German Numbers and Counting: 21-100

In our previous lesson, we introduced you to the German numbers from 0 to 20. Now it's time to expand to "higher" math—from 21 (einundzwanzig) to 100 (hundert). Once you have a grasp of the twenties, the rest of the numbers up to 100 and beyond are similar and easy to learn. You'll also be using many of the numbers you learned from zero (null) to 20.

For the German numbers above 20, think of the English nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" and the line "four and twenty blackbirds" ("baked in a pie"). In German, you say one-and-twenty (einundzwanzig) rather than twenty-one. All of the numbers over 20 work the same way: zweiundzwanzig (22),einundreißig (31), dreiundvierzig (43), etc. No matter how long they may be, German numbers are written as one word.

For numbers above (ein)hundert, the pattern just repeats itself. The number 125 ishundertfünfundzwanzig. To say 215 in German, you simply put zwei in front of hundert to make zweihundertfünfzehn. Three hundred is dreihundert and so on. 

To ask "how much" you say wie viel. To ask "how many" you say wie viele. For example, a simple math problem would be: Wie viel ist drei und vier? (How much is three and four?). To ask "how many cars" you would say: Wie viele Autos?, as in Wie viele Autos hat Karl? (How many cars does Karl have?).

After you go over the number charts below, try seeing if you can write down a number above 20 in German. You could even try simple math in German!

Note: The number sechzig (60) drops the s in sechs. The number siebzig (70) drops the en insieben. The number dreißig (30) is the only one of the tens that doesn't end with -zig. (dreißig= dreissig)

Note: The number dreißig (30) is the only one of the tens that doesn't end with -zig.