Learning to count might not seem appealing once you have passed primary school, but numbers are omnipresent in daily life. Whether you want to negotiate a price, arrange a meeting, find out an address or phone number, or even just reserve a table for four, without some basic knowledge of numbers, even simple transactions can be difficult. But learning German numbers is easy! And it will help you to navigate everyday situations and instantly boost your understanding and confidence.
In this article we will mainly look at cardinal and ordinal numbers, when to use which, and different useful applications for both.
Let's start with cardinal ones, as these are the basis for everything else.
German Cardinal Numbers (Kardinalzahlen)
The term cardinal numbers or cardinals refers to the basic numbers, e.g. one, two, three…
Numbers can be used as nouns, and as such they capitalized and always feminine:
| Er zählte bis Drei. | He counts to three. |
| Die Acht ist meine Glückszahl. | (The) eight is my lucky number. |
They can also be used as adjectives:
| Die fünf Freunde sitzen im Cafe. | Es kostet fünf Euro. |
| The five friends sit in a cafe. | It costs five Euro. |
If you use cardinal numbers as adjectives, they are, in contrast to other adjectives, not subject to declension and always stay the same.
Eins (1) cannot be used as an adjective before a noun. Instead you use the indefinite article (ein/eine) to refer to a single person or thing:
| Er hat nur einen Freund. | He has only one friend. |
| Wir brauchen nur eine Zwiebel. | We only need one onion. |
Try to learn the following list by heart, because it will be the foundation for everything related to numbers:
German Cardinal Numbers from 1 to 99
| 0 | null |
| 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 (without -s) |
| 17 | Siebzehn (without -en) |
| 18 | achtzehn |
| 19 | neunzehn |
| 20 | zwanzig |
| 21 | einundzwanzig |
| 22 | zweiundzwanzig |
| 23 | dreiundzwanzig |
| 24 | vierundzwanzig |
| 25 | fünfundzwanzig |
| 26 | sechsundzwanzig |
| 27 | siebenundzwanzig |
| 28 | achtundzwanzig |
| 29 | neunundzwanzig |
| 10 | zehn |
| 20 | zwanzig |
| 30 | dreißig |
| 40 | vierzig |
| 50 | fünfzig |
| 60 | sechzig (without -s) |
| 70 | siebzig (without -en) |
| 80 | achtzig |
| 90 | neunzig |
Besides some deviations in spelling of a few numbers (highlighted in bold), it is all pretty straight forward. Just remember that two-digit numbers are always spelled the other way around.
| 19 | neunzehn |
| 35 | fünfunddreißig |
| 78 | achtundsiebzig |
You are now already able to count to 99! And from here on you can easily make it to a million.
Cardinals from 100 to 100 000 000
Try to remember the following three numbers:
| 100 | 1000 | 1 000 000 |
| (ein)hundert | (ein)tausend | eine Million |
Now you only have to combine any of the one- and two-digit numbers with hundert, tausend or Million. Please note, that eine Million and above is generally not written as a numeral, but as a word.
| 200 | zweihundert |
| 300 | dreihundert |
| 400 | vierhundert |
| 900 | neunhundert |
| 2000 | zweitausend |
| 4000 | viertausend |
| 10 000 | zehntausend |
| 20 000 | zwanzigtausend |
| 100 000 | (ein)hunderttausend |
| 200 000 | zweihunderttausend |
| 3 000 000 | drei Million |
Combinations
These might seem more complicated, but only because they can be very long words. They all follow the same rules. Here are some examples:
| 420 | vierhundertzwanzig |
| 597 | fünfhundertsiebenundneunzig |
| 1005 | (ein)tausend(und)fünf |
| 2344 | zweitausenddreihundertvierundvierzig |
| 17 420 | siebzehntausendvierhundertzwanzig |
| 340 812 | dreihundertvierzigtausendachthundertzwölf |
| 1 600 000 | Eine Million sechshunderttausend |
The ordinal numbers are used to express a sequence or order. Written as numerals, they are always followed by a full stop:
| der 1. (erste) Platz | the first place |
| die 2. (zweite) Etage | the second floor |
| das 3. (dritte) Mal | the third time |
Ordinal numbers 1. to 19.
Formed by using the cardinal number plus -t (but 1. and 3. are irregular):
| 1. | erst- (der erste, die ersten, erstens…) |
| 2. | zweit- |
| 3. | dritt- |
| 4. | viert- |
| 5. | fünft- |
| 6. | sechst- |
| 7. | sieb(en)t- |
| 8. | acht- (nur ein -t) |
| 9. | neunt- |
| 10. | zehnt- |
| 11. | elft- |
| 12. | zwölft- |
| 13. | dreizehnt- |
| 14. | vierzehnt- … |
Ordinal numbers from 20. upwards
Formed by using cardinal number plus -st:
| 20 | zwanzigst- |
| 21 | einundzwanzigst- |
| 22 | zweiundzwanzigst- |
| 23 | dreiundzwanzigst- |
| 24 | vierundzwanzigst- |
| 25 | fünfundzwanzigst- |
| 26 | sechsundzwanzigst- |
| 27 | siebenundzwanzigst- |
| 28 | achtundzwanzigst- |
| 29 | neunundzwanzigst- |
| 30 | dreißigst- |
| 31 | einunddreißigst- |
| 32 | zweiunddreißigst- |
| 33 | dreiunddreißigst- |
| 34 | vierunddreißigst- |
| 35 | fünfunddreißigst- |
| 36 | sechsunddreißigst- |
| 37 | siebenunddreißigst- |
| 38 | achtunddreißigst- |
| 39 | neununddreißigst- |
As adjectives, in contrast to cardinal numbers, they follow the same rules of declension as other adjectives. They can be used with or without an article in front of a noun.
without an article
| Dieses Angebot war erste Kasse. | This offer was first class. |
with the definite article
| Er ging das erste Mal allein zur Schule. | He went for the first time alone to school. |
with the indefinite article
| Es gibt immer eine zweite Chance. | There is always a second chance. |
in lists (ordinal number plus -ens)
| erstens, zweitens, drittens | First, second, third |
| Erstens habe ich keine Lust, zweitens keine Zeit. | In the first place, I don't feel like it, secondly I don't have time |
Ordinal numbers can also be used as nouns:
| Er will immer Erster sein. | He always wants to be first. |
| Henry, der Achte, war König von England seit 1509. | Henry, the eighth, was king of England. |
They can also be used in conjunction with the word zu:
| Es geht einfacher zu zweit. | It is easier with two. |
| Wir waren zu viert im Urlaub. | We were four (people) on holiday. |
Using Dates in German
German dates are always in this order: Day/Month/Year
For the years just the cardinals are needed, same as in English:
| 1412 | vierzehnhundertzwölf |
| 1984 | neunzehnhundertvierundachtzig |
| 2020 | zweitausendzwanzig |
In German there is no preposition before the year, unless the date is actually preceded by the word year.
| Er ist 1992 geboren. | He was born in 1992. |
| Wir sind 2005 nach Australien gereist. | We travelled to Australia in 2005. |
| In dem Jahr(e) 1989 ist meine Schwester geboren. | In the year 1989 my sister was born. |
For specific dates we need the ordinals:
| 12.05.1972 | zwölfter Fünfter neunzehnhundertzweiundsiebzig |
| Der Erste (1.) Mai ist der Tag der Arbeit | The first of May is Workers ́ day. |
| Ich möchte vom ersten Dritten (1.3.) bis zum zehnten Vierten (10.4) reservieren. | I would like to reserve from 1.3. to 10.04. |
And finally I would like to introduce you to a few common expressions which also use numbers.
Miscellaneous Number Words in German
Using a cardinal number with the ending -fach, tells you how many of each there are:
| Das war zweifacher Betrug. | This was a double scam. |
| Ich brauche das in dreifacher Ausführung. | I need three copies of it. |
Using a cardinal number with the ending -er plus -lei tells you how many different kinds there are:
| Das ist alles einerlei für mich. | This is all one and the same to me. |
| Sie kauft zweierlei Marmelade. | She buys two different kinds of jam. |
| Es beinhaltet dreierlei Zutaten. | It contains three kinds of ingredients. |
Using a Cardinal number with the ending -mal tells you how often something is repeated:
| Ich habe zweimal angerufen. | I called two times. |
| Er geht fünfmal die Woche zum Sport. | He is doing sports five times a week. |
Conclusion
The cardinal numbers are the basic numbers. As a noun they are always feminine, and as an adjective they do not require declension.
The ordinal numbers are the numerals followed by a full stop and refer to an order or sequence. These do have to follow the rules of declension as other nouns and adjectives.
Begin by learning the cardinals from 1 to 20, then to 99, and you have already mastered the most important part. From here on, you can easily learn to count to 100, a million, learn ordinals and everything else. And the rewards are instant! You will suddenly notice numbers everywhere and understand so much more.