Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers in German Language
In German, cardinal numbers (which denote quantity or count) and ordinal numbers (which denote the order or position in a sequence) are used similarly to English. Here’s a breakdown of both:
Cardinal Numbers:
- null – zero
- eins – one
- zwei – two
- drei – three
- vier – four
- fünf – five
- sechs – six
- sieben – seven
- acht – eight
- neun – nine
- zehn – ten
- elf – eleven
- zwölf – twelve
- dreizehn – thirteen
- vierzehn – fourteen
- fünfzehn – fifteen
- sechzehn – sixteen
- siebzehn – seventeen
- achtzehn – eighteen
- neunzehn – nineteen
- zwanzig – twenty
- einundzwanzig – twenty-one
- dreißig – thirty
- vierzig – forty
- fünfzig – fifty
- sechzig – sixty
- siebzig – seventy
- achtzig – eighty
- neunzig – ninety
- hundert – one hundred
- tausend – one thousand
- million – million
For numbers beyond 20, German often combines the word for the tens place with the word for the ones place, such as “einundzwanzig” for 21, “dreiundvierzig” for 43, etc.
Ordinal Numbers:
- erste – first
- zweite – second
- dritte – third
- vierte – fourth
- fünfte – fifth
- sechste – sixth
- siebte – seventh
- achte – eighth
- neunte – ninth
- zehnte – tenth
- elfte – eleventh
- zwölfte – twelfth
- dreizehnte – thirteenth
- vierzehnte – fourteenth
- fünfzehnte – fifteenth
- sechzehnte – sixteenth
- siebzehnte – seventeenth
- achtzehnte – eighteenth
- neunzehnte – nineteenth
- zwanzigste – twentieth
To form ordinal numbers in German, you generally add “-te” to the end of the cardinal number, with some exceptions for the first few numbers.