Master English Numbers
English numbers are mostly regular, but "eleven" and "twelve" stand out as oddities. They come from Old English words meaning "one left over" and "two left over" (after ten), rather than following the "-teen" pattern. These irregular forms survived because they were among the most frequently used words in daily life. English ordinals are also quirky — "first," "second," and "third" bear no resemblance to their cardinal counterparts.
Watch the videos below, then download the Foreign Numbers app and practice what you've learned!
Below are the cardinal and ordinal numbers in English:
| Numeral | Cardinal | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | zero | zeroth |
| 1 | one | first |
| 2 | two | second |
| 3 | three | third |
| 4 | four | fourth |
| 5 | five | fifth |
| 6 | six | sixth |
| 7 | seven | seventh |
| 8 | eight | eighth |
| 9 | nine | ninth |
| 10 | ten | tenth |
| 11 | eleven | eleventh |
| 12 | twelve | twelfth |
| 13 | thirteen | thirteenth |
| 14 | fourteen | fourteenth |
| 15 | fifteen | fifteenth |
| 16 | sixteen | sixteenth |
| 17 | seventeen | seventeenth |
| 18 | eighteen | eighteenth |
| 19 | nineteen | nineteenth |
| 20 | twenty | twentieth |
| 21 | twenty-one | twenty-first |
| 30 | thirty | thirtieth |
| 40 | forty | fortieth |
| 50 | fifty | fiftieth |
| 60 | sixty | sixtieth |
| 70 | seventy | seventieth |
| 80 | eighty | eightieth |
| 90 | ninety | ninetieth |
| 100 | one hundred | one hundredth |
| 1000 | one thousand | one thousandth |
| 1000000 | one million | one millionth |
| 1000000000 | one billion | one billionth |
Number data and information courtesy of Omniglot.