In Chapter 3 we learned how to count from one to twenty in German. In the dialogues in this section we have discovered that larger numbers are required when buying things in Germany.
21 einundzwanzig 31 einunddreißig
22 zweiundzwanzig 32 zweiunddreißig
23 dreiundzwanzig 40 vierzig
24 vierundzwanzig 45 fünfundvierzig
25 fünfundzwanzig 50 fünfzig
26 sechsundzwanzig 54 vierundfünfzig
27 siebenundzwanzig 60 sechzig
28 achtundzwanzig 70 siebzig
29 neunundzwanzig 80 achtzig
30 dreißig 90 neunzig
Explanation
1. The biggest difficulty which English-speakers experience with German numbers is that cardinal numbers above twenty appear to be formed "backwards". wheras we say "twenty-four", German says "vierundzwanzig" (= four and twenty) like the "four-and-twenty blackbirds" in the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence". This takes a lot of getting used to! Note in particular the difference between 45 and 54 in the list above. English-speakers often get such similar pairs of numbers the wrong way round.
2. Note too that German numbers greater than twelve are seldom written as words, except on cheques. When they are written out, each number is one continuous word - i.e. "achtundsiebzig" wheras we would write "seventy-eight".
3. The German equivalent of the suffix "-ty" (as in "forty", "fifty" etc.) is "-zig". There is one exception to this however: the German for "thirty" is "dreißig".
4. Be very careful of endings when using numbers containing "ein(e)". For example:
- € 1,20 is written as ein Euro zwanzig as "der Euro" is a masculine noun.
- DM 1,20 however is written as eine Mark zwanzig as "die Mark" is a feminine noun.
- € 21,00 is written as einundzwanzig Euro. There are no endings on "ein" here as it appears in the middle of another number.
- € 21,21 is likewise written as einundzwanzig Euro einundzwanzig.
