Zahlen 20–100

Lesson · 4 rules · about 5 min

German says twenty-one as 'one-and-twenty' — flip that one habit and every number up to a hundred is yours.

1Unit + und + ten, one word
2The tens
3ein, not eins, before und
4Say it, then flip it

Why this matters

From twenty-one upwards German says the numbers backwards from an English point of view: the unit first, then und, then the ten, all as one word — einundzwanzig is 'one-and-twenty'. Once you accept that order, everything to a hundred follows one pattern, and the tens themselves are the units with -zig on the end (vierzig, fünfzig, achtzig, neunzig) with the same two trims as before — sechzig, siebzig — and one odd one, dreißig, spelt with ß. Two details are worth getting right from the start: it is ein before und (einundzwanzig, never einsundzwanzig), and hundert can be said with or without ein.

Rule · 1 of 4

Unit + und + ten, one word

21 einundzwanzig, 34 vierunddreißig, 58 achtundfünfzig, 99 neunundneunzig. Read the digits right to left.

ein und zwanzig einundzwanzig 21
drei und vierzig dreiundvierzig 43
neun und neunzig neunundneunzig 99

Twenty-one is said one-and-twenty, and written as one word.

Meine Mutter ist achtundvierzig. My mother is forty-eight.
Das kostet dreiundzwanzig Euro. That costs twenty-three euros.

English says twenty-one; German says one-and-twenty. When you *hear* a number, the second half is the big part.

Quick check

Das kostet Euro. (36)

Rule · 2 of 4

The tens

zwanzig, dreißig, vierzig, fünfzig, sechzig, siebzig, achtzig, neunzig, (ein)hundert. Note dreißig with ß, and the trimmed sechzig and siebzig.

number		German
20 · 30	⇄	zwanzig · dreißig
dreißig takes ß, not z.
40 · 50	⇄	vierzig · fünfzig
60 · 70	⇄	sechzig · siebzig
sechs and sieben lose a piece, as in the teens.
80 · 90 · 100	⇄	achtzig · neunzig · hundert

Er ist dreißig. Sie ist sechzig. He is thirty. She is sixty.
hundert Euro / einhundert Euro a hundred euros — both are correct

Quick check

Mein Opa ist . (70)

Watch out · 3 of 4

ein, not eins, before und

The s of eins disappears inside a number: einundzwanzig, einunddreißig, einundvierzig.

einundzwanzig, einunddreißig 21, 31
Mein Vater ist einundfünfzig. My father is fifty-one.

Quick check

Meine Tante ist . (41)

Memory trick · 4 of 4

Say it, then flip it

When writing a heard number, say the German aloud, then write the *second* half first: 'sieben-und-vierzig' → 4, then 7 → 47.

siebenundvierzig → 47 'seven and forty' → 47
achtundsechzig → 68 'eight and sixty' → 68

Quick check

You hear neunundsiebzig. Which number do you write?

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 sind deine Eltern? – Mein Vater ist vierundfünfzig und meine Mutter ist einundfünfzig. Meine Oma ist schon achtundsiebzig! – Und was kostet die Jacke? – Neunundneunzig Euro. Zu teuer!

How old are your parents? – My father is fifty-four and my mother is fifty-one. My grandma is already seventy-eight! – And what does the jacket cost? – Ninety-nine euros. Too expensive!

Spot the mistake

Which one is right?

Spot the mistake

Which one is right?

Spot the mistake

Which one is right?

Cheat sheet

What to take with you

Unit + und + ten, one word
The tens
ein, not eins, before und
Say it, then flip it

How to remember it

Backwards is forwards: the small number is said first.
-zig is the tens; dreißig is the only one spelt with ß.

German says twenty-one as 'one-and-twenty' — flip that one habit and every number up to a hundred is yours.

Unit + und + ten, one word

Das kostet Euro. (36)

The tens

Mein Opa ist . (70)

ein, not eins, before und

Meine Tante ist . (41)

Say it, then flip it

You hear neunundsiebzig. Which number do you write?

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?

Which one is right?

What to take with you

More

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