Counting in Swedish
Language overview
North Germanic language of the Indo-European family, Swedish (svenska) is the official language of Sweden and co-official in Finland. Swedish counts about 9.2 million speakers.
Swedish numbers list
- 1 – en
- 2 – två
- 3 – tre
- 4 – fyra
- 5 – fem
- 6 – sex
- 7 – sju
- 8 – åtta
- 9 – nio
- 10 – tio
- 11 – elva
- 12 – tolv
- 13 – tretton
- 14 – fjorton
- 15 – femton
- 16 – sexton
- 17 – sjutton
- 18 – arton
- 19 – nitton
- 20 – tjugo
- 30 – trettio
- 40 – fyrtio
- 50 – femtio
- 60 – sextio
- 70 – sjuttio
- 80 – åttio
- 90 – nittio
- 100 – hundra
- 1,000 – tusen
- one million – en miljon
- one billion – en miljard
- one trillion – en biljon
Swedish numbering rules
Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).
- Digits and numbers from zero to twelve are specific words: noll [0], en / en / ett (m/f/n) [1], två [2], tre [3], fyra [4], fem [5], sex [6], sju [7], åtta [8], nio [9], tio [10], elva [11], and tolv [12].
- From thirteen to nineteen, the numbers are formed from the matching digits, adding a form of the word for ten (ton) at the end: tretton [13], fjorton [14], femton [15], sexton [16], sjutton [17], arton [18], and nitton [19].
- The tens are formed by suffixing the digit root with the word for ten (tio), except for ten and twenty: tio [10], tjugo [20], trettio [30], fyrtio [40], femtio [50], sextio [60], sjuttio [70], åttio [80], and nittio [90].
- From twenty-one to ninety-nine, the tens and units are joined with no space (e.g.: fyrtioåtta [48], sextiotre [63]).
- Hundreds are formed by stating the multiplier digit before the word for hundred (hundra, which is of a neuter gender), except for one hundred where it is optional: hundra / etthundra [100], tvåhundra [200], trehundra [300], fyrahundra [400], femhundra [500], sexhundra [600], sjuhundra [700], åttahundra [800], and niohundra [900].
- Thousands are formed the same way as hundreds, i.e. by stating the multiplier digit before the word for thousand (tusen, neuter too), except for one thousand where it is optional: tusen / ettusen [1,000], tvåtusen [2,000], tretusen [3,000], fyratusen [4,000], femtusen [5,000], sextusen [6,000], sjutusen [7,000], åttatusen [8,000], and niotusen [9,000].
- Compound numbers are grouped in blocks of three digits with no space, these blocks being separated with spaces (e.g.: trehundrafyrtiofem [345], ettusen niohundrasjuttiofem [1,975], etthundratusen femhundrafemtiosju [100,557]).
- Higher scale numbers are miljon (plural: miljoner) or 106, miljard (plural: miljarder) (109, the US billion), biljon (plural: biljoner) (1012, the US trillion), all of them masculine.
Write a number in full in Swedish
Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Swedish. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.
Books
Swedish Tutor: Grammar and Vocabulary Workbook
by Ylva Olausson, editors Teach Yourself (1996)
[ Amazon.com]
Swedish: A Comprehensive Grammar
by Philip Holmes & Ian Hinchliffe, editors Routledge (1994)
[ Amazon.com]
Essentials of Swedish Grammar: A Practical Guide to the Mastery of Swedish
by Ake Viberg, Kerstin Ballardini & Sune Stjarnlof, editors Passport Books (1993)
[ Amazon.com]
Aprender sueco - Fácil de leer | Fácil de escuchar - Texto paralelo
editors Polyglot Planet (2016)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
Apprendre le suédois - Écoute facile | Lecture facile - Texte parallèle
editors Polyglot Planet (2016)
[ Amazon.com]
Guia prático de sueco para brasileiros: Um guia rápido e preciso para estudo
by Mikael Swedenborg, editors Djins Books Editions (2014)
[ Kindle - Amazon.com]
North Germanic languages
Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian (Bokmål), and Swedish.
Other supported languages
As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.