Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Learn Dutch cardinal numbers (hoofdtelwoorden) from 1 to 100 and beyond, including basic counting rules and compound number formation. Understand key numbers like één, elf, twintig, and honderd, with practical usage examples and grammar tips to help you count correctly in Dutch.
  1. Numbers from 0 to 9 are used separately.
  2. Composite numbers: Use '-en-' between tens and units.
1 - Één (1 - One)11 - Elf (11 - Eleven)30 - Dertig (30 - Thirty)
2 - Twee (2 - Two)12 - Twaalf (12 - Twelve)40 - Veertig (40 - Forty)
3 - Drie (3 - Three)13 - Dertien (13 - Thirteen)50 - Vijftig (50 - Fifty)
4 - Vier (4 - Four)14 - Veertien (14 - Fourteen)60 - Zestig (60 - Sixty)
5 - Vijf (5 - Five)15 - Vijftien (15 - Fifteen)70 - Zeventig (70 - Seventy)
6 - Zes (6 - Six)16 - Zestien (16 - Sixteen)80 - Tachtig (80 - Eighty)
7 - Zeven (7 - Seven)17 - Zeventien (17 - Seventeen)90 - Negentig (90 - Ninety)
8 - Acht (8 - Eight)18 - Achttien (18 - Eighteen)100 - Honderd (100 - Hundred)
9 - Negen (9 - Nine)19 - Negentien (19 - Nineteen)200 - Tweehonderd (200 - Two hundred)
10 - Tien (10 - Ten)20 - Twintig (20 - Twenty)300 - Driehonderd (300 - Three hundred)

Exceptions!

  1. Numbers from fifteen to nineteen end with tien.

Exercise 1: Hoofdtelwoorden

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

driehonderd, één, tien, negentig, twintig, tweehonderd, vijf, honderd

1. 5:
Er staan ... stoelen rond de tafel.
(There are five chairs around the table.)
2. 1:
Ik tel van ... tot tien in het Nederlands.
(I count from one to ten in Dutch.)
3. 300:
Het huis kost ... duizend euro.
(The house costs three hundred thousand euros.)
4. 15:
Er zijn ... appels in de mand.
(There are ten apples in the basket.)
5. 20:
Hij heeft ... boeken in zijn kast.
(He has twenty books in his cupboard.)
6. 90:
Mijn oma werd ... jaar oud.
(My grandmother turned ninety years old.)
7. 200:
Er wonen meer dan ... mensen in het gebouw.
(More than two hundred people live in the building.)
8. 100:
Ik betaal met een biljet van ... euro.
(I pay with a one hundred euro note.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. Ik heb ___ appels gekocht.

(I bought ___ apples.)

2. De trein vertrekt om ___ uur.

(The train leaves at ___ o'clock.)

3. Er zijn ___ mensen op het feest.

(There are ___ people at the party.)

4. Zij heeft ___ boeken gelezen dit jaar.

(She has read ___ books this year.)

5. De winkel gaat om ___ uur open.

(The store opens at ___ o'clock.)

6. Wij eten ___ koekjes.

(We eat ___ cookies.)

Main Cardinal Numbers in Dutch

This lesson introduces the basic Dutch cardinal numbers, called hoofdtelwoorden, which are essential for expressing quantities and counting. You will learn numbers from 1 to 20, along with some tens and hundreds, such as 30 (dertig), 40 (veertig), 50 (vijftig), 100 (honderd), and 200 (tweehonderd).

Key Points to Remember

  • Numbers from 0 to 9 are used individually, such as één (1) and twee (2).
  • From 15 to 19, numbers end with -tien, e.g., vijftien (15) and negentien (19).
  • For compound numbers involving tens and units, Dutch uses -en- (meaning “and”) to join them, for example, twee-en-twintig (22).

Examples of Numbers and Usage

Some examples include drie (3), elf (11), twaalf (12), and larger numbers like zestig (60) and negentig (90).

Grammar and Pronunciation Notes

Counting in Dutch follows a different order than in English for numbers 21 and above, placing units before tens. For instance, 21 is één-en-twintig (literally “one and twenty”). This might feel reversed compared to English but is a standard Dutch construction.

Useful Phrases

  • Ik heb drie appels gekocht. — I bought three apples.
  • De trein vertrekt om vijf uur. — The train leaves at five o'clock.
  • Er zijn twintig mensen op het feest. — There are twenty people at the party.

Comparing Dutch and English Numbers

While English uses a straightforward tens-units order like “twenty-one,” Dutch reverses this with the units first and linking with -en-. Also, numbers 13–19 consistently end with -tien in Dutch, similar to “-teen” in English, which helps identify those ages and numbers easily.

Written by

This content has been designed and reviewed by the coLanguage pedagogical team: About coLanguage

Profile Picture

Kato De Paepe

Business and languages

KdG University of Applied Sciences and Arts Antwerp

University_Logo

Last Updated:

Monday, 07/07/2025 16:43