In this lesson I am going to give you a general understanding of the Danish numbers. Now, you and I both know that there is a lot of numbers out there. In fact, an infinite amount. Therefore, I don’t want you to worry about memorizing all the numbers in this lesson by heart. I just want you to familiarize yourself with the Danish number system so that you are prepared for any encounter with numbers. In my experience, numbers is something that comes eventually as you progress in your journey of learning a language. However, learning how to count from 0 to 10 (or perhaps even 20) by heart is a great start.
The first ten single numbers from 0 to 10
0
Nul
1
En/et
2
To
3
Tre
4
Fire
5
Fem
6
Seks
7
Syv
8
Otte
9
Ni
10
Ti
Note: When counting from 1 to 10, using either en or et is entirely up to you. You will hear both versions in everyday language.
The teens from 11 to 19
11
Elleve
12
Tolv
13
Tretten
14
Fjorten
15
Femten
16
Seksten
17
Sytten
18
Atten
19
Nitten
The tens from 20 to 90
20
Tyve
30
Tredive
40
Fyrre
50
Halvtreds
60
Tres
70
Halvfjerds
80
Firs
90
Halvfems
To combine the single numbers with the tens (e.g. 54) you must add an “og”, which means “and” in English, in between the single and the tens. The pattern is as follows:
21 = en + og + tyve = enogtyve
54 = fire + og + halvtreds = fireoghalvtreds
What is different from the English numbers is that the Danish numbers are said in “reverse”. For example:
In English
In Danish
21 = 20 + 1 = twenty + one = twentyone
21 = 1 + 20 = en + tyve = enogtyve
54 = 50 + 4 = fifty + four = fifty four
54 = 4 + 50 = fire + halvtreds = fireoghalvtreds
Note: In the numbers 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81, 91 en is used and NOT et!
The hundreds from 100 to 900
100
Hundred(e)
200
To hundred(e)
300
Tre hundred(e)
400
Fire hundred(e)
500
Fem hundred(e)
600
Seks hundred(e)
700
Syv hundred(e)
800
Otte hundred(e)
900
Ni hundred(e)
Note: e can be omitted. In most cases you will see it written with e.
The thousands from 1000 to 10,000
1000
(Et) tusind(e)
2000
To tusind(e)
3000
Tre tusind(e)
4000
Fire tusind(e)
5000
Fem tusind(e)
6000
Seks tusind(e)
7000
Syv tusind(e)
8000
Otte tusind(e)
9000
Ni tusind(e)
10,000
Ti tusind(e)
Note: et and e can be omitted. In most cases you will see and hear “tusind” without e.
The pattern continues with the teens + thousand, tens + thousand and hundreds + thousands, such that:
11,000 = elleve tusind(e)
50,000 = halvtreds tusind(e)
800,000 = otte hundrede og tusind(e)
Any number below 100 is written in one word, whereas numbers above 100 is split up. Some examples for combining hundreds with singles, teens or tens:
101 = hundrede (og) en
324 = tre hundrede (og) fireogtyve
2085 = to tusind (og) femogfirs
6700 = seks tusind (og) syv hundrede
12,516 = tolv tusind (og) fem hundrede (og) seksten
427,901 = fire hundrede (og) syvogtyve tusind (og) ni hundrede (og) en
Note: og can be omitted in numbers above 100.
When to use og (and) in numbers
In numbers above 100 you can omit og from between the numbers - either way is correct. In numbers below 100 you have to include og. Be aware that in numbers above 100 that includes numbers such as 21, 43, 89 and so forth you MUST include og. For example in the number:
465 = fire hundrede (og) femogtres
you can choose omit the og between 4 and 65 but not the og between 65!
A final note
Don’t worry too much about how to write numbers with letters. Most often you will see numbers (at least above 10) written with numbers and not letters. A good rule of thumb is to, when appropriate, write any number from 1 to 10 with letters and any number above 10 with numbers.
The Danish alphabet is almost exactly the same as the English alphabet - except the sounds are a little different and there is an additional 3 letters at the end. The Danish alphabet is as follows:
Upper case
Lower case
Pronunciation
Alternative
A
a
Like a in man
B
b
Like be in because
C
c
Like c in cemented
D
d
Like d in den
E
e
Like i in omit
F
f
Like eff in Jeff
G
g
Like g in give
H
h
Like h in hope
I
i
Like ea in meat
J
j
Like y in yodle
K
k
Like c in coleslaw
L
l
Like el in seller
M
m
Like em in empty
N
n
Like en in end
O
o
Like o in omit
P
p
Like p in pick
Q
q
Like co in cool
R
r
Like r in air
S
s
Like es in lesson
T
t
Like t in tipsy
U
u
Like oo in boots
V
v
Like v in vote
W
w
Dobbelt-v (translated: double v)
Note: in speech, the sound is similar to v
The additional 3 letters æ, ø and å are all vowels (just like a, e, i, o, u and y). These letters are found in various Danish words and names and can be written using a Danish keyboard or by adding the language to your keyboard on your computer or phone.
You might have noticed that there are alternative ways for how to write the letters æ, ø and å. Danish people will understand the alternative ways of writing these letters, but æ, ø and å are the default ways. Some cities uses the alternatives instead of the default way of writing the letters. Examples of such cities are:
Aalborg (Ålborg)
Aarhus (Århus)
Grenaa (Grenå)
However, writing these cities names with å instead of aa is still correct and danes will know exactly what you mean.
Note that the above pronunciations are the pronunciations of the alphabet. The sounds may vary in different Danish words.
