German Numbers: Complete Guide

Numbers in German are among the very first words learners encounter, and at first glance they seem familiar — many of them resemble English or other European cognates (eins – one, zwei – two, drei – three). But as soon as you move beyond the basics, you’ll notice that German numbers hide a range of spelling quirks, pronunciation traps and structural rules that make them quite different from English.

Why are they so important?

• You need them to tell the time, say dates, handle money, or exchange a phone number.

• German compounds its numbers into long, single words (einundzwanzig = twenty-one), a feature that confuses beginners but follows very strict rules.

• Special cases like sechzehn (not sechszehn) and siebzig (not siebenzig) show how phonology influences spelling.

• And on the higher end terms like Milliarde and Billion can trip up translators and even professionals, because German follows the long scale, unlike English.

In this article we’ll work step by step through the German cardinal number system:

• The foundations (0–12), where English-German similarities help beginners.

• The teens (13–19), with their subtle stem changes.

• The tens (20–90), including tricky endings and the special ß.

• The inversion pattern (21–99), which literally says “one-and-twenty.”

• Hundreds, thousands, millions, and how Germans write and group large numbers in practice.

👉 Each section includes tables with IPA and learner-friendly respelling, notes on Duden/DIN orthography and real examples. By the end you’ll not only know how to count in German, but also how to use numbers correctly in real contexts — from ordering zwei Bier to reading drei Milliarden Euro in a financial report.

Cardinal numbers: full rules & edge cases

Numbers 0–12 (cognates & pronunciation tips)

The German number system starts with forms that often resemble their English cousins, which helps beginners recognize them quickly:

Pronunciation tips:

• zwei starts with ts ([tsvaɪ]) – unlike English "z."

• w is pronounced [v], so zwei and zwölf both begin with a "tsv" sound.

• fünf contains the ü vowel [ʏ], close to "u" in dune but more fronted.

• sechs can be clipped in rapid speech, sounding like sechz when followed by zehn or zig.

13–19 formation (-zehn) and changes

Numbers 13 through 19 are formed with the base digit + -zehn ("ten"):

Exceptions & phonological shortening:

• sechzehn drops the final s of sechs.

• siebzehn drops the middle en of sieben.

These shortenings make the words easier to pronounce in fast speech. Learners should be aware that sechzehn ≠ sechszehn and siebzehn ≠ siebenzehn.

Tens (zwanzig, dreißig, vierzig …)

Multiples of ten between 20 and 90 have their own word stems:

Spelling note:

• The ending -zig signals the "-ty" suffix.

• 30 is special: dreißig uses the ligature ß, reflecting older spelling (dreissig is Swiss usage, written with ss).

21–99 pattern (compound words)

For numbers between 21 and 99 that are not multiples of ten, German uses a "ones + and + tens" structure:

Key rules:

1. The ones digit comes first, then und, then the tens.

2. The whole number is written as a single compound word, this is the standard per Duden orthography.

3. For 1, the form is ein- not eins- (einundzwanzig, not einsundzwanzig).

Extending upwards:

• 125 = einhundertfünfundzwanzig

• 1,234 = eintausendzweihundertvierunddreißig

Even very long numbers are written as single words in continuous form, though for legibility in everyday contexts people often prefer digits.

Hundreds, thousands, millions

German forms larger numbers by stacking these building blocks:

⚡ Key grammar notes:

• Hundert and tausend are indeclinable in numeral compounds (e.g. zweihundertfünf, dreitausendvier).

• Million and Milliarde are nouns: they take an article (eine Million) and plural forms (zwei Millionen, drei Milliarden).

• Translation trap: English billion = German Milliarde. German Billion = English trillion.

👉 Example sentences:

• Die Firma hat zweihundert Mitarbeiter. – The company has two hundred employees.

• Das kostet eintausend Euro. – That costs one thousand euros.

• Die Stadt hat eine Million Einwohner. – The city has one million inhabitants.

• Das Budget beträgt drei Milliarden Euro. – The budget amounts to three billion euros.

Grouping large numbers in writing:

• According to DIN 5008 and Duden, German now prefers a thin space to separate thousands:

  • 1 234 567 (correct)

• A dot (1.234.567) is still widely used in everyday contexts, but in international / scientific writing the thin space is recommended.

• A comma is reserved for decimals:

  • 12,5 = twelve point five.

Verbal grouping:
Speakers typically group by thousands and millions when reading aloud:

• 23 456 = dreiundzwanzigtausendvierhundertsechsundfünfzig

Pronunciation: common traps & teaching tips

IPA + plain respelling for each tricky number

Some German numbers are short but deceptively tricky. Here are four that often trip up learners:

• eins [aɪ̯ns] – "eye-ns". The diphthong ei is pronounced like English eye.

• sieben [ˈziːbən] – "ZEE-ben". Notice the long iː sound and the fact that in compounds (e.g., siebzehn) the middle -en- is dropped.

• sechs [zɛks] – "zecks". The final consonant cluster can be hard; in rapid speech it may reduce, especially before -zehn or -zig.

• acht [axt] – "ahkht". The German ch here is the harsh [x], similar to the "ch" in Scottish loch.

👉 Tip: Always pair IPA with a simple respelling so students can connect sound and symbol.

"ei" / "z" / "w" sound rules that affect numbers

Numbers are packed with letters that behave differently from English:

• ei → [aɪ] like in eins, zwei, drei. Think "eye."

• z → [ts] at the beginning of a word. zwei is pronounced [tsvaɪ], not like English zoo.

• w → [v] as in zwei, zwölf, zwanzig. German w never sounds like English "w."

Mnemonics:

• ei = eye → eins = eye-ns.

• z is ts → zwei = ts-vai.

• w is v → zwölf = ts-völf.

Minimal pairs – common listening mistakes

Because these sounds overlap, beginners often confuse numbers. Highlight minimal pairs and train with listening drills:

• zwei [tsvaɪ] vs drei [dʁaɪ]
  Tip: zwei begins with a sharp [ts]; drei begins with a rolling [dr].

• sechs [zɛks] vs sechs Uhr (when linking, final -s may sound like z). Learners may mishear it as "sex Uhr." Practice with both isolated and connected speech.

• vier [fiːɐ̯] vs fünf [fʏnf]
  (length of the vowel and presence of umlaut).

Regional accents & Swiss differences

While standard High German pronunciation is taught internationally, learners will encounter regional variations:

• ß vs ss: In Germany, 30 is written dreißig with ß. In Switzerland, ß is not used, so you’ll see dreissig. Pronunciation, however, remains [ˈdʁaɪsɪç].

• Swiss German variants: Swiss speakers often pronounce r more strongly and may shorten vowels differently.

• Austrian / southern accents: Vowel quality shifts (e.g., vier may sound closer to [fɪɐ]).

👉 Teaching tip: show both forms of spelling (dreißig / dreissig) so learners aren’t confused when reading Swiss texts. Reinforce that the sound is the same.

Ordinal numbers (first, second, third) – formation & declension

How to form ordinals

Ordinal numbers in German (first, second, third …) are used to indicate position in a sequence (dates, rankings, floors in a building, etc.). They are built from cardinal numbers with regular endings:

• For 1–19: add -te

  • 1 → erste

  • 2 → zweite

  • 3 → dritte (irregular stem)

  • 7 → siebte (shortened stem)

  • 8 → achte

  • 19 → neunzehnte

• For 20 and above: add -ste

  • 20 → zwanzigste

  • 21 → einundzwanzigste

  • 25 → fünfundzwanzigste

  • 100 → hundertste

Written form in dates: German frequently uses a numeral + a period to indicate ordinals:

• 1. Januar = "der erste Januar" (the first of January).

Declension of ordinals

Ordinals behave like adjectives and must be declined according to gender, case and number of the noun they describe.

Example with erste ("first")

Sentence examples:

• Nominative: Der erste Tag ist immer schwierig. (The first day is always difficult.)

• Accusative: Ich habe den ersten Platz gewonnen. (I won first place.)

• Dative: Am ersten Mai feiern wir den Tag der Arbeit. (On the first of May we celebrate Labour Day.)

• Genitive: Der Name des ersten Kindes war Anna. (The name of the first child was Anna.)

💡 Using the correct case of a noun is one of the most important grammar skills in German. Each case — nominative, accusative, dative and genitive — shows the noun’s role in the sentence, such as who is doing the action, who is receiving it or who possesses something.

Micro-exercises

1. Convert these into ordinals (1–25):

1. eins → erste

2. zwei → zweite

3. drei → dritte

4. vier → vierte

5. fünf → fünfte

6. sechs → sechste

7. sieben → siebte

8. acht → achte

9. neun → neunte

10. zehn → zehnte

11. elf → elfte

12. zwölf → zwölfte

13. dreizehn → dreizehnte

14. vierzehn → vierzehnte

15. fünfzehn → fünfzehnte

16. sechzehn → sechzehnte

17. siebzehn → siebzehnte

18. achtzehn → achtzehnte

19. neunzehn → neunzehnte

20. zwanzig → zwanzigste

21. einundzwanzig → einundzwanzigste

22. zweiundzwanzig → zweiundzwanzigste

23. dreiundzwanzig → dreiundzwanzigste

24. vierundzwanzig → vierundzwanzigste

25. fünfundzwanzig → fünfundzwanzigste

2. Practice sentences (fill in the blank):

• Heute ist der ___ Tag des Kurses. (→ dritte)

• Ich wohne im ___ Stock. (→ siebten)

• Am ___ Dezember ist Weihnachten. (→ vierundzwanzigsten)

Numbers in daily contexts (practical phrase bank)

Numbers don’t live in isolation – they appear constantly in times, dates, money, phone numbers, and measurements. Here’s how to handle them in real-life German.

Time & dates

24-hour format:

• In formal writing (schedules, timetables, business emails), German almost always uses the 24-hour clock:

  • 14:30 = vierzehn Uhr dreißig.

Colloquial speech:

• Germans often use 12-hour style with context clues, but they phrase times differently from English:

  • 2:30 = halb drei ("half three," meaning halfway to three).

  • 2:15 = Viertel nach zwei ("quarter after two").

  • 1:45 = Viertel vor zwei ("quarter to two").

👉 To sound natural when telling time in German, make use of linking words such as nach (after), vor (before) and gleich (almost / just about to).

Dialect notes:

• In some regions (esp. Saxony, Bavaria, Austria), 2:45 is said as dreiviertel drei ("three-quarters three"), which confuses many learners.

Dates:

• Written format: DD.MM.YYYY → 03.10.2025.

• Spoken form: der dritte Oktober zweitausendfünfundzwanzig.

• Important: Ordinals are used for days of the month (see below).

Money & prices

Formatting:

• German uses a comma as the decimal separator:

  • €12.50 → 12,50 €.

• The euro symbol usually follows the number with a space: 12,50 €.

How to say it:

• zwölf Euro fünfzig (12.50 €).

• If only cents: 0,70 € → siebzig Cent.

Telephone numbers & addresses

General rules:

• Numbers are read digit by digit, often in pairs for easier recall.

• 0176 1234567 is usually said:

  • null eins sieben sechs – eins zwei drei vier – fünf sechs sieben.

International format:

• Germany’s country code is +49.

• When dialing internationally, the leading 0 of the area code is dropped:

  • 030 (Berlin) → from abroad: +49 30.

Addresses:

• Street numbers come after the street name:

  • Musterstraße 15 → "Musterstraße fünfzehn."

Percentages, fractions & decimals

Fractions:

• ⅓ = ein Drittel

• ¼ = ein Viertel

• ⅔ = zwei Drittel

Decimals:

• German uses a comma, not a period:

  • 0,5 = null Komma fünf.

  • 3,14 = drei Komma eins vier.

Percentages:

• 25% = fünfundzwanzig Prozent.

• 7,5% = sieben Komma fünf Prozent.

Large numbers & the long-scale trap

The problem: long scale vs short scale

Not all languages name big numbers the same way. English and German diverge here, and the difference can cause serious mistakes in business, finance, or scientific writing.

• English (short scale, used in the US and UK):

  • billion = 1,000,000,000 (10^9)

  • trillion = 1,000,000,000,000 (10^12)

• German (long scale, used in most of Europe):

  • eine Milliarde = 1.000.000.000 = 10^9

  • eine Billion = 1.000.000.000.000 = 10^12

👉 Translation trap: If you translate billion from English directly as Billion in German, you will be off by a factor of 1,000.

Conversions with examples

• 1,000,000,000 = 1.000.000.000

  • German: eine Milliarde

  • Sentence: Das Unternehmen hat eine Milliarde Euro Umsatz gemacht.

  • English: "The company made one billion euros in revenue."

• 1,000,000,000,000 = 1.000.000.000.000

  • German: eine Billion

  • Sentence: Die Staatsverschuldung beträgt eine Billion Euro.

  • English: "National debt amounts to one trillion euros."

• 1,000,000,000,000,000 = 1.000.000.000.000.000

  • German: eine Billiarde (10^15)

  • English: "one quadrillion."

Recommendation for translators & technical writers

To avoid confusion in international contexts:

1. Always check the source language’s scale. English "billion" ≠ German Billion.

2. Use digits when accuracy is critical. Writing "10^9" is unambiguous.

3. Use SI prefixes (preferred in science/tech):

   • 10^9 = giga- (1 gigabyte = eine Milliarde Bytes).

   • 10^12 = tera- (1 terawatt = eine Billion Watt).

   • 10^15 = peta- (1 petabyte = eine Billiarde Bytes).

Best practice: In contracts, financial reports, and technical translations, combine the word with the digit:

• eine Milliarde (1.000.000.000)

• eine Billion (1.000.000.000.000)

This double-check prevents costly misunderstandings.

Numbers as determiners, agreement and special constructions

Numbers in German don’t just "count" – they behave differently depending on whether they function as determiners, nouns or part of fixed expressions. Let’s break down the core grammar points.

Cardinal numbers as determiners

When cardinal numbers directly modify a noun, they act like determiners (similar to articles or adjectives).

• zwei Hunde – "two dogs"

• fünf Häuser – "five houses"

Case examples with zwei:

👉 Most cardinal numbers do not decline in these contexts, but eins has special forms (eine, einen, einem, eines) when used as an article (see below).

Numbers as nouns

Numbers can also function as nouns in German, usually capitalized.

• das Erste – "the first (thing)"

• das Zwanzigste – "the twentieth (day)"

• eine Zwei schreiben – "to get a B grade" (lit. "to write a two")

These forms follow normal noun declension rules, often appearing with the neuter article das:

• am Fünften – "on the fifth (day of the month)"

• bis zum Zwanzigsten – "until the twentieth"

"ein" vs. "eins"

A frequent learner trap:

• ein = article/determiner before a noun

  • ein Mann – "one man"

  • eine Frau – "one woman"

  • ein Kind – "one child"

Here ein behaves like the indefinite article and agrees in gender, case, and number.

• eins = independent numeral (used without a noun)

  • Ich habe eins. – "I have one."

  • Willst du eins? – "Do you want one?"

👉 Rule of thumb:

• Use ein when followed by a noun.

• Use eins when the noun is omitted or implied.

Sample sentence sets

Cardinals as determiners:

• Drei Studenten warten draußen. – Three students are waiting outside.

• Wir haben vier Äpfel gekauft. – We bought four apples.

Numbers as nouns:

• Heute ist der Zehnte. – Today is the tenth.

• Das Erste, was er sagte, war wichtig. – The first thing he said was important.

ein vs. eins:

• Ich trinke ein Bier. – I’m drinking a beer.

• Ich trinke eins. – I’m drinking one (beer).

• Sie hat einen Bruder. – She has one brother.

• Sie hat einen. – She has one.

✅ Key takeaway for learners:

• Use cardinals as determiners before nouns.

• Remember capitalization when numbers become nouns.

• Distinguish ein (article-like) vs. eins (standalone).

Dialect & regional notes (Swiss, Austria, colloquial)

German numbers are not entirely uniform across the German-speaking world. Learners, editors, and translators need to be aware of regional orthography rules and dialectal expressions that affect how numbers are written and spoken.

Swiss orthography: ss instead of ß

In Swiss Standard German, the letter ß (Eszett) is no longer used. It is systematically replaced by ss.

• Germany/Austria: 30 = dreißig

• Switzerland: 30 = dreissig

👉 This affects all number words containing ß (dreißig, dreißigste, dreißigsten).

Practical tip for editors: When localizing texts for Switzerland, apply the spelling consistently – not only for numbers, but also for all words (Straße → Strasse, heißen → heissen).

Regional time expressions

Time-telling conventions vary across regions, especially for quarter and half hours.

• Standard German (Germany, north/west):

  • 2:15 = Viertel nach zwei ("quarter after two")

  • 2:45 = Viertel vor drei ("quarter to three")

• Central and Eastern Germany (Saxony, Thuringia):

  • 2:15 = Viertel drei ("quarter three," i.e. a quarter of the third hour)

  • 2:45 = Dreiviertel drei ("three-quarters three," i.e. three-quarters of the way to three)

• Austria & Southern Germany:

  • Both systems exist; learners should expect regional variation.

👉 Important: In Switzerland, Viertel nach / Viertel vor is standard, while Viertel drei is rarely used.

Colloquial number forms

Spoken German often shortens or simplifies number expressions:

• zwo instead of zwei: used in phone calls, military, aviation, or noisy environments to avoid confusion with drei.

• null vs. oh: In telephone numbers, both appear, but null is standard:

  • 0176… → null eins sieben sechs … (preferred)

  • oh eins sieben sechs … (informal).

• Large numbers in casual speech may drop parts:

  • tausendfünfhundert → fünfzehnhundert (esp. for years: 1500 = fünfzehnhundert).

✅ Key takeaway:

• Switzerland avoids ß → always use ss.

• Time expressions differ: Viertel nach/vor (standard) vs. Viertel drei/Dreiviertel drei (regional).

• Colloquial forms (zwo, oh) exist in everyday speech and practical contexts like phone calls.