Cardinal Numbers in Dutch

Numbers are among the first things you will need in any language, and Dutch numbers have a logical system that becomes second nature once you learn the patterns. From counting items in a shop to giving your phone number, you will use numbers every single day.

The Dutch number system is mostly regular, but it has a few quirks that English speakers need to watch out for. Most notably, compound numbers between 21 and 99 put the units digit before the tens digit, connected by en (and). So 21 is not "twenty-one" but literally "one-and-twenty": eenentwintig. This is similar to German and was actually how English worked centuries ago (think "four and twenty blackbirds").

Once you have the numbers 0–20 and the tens memorized, you can construct any number up to 100. This article also introduces ordinal numbers, which you will need for dates and rankings.

Formation / How It Works

Numbers 0–12

These must simply be memorized:

Number	Dutch	Number	Dutch
0	nul	7	zeven
1	een	8	acht
2	twee	9	negen
3	drie	10	tien
4	vier	11	elf
5	vijf	12	twaalf
6	zes

Numbers 13–19

Formed by adding -tien to the unit. Note the spelling changes for 13 and 14:

Number	Dutch	Note
13	dertien	not "drietien"
14	veertien	not "viertien"
15	vijftien
16	zestien
17	zeventien
18	achttien
19	negentien

Tens (20–90)

Formed by adding -tig to the base. Again, some spelling changes:

Number	Dutch	Note
20	twintig	irregular
30	dertig	from "der-", not "drie"
40	veertig	from "veer-", not "vier"
50	vijftig
60	zestig
70	zeventig
80	tachtig	irregular (not "achttig")
90	negentig

Compound Numbers (21–99)

Units come first, followed by en, then the tens. They are written as one word:

Number	Dutch	Literally
21	eenentwintig	one-and-twenty
35	vijfendertig	five-and-thirty
47	zevenenveertig	seven-and-forty
63	drieënzestig	three-and-sixty
89	negenentachtig	nine-and-eighty
99	negenennegentig	nine-and-ninety

Note: when the unit ends in a vowel (twee, drie), a diaeresis (¨) is sometimes added for clarity: drieën, tweeën. In everyday writing this is often omitted.

100 and Beyond

Number	Dutch
100	honderd
101	honderdeen
200	tweehonderd
1000	duizend

Ordinal Numbers

Ordinals are formed by adding -de (for 1–19) or -ste (for 20 and above) to the cardinal number:

Cardinal	Ordinal	Dutch
1	1st	eerste (irregular)
2	2nd	tweede
3	3rd	derde (irregular)
4	4th	vierde
8	8th	achtste (irregular)
20	20th	twintigste
21	21st	eenentwintigste

Examples in Context

Dutch	English	Note
Ik heb twee katten.	I have two cats.	Basic counting
Er zijn dertien stoelen.	There are thirteen chairs.	Teen number
Mijn oma is drieëntachtig.	My grandma is eighty-three.	Units before tens
Dat kost vijfenveertig euro.	That costs forty-five euros.	Compound number
We wonen op nummer zevenentwintig.	We live at number twenty-seven.	House number
Hij is de derde van links.	He is the third from the left.	Ordinal, irregular
Het is de eenentwintigste eeuw.	It is the twenty-first century.	Ordinal of compound
Ik heb nul fouten.	I have zero mistakes.	Using nul
Er zijn honderd leerlingen op school.	There are a hundred students at school.	Round hundred
Zij heeft vijftien boeken gelezen.	She has read fifteen books.	Teen number

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
twintig-een	eenentwintig	Units come before tens in Dutch
drietien	dertien	13 has a special stem "der-"
viertien	veertien	14 has a special stem "veer-"
achttig	tachtig	80 is irregular — drop the first "t"
de tweede-ste	de tweede	Ordinals below 20 use -de, not -ste

Practice Tips

• Count aloud daily. While walking, count your steps in Dutch from 1 to 100. Pay special attention to the reversed order in compound numbers — saying them out loud rewires your brain faster than reading alone.
• Use numbers in context. Practice saying prices, ages, and addresses in Dutch. When you see a price tag, mentally convert it to Dutch: dat kost zevenendertig euro.
• Play number dictation. Have a friend (or an audio resource) say random numbers and write them down. This trains your ear for the reversed order.

Related Concepts

• Time and Dates