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Die Grundlagen · Unit 6 of 10 · 15 min

Zahlen und Zählen

Numbers and counting

0 to a million, the famous back-to-front twenties, and numbers you actually use at work.

Numbers arrive fast in real life: prices, platforms, phone numbers, room numbers. German also says them back to front between 21 and 99, which is exactly where listeners lose track.

Learning objectives

  • Say and understand 0–100 and the hundreds.
  • Build 21–99 in the German order (units before tens).
  • Handle prices and telephone numbers spoken at normal speed.

Can-Do outcomes

  • I can understand a price said aloud.
  • I can give my telephone number in German.
  • I can say any number up to a hundred without counting up to it.

Native-speaker review required

Lesson 1 · 0–10

  • 0null
  • 1eins
  • 2zweiOn the phone people often say zwo to avoid confusion with drei.
  • 3drei
  • 4vier
  • 5fünf
  • 6sechs
  • 7sieben
  • 8acht
  • 9neun
  • 10zehn

Lesson 2 · 11–20

  • 11elfSpecial form — not “einszehn”.
  • 12zwölfSpecial form.
  • 13dreizehn
  • 14vierzehn
  • 15fünfzehn
  • 16sechzehnThe s of sechs drops out.
  • 17siebzehnShortened from sieben.
  • 18achtzehn
  • 19neunzehn
  • 20zwanzig

Lesson 3 · 21–99

German says the small number first: einundzwanzig is literally one-and-twenty. Once you expect it, it stops tripping you up — but expect it, especially with prices and phone numbers.

Watch three irregular tens: dreißig (not dreizig), sechzig (no s) and siebzig (shortened).

Number builder

21

einundzwanzig

ein+und+zwanzig1 - and - 20 — the small number comes first
  • 21 = ein + und + zwanzig
  • 47 = sieben + und + vierzig
  • 30 = dreißig (not dreizig)
  • 60 / 70 = sechzig / siebzig (shortened)

Übungen — numbers in use

1 / 9

Match numbers and German words

Verbinde die Zahlen mit den Wörtern.

Match the digits with the German words.

Lesson 4 · Hundreds, thousands and beyond

  • 100(ein)hundert
  • 101hunderteins
  • 234zweihundertvierunddreißigWritten as one long word.
  • 1.000(ein)tausendGerman uses a dot where English uses a thousands comma.
  • 2.500zweitausendfünfhundert
  • 1.000.000eine Million

Lesson 5 · Practical numbers

Telephone numbers are usually read in pairs or single digits — ask for single digits if pairs go too fast: Einzeln, bitte.

Hotel rooms, addresses, ages, years, measurements and temperatures all reuse the same building blocks you just learned.

Years up to 1999 are spoken in hundreds: neunzehnhundertneunzig. From 2000 on they are plain: zweitausendvierundzwanzig.

Numbers on the job

Your pathway decides which of these you drill most. IT examples come first because that is your track.

  • Die IP-Adresse ist 192.168.0.1.The IP address is 192.168.0.1.Read as: hundertzweiundneunzig, Punkt, hundertachtundsechzig, Punkt, null, Punkt, eins.
  • Port dreiundzwanzig ist geschlossen.Port twenty-three is closed.
  • Wir haben vierzig Geräte im Büro.We have forty devices in the office.
  • Das Modell ist T-vierhundertzwanzig.The model is T-420.
  • Die Festplatte hat fünfhundert Gigabyte.The hard drive has 500 gigabytes.
  • Ticket Nummer siebentausendzwölf.Ticket number 7012.
  • Die Temperatur ist siebenunddreißig Grad.The temperature is 37 degrees.Healthcare track: numbers and times only — this course never gives medical instructions.
  • Der Termin ist um acht Uhr dreißig.The appointment is at 8:30.

Say the awkward ones

Aussprachetrainer

einundzwanzig

twenty-one

einundzwanzig
EYE-noont-tsvan-tsikh

Aussprachetrainer

siebenundsiebzig

seventy-seven

siebenundsiebzig
ZEE-ben-oont-zeep-tsikh

Aussprachetrainer

dreihundertsechzig

three hundred sixty

dreihundertsechzig
DRY-hoon-dert-zekh-tsikh

Wortschatz

  • dieZahl— numberPlural: die Zahlen
  • dieNummer— number (of a thing)Plural: die Nummern
  • derPreis— pricePlural: die Preise
  • derEuro— euroPlural: die Euro
  • derCent— centPlural: die Cent
  • zählen— to count

Übungen

1 / 9

Match numbers and German words

Verbinde die Zahlen mit den Wörtern.

Match the digits with the German words.

Optional between-session assignment

Zahlen um dich herum

Numbers around you

Real-world action · about 8 min · Self-reported completion

  1. 1.Collect ten numbers you see today: prices, times, door numbers, platform numbers.
  2. 2.Say each one in German, out loud.
  3. 3.Mark the ones between 21 and 99 — those are the ones worth repeating.

In-app alternative · Use the number builder above: generate ten numbers, say each one, then check the spoken form.

Self-reported: not checked by anyone. Skipping never breaks your streak or blocks A1.

Willkommen zurück!

Return checkpoint

Two or three quick checks the next time you open this unit. Attempting it is what counts — anything you miss becomes a review recommendation, not a failure.

  1. 1. How do you say 72?

  2. 2. Which is correct for 30?

  3. 3. „Das macht vier Euro fünfzig.“ What do you pay?

Completion summary

Zahlen und Zählen abgeschlossen

You can produce and catch German numbers, including the back-to-front ones that trip up most beginners.

Unit 7 puts numbers into dates, clock times and prices.

Marking a unit complete adds its Can-Do outcomes to your spaced-repetition queue. Perfect scores are never required.