German numbers 1–100: count and say them with confidence
How German numbers are built, the famous reversed two-digit order (einundzwanzig), and the small list you need to memorise to count to a hundred.
Numbers are one of the first things you need in real life: prices, phone numbers, times, ages. German numbers are very regular once you learn a short core — but there is one quirk that surprises everyone.
The building blocks (0–20)
Learn 0–12 as separate words: null, eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn, elf, zwölf. From 13 to 19, just add -zehn: dreizehn, vierzehn … neunzehn (watch sechzehn and siebzehn, which drop a sound).
The reversed order from 21
This is the famous twist: two-digit numbers are spoken units-first, joined by und. 21 is einundzwanzig (literally one-and-twenty), 47 is siebenundvierzig (seven-and-forty). The whole thing is written as one word. Train this until it is automatic — it is the single biggest hurdle.
Tens, hundreds and beyond
- Tens: zwanzig, dreißig (note the ß), vierzig, fünfzig, sechzig, siebzig, achtzig, neunzig.
- 100 = (ein)hundert, 1000 = (ein)tausend.
- Bigger numbers stack the same way: 234 = zweihundertvierunddreißig.
When someone says a phone number or price, expect the units before the tens. Hearing einundzwanzig as 21 (not 12) in real time takes practice — repeat numbers back to confirm.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Why are German numbers said backwards?
In two-digit numbers German names the units before the tens and joins them with und: 21 is einundzwanzig. It is historical and consistent, so once you internalise the pattern it becomes automatic.
Is it ein or eins when counting?
Use eins when counting alone or at the end (zwanzigeins is not used — it is einundzwanzig). Before a noun the article form is used: ein Buch, eine Tasche.