Numbers 1-10

Danish cardinal numbers are used to express quantity. While the higher Danish numbers (50–90) use historical base-20 formations, the numbers 1–10 are straightforward and decimal-based.

The Number One (en/et)
The number 'one' is orthographically identical to the indefinite article. It must agree with the gender of the noun:

• En is used for common gender nouns (e.g., en hund - one dog).
• Et is used for neuter gender nouns (e.g., et barn - one child).

Important Distinction: While they look the same, the numeral is stressed and usually carries stød, whereas the article is unstressed. To avoid confusion, the numeral is often written with an accent: én or ét. When counting in a sequence, en is common, but et is often used for the abstract name of the digit or in math.

Numbers 2–10
These numbers are indeclinable, meaning they never change form:

• 2: to
• 3: tre
• 4: fire
• 5: fem
• 6: seks
• 7: syv
• 8: otte
• 9: ni
• 10: ti

Pronunciation Note: The numbers to, fire, seks, and otte do not have stød. To ends in a long vowel without stød, and seks ends in a voiceless consonant cluster (/ks/).

Next Steps
After 10, you will encounter unique forms for 11–19 (like elleve and tolv). For higher numbers starting at 21, Danish uses a 'units-and-tens' pattern (e.g., enogtyve - one-and-twenty).

Stød In Citation Forms: In standard isolated counting, stressed én/ét, tre, fem, syv, ni, ti normally have stød; to, fire, seks, otte normally do not. Connected speech and dialect can differ. Units Before Tens: For 21–99 between multiples of ten, say the unit, then og, then the tens: to + og + tyve → toogtyve (22), syv + og + tredive → syvogtredive (37), ni + og + fyrre → niogfyrre (49). Write each as one word. The order is 2-and-20, not 20-and-2; exact 20, 30 and 40 have no added unit.