanzigUnit first, as in Hindi इक्कीस.
2. Not sechszehn, siebenzehnBut sechzehn, siebzehnShortened forms.
3. Not dreizigBut dreißigThe only ten with -ßig.
4. Not 3.50 €But 3,50 €Comma for decimals; the dot separates thousands.
5. Not Ich bin in 2001 geboren.But Ich bin 2001 geboren.No in before a bare year.

Exercises

Write the number in words, or answer the question. Then open the answer.

1. 17
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   siebzehn

2. 24
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   vierundzwanzig

3. 36
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   sechsunddreißig

4. 71
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   einundsiebzig

5. 158
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   hundertachtundfünfzig / einhundertachtundfünfzig

6. 2.500
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   zweitausendfünfhundert

7. 12,99 €
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   zwölf Euro neunundneunzig

8. The year 1987
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   neunzehnhundertsiebenundachtzig

9. 5 lakh in German
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   fünfhunderttausend (500.000)

10. 2 crore in German
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    zwanzig Millionen (20.000.000)

11. Ordinal: "on the 3rd of May"
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    am dritten Mai (written am 3. Mai)

12. Ich habe in 2020 meinen Abschluss gemacht. (correct it)
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    Ich habe 2020 meinen Abschluss gemacht.

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