Numbers 11 to 20 (elva till tjugo)

Counting from 11 to 20

Let's continue counting! The numbers from 11 to 20 are straightforward. Just like the numbers 2 through 10, they never change their form regardless of the noun they are counting.

NumberSwedish
11elva
12tolv
13tretton
14fjorton
15femton
16sexton
17sjutton
18arton
19nitton
20tjugo

As always, nouns take their plural form when counted by these numbers.

She has twelve apples.
Hon har tolv äpplen.
We are buying fifteen red flowers.
Vi köper femton röda blommor.
You must wait twenty days.
Du måste vänta tjugo dagar.

Stating Ages

To state someone's age in Swedish, use the verb är (is/are/am) followed by the number and the word år (years).

The word år is an ett-word that looks exactly the same in its plural form. This means it stays as år whether you are talking about one year or twenty years.

The boy is eleven years old.
Pojken är elva år.
Is the dog thirteen years old?
Är hunden tretton år?
Are you nineteen or twenty years old?
Är du nitton eller tjugo år?

You can also add the word gammal (old) at the end of the sentence, just like in English, though it is very common to simply end the sentence with år.

The boy is fifteen years old.
Pojken är femton år gammal.