Numbers, telling the time and dates in Dutch

You need numbers every day: for your age, an appointment, your house number or the price in a shop. In this lesson you learn to count, tell the time and read a date in Dutch.

Counting from 0 to 20

Numbers	How you say them
0–5	nul, een, twee, drie, vier, vijf
6–10	zes, zeven, acht, negen, tien
11–15	elf, twaalf, dertien, veertien, vijftien
16–20	zestien, zeventien, achttien, negentien, twintig

Een means both ‘a’ and ‘one’. If you really mean the number 1 and it could be confusing, write één: Ik heb één broer. (I have one brother.)

Tens and bigger numbers

Number	How you say it
30, 40, 50	dertig, veertig, vijftig
60, 70	zestig, zeventig
80, 90	tachtig, negentig
100	honderd
1000	duizend

From 21 to 99 you say the unit first, then en (and), then the ten:

• 21 = eenentwintig (one-and-twenty)
• 35 = vijfendertig
• 48 = achtenveertig
• 22 = tweeëntwintig and 23 = drieëntwintig: here the e gets two dots (ë).

In words, you write a number as one word up to and including duizend: 150 = honderdvijftig. After duizend comes a space: 2026 = tweeduizend zesentwintig. Years before 2000 are usually said in hundreds: 1995 = negentienhonderdvijfennegentig (nineteen hundred ninety-five).

For money, Dutch uses a comma: € 2,50 is said as twee euro vijftig.

What time is it?

With the clock, Dutch usually divides the hour into quarters:

Time	How you say it
7:00	zeven uur
7:05	vijf over zeven
7:15	kwart over zeven
7:20	tien voor half acht
7:30	half acht
7:40	tien over half acht
7:45	kwart voor acht
7:50	tien voor acht

• Half acht is 7:30: half an hour before eight. This is different from British English ‘half eight’. When you hear half, think of the next hour.
• Kwart over is a quarter (15 minutes) past the hour: kwart over zeven = 7:15.
• Kwart voor is 15 minutes before the hour: kwart voor acht = 7:45.
• You may also write half acht as one word: halfacht.

In conversation, 19:30 is usually also half acht. If it is not clear, say half acht ’s ochtends (in the morning) or half acht ’s avonds (in the evening). At the station and in letters you often see 19.30 uur, written with a full stop. You read it as negentien uur dertig.

Questions you will often hear:

• Hoe laat is het? (What time is it?) – Het is kwart over drie. (It is a quarter past three.)
• Hoe laat begint de les? (What time does the lesson start?) – Om half tien. (At half past nine.)
• Hoe laat staat u meestal op? (What time do you usually get up?) – Om zeven uur. (At seven.)

Days, months and dates

• The days: maandag, dinsdag, woensdag, donderdag, vrijdag, zaterdag, zondag (Monday to Sunday).
• The months: januari, februari, maart, april, mei, juni, juli, augustus, september, oktober, november, december.

They are written with a lower-case letter. In a date, the day comes first, then the month, then the year:

In full	Short
5 oktober 2026	05-10-2026
3 april 2026	03-04-2026

Note: 05-10-2026 is 5 October, not 10 May.

In a date you usually just say the number: Mijn afspraak is op maandag 5 oktober. (My appointment is on Monday 5 October; say vijf oktober.)

• Wanneer bent u jarig? (When is your birthday?) – Op 12 mei. (On 12 May.)
• Wat is uw geboortedatum? (What is your date of birth?) – 3 maart 1994.

For a place in a row you use: eerste (1e, first), tweede (2e), derde (3e), vierde (4e), twintigste (20e). For example: Ik woon op de derde verdieping. (I live on the third floor.)

Note if you speak Farsi or Dari

• Half acht is 7:30. In Persian, 7:30 is ‘seven and a half’. In Dutch you think of the next hour: half acht. To be sure, write appointments down in numbers.
• The unit comes first. In Persian, 21 is ‘twenty and one’. In Dutch it is the other way round: eenentwintig. So listen carefully to prices and house numbers.
• A different calendar. In Iran and Afghanistan, people often use a different calendar. In the Netherlands you always use the calendar from January to December, with the day first. So check your date of birth carefully on forms.
• Two consonants at the start. Say twee, drie, twaalf and twintig without a vowel before or between the consonants.
• W and v. Vier and vijf start with a v. Twee, twaalf and twintig have a w.

Practise telling the time out loud with questions like Hoe laat staat u meestal op? on MVV exam practice. You can also practise this in the A1 course or with the free Dutch A1 word list (topic Numbers and time).