The "Teen" Numbers
To form most numbers from thirteen to nineteen, German uses a very predictable pattern: combine the single digit with zehn (ten). This is exactly like adding "-teen" in English!
- drei (3) + zehn (10) = dreizehn (13)
- vier (4) + zehn (10) = vierzehn (14)
| My sister is thirteen years old. | Meine Schwester ist dreizehn Jahre alt. |
| There are fourteen chairs here. | Hier gibt es vierzehn Stühle. |
This regular pattern also applies directly to fünfzehn (15), achtzehn (18), and neunzehn (19).
| She is bringing fifteen bottles along. | Sie bringt fünfzehn Flaschen mit. |
| She is nineteen and is studying. | Sie ist neunzehn und studiert. |
Small Spelling Changes: 16 and 17
Two numbers in the teens drop a few letters to make them flow better when spoken.
For sixteen, sechs drops its final -s:
- sechs → sechzehn (not sechszehn)
| He made sixteen mistakes. | Er hat sechzehn Fehler gemacht. |
For seventeen, sieben drops its final -en:
- sieben → siebzehn (not siebenzehn)
| My grandma has seventeen cats. | Meine Oma hat siebzehn Katzen. |
The Number 20 (Zwanzig)
Rather than ending in -zehn, the number twenty introduces a new pattern for the "tens" digits, which generally end in -zig. It is based on zwei (two), but the spelling changes slightly to zwan-.
| Twenty people are coming to the party. | Zwanzig Leute kommen zur Party. |
| I am showing him twenty photos. | Ich zeige ihm zwanzig Fotos. |
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