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Swedish Numbers: The Ultimate Guide to Numbers in Swedish

Whether you want to talk about the time, prices, quantities, weights, or dates in the Swedish language, you can’t get by using Swedish numbers. As you learn Swedish words and build your vocabulary, you’ll quickly notice that quite a few conversations require the use of numbers in Swedish.

Without numbers, how are you going to go shopping in Sweden or give away your phone number to your new Swedish friends? Yes, as you can see, numbers truly are vital building blocks in languages. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to count to a trillion in Swedish.

Swedish Numbers 1–10

We’ll start at the beginning, learning to count from one to ten. Even Swedish beginners will probably learn to count to ten in one of their first lessons. Memorizing these numbers won’t be too difficult for English speakers, as there is a resemblance between English numbers and Swedish numbers.

One thing to note is, however, the number one in Swedish. You might already have learned that there are two words for one in Swedish:

  • en: used for common gender nouns, for example, “en katt” (one cat) or “en man” (one man)
  • ett: used for neuter gender nouns, for example, “ett hus” (one house) or “ett äpple” (one apple)

What if you just want to say number one without a noun afterwards? Well, it’s not a written rule, but when Swedes count, they usually use “ett” rather than “en”. However, as you might need to use both gender versions of the word, we’ll list them both in the lists in this article.

Let’s get started:

Numbers

Swedish Numbers

1

en/ett

2

två

3

tre

4

fyra

5

fem

6

sex

7

sju

8

åtta

9

nio

10

tio

Swedish Numbers 11–19

As is true in English, Swedish numbers get pretty easy to form after twenty, whereas eleven to nineteen are more irregular and need to be memorized.

However, there is still a pretty close resemblance between the Swedish and the English numbers 11–19. Just as the English thirteen to nineteen end with “teen”, the Swedish equivalents end with “ton”:

Numbers

Swedish Numbers

11

elva

12

tolv

13

tretton

14

fjorton

15

femton

16

sexton

17

sjutton

18

arton

19

nitton

Swedish Numbers 20–99

The next step is to learn how to say twenty to ninety. After that, learning how to count to 99 is pretty easy. All you need is to add the number 1–9 to the base number 20–90.

As an example, if you want to form forty-two, all you need to do is say “fyrtio” (forty) and add “två” (two): “fyrtiotvå”.

Let’s see how to count from 20 to 99. My suggestion would be to start by memorizing twenty, thirty, forty and so on, before going on to see how to create numbers such as twenty-eight, etc:

20: tjugo

30: trettio

40: fyrtio

50: femtio

21: tjugoen/tjugoett

31: trettioen/trettioett

41: fyrtioen/fyrtioett

51: femtioen/femtioett

22: tjugotvå

32: trettiotvå

42: fyrtiotvå

52: femtiotvå

23: tjugotre

33: trettiotre

43: fyrtiotre

53: femtiotre

24: tjugofyra

34: trettiofyra

44: fyrtiofyra

54: femtiofyra

25: tjugofem

35: trettiofem

45: fyrtiofem

55: femtiofem

26: tjugosex

36: trettiosex

46: fyrtiosex

56: femtiosex

27: tjugosju

37: trettiosju

47: fyrtiosju

57: femtiosju

28: tjugoåtta

38: trettioåtta

48: fyrtioåtta

58: femtioåtta

29: tjugonio

39: trettionio

49: fyrtionio

59: femtionio

60: sextio

70: sjuttio

80: åttio

90: nittio

61: sextioen/sextioett

71: sjuttioen/sjuttioett

81: åttioen/åttioett

91: nittioen/nittioett

62: sextiotvå

72: sjuttiotvå

82: åttiotvå

92: nittiotvå

63: sextiotre

73: sjuttiotre

83: åttiotre

93: nittiotre

64: sextiofyra

74: sjuttiofyra

84: åttiofyra

94: nittiofyra

65: sextiofem

75: sjuttiofem

85: åttiofem

95: nittiofem

66: sextiosex

76: sjuttiosex

86: åttiosex

96: nittiosex

67: sextiosju

77: sjuttiosju

87: åttiosju

97: nittiosju

68: sextioåtta

78: sjuttioåtta

88: åttioåtta

98: nittioåtta

69: sextionio

79: sjuttionio

89: åttionio

99: nittionio

Swedish Numbers 100–999

Now, all you need to be able to count to 999 is the Swedish word for hundred: “hundra. To build a number between 100–999, all you need to do is add numbers before “hundra”.

For example, to say 457, you simply say “fyra” (four), and add “hundra” (hundred), “femtio” (fifty) and “sju” (seven): “fyrahundrafemtiosju”.

Numbers

Swedish Numbers

100

etthundra

200

tvåhundra

300

trehundra

400

fyrahundra

500

femhundra

600

sexhundra

700

sjuhundra

800

åttahundra

900

niohundra

Let’s look at some examples of how to build numbers between 100–999:

  • 128: etthundratjugoåtta
  • 395: trehundranittiofem
  • 674: sexhundrasjuttiofyra

Swedish Numbers 1000 and beyond

Larger numbers might seem daunting at first, but you can create them by simply following the same logic we’ve been used up until now.

When memorizing some of the larger numbers, however, you’ll come across an annoying discrepancy. So far, Swedish numbers have looked pretty similar to their English equivalents:

  • thirteen: tretton
  • sixty: sextio
  • hundred: hundra

And this resemblance continues for “tusen” (thousand) and “miljon” (million). It’s when we come to a billion that the confusion starts:

  • billion: miljard
  • trillion: biljon

Hold your horses, don’t be quick to blame the Swedes for this confusion. This system is used by a large part of Europe and was also used by the UK before they adjusted and followed the system used in the US. It’s an unfortunate discrepancy, but fortunately, you likely won’t use such large numbers in your day-to-day life too often.

Now that the elephant in the room has been addressed, let’s take a look at the building blocks for these larger numbers:

Numbers

English numbers

Swedish Numbers

1000

one thousand

ettusen

10 000

ten thousand

tiotusen

100 000

hundred thousand

hundratusen

1 000 000

one million

en miljon

10 000 000

ten million

tio miljoner

100 000 000

hundred million

hundra miljoner

1 000 000 000

one billion

en miljard

1 000 000 000 000

one trillion

en biljon

When it comes to Swedish reading and writing, you’ll also want to note that Swedes generally use spaces as separators for thousands. Where English speakers would write 1,000,000, Swedes would write 1 000 000.

Now, let’s put together everything we’ve learnt so far and practice! Here are some examples of large numbers:

  • 5832: femtusen åttahundratrettiotvå
  • 9 986 000: nio miljoner niohundraåttiosextusen
  • 400 617 900: fyrahundra miljoner sexhundrasjutton tusen niohundra
  • 2 000 000 000: två miljarder

Zero, minus and decimals in Swedish

But wait, there is one number we haven’t mentioned yet. It is the number representing an empty quantity—zero. Let’s look at how to say zero in Swedish, along with how to write and say an additional few useful numbers, including numbers in minus and decimals:

  • −1: minus ett
  • −10: minus tio
  • 0: noll
  • 1,5: noll komma fem
  • 100,50: hundra komma femtio

As you can see, the Swedish decimal uses a comma (“komma” in Swedish) rather than a period. Where English speakers would write 1.5 meters, Swedes would write “1,5 meter”.

Ordinal Numbers in Swedish

Up until now, we’ve learnt cardinal numbers in Swedish. Apart from these, however, ordinal numbers are also incredibly useful to know. While cardinal numbers show quantity, ordinal numbers show an order or position.

So, without further ado, let’s look at the ordinal numbers of 1–20:

Cardinal numbers

Swedish ordinal numbers

English ordinal numbers

en/ett

första

first

två

andra

second

tre

tredje

third

fyra

fjärde

fourth

fem

femte

fifth

sex

sjätte

sixth

sju

sjunde

seventh

åtta

åttonde

eighth

nio

nionde

ninth

tio

tionde

tenth

elva

elfte

eleventh

tolv

tolfte

twelfth

tretton

trettonde

thirteenth

fjorton

fjortonde

fourteenth

femton

femtonde

fifteenth

sexton

sextonde

sixteenth

sjutton

sjuttonde

seventeenth

arton

artonde

eighteenth

nitton

nittonde

nineteenth

tjugo

tjugonde

twentieth

An ordinal number Swedish learners often stumble on is sjätte” (sixth). The forming of it is a bit irregular, as one would expect it to be “sexte. Alas, Swedish decided not to be that easy in this case. However, it is easily learned once you’re aware of this tricky ordinal.

Examples of larger ordinal numbers:

  • thirtieth: trettionde
  • fifty-first: femtioförsta
  • seventy-eighth: sjuttioåttonde
  • hundredth: hundrade

A few examples of how ordinal numbers can be used:

  • I live on the third floor: Jag bor på tredje våningen.
  • She will compete on the twenty-sixth of May: Hon kommer att tävla den tjugosjätte maj.
  • This is the second time I run a marathon: Det här är den andra gången jag springer ett maraton.

Keep Practicing Swedish Numbers

Learning the numbers in Swedish is relatively straightforward. With practice, you’ll be counting to a trillion in no time. The only reason you’ll be afraid to ask the price in Sweden will be… well, the price.

The best way to practice is by seeing and using Swedish numbers and words in context. One great way to learn is by using Swedish resources such as Clozemaster, which allow you to fill in the gaps in authentic sentences with Swedish numbers and other words.

Clozemaster also has a blog with helpful articles on topics such as:

You can also keep practicing numbers in Swedish with a video, which also helps you improve your listening skills. Check out the following Swedish YouTube videos for counting:

Happy counting!

Challenge yourself with Clozemaster

Learning Swedish numbers might seem daunting at first, but don’t worry, it comes naturally with practice.

Test your skills and see what you’ve learned from this article by playing a selection of sentences with Swedish numbers.

Sign up here to save your progress and start getting fluent with thousands of Swedish sentences at Clozemaster.

Clozemaster has been designed to help you learn the language in context by filling in the gaps in authentic sentences. With features such as Grammar Challenges, Cloze-Listening, and Cloze-Reading, the app will let you emphasize all the competencies necessary to become fluent in Swedish.

Take your Swedish to the next level. Click here to start practicing with real Swedish sentences!

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