Numbers 1 to 100 in German (in words)
| Number | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | eins | one |
| 2 | zwei | two |
| 3 | drei | three |
| 4 | vier | four |
| 5 | fünf | five |
| 6 | sechs | six |
| 7 | sieben | seven |
| 8 | acht | eight |
| 9 | neun | nine |
| 10 | zehn | ten |
| 11 | elf | eleven |
| 12 | zwölf | twelve |
| 13 | dreizehn | thirteen |
| 14 | vierzehn | fourteen |
| 15 | fünfzehn | fifteen |
| 16 | sechzehn | sixteen |
| 17 | siebzehn | seventeen |
| 18 | achtzehn | eighteen |
| 19 | neunzehn | nineteen |
| 20 | zwanzig | twenty |
| 21 | einundzwanzig | twenty-one |
| 22 | zweiundzwanzig | twenty-two |
| 23 | dreiundzwanzig | twenty-three |
| 24 | vierundzwanzig | twenty-four |
| 25 | fünfundzwanzig | twenty-five |
| 26 | sechsundzwanzig | twenty-six |
| 27 | siebenundzwanzig | twenty-seven |
| 28 | achtundzwanzig | twenty-eight |
| 29 | neunundzwanzig | twenty-nine |
| 30 | dreißig | thirty |
| 31 | einunddreißig | thirty-one |
| 32 | zweiunddreißig | thirty-two |
| 33 | dreiunddreißig | thirty-three |
| 34 | vierunddreißig | thirty-four |
| 35 | fünfunddreißig | thirty-five |
| 36 | sechsunddreißig | thirty-six |
| 37 | siebenunddreißig | thirty-seven |
| 38 | achtunddreißig | thirty-eight |
| 39 | neununddreißig | thirty-nine |
| 40 | vierzig | forty |
| 41 | einundvierzig | forty-one |
| 42 | zweiundvierzig | forty-two |
| 43 | dreiundvierzig | forty-three |
| 44 | vierundvierzig | forty-four |
| 45 | fünfundvierzig | forty-five |
| 46 | sechsundvierzig | forty-six |
| 47 | siebenundvierzig | forty-seven |
| 48 | achtundvierzig | forty-eight |
| 49 | neunundvierzig | forty-nine |
| 50 | fünfzig | fifty |
| 51 | einundfünfzig | fifty-one |
| 52 | zweiundfünfzig | fifty-two |
| 53 | dreiundfünfzig | fifty-three |
| 54 | vierundfünfzig | fifty-four |
| 55 | fünfundfünfzig | fifty-five |
| 56 | sechsundfünfzig | fifty-six |
| 57 | siebenundfünfzig | fifty-seven |
| 58 | achtundfünfzig | fifty-eight |
| 59 | neunundfünfzig | fifty-nine |
| 60 | sechzig | sixty |
| 61 | einundsechzig | sixty-one |
| 62 | zweiundsechzig | sixty-two |
| 63 | dreiundsechzig | sixty-three |
| 64 | vierundsechzig | sixty-four |
| 65 | fünfundsechzig | sixty-five |
| 66 | sechsundsechzig | sixty-six |
| 67 | siebenundsechzig | sixty-seven |
| 68 | achtundsechzig | sixty-eight |
| 69 | neunundsechzig | sixty-nine |
| 70 | siebzig | seventy |
| 71 | einundsiebzig | seventy-one |
| 72 | zweiundsiebzig | seventy-two |
| 73 | dreiundsiebzig | seventy-three |
| 74 | vierundsiebzig | seventy-four |
| 75 | fünfundsiebzig | seventy-five |
| 76 | sechsundsiebzig | seventy-six |
| 77 | siebenundsiebzig | seventy-seven |
| 78 | achtundsiebzig | seventy-eight |
| 79 | neunundsiebzig | seventy-nine |
| 80 | achtzig | eighty |
| 81 | einundachtzig | eighty-one |
| 82 | zweiundachtzig | eighty-two |
| 83 | dreiundachtzig | eighty-three |
| 84 | vierundachtzig | eighty-four |
| 85 | fünfundachtzig | eighty-five |
| 86 | sechsundachtzig | eighty-six |
| 87 | siebenundachtzig | eighty-seven |
| 88 | achtundachtzig | eighty-eight |
| 89 | neunundachtzig | eighty-nine |
| 90 | neunzig | ninety |
| 91 | einundneunzig | ninety-one |
| 92 | zweiundneunzig | ninety-two |
| 93 | dreiundneunzig | ninety-three |
| 94 | vierundneunzig | ninety-four |
| 95 | fünfundneunzig | ninety-five |
| 96 | sechsundneunzig | ninety-six |
| 97 | siebenundneunzig | ninety-seven |
| 98 | achtundneunzig | ninety-eight |
| 99 | neunundneunzig | ninety-nine |
| 100 | hundert | one hundred |
Numbers in German are a favourite first step, because counting turns up everywhere: on stairs, in songs and in every game of hide and seek. This page has a tap-to-hear chart of numbers in German from 1 to 100. Tap a number to hear it in German and English, or press Count with me to count along from eins to zehn, to zwanzig, or all the way to hundert.
Numbers 1 to 10 in German
eins (1), zwei (2), drei (3), vier (4), fünf (5), sechs (6), sieben (7), acht (8), neun (9), zehn (10). These ten words are the base of everything else. Say them slowly: zwei sounds like "tsvai", drei like "dry", and fünf needs the round-lipped ü. Listen to the audio and copy it together.
Numbers 11 to 20: the teens
Eleven and twelve have their own names, elf and zwölf, just like English. From 13 the pattern is simple: the unit plus -zehn (ten). So 13 is dreizehn, 14 vierzehn, 15 fünfzehn. Watch two small changes: 16 is sechzehn (the s drops) and 17 is siebzehn (the en drops). Twenty is zwanzig.
Why German says 21 as "one-and-twenty"
This is the part that surprises English-speaking families. From 21 to 99, German says the unit first, then the tens, joined by und (and): 21 is einundzwanzig, "one-and-twenty"; 45 is fünfundvierzig, "five-and-forty"; 99 is neunundneunzig, "nine-and-ninety". The digits are still written the normal way, 4 then 5, so children read the number from right to left when they say it. English once worked like this too, as in the old nursery rhyme "four and twenty blackbirds".
German children find this normal because they have never heard anything else. Bilingual children sometimes mix up 45 and 54 for a while. Give them time and plenty of practice with real objects, and point to each digit as you say it.
| Number | German | Word for word |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | einundzwanzig | one-and-twenty |
| 32 | zweiunddreißig | two-and-thirty |
| 47 | siebenundvierzig | seven-and-forty |
| 58 | achtundfünfzig | eight-and-fifty |
| 76 | sechsundsiebzig | six-and-seventy |
| 99 | neunundneunzig | nine-and-ninety |
Note the spelling of the tens: dreißig (30) ends in -ßig, not -zig, and sechzig (60) and siebzig (70) are shortened. One hundred is hundert or einhundert.
How children in Germany learn to count
In a German Kita, children count in play: how many children are in the morning circle today, how many plates for lunch, how many steps to the garden. Finger rhymes and counting songs are part of every day. German children count on their fingers starting with the thumb, so "one" is a raised thumb, not an index finger, which is a small cultural detail your child may notice at kindergarten. In the first year of Grundschule, children work with numbers up to 20 (Zahlenraum bis 20) and later up to 100.
Counting games to play at home
- Hide and seek: the seeker counts to 10 or 20 in German. Every German child knows this game as Verstecken.
- Stair counting: count each step out loud going up and down.
- Snack counting: "Wie viele Trauben?" (How many grapes?) Count them, then eat them.
- Dice games: roll a die and say the number in German before moving.
- Tens march: once your child knows 1-20, march around the room saying zehn, zwanzig, dreißig... up to hundert.
Use the chart's Count with me button for a short daily routine: 1-10 for a two- or three-year-old, 1-20 at four, and 1-100 in tens at five or six. Stop while your child still wants more.
What to expect by age
At two to three, children often chant eins, zwei, drei before they understand quantity. At three to four, most count five to ten objects by touching each one. At four to five, children count to 20 and recognise written numbers. At five to six, they begin to understand the tens and can count to 100 with help. For practice with number order in English and Hindi, try the before and after numbers game.
Zahlen lernen für Kinder
Auf dieser Seite lernen Kinder die Zahlen von eins bis hundert. Tippen Sie auf eine Zahl, und Ihr Kind hört sie auf Deutsch und auf Englisch. Mit dem Zählknopf können Sie gemeinsam bis zehn, bis zwanzig oder bis hundert zählen.
Zählen Sie im Alltag: Treppenstufen, Äpfel im Korb, Autos auf der Straße. Bei den Zahlen ab einundzwanzig hilft es, die Einer zuerst zu zeigen: erst die Eins, dann die Zwanzig. So verstehen auch zweisprachige Kinder, warum man einundzwanzig sagt.
Continue with the German alphabet or the colours in German game. Families learning two languages may like to compare numbers in Dutch, which also say the unit first.
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: german words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
