German numbers have one quirk that makes English speakers gasp on first encounter: they're said backwards from 21 onward. Einundzwanzig literally means "one and twenty". Sechsundachtzig is "six and eighty". You'll get used to it faster than you'd think — and once you do, you'll have unlocked one of the most logical, predictable counting systems in any major language. By the end of this page, you'll count from zero to a million in German.
What you'll walk away with
- Hear every German number spoken by a native voice
- Crack the famous "backwards" 21+ pattern — einundzwanzig, not "twenty-one"
- Walk away able to say any number, including phone numbers, prices, and years
The foundational ten — 0 to 10 in German
These eleven words are the building blocks for every German number you'll ever say. Tap any to hear it spoken. Spend a minute here — the rest of the article assumes you've heard each of them.
- 0 — null
- 1 — eins
- 2 — zwei
- 3 — drei
- 4 — vier
- 5 — fünf
- 6 — sechs
- 7 — sieben
- 8 — acht
- 9 — neun
- 10 — zehn
11 to 20 — where German shows its character
Some of these are unique words you'll need to memorize; others follow a pattern. Tap any to hear it. Pay attention to the rhythm — the teens often have a distinctive cadence in each language.
- 11 — elf
- 12 — zwölf
- 13 — dreizehn
- 14 — vierzehn
- 15 — fünfzehn
- 16 — sechzehn
- 17 — siebzehn
- 18 — achtzehn
- 19 — neunzehn
- 20 — zwanzig
The tens — 20, 30, 40… up to 100
Once you know these, you can build every two-digit number using the combining rule below. Tap any to hear it.
- 20 — zwanzig
- 30 — dreißig
- 40 — vierzig
- 50 — fünfzig
- 60 — sechzig
- 70 — siebzig
- 80 — achtzig
- 90 — neunzig
- 100 — hundert
How to count backwards (the German way)
From 21 onward, German fuses three pieces in one word: unit + "und" + tens. Einundzwanzig (21) literally reads "one and twenty". Zweiundzwanzig (22), dreiundzwanzig (23), all the way to neunundneunzig (99). The unit comes FIRST, then und, then the tens — backwards from English, but consistent across the whole range. Hundreds and thousands work like English: einhundertfünfundzwanzig (125 = "one-hundred-five-and-twenty"). All as one word, no spaces. The only surprise is that eins (1) shortens to ein in compounds: einundzwanzig, not einsundzwanzig.
Big numbers — 100, 1,000, and 1,000,000
These three words unlock everything from prices to populations to budgets. Tap any to hear it.
- 100 — hundert
- 1000 — tausend
- 1000000 — Million
Six things that make German numbers click
Master these and German counting goes from "backwards" to "obvious".
- The unit comes first. Vierundsiebzig (74) = "four and seventy". This rule never breaks — once you internalize it, every two-digit German number is automatic.
- Compound numbers are written as one long word. Einhundertdreiundvierzigtausendzweihundertsiebenundsechzig (143,267) is one valid German word. Nobody actually pronounces it without pausing, but it's grammatically a single noun.
- Eins drops the s in compounds. Eins alone, but einundzwanzig, einhundert, eintausend. The standalone form keeps the s; the prefix form loses it.
- Dreißig is the odd one out. Tens use the suffix -zig: vierzig, fünfzig, sechzig. But 30 is dreißig — with -ßig (sharp s) instead. Just memorize this one exception.
- Hundert and tausend don't take "ein" to count one. Hundert alone means "a hundred". Tausend alone means "a thousand". You can add ein (einhundert, eintausend) for emphasis, but it's optional.
- Decimals use a comma, thousands use a period. 1.234,56 in German is what English writes as 1,234.56. The comma reads as Komma: eintausendzweihundertvierunddreißig Komma sechsundfünfzig.
Why German counting is easier than it sounds
German numbers feel inverted to English ears for about three days, then they become second nature. The system is fully regular — no irregular tens, no vigesimal jumps, no special words for 70 or 80. Master the unit-und-tens rule and you can produce every two-digit number in German. Add the hundred and thousand prefixes and you can count to a million. There's no major language with cleaner counting math.
Ready to count in real conversations?
Numbers are everywhere — in prices, in addresses, in dates, in directions. Lingden teaches German through real sentences with native audio and IPA on every word, so the numbers you just learned become the words people actually use. Free forever for one language. No card required.