Danish numbers from 50 to 99, explained

The pattern in one table

Half-third, half-fourth, half-fifth

The hint Lexie shows for the fifties reads: halvtreds = half-third × 20, or 2.5 × 20. Half-third means halfway to three, which is two and a half. The same idea gives halvfjerds, 3.5 × 20, and halvfems, 4.5 × 20.

60 is tres, three twenties, and 80 is firs, four twenties.

Ones first

From 21 up, Danish says the ones before the tens, joined by og: 21 is enogtyve, one-and-twenty. So 55 is femoghalvtreds and 92 is tooghalvfems.

How to practise them

1. Learn the five tens first: halvtreds, tres, halvfjerds, firs, halvfems.
2. Add the ones in front: enoghalvtreds, tooghalvtreds, treoghalvtreds.
3. Then drill halvtreds, halvfjerds and halvfems against each other. All three start with halv, and they are the ones people mix up by ear.

Published 11 November 2026. The number and verb forms on this page are exported from Lexie itself.