German Numbers 1-100 — How to Count in German (A1)

Step 1: Numbers 1–12 (learn these by heart first)

These twelve don't follow a pattern — they're the building blocks every other number is made from, so learn them individually before anything else.

Step 2: 13–19 — the pattern is "ones + zehn"

Once you know 1–12, thirteen through nineteen are just a small number plus zehn (ten) stuck together: drei + zehn = dreizehn (13).

Number	Built from	German
13	drei + zehn	dreizehn
14	vier + zehn	vierzehn
15	fünf + zehn	fünfzehn
16	sechs + zehn	sechzehn
17	sieben + zehn	siebzehn
18	acht + zehn	achtzehn
19	neun + zehn	neunzehn

⚠ Special case: 16 and 17
Every other teen number keeps its full base word, but these two lose a letter or two:
• 16 = sechzehn, not "sechszehn" — the "s" from sechs is dropped.
• 17 = siebzehn, not "siebenzehn" — the "-en" from sieben is dropped.
You'll see this exact same shortening again in the tens below (60 and 70) — once you notice it here, it won't surprise you there.

Step 3: The tens — 20, 30, 40 … 90

Most tens are built the same way: a number + -zig. Two are irregular: zwanzig (20, not "zweizig") and dreißig (30, spelled with ß instead of z).

Number	Built from	German
20	zwan + zig	zwanzig
30	drei + ßig	dreißig
40	vier + zig	vierzig
50	fünf + zig	fünfzig
60	sechs + zig	sechzig
70	sieben + zig	siebzig
80	acht + zig	achtzig
90	neun + zig	neunzig

Memory trick: 60 (sechzig) and 70 (siebzig) drop the same letters as 16 and 17 — sech- and sieb-, not sechs- and sieben-. It's one rule, not two.

Step 4: 21–99 — ones come BEFORE tens

This is the biggest surprise for English speakers: German says the small number first, then "und" (and), then the ten — the exact reverse of English word order.

Number	Built from	German
21	ein + und + zwanzig	einundzwanzig
22	zwei + und + zwanzig	zweiundzwanzig
23	drei + und + zwanzig	dreiundzwanzig
34	vier + und + dreißig	vierunddreißig
47	sieben + und + vierzig	siebenundvierzig
58	acht + und + fünfzig	achtundfünfzig
69	neun + und + sechzig	neunundsechzig
99	neun + und + neunzig	neunundneunzig

Memory trick: Think of the old English nursery rhyme "four-and-twenty blackbirds" — that reversed order is exactly how German always says two-digit numbers: einundzwanzig = "one-and-twenty" = 21.

Step 5: 100 and beyond

100 is simply hundert (or einhundert). Everything before it still applies: 101 = hunderteins, 121 = hunderteinundzwanzig, 200 = zweihundert.

🎯 Quick check

Which spelling of "17" is correct?

📝 Remember: The two numbers most beginners get wrong are 16 (sechzehn) and 17 (siebzehn) — both drop letters from their base number (sechs → sech-, sieben → sieb-). The same shortening repeats in 60 (sechzig) and 70 (siebzig). Everything else in this lesson builds in a completely predictable way.