Half past, the German way
Germans say 'halb drei' for 2:30 — literally 'half three,' meaning halfway to three, which trips up newcomers. Numbers and telling time are early essentials, with a few quirks worth meeting head-on.
Zahlen und Uhrzeit
German numbers one to ten: eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn. To ask the time you say 'Wie spät ist es?' (How late is it?). A quirk: numbers like 21 are said 'einundzwanzig' — literally 'one-and-twenty'.
Units before tens
From 21 up, German says the ones digit first: 24 is 'vierundzwanzig' (four-and-twenty). It feels backwards to English speakers at first.
Simulation · Vocabulary flashcards
card 1 / 6
Flip through the numbers and say each aloud.