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:

• 80 Common Swedish Phrases and How to Use Them
• How to Improve Your Swedish Vocabulary – The Definitive Guide
• Fastest Way to Learn Swedish: Tips and Techniques for Quick Learning

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:

• Fun Swedish: Swedish numbers – How to count to 10 in Swedish! Ordinal and cardinal numbers in Swedish
• SwedishPod101.com: Learn Swedish – Swedish in Three Minutes – Numbers 1-10 SwedishPod101.com: Learn Swedish – Swedish in Three Minutes – Numbers 11-100
• Svenska för alla: Lär dig räkna från 100 till 1000. Learn how to count in Swedish

Happy counting!