German counting is important in the early stages of learning a language. As a rule, the first words upon arrival in a country where German is spoken are associated with shopping in a store. And when it comes to money, you need to know the score. In German, it is also important to know the numerals if you want to remember the rules of reading. This would be a great mnemonic device.
Counting in German to 10
For starters, just to tell you how to read and write numbers in German up to ten.
One is pronounced "ains" and spelled like this: eins. Do not confuse this word with the German indefinite article - ein. So, the phrase "one house" would be read as "ein Haus". And if we are already talking about the number of the building, then the German account will be used: "Haus Nummer eins" - translated as "house number 1".
Two - zwei, read: "zwei".
Three - drei, pronounced like this: "dry".
Four - vier, in Russian it sounds like "fir" with a long "and" sound.
Next respectively: fünf("fünf"), sechs ("zeks", the letter s at the beginning of the word is read as voiced), sieben ("zibn", also with a long "and"), acht ("aht"), neun ("noyn") and zehn ("zein"). You can also add 11 and 12 to these numbers, since they are not read according to the rules: "elf" and "zwelf" respectively. Elf - 11, zwölf - 12.
Counting in German from 1 to 12 is taught in the earliest stages of language learning, both adults and children almost immediately after the alphabet. Next comes the complication: tens, hundreds, etc.
How to pronounce numbers for prices
When buying goods, it will be important to know that the Germans do not say the word "euro", "dollar", "cent", etc. So, if the cost of the goods is, for example, 3.5 euro, then it will be sound like "three fifty": drei fünfzig. Accordingly, more complex prices will also be read without currency names: 25, 25 euro - "twenty-five twenty-five": fünfun dzwanzig fünfun dzwanzig.
German counting for memorizing reading rules
In German, as a rule, words are read as they are written. However, there are exceptions and difficulties, such as diphthongs, which can sometimes be difficult to remember. To memorize the rules of reading, German numerals are just very well suited. This mnemonic technique will help to consolidate the studied material and will be a kind of cheat sheet.
So, for example, in the first numerals of the German account we seediphthong "ei", which is read as "ai": eins, zwei, drei.
Further, in number 4 - vier, a completely different diphthong - ie. It is read with a long sound "and" (fiir). The same sound is seen in the number "seven" - sieben. Many language learners confuse these diphthongs because they are very similar. However, if you learn by heart the spelling of numerals in the language of Goethe and Schiller, then this will be an excellent cheat sheet for all times.
German counting will also help with memorizing other diphthongs. Thus, the diphthong "eu", read as "oh", is seen in the number "neun" - nine.
And the rules for reading the letter h after vowels can be understood if you know the rules for reading the number 10 - zehn, "zein".
Here are the rules for reading other special letters. So, for example, z is read as "ts", and this follows from the pronunciation of the numbers "two" - "zwei", "twelve" - "zwelf".
A vivid example of the rule for reading the letter s at the beginning of a word is the numbers "six" and "seven": "zeks", "zibn".
