English Numbers 1 to 100: How to Count, Pronounce, and Actually Remember Them

You're trying to count in English and keep mixing up thirteen and thirty. Someone asks your age and you accidentally say you're thirty when you're actually thirteen. Or you're ordering at a restaurant and say "fourteen dollars" when the menu says forty.

Here's the thing: learning the numbers in English is harder than it should be. The English number system from 1 to 100 has weird exceptions, pronunciation traps, and patterns that make no sense. And it's not your fault you're struggling.

Why English Numbers 1-100 Are So Confusing

Every language has numbers, but English numerals are uniquely annoying for learners. The way we form numbers in English breaks its own rules constantly.

Let's start with the basics. Cardinal numbers (one, two, three) tell you quantity—how many of something. You need these to count in English, whether you're saying "three apples" or "twenty-five students."

But here's where it gets weird: English numbers 1 to 10 are mostly fine. You memorize them, practice pronunciation, and you're good. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Each number has its own name, its own sound. Simple enough.

Then you hit eleven and twelve, and suddenly the pattern breaks.

The Eleven and Twelve Exception

Want to know why eleven and twelve don't follow the pattern? They're linguistic fossils from Old English. Eleven literally meant "one left over" and twelve meant "two left over"—leftover after counting ten.

That's why we don't say "oneteen" and "twoteen." These numbers survived from a completely different counting system that English used over a thousand years ago. By the time English settled on base-ten counting, eleven and twelve were already too common to change.

From thirteen to nineteen, English finally makes sense. The pattern is digit + "teen": thirteen (three + ten), fourteen (four + ten), fifteen (five + ten). The -teen suffix is just an old form of "ten," so sixteen literally means "six-ten" or "six plus ten."

Well, mostly. Thirteen should technically be "threeteen" but got shortened. Same with fifteen—should be "fiveteen." English has never met a logical pattern it didn't want to break at least once.

How to Count from 1 to 100 in English

Once you get past nineteen, the tens are actually easier. Twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety—these all use the -ty suffix. And compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine follow a consistent pattern: tens digit + hyphen + ones digit.

So twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three. Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three. All the way up to ninety-nine.

Then you hit one hundred, which in British English is often "a hundred" but in American English is usually "one hundred." Both are correct, but you'll hear "a hundred" more in spoken English and "one hundred" more in formal writing or when you need precision.

The numbers from 1 to 100 follow this structure:

Beyond one hundred, English keeps stacking: two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, up to nine hundred. Then one thousand, one million, one billion (or one trillion if you're counting really high).

The Thirteen vs. Thirty Problem Every Learner Faces

This is literally the most common mistake when learning the numbers in English. You cannot hear the difference between thirteen and thirty. Or fourteen and forty. Or fifteen and fifty.

The stress pattern is supposed to help: thirTEEN (stress on the second syllable) versus THIRty (stress on the first). But in natural spoken English, native speakers don't always follow that rule. Sometimes "thirteen" gets stressed on the first syllable depending on the sentence.

Worse, in American English, the final -ty in thirty sounds like a 'd', while the -teen in thirteen keeps a hard 't' sound. But if you didn't grow up hearing that distinction, your brain treats them as the same word.

So yeah, you're going to confuse these. A lot. Even after months of practice. This isn't a you problem—it's an English problem.

The way to get better is repetition in context. Don't drill "thirteen, fourteen, fifteen" in isolation. Practice with real sentences: "It costs thirteen dollars," "I'm thirteen years old," "The bus arrives at thirteen thirty." Your brain needs to connect the sound with actual meaning.

Cardinal Numbers vs. Ordinal Numbers

Once you've learned cardinal numbers (the basic counting numbers), you need ordinal numbers for showing position or order. First, second, third, fourth, fifth—these tell you the rank or sequence of something.

Most ordinal numbers in English just add -th to the cardinal number: four becomes fourth, six becomes sixth, seven becomes seventh. Easy pattern.

But of course, there are exceptions. The first three ordinal numbers are completely irregular: first, second, third. No pattern, just memorize them.

For compound numbers (twenty-first, thirty-second), only the last digit changes to ordinal form: twenty-first, not "twentieth-first." But watch out—numbers ending in eleven, twelve, or thirteen use -th: eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, not "elevenst" or "twelvend."

You'll need ordinal numbers for dates ("July fifth"), rankings ("She finished third"), and giving directions ("Turn at the fourth house"). They show up constantly in English, so you can't skip them.

Similar to Japanese counters, which change based on what you're counting, English ordinal numbers change the form of the number itself to show order. The difference is Japanese has hundreds of counters, while English just has these ordinal forms—way simpler, but still requires practice.

Numbers in Words vs. Numerals

In written English, there's a rule about when to spell out numbers in words versus using digits. Most style guides say to write out numbers one through ten (or sometimes one through twelve) and use numerals for higher numbers: 11, 25, 99.

But this rule has exceptions. Always spell out a number at the beginning of a sentence: "Thirty students attended" not "30 students attended." And in formal writing, you might spell out larger numbers: "one hundred people" instead of "100 people."

When writing two-digit numbers from 21 to 99 in words, always use a hyphen: twenty-five, thirty-seven, ninety-nine. The hyphen isn't optional—it's part of correct English spelling for compound numbers.

For numbers in the hundreds, British English usually adds "and" after the hundred: "one hundred and one," "two hundred and thirty." American English often drops the "and": "one hundred one," "two hundred thirty." Both are correct for their respective dialects.

Pronunciation Tips for English Numbers

The biggest pronunciation challenge? That damn -teen versus -ty distinction. Here's how to pronounce them clearly:

For -teen numbers (thirteen through nineteen), the final syllable should be slightly longer and higher in pitch. Think thirTEEN with emphasis on that second part.

For -ty numbers (twenty through ninety), the stress moves to the first syllable: THIRty, FORty, FIFty. The final -ty is shorter and flatter.

In American English, pronounce the -ty ending almost like a 'd' sound: "thir-dy," "for-dy." This makes it more distinct from -teen, which keeps a harder 't' sound.

Practice saying pairs aloud: thirteen/thirty, fourteen/forty, fifteen/fifty. Record yourself. Listen back. Do it again until you can hear the difference. Annoying? Yeah. Effective? Also yeah.

The "th" sound in numbers like three, thirteen, thirty, thousand is hard for many learners. Place your tongue tip gently between your teeth and blow air through. Don't substitute a 't' or 'f' sound—that changes the meaning completely.

Decimals, Fractions, and Percentages

Decimal numbers use "point" in English: 13.7 is "thirteen point seven." For 0.002, say "point zero zero two" or "point oh oh two" (using "oh" instead of "zero" in spoken English).

The decimal point in English writing is a period (.) at the bottom of the line, while many other languages use a comma. The comma in English numerals separates thousands: 1,000 or 10,000. This can confuse learners from languages that use these punctuation marks differently.

For fractions, the numerator (top number) uses cardinal numbers, while the denominator (bottom number) uses ordinal numbers: 1/4 is "one quarter" or "one fourth," 1/3 is "one third," 1/2 is "one half" (exception—we say "half" not "second" here).

With plural fractions, add -s to the denominator: 2/3 is "two thirds," 3/4 is "three quarters" or "three fourths." Simple halves are common: "two and a half hours," "three and a half weeks."

Percentages are straightforward: just say the number plus "percent." 25% is "twenty-five percent," 99% is "ninety-nine percent." In writing, you can use the % symbol or spell it out.

Phone Numbers and Large Numbers

Phone numbers in English are usually read as individual digits: 555-1234 is "five five five, one two three four." Sometimes people group them differently in British English: "double five five" for 555.

But here's where it gets weird: emergency numbers break this rule. In the US, 911 is "nine one one" or "nine-eleven." In the UK, 999 is always "nine nine nine."

For large numbers beyond one hundred, English stacks words: one thousand (1,000), ten thousand (10,000), one hundred thousand (100,000), one million (1,000,000). Each step uses the same base pattern with bigger quantity words.

Years are often read as two pairs of two-digit numbers: 1984 is "nineteen eighty-four," 2008 is "twenty oh eight." But 2000-2009 are usually "two thousand," "two thousand one," and so on. After 2009, people say either "twenty ten" or "two thousand ten"—both work.

In English-speaking countries, you'll hear numbers used differently depending on context. Dates, prices, ages, times—each has slightly different conventions for how numbers are pronounced and written.

What About Apps and Textbooks?

Most language learning materials teach English numbers the same way: lists, matching games, drilling from 1 to 10, then 1 to 100. This works okay for memorization but falls apart when you try to actually use numbers in real situations.

The problem? Recognizing "thirteen" when someone says it slowly in a quiet classroom is completely different from hearing it at normal speed in a restaurant when someone's telling you the price. You need exposure to how numbers are used in actual English conversation, not just practiced in exercises.

Numbers appear everywhere in real English: cooking shows ("Add three cups of flour, bake for thirty minutes"), shopping ("That'll be twenty-five dollars"), news ("Fourteen people were injured"), sports ("They won ninety-nine to seventy-three"). You can't learn to use English numbers without hearing them in context.

Similar to how learning Portuguese numbers works better through immersion (check out numbers in Portuguese for comparison), English numbers stick when you encounter them in real content rather than textbook drills.

English Numbers for Kids vs. Adults

English for kids often starts with fun counting songs and games. The goal is repetition and pattern recognition: count to ten, count backwards, skip counting (2, 4, 6, 8), connecting numerals to quantities.

Kids learn through play: "How many apples are there?" while looking at actual apples. They practice ordinal numbers by lining up (who's first, second, third?) and through books that use sequencing.

Adult learners need the same patterns but can handle more complex explanations. You can understand that eleven comes from Old English "one left over" and use that linguistic knowledge to remember it better. Kids just memorize it.

But here's the thing: whether you're an adult or learning English for kids, the effective method is the same—repeated exposure in natural contexts. Counting objects, using numbers in sentences, hearing them in real speech. The brain learns numbers through use, not through memorization lists.

The Truth About Learning English Numbers 1-100

Look, drilling flashcards of numbers from 1 to 100 is boring as hell and you'll quit after a week. Here's what actually works:

Count backwards from ten to one. When you always start with one, you practice the lower numbers way more than the higher ones. Counting backwards balances that out. Your brain needs equal exposure to all digits in the 1 to 10 range.

Use numbers in real contexts. Don't just recite "one, two, three, four." Actually use them: "I drank two cups of coffee, studied for thirty minutes, took bus number fifteen." Real usage beats drilling every time.

Learn numbers in groups by their patterns. Master 1 to 10 first, then tackle the weird exceptions (eleven, twelve), then learn the -teen pattern (thirteen-nineteen), then the -ty tens (twenty, thirty, forty). Breaking it into chunks makes the patterns clearer.

Listen to native speakers using numbers. YouTube videos, Netflix shows, podcasts—anywhere people are using English naturally. Notice how they pronounce thirteen versus thirty, how they say phone numbers, how they read prices aloud.

Practice the tough pairs. Thirteen/thirty, fourteen/forty, fifteen/fifty, sixteen/sixty. Say them out loud. Record yourself. Listen to the difference. Repeat until it clicks.

The research is clear: numbers taught in context stick better than numbers taught through isolated practice. You need to see "thirty dollars," "thirteen years old," "twenty-five people" in actual sentences where the number means something.

That's why spaced repetition language learning works so well for numbers—you're encountering them repeatedly in different contexts, which helps your brain remember them when you actually need to use them in conversation.

Anyway, if you want to learn English numbers from real content instead of textbook lists, that's exactly what Migaku does. The browser extension lets you watch English shows, YouTube videos, cooking channels—whatever you're into—and instantly look up any word or number you don't recognize.

When someone says "thirteen dollars," "thirty minutes," or "two hundred fifty people," you can pause, check the meaning, and add it to your spaced repetition deck in one click. You're learning how English numbers are actually used: in context, at natural speed, with all the pronunciation quirks that textbooks skip.

The mobile app syncs everything, so you can review numbers on the go. And since the numbers you're learning come from real content you actually care about, they stick way better than drilling numbers 1 to 100 on flashcards.

There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out. Way more effective than memorizing number lists.