German Numbers 1–100: How to Say and Pronounce Them Correctly

Saying German numbers from 1 to 100 is simple once you understand the core system.

Compound numbers above 20, like dreiundzwanzig (twenty-three), often intimidate learners.

In reality, they consistently follow a predictable, simple pattern:

ones place + und (and) + tens place.

In this comprehensive guide, you will:

• Find a full, easy-to-read list of all German numbers from 1 to 100.
• Learn specific rules and pronunciation for numbers above 20.
• Get the simple tricks needed to say and remember every number instantly.

How To Say Basic German Numbers 0-12

Basic German numbers start from 0 and end at 12. You need to oil your memory muscles because some actual memorization is necessary to learn the German numbers from 1 to 12.

But here is my take on how to memorize these numbers; some of them have a close resemblance to their English counterpart.

Number	German Word	The Secret Tip (Your Voice)
1	eins	eins → pronounced like “ines” (rhymes with ‘lines’)
2	zwei	The German ‘Z’ is always a ‘TS’ sound—like the end of the word ‘cats’!
3	drei	Simple! It sounds almost exactly like the English word ‘dry‘.
4	vier	Remember that in German, ‘V’ sounds like an English ‘F’ (fee-r).
5	fünf	The ‘ü’ is tricky: make an ‘ee’ sound but with your lips rounded.
6	sechs	sechs → pronounced “zeks”, starting with a ts/z sound.
7	sieben	Emphasis on the first syllable (ZEE-ben).
8	acht	That ‘ch’ sound is the classic German throat-clearing sound. Practice it! Acht=8=Eight, how similar.
9	neun	Easy to remember—it sounds very close to the English word ‘nine’.
10	zehn	Again, starts with the ‘TS’ sound and has a long ‘ay’ vowel.
11	elf	Seems like the word itself.
12	zwölf	Starts with ‘TS’ and that tricky ‘ö’ (like the ‘i’ in ‘bird’ but with rounded lips).

Our goal is to ensure you never stumble over German numbers again!

Tip: Learn these 12 numbers by heart, and the rest of the German counting is —- super easy.

Quick tip: If memorizing numbers feels tricky, Jolii.ai can help. It transforms YouTube videos into interactive lessons, so you can hear and repeat German numbers in real-life situations—making learning intuitive and fun.

German Numbers 13–20 (Patterns & Exceptions for Teenagers)

Numbers 13 to 20 follow a simple formula or trick: a suffix “zehn” is added at the end.

Say the lowest number first, followed by zehn.

The Rule is simple: Number + Zehn (10). 

For example: 

In English, we say 13= three+ teen (thirteen, with a slight spelling change)

In German, we say 13= drei+zehn(dreizehn)

The rest all follow the same pattern with slight changes in spelling for just a few of them.

Number	Pattern	German Word	Translation/Your Voice Tip
13	3 + 10	Dreizehn	Straightforward: Three-Ten. No tricks here!
14	4 + 10	Vierzehn	Four-Ten. Just stick vier onto zehn.
15	5 + 10	Fünfzehn	Five-Ten. The fünf keeps all its letters.
16	6 + 10	Sechzehn	Wait! Where did the ‘s’ go? Sechs drops the ‘s’ before joining zehn.
17	7 + 10	Siebzehn	And where did the ‘en’ go? Sieben shortens dramatically—it just becomes Sieb-.
18	8 + 10	Achtzehn	Eight-Ten. Back to the easy pattern!
19	9 + 10	Neunzehn	Nine-Ten. Perfect!
20	The Exception	Zwanzig	Plot Twist! This one is a new base number for the next phase. Notice the ‘-tig’ ending (pronounced “-tsik”)

Memory hack: 16 and 17 drop letters (sechzehn, siebzehn). Tiny quirks, nothing to stress over.

Number 20 is a new family, so it has the name Zwanzig.

Learn the German Tens 20, 30, 40….100 

Learning the tens in German gives you a complete hold of counting from 20 to 100, but there are a few exceptions. I will mention the exceptions along the way, but let me tell you one thing, Zig is your best friend in learning German tens.

20= Zwanzig(Its own name, but still has the zig at the end)

30= dreißig (The biggest exception)

40= vier+zig= vierzig

50=fünf+zig= fünfzig

60=sech+zig=sechzig(just skip the ‘s’ from ‘sechs’)

70=sieb+zig=siebzig( Skip the ‘en’ at the end of ‘sieben’)

80=acht+zig=achtzig

90=neun+zig=neunzig

100=eins+hundert=einhundert (s from the eins is removed)

Number	German Word	The Exception and Voice Tip
20	zwanzig	This is the starting point for our backward counting system.
30	dreißig	The Big Exception: This is the only number to use the ß (Eszett). It stands out and refuses to use the normal -zig!
40	vierzig	Back to the pattern: vier (4) + zig. Nice and easy.
50	fünfzig	Fünf (5) + zig. See? Once you know the single digits, these are simple.
60	sechzig	The ‘s’ Disappears Again! Just like with 16 (sechzehn), the ‘s’ drops off sechs (6) here. Watch out!
70	siebzig	The Shortening Act! Like 17 (siebzehn), sieben (7) shortens to sieb- here. Always a little dramatic.
80	achtzig	Acht (8) + zig. Perfectly predictable.
90	neunzig	Neun (9) + zig. You’ve almost cleared all the tricky spots!
100	hundert	The grand finale! Often said as just hundert, or sometimes einhundert.

How to Form German Numbers 21–99 (The “Flip” Rule)

No fluff here, just learn this pattern of making German numbers from 21 to 99.

Germans get cheeky. Instead of “twenty-three,” they say three-and-twenty → dreiundzwanzig. Weird? Absolutely. Fun? Totally.

ones + “und” + tens

The number in the ones place comes first, followed by ‘und’, and at the end, there is the particular tens name.

Let’s see the examples

23= Here the number in the ‘ones’ places is ‘drei’ and the particular tens number is zwanzig. So, the number according to the structure above will be:

• 23=‘Drei’ + und + zwanzig=dreiundzwanzig
• 34= vier+und+dreißig =vierunddreißig
• 41=ein­s+und+­vierzig=einundvierzig( the ‘s’ at the ‘eins’ removes)
• 56= sechs­+und+­fünfzig=sechsundfünfzig
• 72 = zwei + und + siebzig = zweiundsiebzig
• 99 = neun + und + neunzig = neunundneunzig

Complete List of German Numbers 1–100 (Compact Table)

The list is a hands-on guide for all the German numbers you have learned.

Number	German Word	Number	German Word
1	eins	51	einundfünfzig
2	zwei	52	zweiundfünfzig
3	drei	53	dreiundfünfzig
4	vier	54	vierundfünfzig
5	fünf	55	fünfundfünfzig
6	sechs	56	sechsundfünfzig
7	sieben	57	siebenundfünfzig
8	acht	58	achtundfünfzig
9	neun	59	neunundfünfzig
10	zehn	60	sechzig
11	elf	61	einundsechzig
12	zwölf	62	zweiundsechzig
13	dreizehn	63	dreiundsechzig
14	vierzehn	64	vierundsechzig
15	fünfzehn	65	fünfundsechzig
16	sechzehn	66	sechsundsechzig
17	siebzehn	67	siebenundsechzig
18	achtzehn	68	achtundsechzig
19	neunzehn	69	neunundsechzig
20	zwanzig	70	siebzig
21	einundzwanzig	71	einundsiebzig
22	zweiundzwanzig	72	zweiundsiebzig
23	dreiundzwanzig	73	dreiundsiebzig
24	vierundzwanzig	74	vierundsiebzig
25	fünfundzwanzig	75	fünfundsiebzig
26	sechsundzwanzig	76	sechsundsiebzig
27	siebenundzwanzig	77	siebenundsiebzig
28	achtundzwanzig	78	achtundsiebzig
29	neunundzwanzig	79	neunundsiebzig
30	dreißig	80	achtzig
31	einunddreißig	81	einundachtzig
32	zweiunddreißig	82	zweiundachtzig
33	dreiunddreißig	83	dreiundachtzig
34	vierunddreißig	84	vierundachtzig
35	fünfunddreißig	85	fünfundachtzig
36	sechsunddreißig	86	sechsundachtzig
37	siebenunddreißig	87	siebenundachtzig
38	achtunddreißig	88	achtundachtzig
39	neununddreißig	89	neunundachtzig
40	vierzig	90	neunzig
41	einundvierzig	91	einundneunzig
42	zweiundvierzig	92	zweiundneunzig
43	dreiundvierzig	93	dreiundneunzig
44	vierundvierzig	94	vierundneunzig
45	fünfundvierzig	95	fünfundneunzig
46	sechsundvierzig	96	sechsundneunzig
47	siebenundvierzig	97	siebenundneunzig
48	achtundvierzig	98	achtundneunzig
49	neunundvierzig	99	neunundneunzig
50	fünfzig	100	(ein)hundert

Use German Numbers To Tell Prices, Phone Numbers, and the Year

Let’s put the German numbers to work. 

Saying Prices In German

Example: €29,99 → neunundzwanzig Euro neunundneunzig(the comma in German numbers is the decimal number)

How Germans Tell Their Phone Numbers 

Germans read in pairs:
0151 73 40 11 → null-eins-fünf-eins, dreiundsiebzig, vierzig, elf

How Do You Tell Which Year It Is in German

2024 → zweitausendvierundzwanzig

2025 → zweitausendfünfundzwanzig

2026 → zweitausendsechsundzwanzig

If you’re ready to turn these number rules into real practice, the Goethe-Institut offers free interactive German practice exercises. After you are done, we have more German language exercises to assess your comprehension skills.

FAQs 

Q: Why do Germans reverse numbers?

Germans reverse numbers because, before the Arabic numerals, many Indo-European languages used this pattern. The number in the ones place is spoken first, followed by the number in the tens place. German still follows the same historical way of saying numbers.

Q: Why 30 in German is dreißig and not dreizig?

Dreißig is the only exception, and it is not dreizig because there was a shift in the sounds of consonants from High German to other Germanic languages. The air flow just supported the Dreißig better than dreizig.

Q: Why do 16 and 17 drop letters in German numbers?

It is the same as fifteen drop letters too in English numbers. So sechs (6) shortens to sech in sechzehn, and sieben (7) shortens to sieb in siebzehn.