Dutch numbers, dates and telling the time
Count to a million in Dutch, say dates and years, read prices, and finally understand "tien voor half vier" with a full clock table.
Numbers are everywhere: prices at the supermarket, train times, phone numbers, birthdays. Dutch numbers have two quirks that trip up English speakers — the units come before the tens, and "half four" means 3:30, not 4:30. Once you know those two tricks, the rest is just vocabulary.
Numbers 0 to 100
| 0 to 5 | 6 to 11 | 12 to 17 | 18 to 50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 nul | 6 zes | 12 twaalf | 18 achttien |
| 1 een | 7 zeven | 13 dertien | 19 negentien |
| 2 twee | 8 acht | 14 veertien | 20 twintig |
| 3 drie | 9 negen | 15 vijftien | 30 dertig |
| 4 vier | 10 tien | 16 zestien | 40 veertig |
| 5 vijf | 11 elf | 17 zeventien | 50 vijftig |
The remaining tens are zestig (60), zeventig (70), tachtig (80), negentig (90) and honderd (100). Watch the spelling of dertien/dertig (not drie-), veertien/veertig (not vier-) and tachtig (not achtig).
Units before tens
From 21 to 99, Dutch says the unit first, then en ("and"), then the ten — all written as one word. Think of the old English "four-and-twenty blackbirds".
- 21 — eenentwintig (one-and-twenty)
- 35 — vijfendertig
- 48 — achtenveertig
- 99 — negenennegentig
When the first part ends in e, the en gets a diaeresis to show it's a new syllable: tweeëntwintig (22), drieëndertig (33), tweeënvijftig (52). This is the only reason you'll see ë in numbers.
Hundreds, thousands and beyond
- 100 — honderd (no "one" needed)
- 101 — honderdeen
- 250 — tweehonderdvijftig
- 1000 — duizend
- 2026 — tweeduizend zesentwintig
- 1.000.000 — een miljoen
- 3.500.000 — drie miljoen vijfhonderdduizend
Numbers up to duizend are written as one word; after duizend and around miljoen you write a space. Between 1100 and 1999, Dutch speakers often count in hundreds, like English "twelve hundred": twaalfhonderd (1200) is more common than duizend tweehonderd.
Note the punctuation: Dutch uses a point for thousands (1.000.000) and a comma for decimals (2,5 = twee komma vijf). And één with accents is written when you need to make clear it's the number one and not the article een: Ik heb één broer. — I have one brother.
Ordinal numbers
Ordinals ("first", "second") add -de up to 19 and -ste from 20 onwards. Two exceptions take -ste early: eerste and achtste.
| Number | Ordinal | Number | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | eerste | 8 | achtste |
| 2 | tweede | 9 | negende |
| 3 | derde | 10 | tiende |
| 4 | vierde | 12 | twaalfde |
| 5 | vijfde | 19 | negentiende |
| 6 | zesde | 20 | twintigste |
| 7 | zevende | 21 | eenentwintigste |
Higher ordinals follow the same pattern: honderdste, duizendste. Derde is irregular (not driede). In writing, abbreviate with -e: 1e, 2e, 3e.
- Ik woon op de derde verdieping. — I live on the third floor.
- Het is mijn eerste les. — It's my first lesson.
Dates and years
Dutch dates use normal (cardinal) numbers, day before month, and months and days are written without capitals:
- Mijn verjaardag is op 3 mei. (drie mei) — My birthday is on the third of May.
- Vandaag is het dinsdag 15 oktober. — Today is Tuesday the 15th of October.
- De hoeveelste is het vandaag? — What's the date today?
You'll sometimes hear an ordinal (de derde mei), but 3 mei said as drie mei is the everyday form.
Years before 2000 are said in hundreds: 1990 is negentienhonderdnegentig, 1789 is zeventienhonderdnegenentachtig. From 2000 onwards, use tweeduizend: 2025 is tweeduizend vijfentwintig (never "twintig vijfentwintig"). To say "in" a year, use in: Ik ben in 1995 geboren. — I was born in 1995.
Telling the time
To ask the time: Hoe laat is het? To ask when something happens: Hoe laat begint de film? — Om acht uur. Note the word uur only appears with full hours: Het is drie uur.
Now the famous part. Dutch uses half to refer to the coming hour: half vier means "half way to four", so 3:30. Around the half hour, times are counted from half, not from the full hour.
| Time | Dutch | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | drie uur | three o'clock |
| 3:05 | vijf over drie | five past three |
| 3:10 | tien over drie | ten past three |
| 3:15 | kwart over drie | quarter past three |
| 3:20 | tien voor half vier | ten before half four |
| 3:25 | vijf voor half vier | five before half four |
| 3:30 | half vier | half four |
| 3:35 | vijf over half vier | five past half four |
| 3:40 | tien over half vier | ten past half four |
| 3:45 | kwart voor vier | quarter to four |
| 3:50 | tien voor vier | ten to four |
| 3:55 | vijf voor vier | five to four |
| 4:00 | vier uur | four o'clock |
You'll also hear twintig over drie (3:20) and twintig voor vier (3:40), especially in Flanders, but tien voor half vier is the standard in the Netherlands.
Tip: if a Dutch friend says "Let's meet at half four", they'll be there at 3:30. Be early, not an hour late.
For the time of day, add 's ochtends (or 's morgens), 's middags, 's avonds or 's nachts: om zeven uur 's avonds — at seven in the evening.
The 24-hour clock
Timetables, opening hours, appointments and official announcements use the 24-hour clock, written with a point or colon and often followed by uur:
- De trein vertrekt om 15.42 uur. (vijftien uur tweeënveertig) — The train leaves at 3:42 p.m.
- De winkel is open van 9.00 tot 18.00 uur. (van negen tot achttien uur)
In conversation, people usually switch back to the 12-hour system: om kwart voor vier.
Prices and money
Prices use the decimal comma, and you say euro (never plural euros in a price) followed by the cents, without saying cent:
€ 2,50 — twee euro vijftig
€ 12,95 — twaalf euro vijfennegentig
€ 0,80 — tachtig cent
€ 1.250 — twaalfhonderdvijftig euro
Wat kost dat? — How much is that?
Dat is dan zeven euro veertig. — That comes to seven euros forty.
Quick summary
- From 21 to 99, units come first: vijfentwintig = 25. Use ë after twee and drie: tweeëntwintig.
- Point for thousands, comma for decimals: 1.000 and 2,5.
- Ordinals: -de up to 19, -ste from 20, plus eerste and achtste; derde is irregular.
- Dates: op 3 mei; years: negentienhonderdnegentig, tweeduizend vijfentwintig.
- Half vier = 3:30; tien voor half vier = 3:20; tien over half vier = 3:40; kwart voor vier = 3:45.
- Official times use the 24-hour clock: 15.42 uur.
- Prices: € 2,50 = twee euro vijftig.
Practise it
Drill the numbers in Numbers, practise the clock (especially the half system) in Telling the time, and use prices for real in Shopping. Want to say numbers with the right sounds? Check the pronunciation guide.