Zahlen 11–20

Lesson · 3 rules · about 4 min

Learn elf and zwölf, then glue a small number to zehn — the German teens work almost exactly like English.

1Unit + zehn
2The three exceptions
3The 13–19 chant

Why this matters

Eleven to twenty look irregular but hide one pattern: from thirteen up, you say the unit and then zehn — vier-zehn, acht-zehn — exactly like English 'four-teen'. Only elf (11) and zwölf (12) have to be learnt as words, and two spellings are trimmed: sechzehn drops the s of sechs, siebzehn drops the -en of sieben. Twenty is zwanzig, the first of the tens, and it starts the next block. These teens matter more than they look: ages, times (um vierzehn Uhr), prices and dates all use them constantly.

Rule · 1 of 3

Unit + zehn

13 dreizehn, 14 vierzehn, 15 fünfzehn, 18 achtzehn, 19 neunzehn. Say the small number first, then zehn, as one word.

drei zehn dreizehn 13
vier zehn vierzehn 14
neun zehn neunzehn 19

Like English thir-teen: the small number comes first.

Ich bin vierzehn Jahre alt. I am fourteen years old.
Der Zug fährt um neunzehn Uhr. The train leaves at 19:00.

Quick check

Mein Sohn ist Jahre alt. (15)

Watch out · 2 of 3

The three exceptions

11 = elf and 12 = zwölf are their own words. 16 = sechzehn (no s: not sechszehn) and 17 = siebzehn (not siebenzehn).

sech s zehn sechzehn 16
sieb en zehn siebzehn 17
elf elf · zwölf 11 · 12

Two lose a piece; 11 and 12 are their own words.

elf, zwölf, dreizehn eleven, twelve, thirteen
sechzehn, siebzehn sixteen, seventeen

Quick check

Meine Schwester ist . (16)

Memory trick · 3 of 3

The 13–19 chant

Chant it with a beat: DREIzehn, VIERzehn, FÜNFzehn, SECHzehn, SIEBzehn, ACHTzehn, NEUNzehn, ZWANzig. The stress is always on the first part.

Zimmer siebzehn, bitte. Room seventeen, please.
Das kostet zwölf Euro. That costs twelve euros.

Quick check

Where is the stress in siebzehn?

Words · tap to hear

The words you need

Practise these words as flashcards

Listen

Play it, then pick what you heard.

In context

Hear it in a real exchange

Wie alt bist du? – Ich bin sechzehn. Mein Bruder ist neunzehn und meine Schwester ist zwölf. – Und wann fängt die Schule an? – Um zwanzig nach acht.

How old are you? – I'm sixteen. My brother is nineteen and my sister is twelve. – And when does school start? – At twenty past eight.

Spot the mistake

Which one is right?

Spot the mistake

Which one is right?

Cheat sheet

What to take with you

Unit + zehn
The three exceptions
The 13–19 chant

How to remember it

sechzehn and siebzehn lose a letter or two — the same trim happens in sechzig and siebzig later.
The stress is on the unit: VIERzehn, not vierZEHN.

Learn elf and zwölf, then glue a small number to zehn — the German teens work almost exactly like English.

Unit + zehn

Mein Sohn ist Jahre alt. (15)

The three exceptions

Meine Schwester ist . (16)

The 13–19 chant

Where is the stress in siebzehn?

The words you need

Play it, then pick what you heard.

Hear it in a real exchange

Which one is right?

Which one is right?

What to take with you

More

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