How to count in Dutch, a Germanic language spoken mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium
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| Numeral | Cardinal [IPA] | Ordinal [IPA] |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | nul [nʏl] | nulde |
| 1 | één [en] | eerste ['ɪ:rstə] |
| 2 | twee [tυe] | tweede ['tυedə] |
| 3 | drie [dri] | derde ['dεrdə] |
| 4 | vier [vi:r] | vierde ['vi:rdə] |
| 5 | vijf [vεɪf] | vijfde ['vεɪvdə] |
| 6 | zes [zεs] | zesde [zεzdə] |
| 7 | zeven ['zevə(n)] | zevende ['zevəndə] |
| 8 | acht [ɑxt] | achtste ['ɑxstə] |
| 9 | negen ['nexə(n)] | negende ['nexəndə] |
| 10 | tien [tin] | tiende ['tində] |
| 11 | elf [εlf] | elfde ['εlvde] |
| 12 | twaalf [tυalf] | twaalfde ['tυalvdə] |
| 13 | dertien ['dεrtin] | dertiende ['dεrtində] |
| 14 | veertien ['vɪ:rtin] | veertiende ['vɪ:rtində] |
| 15 | vijftien ['vεɪftin] | vijftiende ['vεɪftində] |
| 16 | zestien ['zεstin] | zestiende ['zεstində] |
| 17 | zeventien ['zevəntin] | zeventiende ['zevəntində] |
| 18 | achttien ['ɑxtin] | achttiende ['ɑxtində] |
| 19 | negentien ['nexəntin] | negentiende ['nexəntində] |
| 20 | twintig ['tυɪntəx] | twintigste ['tυɪntəxstə] |
| Numeral | Cardinal |
|---|---|
| 21 | eenentwintig ['enəntυɪntəx] |
| 22 | tweeëntwintig ['tυeəntυɪntəx] |
| 23 | drieëntwintig4 ['driəntυɪntəx] |
| 24 | vierentwintig ['vi:rəntυɪntəx] |
| 25 | vijfentwintig ['vεɪvəntυɪntəx] |
| 26 | zesentwintig ['zεzəntυɪntəx] |
| 27 | zevenentwintig ['zevənəntυɪntəx] |
| 28 | achtentwintig ['ɑxtəntυɪntəx] |
| 29 | negenentwintig ['nexənəntυɪntəx] |
| 30 | dertig ['dεrtəx] |
| 40 | veertig ['fɪ:rtəx] |
| 50 | vijftig ['fεɪftəx] |
| 60 | zestig ['sεstəx] |
| 70 | zeventig ['sevəntəx] |
| 80 | tachtig ['tɑxtəx] |
| 90 | negentig ['nexəntəx] |
| 100 | honderd ['ɦondərt] |
| 1,000 | duizend ['dœyzənt] |
| 10,000 | tienduizend [t'indœyzənt] |
| 100,000 | honderdduizend ['ɦondərdœyzənt] |
| 1,000,000 | (een) miljoen [mɪl'jun] |
| 109 | (een) miljard [mɪl'jɑrt] |
| 1012 | (een) biljoen [bɪl'jun] |
| 1015 | (een) biljard [bɪl'jɑrt] |
| 1018 | (een) triljoen [trɪl'jun] |
| 1021 | (een) triljard [trɪl'jɑrt] |
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Hear some numbers in Dutch
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Units are combined with tens by means of -en- [ən] or [εn] ‘and’, in reverse order compared to English: twintig + vier = vierentwintig. The higher powers of ten, however, are added in ‘normal’ order, and with optional use of -en-: honderd + negen = honderd(en)negen, achthonderd + zestig + twee = achthonderd(en)tweeënzestig; zesduizend + dertig + negen = zesduizend(en)negenendertig; etc.
Complex numbers between 10 and 99 are typically written as one word, higher ones will usually get a space or two for clarity’s sake: vierduizendachthonderd(en)éénentwintig becomes vierduizend achthonderd (en) éénentwintig.
Numbers like 6,200 can be pronounced in two different ways: either as tweeënzestighonderd (‘sixty-two hundred’) or as zesduizend tweehonderd (‘six thousand two hundred’). The same goes when these numbers also contain tens and / or units: 3,266 tweeëndertighonderd zesenzestig or drieduizend tweehonderd zesenzestig.
When indicating years, the word honderd may be left out, as in English: 1999 negentienhonderd negenennegentig or negentien negenennegentig. No such practice has developed yet for the year 2000 and upwards: this might change in the future, but at present people usually say tweeduizend acht for 2008. The pronunciation *twintig acht, although it is sometimes used, still sounds a bit awkward.
Honderd and duizend are never preceded by an indefinite article as in English, but miljoen, miljard etc. typically are.
Mind the irregular cardinals dertien / -tig (not *drietien / -tig), veertien (not *viertien / -tig), tachtig (not *achttig), and the ordinals eerste (not *eende or *eenste) and derde (not *driede).
Information about counting in Dutch written by Dirk Bakker, with corrections by Ton Stauttener and Graham Rind.
Download a spreadsheet of numbers in Germanic languages (provided by Yoshi Smart)
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