Try to board a train in Munich on a day when the time of departure is announced to be neunzehn Uhr fünfundvierzig and you will see why German numbers are something worth learning. This article includes information about numbers in German 1 to 100 and higher, counting in German, time in German, and days and months in German, including the tables for easy reference.
All of the information provided below is of A1-level difficulty. And as an interesting fact, this is precisely the vocabulary that you use most frequently in everyday situations, and therefore you should know it.
German numbers consist of a few basic words. Memorize zero to twelve, memorize the tens, and combine them. The only complication is that in German, the unit comes first, so 21 is einundzwanzig.
The rules in short:
- Learn null to zwölf as separate words
- 13 to 19 add zehn to the unit
- The tens end in zig, except dreißig
- Compound numbers put the unit first, joined by und
- Numbers below a million are written as one word
- Time uses halb differently from English, and that catches everyone
German Numbers: How to Count?
Numbers 0 to 12
These are the words you memorize. There is no pattern to shortcut.
| Number | German | Number | German |
| 0 | null | 7 | sieben |
| 1 | eins | 8 | acht |
| 2 | zwei | 9 | neun |
| 3 | drei | 10 | zehn |
| 4 | vier | 11 | elf |
| 5 | fünf | 12 | zwölf |
| 6 | sechs |
Germans often use the word “zwo” on the telephone since it sounds like “zwei,” which is similar to “drei,” especially when one is using the telephone. This can be seen in train stations all the time.
Numbers 13 to 19
Take the unit and add zehn. Two of them change slightly.
- 13 dreizehn
- 14 vierzehn
- 15 fünfzehn
- 16 sechzehn (sechs loses its s)
- 17 siebzehn (sieben loses its en)
- 18 achtzehn
- 19 neunzehn
These two irregular numbers, sechzehn and siebzehn, should be spoken aloud several times now. They would confuse the learner otherwise for many months.
The Tens
- 20 zwanzig
- 30 dreißig (the only one ending in ßig)
- 40 vierzig
- 50 fünfzig
- 60 sechzig
- 70 siebzig
- 80 achtzig
- 90 neunzig
Same pattern as before. Sechs and sieben shorten again.
Why Do Germans Say Numbers Backwards?
This is because German states the unit before the ten and then connects both with und. Hence 21 becomes einundzwanzig, which means one and twenty.
- 21 einundzwanzig
- 34 vierunddreißig
- 47 siebenundvierzig
- 68 achtundsechzig
- 99 neunundneunzig
That was done in English too. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie, same thing, a leftover from Old English.
The problem lies in the fact that when you hear a smaller number first, you need to keep it in mind until the bigger number comes. This kind of confusion is called a Zahlendreher, or number twist, and German native speakers even confuse phone numbers and prices in that way.
The solution to this problem is practicing until it becomes second nature to you. We do this by using something we call Infinite drills, short exercises that make learning numbers fun. Small thing, but it makes the difference between hearing a price on the spot and having to ask the other person to repeat it three times.
Numbers in German 1 to 100 and Beyond
Here is the whole set in one place. Bookmark this table, because you will come back to it more than any other part of this guide.
| Number | German |
| 1 | eins |
| 2 | zwei |
| 3 | drei |
| 4 | vier |
| 5 | fünf |
| 6 | sechs |
| 7 | sieben |
| 8 | acht |
| 9 | neun |
| 10 | zehn |
| 11 | elf |
| 12 | zwölf |
| 13 | dreizehn |
| 14 | vierzehn |
| 15 | fünfzehn |
| 16 | sechzehn |
| 17 | siebzehn |
| 18 | achtzehn |
| 19 | neunzehn |
| 20 | zwanzig |
| 21 | einundzwanzig |
| 22 | zweiundzwanzig |
| 23 | dreiundzwanzig |
| 24 | vierundzwanzig |
| 25 | fünfundzwanzig |
| 26 | sechsundzwanzig |
| 27 | siebenundzwanzig |
| 28 | achtundzwanzig |
| 29 | neunundzwanzig |
| 30 | dreißig |
| 31 | einunddreißig |
| 32 | zweiunddreißig |
| 33 | dreiunddreißig |
| 34 | vierunddreißig |
| 35 | fünfunddreißig |
| 36 | sechsunddreißig |
| 37 | siebenunddreißig |
| 38 | achtunddreißig |
| 39 | neununddreißig |
| 40 | vierzig |
| 41 | einundvierzig |
| 42 | zweiundvierzig |
| 43 | dreiundvierzig |
| 44 | vierundvierzig |
| 45 | fünfundvierzig |
| 46 | sechsundvierzig |
| 47 | siebenundvierzig |
| 48 | achtundvierzig |
| 49 | neunundvierzig |
| 50 | fünfzig |
| 51 | einundfünfzig |
| 52 | zweiundfünfzig |
| 53 | dreiundfünfzig |
| 54 | vierundfünfzig |
| 55 | fünfundfünfzig |
| 56 | sechsundfünfzig |
| 57 | siebenundfünfzig |
| 58 | achtundfünfzig |
| 59 | neunundfünfzig |
| 60 | sechzig |
| 61 | einundsechzig |
| 62 | zweiundsechzig |
| 63 | dreiundsechzig |
| 64 | vierundsechzig |
| 65 | fünfundsechzig |
| 66 | sechsundsechzig |
| 67 | siebenundsechzig |
| 68 | achtundsechzig |
| 69 | neunundsechzig |
| 70 | siebzig |
| 71 | einundsiebzig |
| 72 | zweiundsiebzig |
| 73 | dreiundsiebzig |
| 74 | vierundsiebzig |
| 75 | fünfundsiebzig |
| 76 | sechsundsiebzig |
| 77 | siebenundsiebzig |
| 78 | achtundsiebzig |
| 79 | neunundsiebzig |
| 80 | achtzig |
| 81 | einundachtzig |
| 82 | zweiundachtzig |
| 83 | dreiundachtzig |
| 84 | vierundachtzig |
| 85 | fünfundachtzig |
| 86 | sechsundachtzig |
| 87 | siebenundachtzig |
| 88 | achtundachtzig |
| 89 | neunundachtzig |
| 90 | neunzig |
| 91 | einundneunzig |
| 92 | zweiundneunzig |
| 93 | dreiundneunzig |
| 94 | vierundneunzig |
| 95 | fünfundneunzig |
| 96 | sechsundneunzig |
| 97 | siebenundneunzig |
| 98 | achtundneunzig |
| 99 | neunundneunzig |
| 100 | hundert |
Numbers Above 100
Once you pass 100, German keeps stacking the same pieces.
- 100 hundert or einhundert
- 101 hunderteins
- 132 hundertzweiunddreißig
- 200 zweihundert
- 500 fünfhundert
- 1.000 tausend or eintausend
- 2.500 zweitausendfünfhundert
- 1.000.000 eine Million
- 1.000.000.000 eine Milliarde
Two points that catch beginners:
- Numbers under a million are written as one single word, no spaces. So 365 is dreihundertfünfundsechzig. Long, but correct.
- “Million” and “milliard” are nouns. They are capitalized and stand separately. Zwei Millionen, not zweimillionen.
Careful with Milliarde. It means a billion, and German has no word for “billion” meaning the same thing as the English “billion.” German Billion is a trillion. This matters if you ever read German financial news.
Long compound numbers are where most learners freeze, because you have to build and hold several pieces at once. We work on these through Albert Einstein’s intense techniques: focused problem-solving practice that trains you to break a long number into parts instead of panicking at the length of it.
When eins Becomes ein, eine or einen?
Only the number one changes its form. Every other cardinal number stays the same no matter where it sits in the sentence.
- eins when counting alone or giving a number: eins, zwei, drei
- ein before a masculine or neuter noun: ein Buch, ein Mann
- eine before a feminine noun: eine Frau, eine Stunde
- einen in the accusative masculine: Ich habe einen Bruder
- einem in the dative: mit einem Freund
So the number one behaves like the indefinite article, because it is the same word. Nothing else in the number system declines, which makes German numbers far easier than German nouns.
Examples:
- Wie viel kostet das? Eins Euro is wrong. Ein Euro is right.
- Ich habe eins Schwester is wrong. Ich habe eine Schwester is right.
- Counting a list out loud: eins, zwei, drei is correct.
Small errors like this one tend to survive in a group class because nobody notices them. That is what our ICT technique is for. Inner circle training means one-to-one attention on your own weak points, so the mistakes you personally keep making get corrected rather than repeated for months.
German Ordinal Numbers
Numbers in order (Ordnungszahlen) show position: first, second, third. In German, they are formed in two ways.
Numbers 1 to 19 add -te:
- 1. erste (irregular)
- 2. zweite
- 3. dritte (irregular)
- 4. vierte
- 5. fünfte
- 6. sechste
- 7. siebte (drops the en)
- 8. achte (only one t)
- 19. neunzehnte
Numbers from 20 add “-ste”:
- 20. zwanzigste
- 21. einundzwanzigste
- 30. dreißigste
- 100. hundertste
Ordinals work like adjectives, so they take endings depending on case and gender. Der erste Tag, am ersten Tag, die zweite Woche. You will meet these constantly with dates.
In writing, Germans mark an ordinal with a full stop after the digit. 1. Mai means the first of May, not January the fifth.
How to Write Numbers in German?
German writes numbers with the opposite punctuation to English, and this trips people up on forms, invoices and price tags.
- Decimal comma: 3,5 is three point five. Say it as drei Komma fünf
- Thousands dot: 1.000 is one thousand, and 1.250.000 is 1.25 million
- Prices: 4,50 € is said vier Euro fünfzig
- Dates: 05.09.2026 means 5 September 2026, day first
- Phone numbers: usually read in pairs or single digits, often with zwo for zwei
- Years: 1990 is neunzehnhundertneunzig, 2026 is zweitausendsechsundzwanzig
The date format matters more than it sounds. On a German visa application or an Ausbildung contract, 05.09.2026 is not the fifth of September in American reading. Getting this wrong on a form causes real delays. Our Pro App Assistance sessions cover this while helping students prepare their own CV and motivation letter for German admissions.
How to Tell the Time in German
There are two methods in the German language. In informal German, they use the 12-hour clock method. However, in official situations, they use the 24-hour clock system, and it is used more often than the English language.
Asking the time
- Wie spät ist es? (What time is it?)
- Wie viel Uhr ist es? (Same meaning)
- Um wie viel Uhr? (At what time?)
Answer with Es ist plus the time. To say when something happens, use um: Der Kurs beginnt um acht Uhr.
Asking a stranger the time is often a learner’s first real conversation in German, and nerves ruin more of those than grammar does. Our Reclaim sessions exist for that reason. They are confidence building classes where students practise speaking without fear of getting it wrong.
Informal time
| Clock | German | Meaning |
| 8:00 AM | Es ist acht Uhr | Eight o’clock |
| 8:15 AM | Viertel nach acht | Quarter past eight |
| 8:30 AM | halb neun | Half past eight |
| 8:45 AM | Viertel vor neun | Quarter to nine |
| 8:05 AM | kurz nach acht | Just after eight |
| 8:55 AM | kurz vor neun | Just before nine |
The Halb-Trap
This is the one to memorize carefully. Halb neun means 8:30, not 9:30.
German counts toward the coming hour, not back from the last one. Halb neun means half way to nine.
- halb acht = 7:30
- halb neun = 8:30
- halb zehn = 9:30
- halb eins = 12:30
Make this mistake, and you end up being an hour late for your appointment. This is the most frequent mistake that students make in Germany, and it results in missed interviews.
24-Hour clock
This is used in trains, flights, opening times, appointments, and any other written thing.
- 14:00 vierzehn Uhr
- 16:30 sechzehn Uhr dreißig
- 19:45 neunzehn Uhr fünfundvierzig
- 20:15 zwanzig Uhr fünfzehn
Note that official time never uses halb or Viertel. It reads the digits.
Two more useful words. Punkt acht means exactly eight. Gegen acht means around eight.
Expressions like these never appear in textbook dialogues, yet Germans use them constantly. Our Collocuts sessions collect exactly this kind of colloquial shortcut, so students sound natural in real conversations instead of textbook-correct and slightly odd.
Times of day
- morgens (in the morning)
- vormittags (late morning)
- mittags (midday)
- nachmittags (afternoon)
- abends (evening)
- nachts (at night)
Mittag is noon, and Mitternacht is midnight. Say acht Uhr morgens or acht Uhr abends when the context is unclear.
Time expressions are one of those things that only settle through listening. Our Germflix sessions use German films for this, and our Dialect Studio gives students talk time with a native speaker so real spoken times stop sounding like a blur.
German Days of the Week
All days are masculine, so they take der.
| German | English |
| Montag | Monday |
| Dienstag | Tuesday |
| Mittwoch | Wednesday |
| Donnerstag | Thursday |
| Freitag | Friday |
| Samstag | Saturday |
| Sonntag | Sunday |
In northern and eastern Germany you will also hear Sonnabend for Saturday.
Useful patterns:
- am Montag = on Monday
- montags = on Mondays, every Monday
- das Wochenende = the weekend
- heute, morgen, gestern, übermorgen, vorgestern = today, tomorrow, yesterday, day after tomorrow, day before yesterday
Take care of this false friend. With the capital letter M, it is morning; with the lower case, it is tomorrow; morgen früh is tomorrow morning.
German Months and Seasons
The months have almost the same spelling as in English, which makes learning them quick and easy.
Januar, Februar, März, April, Mai, Juni, Juli, August, September, Oktober, November, and Dezember.
In Austria, January is Jänner, which matters if you are sitting an ÖSD exam.
Say “im Januar” for “in January.” Same for all months.
The seasons (Jahreszeiten):
- Frühling spring
- Sommer summer
- Herbst autumn
- Winter winter
Use “Im here too”: Im Sommer, im Winter.
German public holidays and their customs come up constantly in exam speaking tasks. Our Off book learning sessions cover authentic German culture, including which Feiertag matters where, so students can talk about them naturally instead of reciting facts.
Days and Dates in German
Asking the date
- Der Wievielte ist heute? (What is today’s date?)
- Welches Datum haben wir heute? (Same meaning)
Saying the date
Use the ordinal number with der.
-
- Heute ist der fünfte September. (Today is the fifth of September.)
- Heute ist der erste Mai.
To say on a date, use am and add an n to the ordinal:
- am fünften September
- am ersten Januar
- am dritten Mai
Writing the date
Germans write day first: 05.09.2026 or 5. September 2026. Full stops, not slashes.
Birthdays
- Wann hast du Geburtstag? (When is your birthday?)
- Ich habe am dritten Mai Geburtstag.
- Mein Geburtstag ist am dritten Mai.
Years
Say 1990 as “neunzehnhundertneunzig” and 2026 as “zweitausendsechsundzwanzig.” Unlike English, German does not use in before a bare year. Say 2026 or im Jahr 2026, not in 2026.
Quick Practice
Write these in German. Answers below.
- 47
- 8:30 in informal time
- The 21st
- On Tuesday
- 19:15 in official time
- My birthday is on the first of June
Answers: 1. siebenundvierzig 2. halb neun 3. einundzwanzigste 4. am Dienstag 5. neunzehn Uhr fünfzehn 6. Mein Geburtstag ist am ersten Juni.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Everyone makes mistakes, so there should be no shame in making them. It takes a lot for us to make our classroom a Stressfrei environment where comfort and concentration are combined, as fear of embarrassment leads to silence, and silence leads to stagnation.
- Reading einundzwanzig as twelve instead of twenty-one
- Thinking halb neun means 9:30
- Saying eins Euro instead of ein Euro
- Using a full stop for decimals and a comma for thousands, which is backwards in German
- Reading 05.09.2026 as the ninth of May
- Writing numbers with spaces instead of one word
- Forgetting the n in am fünften
- Mixing up Morgen and morgen
Tips to Master German Numbers Faster
- Count aloud from 1 to 100 daily until it needs no thought
- Read prices out loud when you shop, in German
- Set your phone clock to 24-hour format
- Say the time in German every time you check it
- Practise your own phone number and birthday until they are automatic
- Listen for numbers in German news or films, since hearing them is harder than saying them
- Write dates German style in your diary for a month
Numbers are the one topic where listening lags far behind reading. You can read hundertfünfundsechzig easily and still miss it when spoken at normal speed.
None of this needs talent. It needs the right sequence and someone correcting you early. Our trainers are certified and experienced, and we call them Fluency alchemists because their job is to take a student from absolute zero to speaking properly, which is what most people arriving at our door believe is impossible for them.
Learning German in Kerala
Most people learning German here have a deadline. Nurses need German B1 for Ausbildung and hospital placements. Students need A1 or A2 for university admission and visa paperwork. Numbers, time and dates appear in every one of those exams, and in every form you will fill out afterwards.
Tiju’s Academy German training is built around that reality. We provide a German language course in Kerala from A1 to C1, with preparation for the Goethe, ÖSD, and TELC exams, at our Thiruvalla and Mavelikara branches, plus online batches for students who cannot travel.
What Tiju’s Academy German Courses include:
- Beginner-friendly lessons that assume no prior knowledge
- Step-by-step grammar explanations taught in stages
- Pronunciation training from the first week
- Vocabulary grouped by daily situations, such as shopping, appointments, and travel
- Listening exercises using native-style German
- Speaking practice and roleplays in every session
- Cultural tips and etiquette for life in Germany
- Short, structured lessons with clear milestones and progress tracking
- Ongoing support from trainers and a student community
Exam sections are taught one at a time through Modmaster, so you build module-wise mastery instead of revising everything at once. Closer to the exam date, Bootcamp exam preps run intensive sessions on the parts that decide your score, and our Leistung technique gives students clear tactics for reaching the band they need rather than vague encouragement.
Students from across Kerala and the Gulf train with us, which is why we are known as the best German language institute in Kerala.
Conclusion
Count from 1 to 100 out loud before you sleep tonight. Then say the time in German every time you look at your phone tomorrow. Two days of that will do more than a week of reading tables.
If you want structured teaching, our next batch at Tiju’s Academy German training is open, and we run a free beginner German course for anyone starting at zero. Message us and we will suggest the right level for you.
Frequently Asked Questions:
A: Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn. Zero is null. These have no pattern, so you memorize them. Eleven is "elf" and twelve is "zwölf," which you also learn as separate words.
A: 21 is einundzwanzig, which literally means one and twenty. German puts the unit before the ten and joins them with und. The same pattern gives 34 as vierunddreißig and 99 as neunundneunzig.
A: Because German states the unit before the ten. English used to do the same, as in four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. It is a leftover pattern that German kept and English dropped.
A: A Zahlendreher is a number twist, the mix-up that happens when you hear the small number first and have to hold it while the bigger one arrives. Even German native speakers do this with phone numbers and prices.
A: Sechs loses its s to become sechzehn, and sieben loses its en to become siebzehn. The same shortening happens in the tens, giving sechzig and siebzig. In compounds they keep their full form, so 26 is sechsundzwanzig.
A: 100 is hundert or einhundert, and 1.000 is tausend or eintausend. Numbers under a million are written as one single word with no spaces, so 365 is dreihundertfünfundsechzig.
A: No. "German Milliarde" means a billion, and "German Billion" means a trillion. This matters if you read German financial news or contracts.
A: Use "eins" when counting alone or giving a number. Use "ein" before a masculine or neuter noun, "eine" before a feminine noun, "einen" in the accusative masculine and "einem" in the dative. Eins Euro is wrong. Ein Euro is right.
A: Only the number one. Every other cardinal number stays the same wherever it sits in the sentence, which makes German numbers far easier than German nouns.
A: Tiju's Academy German training provides a German language course in Kerala from A1 to C1, with Goethe, ÖSD and TELC exam preparation. We teach at our Thiruvalla and Mavelikara branches, plus online batches for students who cannot travel.
