Counting to ten in German
One to ten, for prices, platforms, rooms and how many beers. Play the ten German words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 German phrases in this lesson
- EinsINES
- One
- ZweiTSVYE
- Two
- DreiDRY
- Three
- VierFEER
- Four
- FünfFUENF
- Five
- SechsZEKS
- Six
- SiebenZEE-ben
- Seven
- AchtAKHT
- Eight
- NeunNOYN
- Nine
- ZehnTSAYN
- Ten
"Eins" is the standalone number. Before a noun it changes form: "ein Bier" (one beer), "eine Frau" (one woman). German numbers are otherwise straightforward.
On the phone or in loud places, Germans sometimes say "Zwo" instead of "Zwei" to avoid confusion with "Drei" (three).
The umlaut "ü" is like saying "ee" with rounded lips. Numbers three to five are the most useful for ordering rounds or counting items.
Compound numbers follow a pattern: "vierzehn" (14), "zwanzig" (20), "dreißig" (30). Once you have one to ten, larger numbers follow naturally.