Dutch numbers trip up almost every English speaker in the same place: from 21 to 99, Dutch says the unit before the ten. Twenty-one is eenentwintig, literally one-and-twenty. Forty-seven is zevenenveertig, seven-and-forty. Read on paper it is easy enough, but heard at speed, in a phone number, a price or an address, it scrambles the order of the digits in your head. The fix is a few habits rather than more vocabulary: wait for the whole number, write the tens first, and practise with the numbers you actually hear every day, which are prices, phone numbers, house numbers and times.
The numbers from zero to twenty
The first twenty are worth learning as plain vocabulary, because several of them look nothing like their English cousins.
| Number | Dutch | Number | Dutch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | nul | 11 | elf |
| 1 | een | 12 | twaalf |
| 2 | twee | 13 | dertien |
| 3 | drie | 14 | veertien |
| 4 | vier | 15 | vijftien |
| 5 | vijf | 16 | zestien |
| 6 | zes | 17 | zeventien |
| 7 | zeven | 18 | achttien |
| 8 | acht | 19 | negentien |
| 9 | negen | 20 | twintig |
| 10 | tien | 30 | dertig |
Two pairs cause most early mistakes. Dertien (13) and dertig (30) differ only in the ending, as do veertien (14) and veertig (40). In a noisy café the endings are easy to miss, so listen for -tien (teen) versus -tig (ty).
The word een also deserves a note. As the number one it is often written één, with accents, to distinguish it from the article een (a, an), which is pronounced differently, with a weak vowel. When you see één on a sign or a recipe, it means exactly one.
The tens and the backwards rule
From 21 onward, Dutch builds numbers as unit plus en plus ten, written as one word:
- 21 eenentwintig (one-and-twenty)
- 35 vijfendertig (five-and-thirty)
- 48 achtenveertig (eight-and-forty)
- 52 tweeënvijftig (two-and-fifty), with the two dots to keep the vowels apart
- 99 negenennegentig (nine-and-ninety)
The Wikipedia overview of Dutch grammar describes the numeral system, and English speakers who learned German will recognise the pattern immediately. For everyone else, the practical habit is simple: when someone says a number between 21 and 99, wait until they finish before you write anything. The first digit you hear is the last digit you write.
Writing them down the other way round is a good exercise. Take any two-digit number you see, say it in Dutch, and notice which digit comes out first. A week of doing this with prices and bus numbers makes the reversal feel normal.
Hundreds, thousands and the long scale
Above a hundred, Dutch mostly follows the English order, with the backwards rule applying only to the last two digits:
- 125 honderdvijfentwintig (hundred-five-and-twenty)
- 368 driehonderdachtenzestig
- 1.000 duizend
- 2.450 tweeduizend vierhonderdvijftig
- 1.000.000 een miljoen
Notice the full stops. Dutch uses a full stop to group thousands and a comma for decimals, the opposite of English, so 1.250 means one thousand two hundred and fifty, and 1,5 means one and a half.
Large numbers use the long scale in everyday language, which is described in the Wikipedia article on long and short scales. Een miljard is a thousand million, what English calls a billion, and een biljoen is a million million, what English calls a trillion. Translating miljard as billion avoids embarrassing mistakes when reading Dutch news about budgets.
Prices
Prices are where most people meet Dutch numbers first. The pattern is euros, then cents, often without the words euro and cent:
- 3,50 is said drie euro vijftig or just drie vijftig
- 12,95 is twaalf vijfennegentig
- 0,99 is negenennegentig cent
- 24,- is vierentwintig euro, the dash meaning no cents
At a market, prices for loose produce are often given per kilo or per ons, an everyday word for a hundred grams: “twee ons kaas” is two hundred grams of cheese. Our guide to Dutch at the supermarket covers the counter vocabulary, and the one on bargaining at the Albert Cuyp markt puts prices to work.
Phone numbers
Dutch phone numbers have ten digits. Mobile numbers start with 06, said nul zes, and landline numbers start with an area code such as 020 for Amsterdam or 010 for Rotterdam. The Wikipedia page on Dutch telephone numbers lists the area codes, and the country code from abroad is +31, dropping the first zero.
How people read the rest varies. Some say every digit separately: nul zes, een twee, drie vier… Others group the digits into pairs and say them as two-digit numbers, which brings back the backwards rule: zes, twaalf, vierendertig, zesenvijftig. When someone dictates a number quickly, these phrases help:
- “Kunt u dat herhalen?” Can you repeat that?
- “Iets langzamer, alstublieft.” A bit slower, please.
- “Ik herhaal: nul zes, een twee…” I’ll repeat it back: …
Repeating the number back digit by digit is normal and polite in Dutch, and it catches backwards mistakes before they become wrong numbers.
House numbers, floors and postcodes
Addresses combine several number habits. House numbers are said as normal numbers, so Keizersgracht 147 is honderdzevenenveertig. Letters and additions follow: 147-II means the second floor, said honderdzevenenveertig twee hoog, and 147-hs is huis, the ground floor.
Dutch postcodes have four digits and two letters, like 1015 AB. People usually say the digits as two pairs, tien vijftien, and spell the letters. Floors deserve their own attention, because the Dutch ground floor is de begane grond and the first floor is one level up, which our guide to Dutch ordinals and the begane grond trap explains in full.
Dates and years
Dutch writes dates day first, 15-10-2026 or 15 oktober 2026, and says them the same way: vijftien oktober. Ordinals come up in dates too: de eerste (the first), de tweede, de derde, then mostly adding -de or -ste: de vijfde, de twintigste.
Years before 2000 are usually said in two halves: 1995 is negentien vijfennegentig, nineteen five-and-ninety. Years from 2000 are said as a full number: 2026 is tweeduizend zesentwintig.
Telling time, briefly
Time is its own puzzle, mainly because half drie means half past two, not half past three: the half points towards the next hour. It is common enough to deserve a separate article, and our guide to telling time in Dutch covers it, including the tricky vijf voor half constructions.
Counting things: the grammar after a number
A few small grammar habits around numbers mark you as a beginner if you miss them.
Money and measures stay singular. Dutch says twee euro, not twee euros, and drie kilo, vijf liter, tien meter. The unit does not take a plural after a number, which feels wrong to English speakers at first and becomes automatic quickly.
Times and occasions use keer. Een keer is once, twee keer twice, drie keer three times. Nog een keer means once more, and it is one of the most useful phrases for asking someone to repeat a number.
Approximate numbers use ongeveer or zo’n. Ongeveer twintig mensen is about twenty people; zo’n honderd is roughly a hundred. In shops and offices you will also hear een stuk of tien, ten or so.
Fractions are mostly regular. Een half is a half, een derde a third, een kwart a quarter. Anderhalf means one and a half, and it is common enough in recipes and train timetables to learn as a single word: anderhalf uur is an hour and a half.
Percentages and decimals at work
At work, numbers arrive as decimals and percentages, and the comma rule matters most there. A figure written 2,5 is said twee komma vijf, two point five. A percentage like 7,5% is said zeven komma vijf procent. When you write reports or invoices in Dutch, use the comma for decimals and the full stop, or a space, for thousands, otherwise a Dutch reader may read your figures a thousand times too large or too small. Our guide to invoicing your first Dutch client shows the same conventions on a real invoice.
How to practise numbers in daily life
Numbers are easy to practise because they are everywhere:
- Say prices aloud in Dutch while shopping, quietly, before you reach the till.
- Read bus and tram numbers as two-digit Dutch numbers. Line 26 becomes zesentwintig.
- Write down numbers from Dutch radio or podcasts, then check. Phone-in shows and traffic reports are full of them.
- Dictate your own phone number in Dutch until you can do it without hesitating, since you will be asked for it constantly.
- Play the reversal game: see a number, say it in Dutch, and notice which digit comes first.
Ten minutes a day of this beats an hour with a list. Short, frequent practice is the pattern that works for most language skills, as our article on real-life Dutch versus app drills argues.
Common mistakes
Writing digits as you hear them. The most common error with 21 to 99. Wait for the whole number.
Confusing dertien and dertig. Listen for the ending.
Reading 1.500 as one and a half. In Dutch that is fifteen hundred; one and a half is 1,5.
Translating miljard as million or trillion. It is a billion.
Saying half drie for half past three. It is half past two.
Saying every number in English in your head first. Translating through English doubles the work and makes the reversal harder. Practise thinking the Dutch number directly from the digits, even if it is slow at first.
Key takeaways
Dutch numbers follow English logic except in one place: from 21 to 99, the unit comes first, so eenentwintig is one-and-twenty. Learn zero to twenty as vocabulary, watch the -tien and -tig endings, and wait for the whole number before writing. Remember that Dutch swaps the comma and the full stop, that miljard means billion, and that prices usually skip the words euro and cent. Practise with the numbers around you, prices, phone numbers, addresses and bus lines, and the reversal stops feeling backwards within a few weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Why do Dutch numbers sound backwards?
Because from 21 to 99 Dutch says the unit before the ten, joined by “en”: 21 is eenentwintig, literally one-and-twenty, and 47 is zevenenveertig, seven-and-forty. German does the same. The trick is to wait for the whole word before writing anything down, because the first number you hear is the last digit.
How do you say prices in Dutch?
Usually the euros, then the cents, often without saying “euro” or “cent”. A price on a shelf like 3,50 is said “drie euro vijftig” or simply “drie vijftig”. Note the comma: Dutch writes a comma where English writes a decimal point, and a full stop to separate thousands, so 1.250 means one thousand two hundred and fifty.
How do Dutch people read out phone numbers?
Usually digit by digit or in pairs, grouped the way the number is written. A mobile number starts with 06, said “nul zes”, followed by eight digits. People often group the rest into pairs, saying “twaalf, vierendertig” and so on, which puts the backwards tens to work again. Ask “Kunt u dat herhalen?” if it goes too fast.
What is the difference between een miljard and a billion?
Dutch uses the long scale for large numbers in everyday language: een miljoen is a million, een miljard is a thousand million, which English calls a billion, and een biljoen is a million million, which English calls a trillion. When reading Dutch news about budgets or populations, translate miljard as billion, not biljoen.
