German for Beginners
Lesson 7

German Numbers and Counting (1)

Die Zahlen und zählen (0-20)

German Numbers: 0-20 > 21-100 > 101 and above

The numbers and counting in German are not difficult to learn, but... true mastery of numbers, in any language, takes time. It is fairly easy to learn to rattle off the numbers - "eins, zwei, drei..." and so forth. However, most of the time numbers are used in more practical ways: in telephone numbers, in math problems, in prices, for addresses, etc. Also, because you have already internalized the numbers in English or another first language, there can be the same kind of interference that happens with other vocabulary.

So, do learn to say the numbers, but also try our exercises to see if you really know how to deal with them. If someone tells you a phone number in German, can you write it down? Can you do simple addition or subtraction in German? - After you've learned the basic numbers from 0-20 (below and on our more detailed German Numbers page), do the exercises below to check your mastery.

AUDIO Hören Sie zu! Hear the numbers in German! (below)

Die Zahlen 0-10

Hören Sie zu! LISTEN TO THE NUMBERS 0-10 in German! RealAudio.

Hören Sie zu! ALL Listening Exercises for Numbers

Die Zahlen 11-20

Hören Sie zu! LISTEN TO THE NUMBERS 11-20 in German! RealAudio.

Hören Sie zu! ALL Listening Exercises for Numbers

Übung 7A (Exercise 7A)

Mathe - Write out the answer to the following math problems in German.
Note: + in German is "plus" (PLOOHS); - is "minus" (MEEN-OOS).

1. zwei + fünf = ________________

2. zwölf - zwei = ________________

3. drei + neun = _________________

4. vier - vier = _________________

5. eins + sechs = _________________

6. dreizehn - zwei = _________________

7. sieben + elf = _________________

Answer Key for this exercise (7A).

Übung 7B (Exercise 7B)

Diktat (Dictation) - Write out the following phone numbers as numerals. Example: null, vier; zwölf, vierzehn, zwanzig = 04 12 14 20 (German phone numbers are often printed/written in groups of two-number pairs.)

1. null, zwo; zwölf, elf, zwanzig = ______________

2. neunzehn; null, fünf; sechzehn, = ______________

3. null, acht; zwölf, elf, zwanzig = ______________

4. null, drei; vier, sieben; achtzehn, zwanzig = ______________

5. dreizehn, zwölf, zehn, vierzehn = ______________

Answer Key for this exercise (7B).

NEXT > Lesson 8 (Numbers 21-100)

Previous Lesson (Lektion 6)

Next Lesson (Lektion 8 - Numbers 21-100)

German Numbers: 0-20 > 21-100 > 101 and above

German for Beginners - Contents

German Numbers
A detailed table of the numbers in German – ordinal, cardinal, fractions, dates, etc.

More Related Links

How to Tell Time in German
A step-by-step guide to telling time in German.

German for Beginners - Contents

English-German Glossaries
All of the annotated glossaries on this site - from aerospace to travel.

German Grammar
All of the grammar resources on this site.

Tutor Directory
Find a tutor to help you with your German!

German Newsletters
Subscribe to a free newsletter!

German Chat

OUR GERMAN FORUMS