📚 Introduction
📚 Introduction
Numbers and dates are important in all languages. There are many similarities in the formation and usage of numbers in English and German, but ordinal numbers in German ('first', 'second' etc.) need endings like any other adjective.
🔢 Numbers 0–20
Cardinal Numbers (Grundzahlen)
These are the cardinal numbers from 0 to 20 in German:
📊 Numbers 20–100
The Tens (Die Zehner)
| 20 | zwanzig | 🔊 |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | dreißig | 🔊 |
| 40 | vierzig | 🔊 |
| 50 | fünfzig | 🔊 |
| 60 | sechzig | 🔊 |
| 70 | siebzig | 🔊 |
| 80 | achtzig | 🔊 |
| 90 | neunzig | 🔊 |
Numbers Over 20
Numbers over 20 are formed by giving the unit number, then und and then the tens. This is different from English, where you first have the tens and then the single number: twenty-one.
| 21 | einundzwanzig | one-and-twenty | 🔊 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | zweiunddreißig | two-and-thirty | 🔊 |
| 44 | vierundvierzig | four-and-forty | 🔊 |
| 56 | sechsundfünfzig | six-and-fifty | 🔊 |
💯 Numbers 100 and Above
Hundreds and Thousands
Start with the number of hundreds and then add the tens and units as explained above:
| 100 | (ein)hundert | 🔊 |
|---|---|---|
| 202 | zweihundertzwei | 🔊 |
| 310 | dreihundertzehn | 🔊 |
| 456 | vierhundertsechsundfünfzig | 🔊 |
| 889 | achthundertneunundachtzig | 🔊 |
| 1,020 | (ein)tausendzwanzig | 🔊 |
| 7,455 | siebentausendvierhundertfünfundfünfzig | 🔊 |
Long Words
You have probably noticed that all numbers in German are written as one word. Only numbers above a million are separated:
| 1,100,000 | eine Million einhunderttausend |
|---|---|
| 10,800,000 | zehn Millionen achthunderttausend |
📅 Dates – Ordinal Numbers
Formation
To say the dates in German ('the first', 'the second' etc.), add:
- -te for numbers up to 19 and
- -ste for numbers from 20 upwards.
These numbers ('first', 'second' etc.) are called ordinal numbers. Because ordinal numbers usually provide more information about a noun ('the first of February', for instance), they take the appropriate adjective ending.
Ordinal Numbers 1–19
For numbers up to and including the nineteenth add -te:
From 20th Upwards
For all numbers from the twentieth upwards add -ste:
| 21 (einundzwanzig) | einundzwanzigste | 🔊 |
|---|---|---|
| 31 (einunddreißig) | einunddreißigste | 🔊 |
| 25 (fünfundzwanzig) | fünfundzwanzigste | 🔊 |
🎯 Ordinal Numbers with Dative Endings
Using am with Dates
To indicate on which date something happens, use am in German.
| Ich fahre am ersten Juli nach Hamburg. | On the first of July, I'm going to Hamburg. | 🔊 |
|---|---|---|
| Am fünfzehnten Mai beginnt mein Urlaub. | My holidays start on the fifteenth of May. | 🔊 |
| Habt ihr am dreißigsten Zeit? | Are you free on the thirtieth (of this month)? | 🔊 |
More Expressions with Dative
Other frequently used prepositions which require the dative case are seit 'since'/'from', von 'from' and zu 'until':
| Er kennt sie seit dem ersten Juni. | He has known her since the first of June. | 🔊 |
|---|---|---|
| Vom dritten bis zum zweiundzwanzigsten ist das Geschäft geschlossen. | The shop is closed from the third to the twenty-second. | 🔊 |
📆 Years in German
Referring to Years
When referring to years, German does NOT use the preposition 'in' as in English:
| Die Berliner Mauer fiel 1989. (= neunzehnhundertneunundachtzig) | The Berlin Wall came down in 1989. | 🔊 |
|---|---|---|
| Goethe wurde 1749 geboren. (= siebzehnhundertneunundvierzig) | Goethe was born in 1749. | 🔊 |
← From Previous (e25)
← From Previous (e25)
Building on: Adjective Endings — Ordinal numbers in German need adjective endings just like any other adjective! Remember how adjectives change based on case, gender, and whether they follow a definite article, indefinite article, or no article.
→ Coming Next (e27)
Prepare for: Conjunctions and Clauses — Learn how to connect sentences and ideas using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions like und, aber, weil, dass, and understand word order rules in subordinate clauses.