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Chapter 2 of 7

Counting and Telling Time

Counting in German starts with "null" (zero) and runs through "eins" (one), "zwei" (two), "drei" (three), "vier" (four), "fünf" (five), "sechs" (six), "sieben" (seven), "acht" (eight), "neun" (nine), and "zehn" (ten). From eleven to nineteen, the teens follow: "elf," "zwölf," "dreizehn," "vierzehn," "fünfzehn," "sechzehn," "siebzehn," "achtzehn," and "neunzehn." Twenty is "zwanzig."

The tens continue with "dreißig" (thirty), "vierzig" (forty), and "fünfzig" (fifty). Higher round numbers are "hundert" (one hundred) and "tausend" (one thousand). These words appear constantly when telling time, giving prices, or stating your age, as in "Sie wird bald dreizehn" (She'll soon be thirteen) or "Das kostet zwanzig Euro" (That costs twenty euros).

The days of the week are all masculine nouns beginning with "der": "der Montag" (Monday), "der Dienstag" (Tuesday), "der Mittwoch" (Wednesday), "der Donnerstag" (Thursday), "der Freitag" (Friday), "der Samstag" (Saturday), and "der Sonntag" (Sunday). The basic time units are "der Tag" (day), "die Woche" (week), "der Monat" (month), and "das Jahr" (year), with "die Stunde" (hour) and "die Minute" (minute) for shorter periods. "Heute" means "today," "morgen" means "tomorrow," "gestern" means "yesterday," and "jetzt" means "now." Asking the time is "wie spät ist es?," while "der Morgen" (morning) and "der Abend" (evening) describe parts of the day.

All chapters
  1. 1First Encounters — Greetings and Politeness
  2. 2Counting and Telling Time
  3. 3Colors and Visual Descriptions
  4. 4Family, People, and the Home
  5. 5Food, Drink, and the Body
  6. 6Clothes, Travel, Weather, and Nature
  7. 7Essential Verbs and Asking Questions

Drill it

Reading is not remembering. These come from the German A1 Vocab deck:

Q

hello

hallo Hallo, wie geht es dir? (Hello, how are you?)

Q

good morning

guten Morgen Guten Morgen, Frau Weber! (Good morning, Mrs Weber!)

Q

good day

guten Tag Guten Tag, kann ich Ihnen helfen? (Good day, can I help you?)

Q

good evening

guten Abend Guten Abend zusammen! (Good evening, everyone!)