Numbers and counting

Learn German Numbers and Counting

This lesson focuses on German cardinal numbers and basic counting skills suitable for beginners at the A1 level. You will learn how to count from twenty to ninety-nine and understand larger numbers such as one hundred, one thousand, and one million. This foundational knowledge is essential for daily conversations, shopping, and understanding quantities in German-speaking environments.

Key Numbers Covered

• Numbers from 20 to 99 (e.g., dreiundzwanzig (23), sechzig (60))
• Large numbers like hundert (100), tausend (1,000), and million (1,000,000)

Practical Usage Examples

You will find useful sentences such as "Ich kaufe zwanzig Äpfel und fünfzig Orangen." (I buy twenty apples and fifty oranges.) and "In Deutschland lernt man, bis hundert zu zählen." (In Germany, you learn to count up to one hundred.) Exercises include addition like "Wie viel ist dreiundzwanzig plus sieben?" (How much is twenty-three plus seven?) to practice numbers in context.

Conversational Practice

The dialogues simulate real-life situations such as shopping at the supermarket, buying train tickets, and using numbers in the office. For example, in the supermarket, you ask for prices and quantities, e.g., "Wie viel kostet der Apfel?" (How much does the apple cost?) and "Der Apfel kostet dreiundzwanzig Cent." (The apple costs twenty-three cents.)

Verb Conjugation

The lesson also covers verb conjugations for common verbs related to counting and arithmetic operations, like zählen (to count), addieren (to add), and subtrahieren (to subtract), supporting grammar development alongside vocabulary.

Important Notes on Differences

German numbers are often combined differently than in English. For instance, "dreiundzwanzig" literally means "three and twenty" instead of "twenty-three." Also, the use of Sie for formal "you" and number-related verbs conjugate accordingly, e.g., ich zähle (I count), du zählst (you count informal). Additionally, large numbers like "tausend" (thousand) and "Million" (million) are structured similarly but require attention to gender and plural forms.