Vocabulary - General: Numbers and Quantities
General Numbers
- Zero in German is Null.
- One to ten in German is Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier, Fünf, Sechs, Sieben, Acht, Neun, Zehn.
- Eleven to twenty in German is Elf, Zwölf, Dreizehn, Vierzehn, Fünfzehn, Sechzehn, Siebzehn, Achtzehn, Neunzehn, Zwanzig.
- The multiples of ten from 30 to 100 in German are Dreißig, Vierzig, Fünfzig, Sechzig, Siebzig, Achtzig, Neunzig, Hundert.
- Thousand in German is Tausend.
- Million in German is Million.
Large Numbers
- Large numbers are often expressed as multiple hundreds rather than in thousands. For example, 1800 might be referred to as achtzehnhundert rather than ein tausend acht hundert.
- However, thousands can be used when clarifying specific quantities, for example zwei tausend (2000) or drei tausend (3000).
Quantities
- Half in German is Halb.
- Quarter in German is Viertel.
- Most in German is meisten.
- Few in German is wenig.
- All or everything in German is alle or alles.
- More in German is mehr, while less is weniger.
Date and Time
- For numbers associated with dates and time, remember that, except 1 and 0, all numbers under 13 in dates and times use informal counting. So, it's ein Uhr (one o'clock) but zwei Uhr (two o'clock).
- For half-hours, Germans count up to the next hour. For example, 2:30 is not "two thirty" but halb drei (half way to three).