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Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Learn key German cardinal numbers like Hundert (100), Tausend (1,000), and Million (1,000,000), including singular and plural forms, to express precise quantities clearly and accurately.
  1. "Hundert" and "Tausend" always remain the same.
  2. From one million onwards, you need an article and the plural "-en": e.g. eine Million, zwei Millionen, eine Milliarde, zwei Milliarden.
Zahl (number)Zahlwörter (Numerals)
100Hundert (hundred)
200Zweihundert (Two hundred)
201Zweihunderteins (two hundred one)
1 000Tausend (thousand)
2 000Zweitausend (Two thousand)
1 000 000Eine Million (One million)
2 000 000Zwei Millionen (Two million)
1 000 000 000Eine Milliarde (One billion)
2 000 000 000Zwei Milliarden (Two billion)

Exceptions!

  1. In German, numbers are read "backwards": 23 = dreiundzwanzig

Exercise 1: Kardinalzahlen: Hundert, Tausend, Million

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

vierhunderttausend, dreißig, tausend, hunderteins, eine Million, zweitausend, hundert, zwei Millionen

1. 1 000:
In der Schweiz leben über ... Menschen in einem Dorf.
(More than a thousand people live in a village in Switzerland.)
2. 101:
Ich zähle bis ... auf Deutsch.
(I count up to one hundred and one in German.)
3. 2 000:
In Dänemark gibt es mehr als ... Seen.
(In Denmark, there are more than two thousand lakes.)
4. 100:
In England gibt es ... verschiedene Dialekte und Akzente.
(In England, there are one hundred different dialects and accents.)
5. 4000 000:
In Italien lernen ... Schüler Deutsch.
(In Italy, four hundred thousand pupils learn German.)
6. 2 000 000:
In der Türkei sprechen ... Menschen Englisch.
(In Turkey, two million people speak English.)
7. 30:
Ich zähle bis ... auf Deutsch.
(I count to thirty in German.)
8. 1 000 000:
In Frankreich wohnen über ... Menschen in Paris.
(More than one million people live in Paris, France.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. Ich habe __ Euro für das neue Handy bezahlt.

(I paid __ euros for the new phone.)

2. Wir brauchen __ Exemplare des Handbuchs.

(We need __ copies of the manual.)

3. Das Unternehmen hat __ Euro Gewinn gemacht.

(The company made a profit of __ euros.)

4. In der Stadt wohnen __ Menschen.

(__ people live in the city.)

5. Ich habe __ Stunden in der Firma gearbeitet.

(I worked __ hours at the company.)

6. Sie bestellt __ Artikel für das Projekt.

(She orders __ items for the project.)

Lesson Overview: Cardinal Numbers in German – Hundred, Thousand, Million

This lesson focuses on cardinal numbers in German, particularly large numbers like hundert (hundred), tausend (thousand), and Million (million). Understanding these numbers is essential for discussing quantities, prices, populations, and more in everyday conversations.

Key Vocabulary and Examples

  • Hundert – 100 (e.g., Hundert, Zweihundert, Zweihunderteins)
  • Tausend – 1,000 (e.g., Tausend, Zweitausend)
  • Million / Millionen – 1,000,000 and multiples (e.g., eine Million, zwei Millionen)
  • Milliarde / Milliarden – 1,000,000,000 and multiples (e.g., eine Milliarde, zwei Milliarden)

Usage Notes

Cardinal numbers in German provide exact quantities and follow certain rules:

  • Hundert and tausend do not change form, regardless of quantity.
  • From eine Million onward, articles and plural endings are required. For example, use eine Million (one million) and zwei Millionen (two millions).
  • German numbers are spoken "backwards," meaning that the smaller unit is stated before the larger unit within a number, such as 23 being dreiundzwanzig (three-and-twenty).

Structure of Large Numbers

Here are some practical examples included in this lesson to help you practice and memorize the correct forms:

  • 100 — Hundert
  • 200 — Zweihundert
  • 201 — Zweihunderteins
  • 1,000 — Tausend
  • 2,000 — Zweitausend
  • 1,000,000 — Eine Million
  • 2,000,000 — Zwei Millionen
  • 1,000,000,000 — Eine Milliarde
  • 2,000,000,000 — Zwei Milliarden

Differences Between English and German Number Usage

In English, large numbers are spoken straightforwardly, for example, "two hundred one" or "one thousand." German numbers combine units differently, often reversing the numeric order within smaller numbers (like 23 = "dreiundzwanzig" or literally "three and twenty"). Additionally, while English does not use articles with million or billion, German requires the use of the feminine article eine and plural endings for numbers above thousand.

Useful Phrases

  • Ich habe zweihundert Euro für das neue Handy bezahlt. (I paid two hundred euros for the new phone.)
  • Wir brauchen tausend Exemplare des Handbuchs. (We need one thousand copies of the manual.)
  • Das Unternehmen hat eine Million Euro Gewinn gemacht. (The company made a profit of one million euros.)
  • In der Stadt wohnen zwei Millionen Menschen. (Two million people live in the city.)

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Sophie Schmidt

International Administration Management

Würzburger Dolmetscherschule

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Last Updated:

Thursday, 17/07/2025 02:47