German Numbers 1–100: Complete Guide with Pronunciation

German numbers are wonderfully logical. Once you know 0–20 and the tens, you can build every number up to 100 with one simple rule. Here is the complete list, plus exactly how the pattern works.

Numbers 0 to 20

These are the building blocks — learn them first, because everything else is built from them.

The tens: 10, 20, 30 … 100

Most tens just add -zig to the root. The two to watch are dreißig (30, spelled with -ßig, not -zig) and sechzig / siebzig (60 and 70 drop a sound).

The one rule for 21–99: say the small number first

This is the part that surprises English speakers. In German you say the ones before the tens, joined by und (“and”). So 21 is literally “one-and-twenty”:

einundzwanzig = ein (1) + und (and) + zwanzig (20) → 21

It is written as a single word, with no spaces. A few more:

24 → vierundzwanzig (four-and-twenty)
37 → siebenunddreißig (seven-and-thirty)
58 → achtundfünfzig (eight-and-fifty)
99 → neunundneunzig (nine-and-ninety)

Two small spelling notes: 1 as a ones-digit becomes ein (not “eins”) — so 21 is einundzwanzig. And sechs (6) and sieben (7) keep their full form inside compounds (sechsundzwanzig, siebenundzwanzig), even though 60/70 shortened them.

100 and beyond

hundert (or einhundert) is 100. 101 is hunderteins, 200 is zweihundert, and 1,000 is tausend. The same “ones-before-tens” rule continues inside larger numbers.

Where you’ll actually use these

Numbers show up constantly in real German: telling someone your age (“Ich bin dreißig Jahre alt”), reading a price, giving a phone number, catching a bus number, or understanding the time. Drilling them until they’re automatic pays off fast.

Quick tips to memorize them

• Master 0–12 first — they’re irregular and worth pure memorization.
• 13–19 are just “ones + zehn” (dreizehn, vierzehn …).
• Then learn the tens, and the und-rule unlocks everything else.
• Say numbers out loud — German numbers are about hearing the pattern.

Keep going

Learn German properly — A1 to B2, structured.

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