Mastering numbers in German is fundamentally vital during your language-learning journey. From everyday conversations to navigating German cities, learning how to pronounce numbers in German and identifying which Zahlen (numbers) are being spoken to you plays a crucial role in speaking confidently.
The diacritical marks, phonetic variations, and differences in number formation can be tricky for an English speaker who is just starting to learn the German language. If you’re looking to learn German, then use this comprehensive guide along with Rosetta Stone’s Live Lessons to find in-depth explanations of these linguistic nuances and tips on how to master German numbers.
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How to pronounce numbers in German
Familiarizing yourself with the proper pronunciation of German words is the first step in being able to accurately communicate with German speakers. Umlauts are symbols that appear as two dots above a vowel written as ö and ü, and are used to modify the sound a vowel makes. You’ll see these umlauts while learning numbers in German, and they’re pronounced like this:
| Umlaut Vowel | How to Pronounce | Example in Numbers |
| ö | Form an “o,” and pronounce the sound similar to the “e” in “her.” | zwölf (twelve) |
| ü | Say “ee” like in “cheese,” but round your lips to make an “o” sound. | fünf (five) |
Speakers will also encounter letters while learning numbers in German that are pronounced differently than in English, but are written the same in both languages. Some of the main phonetic variations you will encounter while mastering German numbers are:
| German Letter | German Pronunciation |
| ch | x |
| s | z |
| v | f |
| w | v |
| z | ts |
You’ll often encounter the symbol “ß” as well in German numbers such as dreißig (thirty). This symbol is called an “Eszett” and represents a sharp “s” sound in German writing. An ß may also be written as “ss” like in dreissig (thirty). Interestingly, the Swiss form of German does not use the ß at all, so you’ll see it as an “ss” instead.
Memorizing these differences will help you sound more natural while speaking German. To really master your German accent, practice pronouncing German phrases and German verbs using our TruAccent speech recognition engine for direct feedback on the quality of your pronunciation.
German numbers 1-10
Learning numbers in German from 1-10 will give you the building blocks you need to express more complex numerical expressions. Paying special attention to each number’s own, unique pronunciation will give you a solid base for spoken clarity and understanding everyday German conversations. Each number from 1 to 10 is written out below, along with its corresponding German spelling and pronunciation.
| Numeral | German | English Pronunciation |
| 1 | eins | ains |
| 2 | zwei | tsvai |
| 3 | drei | drai |
| 4 | vier | feer |
| 5 | fünf | foonf |
| 6 | sechs | zehks |
| 7 | sieben | ZEE-ben |
| 8 | acht | ahkt |
| 9 | neun | noin |
| 10 | zehn | tsehn |
Since English and German share linguistic roots, there are many tricks you can use to relate German numbers to English ones. For instance, consider null. This German word meaning “zero” is also the same word used in English to mean “having no value” or “not any.”
You can also compare the similarities in how each letter sounds to their English counterpart, like how sieben and seven both start with an “s” and end in an “n,” or how vier and “four” both start with the “f” sound. Developing your own, unique memory tricks, along with regular practice and repetition, will ensure that these numbers stick with you quickly and remain with you in the long run.
German numbers 11-19
Now that we’ve covered our fundamental building blocks of 1 to 10, let’s move on to our numbers in German from 11 to 19. These numbers are unique and require special attention to their pronunciation and spelling, but also have a lot in common with how English numbers are formed in this numerical group. Just like in English, the German numbers elf (eleven) and zwölf (twelve) are distinct from the rest of this group of numbers, so you’ll just need to memorize the words rather than the formula.
From 13 to 19, the numbers follow a more predictable pattern by combining the building blocks of numbers three to nine with the suffix -zehn. This mirrors English numbers, where the root number is added to the suffix “-teen” as in “fourteen” or “seventeen.”
- [root number] + -zehn
- five + -teen = fifteen
- fünf + -zehn = fünfzehn
Notably, the word sechzehn (sixteen) drops the -s from its root word sechs (six) and the word siebzehn (seventeen) drops the -en from its root word sieben (seven) for a smoother pronunciation of the overall word. This rule does not apply when a six or seven is in the ones place for sets of numbers with a tens place value of twenty or above, like in sechsundzwanzig (twenty-six) or siebenundvierzig (forty-seven) where the ending of the root word is kept. Read the table below for a comprehensive look at each German number in this group, its spelling, and its pronunciation.
| Numeral | German Spelling | Pronunciation |
| 11 | elf | ehlf |
| 12 | zwölf | tsvoolf |
| 13 | dreizehn | DRAI-tsehn |
| 14 | vierzehn | FEER-tsehn |
| 15 | fünfzehn | FOONF-tsehn |
| 16 | sechzehn | ZEHK-tsehn |
| 17 | siebzehn | ZEEB-tsehn |
| 18 | achtzehn | AHKT-tsehn |
| 19 | neunzehn | NOIN-tsehn |
German numbers 20-99
Once we reach the tens groups (twenties, thirties, etc.), we are met with a new formula for remembering German numbers. Again, this formula is easy to remember since it matches how English treats its tens numbers. In German, the root number is added to the suffix -zig to represent that number in the tens place. This matches exactly how the root number is added to the suffix “-ty” in English like in the number “ninety.”
- [root number] + -zig
- five + -ty = fifty
- fünf + -zig = fünfzig
Keep in mind that the -s in sechs is dropped for sechzig (sixty) and the -en in sieben is dropped for siebzig (seventy) for a smoother pronunciation. By comparing these formation rules to the very similar structure in English, you can quickly adapt to the sets of higher numbers in German.
Sets of German numbers are formed seemingly backward from this point forward in comparison to how the English words for numbers are written and spoken. English words for numbers are written and read from the highest place value to the lowest and from left to right.
So for example, the numeral 25 is written out in English as twenty-five, which feels very natural to English speakers. German numerals from 20 to 99 are written and spoken with the ones place coming first, followed by und (and), then the tens place. In other words, the lowest number is spoken and read first. There are no spaces when forming these numbers in German.
- [ones place] + and + [tens place]
- five + and + twenty = twenty-five
- fünf+und+zwanzig = fünfundzwanzig (twenty-five)
Note that the -s from eins is dropped in the ones place for numbers 20-99 as in the number einundvierzig (forty-one). Though this system can be difficult at first for an English speaker to get used to, developing the habit of breaking down longer words into their smaller root words will be invaluable throughout your language learning journey. With repetition and remembering this formula, you can learn how to write out and pronounce numbers in German from 20 to 99.
| Numeral | German Spelling | Pronunciation |
| 20 | zwanzig | TSVAHN-tseeg |
| 30 | dreißig | DRAI-seeg |
| 40 | vierzig | FEER-tseeg |
| 50 | fünfzig | FOONF-tseeg |
| 60 | sechzig | ZEHK-tseeg |
| 70 | siebzig | ZEEB-tseeg |
| 80 | achtzig | AHKT-tseeg |
| 90 | neunzig | NOIN-tseeg |
Other common German numbers follow the same patterns previously discussed. We’ve included a sample of them in this chart.
| Numeral | German Spelling | Pronunciation |
| 23 | dreiundzwanzig | DRAI-oont-TSVAHN-tseeg |
| 44 | vierundvierzig | FEER-oont-FEER-tseeg |
| 57 | siebenundfünfzig | ZEE-ben-oont-FOONF-tseeg |
| 68 | achtundsechzig | AHKT-oont-ZEHK-tseeg |
| 71 | einundsiebzig | AIN-oont-ZEEB-tseeg |
| 83 | dreiundachtzig | DRAI-oont-AHKT-tseeg |
| 99 | neunundneunzig | NOIN-oont-NOIN-tseeg |
Since German is famous for its unusually long compound words, this practice of breaking longer words down into their composite root words is not only invaluable but necessary. As shown from the formula above, you don’t have to memorize hundreds of different numbers, but rather how they’re formed. By mastering how sets of numbers are formed from 20-99, writing and communicating much larger numbers will be a breeze.
German numbers 100 and beyond
Understanding the numbers 100 and beyond in German involves recognizing patterns similar to what we use in English, combined with the rules that we’ve learned from forming numbers 1-99 in German. The German word for one hundred is einhundert which combines the words eins and hundert without the space in between the two root words. This pattern of number formation continues for every hundreds place (zweihundert and neunhundert).
It’s worth remembering that sechs and sieben are not shortened for these hundreds-place numbers like they are for the tens place, but the -s is still dropped from eins. Remembering this pattern, you will be able to count all the way to 999 in German, which will cover most of your daily conversational needs.
You might want to learn numbers that go beyond 100 too. So, if you’d like to discuss finances, population sizes, and the number of grains of sand on Earth in German, then you can learn eintausend (one thousand), eine Million (one million), and eine Milliarde (one billion).
For numbers in the tens and hundreds of thousands, such as 325,000, you would follow our rules for numbers 1-999 and end the number with –tausend (thousand).
- [hundreds place] + hundred + [ones place] + and + [tens place] + thousand
- Three + hundred + five + and + twenty + thousand
- drei + hundert + fünf + und + zwanzig + tausend = dreihundertfünfundzwanzigtausend
When reading millions, the structure remains similar by adding the root number in the millions place and the word Million (million) when the number in the millions place is equal to eins (one) or Millionen (millions) when the number in the millions place is higher than one, as in drei Millionen (three million). Add spaces before and after Million for proper number formation. To write out the number 2,325,000, use the formula below, then try saying this tongue twister out loud.
- [millions place] + million + [hundreds place] + hundred + [ones place] + and + [tens place] + thousand
- two + million + three + hundred + five + and + twenty + thousand
- Zwei + Millionen + drei + hundert + fünf + und + zwanzig + tausend = zwei Millionen dreihundertfünfundzwanzigtausend
There’s a trick to some of the exceedingly large numbers that you’ll need to pay attention to. One billion is eine Milliarde in German, and one trillion is eine Billion. They are false friends (or cognates) since we could think that Billion in German was “billion” in English. But it’s not. And you’ll say complex millions differently too. For example, 1,500,000,000 is eine Milliarde fünfhundert Millionen. See the table below for detailed spelling and pronunciation of these German numbers beyond 100.
| Numeral | German Spelling | Pronunciation |
| 100 | einhundert | AIN-HOON-dert |
| 1,000 | eintausend | AIN-TOW-zend |
| 1,000,000 | eine Million | AIN-uh-MIL-yon |
| 1,000,000,000 | eine Milliarde | AIN-uh-MIL-yard-uh |
By understanding these patterns and practicing their formation, you can become proficient in reading and comprehending the highest numbers you’re ever likely to encounter in German. This will make you a master of German numbers in formation, writing, and pronunciation!
Master numbers in German with Rosetta Stone
When learning what the numbers in German are, it’s important to learn how to break down longer, more intimidating numbers into their root words and endings. Creating your own memory tricks to relate numbers in German to their English counterparts will accelerate your understanding of German as a whole. By learning German with Rosetta Stone, you can get feedback on pronunciation and develop the skills you’ll need to form more complex expressions.
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