Español
English
Deutsch
Français
Português
Italiano
German Ordinal Numbers
German ordinal numbers are used to indicate positions or sequences, such as in English "first", "second", "third", etc.
The formation of German ordinal numbers has certain specific rules and its own grammatical structure. Below, we explain the basic forms of German ordinal numbers.
Formation of Ordinal Numbers
To form German ordinal numbers, you generally add the ending "-te" to numbers from 1 to 19 and the ending "-ste" to numbers from 20 onwards.
Additionally, as in English, ordinal numbers must agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.
For example: "first day" is said "erster Tag" (masculine) and "first house" is said "erstes Haus" (neuter). This means that German numbers decline.
Ordinal Numbers from 1 to 10 in German
| Number | Cardinal | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | eins | erste |
| 2 | zwei | zweite |
| 3 | drei | dritte |
| 4 | vier | vierte |
| 5 | fünf | fünfte |
| 6 | sechs | sechste |
| 7 | sieben | siebte |
| 8 | acht | achte |
| 9 | neun | neunte |
| 10 | zehn | zehnte |
Ordinal Numbers from 11 to 19 in German
| Number | Cardinal | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | elf | elfte |
| 12 | zwölf | zwölfte |
| 13 | dreizehn | dreizehnte |
| 14 | vierzehn | vierzehnte |
| 15 | fünfzehn | fünfzehnte |
| 16 | sechzehn | sechzehnte |
| 17 | siebzehn | siebzehnte |
| 18 | achtzehn | achtzehnte |
| 19 | neunzehn | neunzehnte |
Ordinal Numbers of Tens, Hundreds, and Thousands in German
| Number | Cardinal | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | zwanzig | zwanzigste |
| 30 | dreißig | dreißigste |
| 40 | vierzig | vierzigste |
| 50 | fünfzig | fünfzigste |
| 60 | sechzig | sechzigste |
| 70 | siebzig | siebzigste |
| 80 | achtzig | achtzigste |
| 90 | neunzig | neunzigste |
| 100 | einhundert | einhundertste |
| 1000 | eintausend | eintausendste |
As you can see, German ordinal numbers also follow a consistent and logical structure, with specific endings that vary slightly between numbers less than 20 and those that are 20 or greater.
Declension of Ordinal Numbers
German ordinal numbers function like adjectives and, therefore, must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. The declension follows standard adjective rules.
| Number | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | erste(r/s) | erste(n) | erste(m/r) | erste(n/s) |
| 2 | zweite(r/s) | zweite(n) | zweite(m/r) | zweite(n/s) |
| 3 | dritte(r/s) | dritte(n) | dritte(m/r) | dritte(n/s) |
| 4 | vierte(r/s) | vierte(n) | vierte(m/r) | vierte(n/s) |
| 5 | fünfte(r/s) | fünfte(n) | fünfte(m/r) | fünfte(n/s) |
Example:
- Nominative: Der erste Mann (the first man), die erste Frau (the first woman), das erste Kind (the first child)
- Accusative: Ich sehe den ersten Mann (I see the first man), die erste Frau (the first woman), das erste Kind (the first child)
- Dative: Ich gebe dem ersten Mann (I give to the first man), der ersten Frau (to the first woman), dem ersten Kind (to the first child)
- Genitive: Das Buch des ersten Mannes (the book of the first man), der ersten Frau (of the first woman), des ersten Kindes (of the first child)