One of the first difficult things I encountered right after moving to the Netherlands is figuring out the amount I need to pay in the store. To get by I peeked at the cash register to see just how much I have to give because I did not understand a word the cashier said when he announced the sum. That is why numbers are crucial to make you feel more comfortable in any setting in the Netherlands.
0 – nul
1 – een
2 – twee
3 – drie
4 – vier
5 – vijf
6 – zes
7 – zeven
8 – acht
9 – negen
10 – tien
11 – elf
12 – twaalf
13 – dertien
14 – veertien
15- vijftien
16 – zestien
17 – zeventien
18 – achttien
19 – negentien
20 – twintig
This is where the fun part starts. If you know a bit of German, the Dutch way of saying the numbers is familiar to you. If you do not – well it is backward. First, you have the single-digit term (1-10), then the Dutch word for “and” (en), and then the tens term. Essentially you are saying one-and-twenty. Takes a bit of practice but you will get it.
21 – eenentwintig
22 – tweeentwintig
30 – dertig
40 – veertig
50 – vijftig
60 – zestig
70 – zeventig
80 – tachtig
90 – negentig
100 – honderd
And now it is time for yet another backflip in the logic. Guess what:
101 – honderd een
And when you get to 145 for example you go back to the way two-digit numbers are formed and just add the hundreds place to the beginning, so 145 is honderdfijfenveertig
200 – tweehonderd
500 – vijfhonderd
1000 – duizend
1500 – vijftienhonderd
2000 – tweeduizend
10.000 – tienduizend
100.000 – honderdduizend
1.000.000 – (een) miljoen
billion – miljard
It is good to note htat if the singles place ends in a vowel (twee and drie), the word en gets a diaeresis: ën. So 62 would be tweeën zestig , and 43 would be drieënveertig.
Now it is time to learn it all in practice. Here is your board, dig in and enjoy!
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.