#1 Easy Guide: Danish Numbers & Counting

Alright so you’re off on a journey to the land of many names and need to learn Danish numbers and how to count in Denmark!

You might be using some useful logic here and thinking Danish comes from the country Dane. Makes sense because they speak Spanish in Spain and Swedish is spoken in Sweden. However, things are not so straight forward with Danish.

Danish is actually spoken in Denmark which is home to the Danish people who also refer to themselves as Danes. Can you say confusing?

This ‘confusion’ also shows up in the Danish numbering system. Counting in the Danish language isn’t as simple as it is with other languages.

Learning a new language, especially learning how to count in Danish, is an important thing to learn. You’ll literally need to use this skill every day, so let’s get going and learn the process of counting in Danish!

Counting In Danish – Numbers 0-20

Maybe it’s just my ears, but when I hear the pronunciation of 0-20 in Danish, they sound similar to English numbers. This is the less complicated portion of learning how to count in The Netherlands.

English Numerals	Danish Numerals	Pronunciation
0	nul	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]nul[/Speechword]
1	ét	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ét[/Speechword]
2	to	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to[/Speechword]
3	tre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tre[/Speechword]
4	fire	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire[/Speechword]
5	fem	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem[/Speechword]
6	seks	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks[/Speechword]
7	syv	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv[/Speechword]
8	otte	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte[/Speechword]
9	ni	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni[/Speechword]
10	ti	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ti[/Speechword]
11	ellevu	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ellevu[/Speechword]
12	tolv	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tolv[/Speechword]
13	tretten	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tretten[/Speechword]
14	fjorten	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fjorten[/Speechword]
15	femten	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]femten[/Speechword]
16	seksten	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seksten[/Speechword]
17	sytten	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]sytten[/Speechword]
18	atten	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]atten[/Speechword]
19	nitten	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]nitten[/Speechword]
20	tyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tyve[/Speechword]

Ordinal Numbers In Danish

Days Of The Month

This information is useful for when you are discussing the date.

English Ordinals	Danish Numerals	Pronunciation
first	første	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]første[/Speechword]
second	anden	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]anden[/Speechword]
third	tredje	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tredje[/Speechword]
fourth	fjerde	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fjerde[/Speechword]
fifth	femte	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]femte[/Speechword]
sixth	sjette	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]sjette[/Speechword]
seventh	syvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syvende[/Speechword]
eighth	ottende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ottende[/Speechword]
ninth	niende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]niende[/Speechword]
tenth	tiende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tiende[/Speechword]
eleventh	ellevte	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ellevte[/Speechword]
twelfth	tolvte	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tolvte[/Speechword]
thirteenth	trettende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]trettende[/Speechword]
fourteenth	fjortende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fjortende[/Speechword]
fifteenth	femtende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]femtende[/Speechword]
sixteenth	sekstende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]sekstende[/Speechword]
seventeenth	syttende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syttende[/Speechword]
eighteenth	attende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]attende[/Speechword]
nineteenth	nittende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]nittende[/Speechword]
twentieth	tyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tyvende[/Speechword]
twenty first	enogtyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]enogtyvende[/Speechword]
twenty second	tyve sekunder	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tyve sekunder[/Speechword]
twenty third	treogtyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]treogtyvende[/Speechword]
twenty fourth	fireogtyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fireogtyvende[/Speechword]
twenty fifth	femogtyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]femogtyvende[/Speechword]
twenty sixth	seksogtyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seksogtyvende[/Speechword]
twenty seventh	syvogtyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syvogtyvende[/Speechword]
twenty eighth	otteogtyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otteogtyvende[/Speechword]
thirtieth	tredivte	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tredivte[/Speechword]
thirty first	først tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]først tredive[/Speechword]

Ordinal Tens

You may need this information to talk about birthdays and how old people are turning.

English Ordinals	Danish Ordinals	Pronunciation
fortieth	fyrrende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fyrrende[/Speechword]
fiftieth	halvtredsindstyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvtredsindstyvende[/Speechword]
sixieth	tresindstyvende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tresindstyvende[/Speechword]
seventieth	halvfjerdsende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvfjerdsende[/Speechword]
eightieth	firsende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]firsende[/Speechword]
ninetieth	halvfemsende	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvfemsende[/Speechword]
hundredth	hundrededel	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]hundrededel[/Speechword]

Danish Numbering System

Here, we’re going to try to attempt to answer the question:

Why Are Danish Numbers So Weird?

Unsure yet of how they’re so weird? Well take a quick scroll below and you’ll see what we mean.

The Danish number system is not a base ten system, rather it operates on a system called vigesimal. It’s called vigesimal because it’s a base 20 system. That means the base unit is 20. To further understand lets look at the look at the old word in Danish sinde which means multiply or times.

A base 20 number system uses multiples of 20. Here are some examples of what that looks like:

• 60 is tres = coming from three twenties (tre x tyvea or 3 x 20)
• 80 is firs = coming from four tyve (fire x tyve or 4 x 20)

Multiples of 20 are easier to understand, but let’s see what happens when a number is not easily divisible by 20.

• 50 is halvtreds and is determined by how many 20’s fit into 50, which is 2 1/2. The rest of the number is made up of half of 20. Therefore 50 = 2 x 20 + half of 20
• 70 is halvfjerds and is determined by how many 20’s fit into 70, which is 3 1/2. The rest of the number is made up of half of 20. Therefore 60 = 3 x 20 + half of 20
• 90 is halvfems and is determined by how many 20’s fit into 90, which is 4 1/2. The rest of the number is made up of half of 20. Therefore 80 = 4 x 20 + half of 20

So when did this strange choice to use base 20 come about? Well, it remains a historical mystery. No one really understands why around the year 1300, the Danes decided to change to this number system.

Let’s see what this looks like when we count by tens in Danish if we calculate a different way to get the same end result.

Counting In Danish – Tens 10-100

English	Danish	Pronunciation
10	ti	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ti[/Speechword]
20	tyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tyve[/Speechword]
30	tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tredive[/Speechword]
40	fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fyrre[/Speechword]
50	halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvtreds[/Speechword]
60	treds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]treds[/Speechword]
70	halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvfjerds[/Speechword]
80	firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]firs[/Speechword]
90	halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvfems[/Speechword]
100	et hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]et hundrede[/Speechword]

Danish Fractions

Knowing how to say “half” or “quarter” in Danish for example is crucial, especially when it comes to saying numbers in Danish.

English Fractions	Danish Fractions	Pronunciation
half	en halv	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en halv[/Speechword]
third	en tredjedel	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en tredjedel[/Speechword]
quarter	en kvart	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en kvart[/Speechword]
one eighth	en ottendedel	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en ottendedel[/Speechword]
two thirds	to tredjedele	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to tredjedele[/Speechword]
three quarters	trekvart	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]trekvart[/Speechword]
one and a half	halvanden	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvanden[/Speechword]
two and a half	to en halv	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to en halv[/Speechword]

Counting In Danish – Numbers 21-30

English Numbers	Danish Numbers	Pronunciation
21	enogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]enogtyve[/Speechword]
22	toogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]toogtyve[/Speechword]
23	treogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]treogtyve[/Speechword]
24	fireogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fireogtyve[/Speechword]
25	femogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]femogtyve[/Speechword]
26	seksogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seksogtyve[/Speechword]
27	syvogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syvogtyve[/Speechword]
28	otteogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otteogtyve[/Speechword]
29	niogtyve	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]niogtyve[/Speechword]
30	tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tredive[/Speechword]

Danish Numbers 31-40

English Numerals	Danish Numerals	Pronunciation
31	enogtredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]enogtredive[/Speechword]
32	to­og­tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to­og­tredive[/Speechword]
33	tre­og­tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tre­og­tredive[/Speechword]
34	fire­og­tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire­og­tredive[/Speechword]
35	fem­og­tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem­og­tredive[/Speechword]
36	seks­og­tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks­og­tredive[/Speechword]
37	syv­og­tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv­og­tredive[/Speechword]
38	otte­og­tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte­og­tredive[/Speechword]
39	ni­og­tredive	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni­og­tredive[/Speechword]
40	fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halv[/Speechword]

Count In Danish 41-50

English Numerals	Danish Numerals	Pronunciation
41	en­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
42	to­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
43	tre­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tre­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
44	fire­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
45	fem­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
46	seks­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
47	syv­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
48	otte­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
49	ni­og­fyrre	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni­og­fyrre[/Speechword]
50	halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvtreds[/Speechword]

Numbers In Danish 51-60

English Numbers	Danish Numbers	Pronunciation
51	en­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
52	to­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
53	tre­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tre­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
54	fire­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
55	fem­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
56	seks­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
57	syv­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
58	otte­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
59	ni­og­halvtreds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
60	tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halv[/Speechword]

Count In Danish 61-70

English Numerals	Danish Numerals	Pronunciation
61	en­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en­og­tres[/Speechword]
62	to­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to­og­tres[/Speechword]
63	tre­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tre­og­tres[/Speechword]
64	fire­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire­og­tres[/Speechword]
65	fem­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem­og­tres[/Speechword]
66	seks­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks­og­tres[/Speechword]
67	syv­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv­og­tres[/Speechword]
68	otte­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte­og­tres[/Speechword]
69	ni­og­tres	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni­og­tres[/Speechword]
70	halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvfjerds[/Speechword]

Danish Numbers 71-80

English Numbers	Danish Numbers	Pronunciation
71	en­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
72	to­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to­og­halvfjerds[/Speechword]
73	tre­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tre­og­halvfjerds[/Speechword]
74	fire­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire­og­halvfjerds[/Speechword]
75	fem­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem­og­halvfjerds[/Speechword]
76	seks­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks­og­halvfjerds[/Speechword]
77	syv­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv­og­halvfjerds[/Speechword]
78	otte­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte­og­halvfjerds[/Speechword]
79	ni­og­halvfjerds	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni­og­halvfjerds[/Speechword]
80	firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]firs[/Speechword]

Danish Numbers 81-90

English Numerals	Danish Numerals	Pronunciation
81	en­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en­og­firs[/Speechword]
82	to­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to­og­firs[/Speechword]
83	tre­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tre­og­firs[/Speechword]
84	fire­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire­og­firs[/Speechword]
85	fem­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem­og­firs[/Speechword]
86	seks­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks­og­firs[/Speechword]
87	syv­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv­og­firs[/Speechword]
88	otte­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte­og­firs[/Speechword]
89	ni­og­firs	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni­og­firs[/Speechword]
90	halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]halvfems[/Speechword]

Danish Numbers 91-100

English Numbers	Danish Numbers	Pronunciation
91	en­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en­og­halvtreds[/Speechword]
92	to­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]to­og­halvfems[/Speechword]
93	tre­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tre­og­halvfems[/Speechword]
94	fire­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire­og­halvfems[/Speechword]
95	fem­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem­og­halvfems[/Speechword]
96	seks­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks­og­halvfems[/Speechword]
97	syv­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv­og­halvfems[/Speechword]
98	otte­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte­og­halvfems[/Speechword]
99	ni­og­halvfems	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni­og­halvfems[/Speechword]
100	hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]hundrede[/Speechword]

How To Say Or Read Numbers Greater Than 100

Sometimes numbers in Danish are written with a space like tre hundrede (300), fire hundrede (400) or tre tusinde (3,000). Technically this isn’t correct but can make it more useful to read numbers in Danish. Because we’re sticklers for perfection, we’ll show the numbers as they should be, sans space.

English Numbers	Danish Numbers	Pronunciation
100	et hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]et hundrede[/Speechword]
200	tohundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tohundrede[/Speechword]
300	trehundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]trehundrede[/Speechword]
400	fire­hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fire­hundrede[/Speechword]
500	fem­hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]fem­hundrede[/Speechword]
600	seks­hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]seks­hundrede[/Speechword]
700	syv­hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]syv­hundrede[/Speechword]
800	otte­hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]otte­hundrede[/Speechword]
900	ni­hundrede	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]ni­hundrede[/Speechword]
1,000	tusind	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]tusind[/Speechword]
2,000	totusinde	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]totusinde[/Speechword]
1 million	en million	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en million[/Speechword]
1 billion	en milliard	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en milliard[/Speechword]
1 trillion	en billion	[Speechword voice=”Danish Male” isinline]en billion[/Speechword]

Learn Even More Danish

Now that you’ve learnt the basics of Danish numbers, why not strap in and continue learning even more!

Knowing how to count in Danish is important but imagine how much more you can communicate in Denmark if you knew more?! Check out how to describe things in color and importantly, how to introduce yourself. You’ll learn loads of useful vocabulary and phrases as well!

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