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Lesson 7A1

Numbers 11–100

संख्याएँ ११–१००

German numbers above twenty are built in reverse order compared to English — "one-and-twenty" instead of "twenty-one" — but compared to Hindi numbers (ग्यारह, बारह, इक्कीस...), German's pattern will actually feel far more regular and predictable.

Grammar Comparison

व्याकरण तुलना

Units first, then tens: einundzwanzig, not zwanzigeins

German

einundzwanzig (21) = ein + und + zwanzig ("one and twenty")

Hindi

इक्कीस

In German, from 21 onward, the units digit is spoken first, then "und" ("and"), then the tens digit — a similar order to Hindi's इक्कीस (इक + बीस), where the unit also comes first. So 47 is siebenundvierzig ("seven-and-forty"), not "vierzigsieben". This makes German easier for Hindi speakers than for English speakers, since English's "forty-seven" runs in the opposite order. Numbers are always written as one long, unbroken word, no matter how large.

German numbers are far more regular than Hindi's

German

elf, zwölf, dreizehn... zwanzig, dreißig, vierzig...

Hindi

ग्यारह, बारह, तेरह... बीस, तीस, चालीस...

In Hindi, almost every number from 11 to 99 has its own distinct, often unpredictable form (ग्यारह, बाईस, पैंतालीस, अठहत्तर — no clean pattern, just memorization). German is far more systematic: elf (11) and zwölf (12) are irregular, but from dreizehn (13) onward it's just -zehn added to the unit digit. Similarly zwanzig (20) is irregular, but from dreißig (30) to neunzig (90) it's just -zig added (thirty is the one exception, taking -ßig instead of -zig). Once you learn this pattern, German numbers will feel easier to remember than Hindi numbers.

Vocabulary

शब्दावली

GermanPronunciationHindiEnglish
elfelfग्यारहgyāraheleven
zwölftsverlfबारहbārahtwelve
dreizehnDRY-tsaynतेरहterahthirteen
zwanzigTSVAHN-tsikhबीसbīstwenty
einundzwanzigeyn-oont-TSVAHN-tsikhइक्कीसikkīstwenty-one
dreißigDRY-sikhतीसtīsthirty
vierzigFEER-tsikhचालीसcālīsforty
fünfzigFEWNF-tsikhपचासpacāsfifty
sechzigZEKH-tsikhसाठsāṭhsixty
siebzigZEEP-tsikhसत्तरsattarseventy
achtzigAHKH-tsikhअस्सीassīeighty
neunzigNOYN-tsikhनब्बेnabbeninety
hundertHOON-dertसौsauone hundred