German Numbers 1 to 20

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Count to twenty, say your age, tell the time on the hour, and understand why German numbers run backwards after twelve.

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Eins to zwölf — learn them cold

The first twelve numbers are unique words: eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn, elf, zwölf. Note the spellings that trip learners: sechs (six, pronounced "zex"), sieben (seven — the second syllable is short), and zwölf with its umlaut. Drill these until they are automatic; everything above twelve is built from them.

Thirteen to nineteen — the -zehn pattern

Numbers 13–19 add -zehn (a worn-down form of zehn, ten): dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn, sechzehn, siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn. Watch the two irregular stems: sechzehn (not "sechszehn") and siebzehn (not "siebenzehn") — the same shortened stems return in sechzig (60) and siebzig (70). Then zwanzig (20) closes the set.

Backwards after twenty

From 21 on, German says the ones before the tens: 21 is einundzwanzig (one-and-twenty), 35 is fünfunddreißig. English did this too a thousand years ago ("four-and-twenty blackbirds") and then stopped; German kept it. Phone numbers and prices therefore demand full attention — fünfundvierzig (45) and vierundfünfzig (54) blur together at speed. Ask people to repeat: Wie bitte?

Age, time and quantities

Age uses sein, not haben: Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt (I am twenty years old), asked as Wie alt bist du? (informal) or Wie alt sind Sie? (formal). Hours on the clock: Es ist drei Uhr (it is three o'clock). Counting objects needs no classifier — the number goes straight before the noun: zwei Bücher (two books), drei Tassen Kaffee (three cups of coffee).

Number	German
1–5	eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf
6–10	sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn
11–15	elf, zwölf, dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn
16–20	sechzehn, siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn, zwanzig
How old are you?	Wie alt bist du? / Wie alt sind Sie?
I am 20 years old	Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt

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