German course

Lesson 17 of 240

New here? This is lesson 17 of a free 240-lesson German course.

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Numbers one to ten in German

Priya is at Bäckerei Krause with a full bread shelf in front of her. She counts from one to ten under her breath, then needs a number for the counter.

Anton is at the corner table. He holds up two fingers, then sits on two chairs, as if the count were for him.

By the end, you can count from one to ten, say zero, and ask for two or three of something at the bakery.

By the end of this lesson

Count from one to ten, say zero, and count two or three of something.

  • eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünfone, two, three, four, five
  • sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehnsix, seven, eight, nine, ten
  • nullzero
  • einsone
  • zwei Stücktwo of them
  • drei Stückthree of them

Scene — the bread shelf

Priya stands at the bread shelf in Bäckerei Krause and counts under her breath. Renate waits at the counter.

Anton sits at the corner table with a Milchkaffee he has not finished. He holds up two fingers, then uses two chairs.

Priya counts at the bread shelf while Renate looks up from the counter and Anton sits at the corner table with his unfinished coffee.

Learn — one to ten

Six short lines take you from one to ten, then zero, then one on its own.

You'll also hear two bakery counts: two of them, and three of them.

  1. Priya touches the first loaves at the near end of the shelf as she counts.

    eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf

    one, two, three, four, five

    When to use it: Use this when you count from one to five.

    Learn it as one piece when you count to five.

    Say it: Fünf has a round ü, close to ee.

  2. Priya reaches toward the far end of the bread shelf to continue counting.

    sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn

    six, seven, eight, nine, ten

    When to use it: Use this when you count from six to ten.

    Learn it as one piece when you count to ten.

    Say it: Acht has the ch of ach, not ich.

  3. Anton holds up two fingers beside his unfinished coffee.

    null

    zero

    When to use it: Say this for the number zero.

    Learn it as one piece for the number zero.

  4. Renate points to a group of three pastries on the counter.

    eins

    one

    When to use it: Say this when you count one by itself.

    Learn it as one piece for the number one.

  5. Anton sits across two chairs at the corner table and raises one finger.

    zwei Stück

    two of them

    When to use it: Say this at the bakery for two of something.

    Learn it as one piece for a baker's count of two.

    Say it: Stück puts the stress on the first syllable.

  6. Priya responds with a zero gesture after turning toward Anton.

    drei Stück

    three of them

    When to use it: Say this at the bakery for three of something.

    Learn it as one piece for a baker's count of three.

Story — two chairs

Watch Priya count at the shelf. Anton answers with two fingers, then two chairs.

The highlighted words are the lines you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Renate looks up. The bread shelf is full.
  2. RenateGuten Morgen.Good morning.
  3. Priya is already counting under her breath.
  4. Priyaeins, zwei, drei, vier, fünfone, two, three, four, five.
  5. She keeps going.
  6. Priyasechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehnsix, seven, eight, nine, ten.
  7. Anton holds up two fingers.
  8. Antonzwei Stücktwo of them.
  9. Renatedrei Stückthree of them.
  10. He sits on two chairs and looks at Priya.
  11. Antoneinsone.
  12. Priyanullzero.

Practice — count and order

Ten quick exercises wait here. You'll listen, pick, match, fill a gap, and build a line.

They stay tiny, so the round moves fast.

0 of 10 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    German

    eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünfDrop the English here
    sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehnDrop the English here
    nullDrop the English here
    einsDrop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its German, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    You need the number zero, nothing else.

  4. Fill the gap

    two of them

    ____ Stück

  5. What does it mean?

    sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn

  6. Swap the word

    You want three of them at the bakery, not two.

    ____ Stück

  7. Pick the reply

    Renate says:

    Bitte schön.

    Here you go

    And you reply with:

  8. Build the line

    one, two, three, four, five

    , , , ,

    Tap the words in order.

  9. True or false?

    This means one.

  10. What do you say?

    It is morning at the bakery. Greet Renate.

Say it — say the numbers

Now you're Priya at the bakery counter. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak the line.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. RenateGuten Morgen.Good morning.
  2. Priya (you)It is still morning. Greet her that way.

    Guten Morgen.

    Good morning

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

GermanEnglish
eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünfone, two, three, four, five
sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehnsix, seven, eight, nine, ten
nullzero
einsone
zwei Stücktwo of them
drei Stückthree of them
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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

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A quick round with the Yak Cards each day keeps one to ten ready at the counter.

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