Numbers 1 to 100

German numbers follow a logical system — but with one major twist that catches every English speaker off guard. Numbers from 21 to 99 are said backwards compared to English. "Twenty-one" becomes "einundzwanzig" — literally "one-and-twenty". Let us learn the full system.

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Numbers 0 to 12

These are the foundation. They must be memorised individually.

Number	German	Pronunciation
0	null	nool
1	eins	ains
2	zwei	tsvai
3	drei	drai
4	vier	feer
5	fünf	fewnf
6	sechs	zeks
7	sieben	zee-ben
8	acht	akht
9	neun	noyn
10	zehn	tsehn
11	elf	elf
12	zwölf	tsverlf

Note: "Zwei" and "drei" rhyme, which can cause confusion on the phone. Germans often say "zwo" instead of "zwei" to avoid misunderstandings.

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Numbers 13 to 19

From 13 to 19, German follows the same pattern as English "-teen" numbers. The unit comes first, followed by -zehn (ten).

Number	German	Pattern	Pronunciation
13	dreizehn	drei + zehn	drai-tsehn
14	vierzehn	vier + zehn	feer-tsehn
15	fünfzehn	fünf + zehn	fewnf-tsehn
16	sechzehn	sech + zehn	zekh-tsehn
17	siebzehn	sieb + zehn	zeep-tsehn
18	achtzehn	acht + zehn	akht-tsehn
19	neunzehn	neun + zehn	noyn-tsehn

Watch out: "Sechzehn" drops the "s" from "sechs" — it is NOT "sechszehn". Similarly, "siebzehn" drops the "en" from "sieben" — it is NOT "siebenzehn".

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The Tens (20, 30, 40... 100)

Number	German	Pronunciation
20	zwanzig	tsvan-tsikh
30	dreißig	drai-sikh
40	vierzig	feer-tsikh
50	fünfzig	fewnf-tsikh
60	sechzig	zekh-tsikh
70	siebzig	zeep-tsikh
80	achtzig	akht-tsikh
90	neunzig	noyn-tsikh
100	hundert (or einhundert)	hoon-dert

Note: "Dreißig" (30) is the only tens number that ends in -ßig instead of -zig. All other tens use -zig.

Also note: "Sechzig" drops the "s" from "sechs", and "siebzig" drops the "en" from "sieben" — just like the teens.

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Numbers 21 to 99: The Reversed Pattern

Here is the most important rule: for compound numbers (21-99), German says the ones digit first, then "und" (and), then the tens digit — all as one word.

Number	English	German	Literal
21	twenty-one	einundzwanzig	one-and-twenty
32	thirty-two	zweiunddreißig	two-and-thirty
45	forty-five	fünfundvierzig	five-and-forty
57	fifty-seven	siebenundfünfzig	seven-and-fifty
63	sixty-three	dreiundsechzig	three-and-sixty
78	seventy-eight	achtundsiebzig	eight-and-seventy
84	eighty-four	vierundachtzig	four-and-eighty
99	ninety-nine	neunundneunzig	nine-and-ninety

Tip: This reversed system takes practice, but it is 100% consistent. Once you get used to saying the ones digit first, it becomes automatic.

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Complete Table: 20 to 100