Ordinal Numbers in Swedish

Overview

Ordinal numbers tell you the position of something in a sequence: first, second, third, and so on. In Swedish, ordinals are used for dates, floor numbers, ranking, and sequences, making them essential from the CEFR A1 level. Swedish ordinals follow clear patterns after the first few numbers, so once you learn the irregular ones, the rest fall into place predictably.

The most important thing to know upfront is that the first two ordinals (första and andra) are irregular, and andra has a gender variant (andre for masculine). After that, ordinals are formed by adding -e or -te to the cardinal number.

How It Works

Ordinals 1-12

Cardinal	Ordinal	English
en/ett (1)	första	first
två (2)	andra / andre	second
tre (3)	tredje	third
fyra (4)	fjärde	fourth
fem (5)	femte	fifth
sex (6)	sjätte	sixth
sju (7)	sjunde	seventh
åtta (8)	åttonde	eighth
nio (9)	nionde	ninth
tio (10)	tionde	tenth
elva (11)	elfte	eleventh
tolv (12)	tolfte	twelfth

Ordinals 13-20 and Beyond

Cardinal	Ordinal	Pattern
tretton (13)	trettonde	-de
fjorton (14)	fjortonde	-de
femton (15)	femtonde	-de
tjugo (20)	tjugonde	-de
trettio (30)	trettionde	-de
hundra (100)	hundrade	-de

For compound numbers: tjugoförsta (21st), tjugoandra (22nd), tjugotredje (23rd), etc.

Andra vs. Andre

Form	Use	Example
andra	General, most contexts	den andra boken (the second book)
andre	Specifically masculine person	den andre mannen (the second/other man)

In modern Swedish, andra is used almost universally. Andre appears mainly in formal or literary writing when referring to a specific male person.

Using Ordinals with Dates

Swedish dates use ordinals. The pattern is: den + ordinal + month

Swedish	English
den första januari	January 1st
den tredje mars	March 3rd
den tjugofemte december	December 25th

Written with numerals: den 1:a januari, den 3:e mars, den 25:e december. Note the colon before the ordinal suffix.

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
den första dagen	the first day	With en-word
den andra våningen	the second floor	Floor number
det tredje försöket	the third attempt	With ett-word
Jag bor på fjärde våningen.	I live on the fourth floor.	No article after på
Det är den femte gången.	It's the fifth time.	Counting occurrences
Min födelsedag är den sjätte juni.	My birthday is June 6th.	Date format
Hon kom på andra plats.	She came in second place.	Ranking
Det tjugonde århundradet.	The twentieth century.	Large ordinal
Första gången i Sverige!	First time in Sweden!	Common expression
Den andra halvan var bättre.	The second half was better.	Comparison

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the irregular forms

• Wrong: den tvåde platsen
• Right: den andra platsen
• Why: The first three ordinals (första, andra, tredje) are irregular and must be memorized.

Missing the colon in written ordinals

• Wrong: den 5e maj
• Right: den 5:e maj
• Why: When writing ordinals with digits in Swedish, a colon separates the number from its suffix: 1:a, 2:a, 3:e, 4:e, etc.

Using cardinal numbers for dates

• Wrong: Jag kommer den fem mars.
• Right: Jag kommer den femte mars.
• Why: Swedish dates require ordinal numbers, not cardinal numbers.

Confusing ordinal suffixes

• Wrong: den sjunde → den sjundende
• Right: den sjunde
• Why: Sjunde already is the ordinal form. Do not add extra suffixes.

Usage Notes

Ordinals are very common in daily Swedish for dates, addresses (floor numbers), and general sequencing. The written abbreviation system (1:a, 2:a, 3:e) appears everywhere from receipts to formal invitations.

Note that Swedish floor numbering starts with bottenvåningen (ground floor), and första våningen is what British English calls the "first floor" (second floor in American English).

When telling dates aloud, Swedes often shorten: den femte instead of den femte dagen i månaden. In casual speech, you might hear just the number: Jag kommer den femte.

Practice Tips

• Memorize the first twelve ordinals as a block, since they contain all the irregularities. After that, the pattern (-de/-nde) is consistent.
• Practice with dates: say your birthday, today's date, and upcoming holidays using the full ordinal form.
• Use floor numbers in everyday context: Jag bor på tredje våningen. Kontoret är på sjunde våningen.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers and Time --- you need cardinal numbers before learning their ordinal forms