One of the very first things you need to do when you start learning Dutch is master counting.

Whether you need to buy groceries at the Albert Heijn, tell someone your age, or ask for the time, numbers are unavoidable.

The good news?

If you speak English or German, Dutch numbers will sound very familiar to you.

The tricky news?

There is one specific logic rule for numbers between 21 and 99 that is the complete opposite of English. If you don’t learn this rule early, you might end up waiting for bus 43 when you really needed bus 34!

But don’t worry. I’ll explain exactly how it works below.

The basics: counting from 0 to 19

Let’s start with the easy part.

The numbers from zero to nineteen are quite similar to English. You just need to memorize them.

Here is the list of basic Dutch numbers:

Number	Dutch	Pronunciation Note
0	nul	Like “null”
1	één (or een)	Long ‘a’ sound (like “cane”)
2	twee	Like English “tray” but with a ‘w’
3	drie	-
4	vier	Sounds like “fear”
5	vijf	-
6	zes	-
7	zeven	-
8	acht	Uses the guttural ‘ch’ sound
9	negen	-
10	tien	Like “teen”
11	elf	-
12	twaalf	-
13	dertien	-
14	veertien	-
15	vijftien	-
16	zestien	-
17	zeventien	-
18	achttien	-
19	negentien	-

A quick tip on spelling:

You will often see the number one written as één with accent marks. This is to distinguish the number “one” from the article een (which means “a” or “an”).

If you are just texting a friend, you can write een, but if you want to emphasize that you want one coffee (not two), use één.

A quick tip on pronunciation:

The number 7 (zeven) and 9 (negen) sound somewhat similar over the phone or in a noisy train station.

Because of this, many Dutch people (especially in the Netherlands, less so in Belgium) will pronounce 7 as zeuven. It sounds a bit like the “eu” in the French word deux. This isn’t “correct” spelling, but it is very common in spoken Dutch to avoid confusion.

The “swapping” rule for 21 to 99

This is where things get interesting (and where most learners get confused).

In English, when we count past twenty, we say the tens first, and then the ones.

21 = Twenty-one

In Dutch, we do it the other way around. We say the “one” first, then the word “and” (en), and then the “twenty”.

21 = Een-en-twintig (One-and-twenty)

It’s actually very similar to the old English nursery rhyme style (“four and twenty blackbirds”).

Here is the structure: [Unit] + en + [Tens]

Let’s look at the tens first:

20	twintig
30	dertig
40	veertig
50	vijftig
60	zestig
70	zeventig
80	tachtig
90	negentig

Now, let’s mix them together.

If you want to say 24, you swap the 4 and the 20.

(Literally: Four-and-twenty).

If you want to say 98, you swap the 8 and the 90.

(Literally: Eight-and-ninety).

Watch out for the spelling! You might notice that we write the numbers as one long word.

However, when the vowel at the end of the number (like twee or drie) meets the vowel in en (and), we often add a trema (two dots) to make sure you pronounce both vowels separately.

For example:

• 22 = Tweeëntwintig (The dots on the ë tell you to start a new sound there).
• 33 = Drieëndertig

It takes a little practice to get your brain to “swap” the numbers when you hear them, so don’t be afraid to ask people to repeat the number slowly!

Counting from 100, 1000 and beyond

Once you pass 99, the logic switches back to being very similar to English.

We state the hundreds, then the remainder. We do not swap the hundreds.

• 100 = Honderd
• 1000 = Duizend

We usually don’t say “one hundred” (één honderd), we just say honderd, unless we need to be very specific.

Here is how you build a big number like 145.

1. Say the hundred: Honderd
2. Say the forty-five (remembering the swap rule!): Vijfenveertig

Result: Honderdvijfenveertig.

Here are a few more examples:

Regional Note: When reading years (like 1980 or 2024), Dutch people do exactly what English speakers do. We split it into two parts.

• 1980 -> Negentien tachtig (Nineteen eighty).
• 2024 -> Twintig vierentwintig (Twenty twenty-four).

Ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd)

Ordinal numbers are used to put things in order, like the “first” floor or the “third” time.

In Dutch, the rule is usually adding -de or -ste to the number.

1st	eerste
2nd	tweede
3rd	derde
4th	vierde
5th	vijfde
6th	zesde
7th	zevende
8th	achtste
9th	negende
10th	tiende
20th	twintigste

As a general rule:

• Numbers up to 19 (except 1, 3, and 8) usually end in -de.
• Numbers from 20 upwards usually end in -ste.

How to write numbers and prices in Dutch

If you are looking at price tags in a Dutch supermarket, you might get confused by the punctuation.

In English, we use a dot for decimals and a comma for thousands.

• English: $1,200.50

In Dutch (and most of Europe), we switch them! We use a comma for decimals and a dot for thousands.

• Dutch: € 1.200,50

Phone Numbers: When telling someone your phone number in Dutch, it is very common to group the numbers in pairs of two.

So, if your number is 06 12345678, you wouldn’t say “zero, six, one, two…“.

You would say:

• Nul-zes (06)
• Twaalf (12)
• Vierendertig (34)
• Zesenvijftig (56)
• Acht-en-zeventig (78)

This is why mastering that “swapping” rule for numbers 21-99 is so important!

Summary

Learning Dutch numbers requires a little bit of mental gymnastics because of the inverted order for numbers like 21, 35, or 99.

Just remember the formula: [Unit] + en + [Tens].

Once you get used to saying “five-and-forty” instead of “forty-five”, you are well on your way to sounding like a local.

To follow on from this, see my other related guides:

• Common Dutch Greetings
• How to tell time in Dutch
• Days of the week in Dutch