German numbers A1: building blocks, order and irregular forms
CEFR A1
What you will learn
- Recognise the pattern taught in “German numbers A1: building blocks, order and irregular forms” in a short example.
- Choose the appropriate form from “German numbers A1: building blocks, order and irregular forms” using explicit evidence.
- Apply and justify the rule from “German numbers A1: building blocks, order and irregular forms” in a new case.
The idea
Numbers are built from stable pieces: learn 0–12 first; from 21 to 99 say the unit before the ten and connect them with und.
The base is: null, eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn, elf, zwölf. Before a noun, one takes a determiner form: ein Buch, eine Lampe; when the number stands alone, use eins.
From 13 to 19: dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn, sechzehn, siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn. Notice the shortened forms sechzehn and siebzehn. The tens are zwanzig, dreißig, vierzig, fünfzig, sechzig, siebzig, achtzig and neunzig; dreißig has ß and sechzig/siebzig also shorten the stem.
Between 21 and 99, the structure is unit + und + ten and is written as one word: einundzwanzig, vierunddreißig, achtundneunzig. Exact multiples do not add und: vierzig. The inversion affects the unit and ten; it does not make every long number completely “backwards”.
One hundred is hundert or einhundert; one thousand, tausend or eintausend. Combine larger blocks from high to low, while the final block keeps the unit-before-ten rule: dreihundertfünfundzwanzig. Telephone numbers, years and codes follow contextual conventions; do not claim that telephone numbers are always read in pairs. Decimals use Komma, after which digits may be read according to context.
cero a doce
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 null |
| 2 | 1 eins |
| 3 | 2 zwei |
| 4 | 3 drei |
| 5 | 4 vier |
| 6 | 5 fünf |
| 7 | 6 sechs |
| 8 | 7 sieben |
| 9 | 8 acht |
| 10 | 9 neun |
| 11 | 10 zehn |
| 12 | 11 elf |
| 13 | 12 zwölf |
trece a diecinueve
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| 1 | 13 dreizehn |
| 2 | 14 vierzehn |
| 3 | 15 fünfzehn |
| 4 | 16 sechzehn |
| 5 | 17 siebzehn |
| 6 | 18 achtzehn |
| 7 | 19 neunzehn |
decenas
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| 1 | 20 zwanzig |
| 2 | 30 dreißig |
| 3 | 40 vierzig |
| 4 | 50 fünfzig |
| 5 | 60 sechzig |
| 6 | 70 siebzig |
| 7 | 80 achtzig |
| 8 | 90 neunzig |
composicion
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| 21–99 | unidad + und + decena |
| 100 | (ein)hundert |
| 1000 | (ein)tausend |
How it sounds
- 12 → zwölf · 14 → vierzehn · 70 → siebzigThe base number, teen and ten are learned as complete forms.
- 32 → zweiunddreißigFirst zwei, then und, and finally dreißig.
- 506 → fünfhundertsechsHundreds and units run from high to low; no und appears between them.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
Wie schreibt man 16?
sechzehn — 16 shortens sechs to sech- before zehn: sechzehn.
Wie schreibt man 47?
siebenundvierzig — From 21 to 99 the order is unit + und + ten: sieben + und + vierzig.
Welche Form passt vor „Buch“? ___ Buch
ein — Before singular neuter Buch, one takes the form ein; eins is used when the number stands alone.
When it doesn't hold
What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.
- One on its own is eins, but before a noun it drops the s and declines like the article.Es ist eins. – Ein Buch, bitte.
- Years are said without the hundreds word your language uses.neunzehnhundertneunzig
- The dot separates thousands and the comma marks decimals, the opposite of English.1.500 Euro und 3,50 Euro
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong 1,500 Euro
Right 1.500 Euro
English writes thousands with a comma and decimals with a dot, so a German price copied straight from English reads as one and a half euros instead of one thousand five hundred.
Curriculum alignment and sources
- CEFR A1 · handle very basic numbers, quantities, times, prices and personal details; the sequence of forms is editorial · Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Companion Volume
- German number forms cross-checked against language-specific reference descriptions · Reference Level Descriptions developed so far