German counting is important in the early days of language learning. As a rule, the first words on arrival in a country where they speak German are related to shopping in the store. And where it comes to money, you need to know the bill. In German it is also important to know the numerals if you want to remember the rules of reading. This will be a great mnemonic trick.
German score up to 10
For starters, you just need to say how up to ten numbers are read and written in German.
One is pronounced "ains" and is spelled as follows: eins. Do not confuse this word with the indefinite article of the German language - ein. So, the phrase "one house" will read like "ein Haus". And if we are already talking about the number of the building, then the German account will be used: "Haus Nummer eins" - in the translation "house number 1".
Two - zwei, read: "tsvay".
Three - drei, pronounced as follows: "drive."
Four - vier, in Russian it sounds like "fir" with a long sound "and".
Further, respectively: fünf ("funf"), 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 ( "noin") and zehn ("zeyn"). You can also add 11 and 12 to these numerals, since they are not read according to the rules: "elf" and "zwelf", respectively. Elf - 11, zwölf - 12.
German counts from 1 to 12 are taught at the earliest stages of language learning, both adults and children almost immediately after the alphabet. The complication follows: tens, hundreds, etc.
How to pronounce the numerals to indicate 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 sound like "three fifty ": drei fünfzig. Accordingly, more complex prices will also be read without naming the currency: 25.25 euro - "twenty five twenty five": fünfun dzwanzig fünfun dzwanzig.
German account 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 are sometimes difficult to remember. German numerals are just very suitable for memorizing reading rules. 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 see the diphthong "ei", which reads like "ah": eins, zwei, drei.
Further, in the figure 4 - vier, a completely different diphthong - ie. It is read by a long sound "and" (fiir). The same sound is visible in the number "seven" - sieben. Many language learners confuse these diphthongs, because they are very similar. However, if you memorize the spelling of the numerals in the language of Goethe and Schiller, then this will be an excellent cheat sheet for all time.
A German account will help with remembering other diphthongs. So, the diphthong "eu", read as "oh," we see in the number of "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, "zeyn".
Here are the rules for reading other special letters. So, for example, z reads like “c”, and this follows from the pronunciation of the numbers “two” - “tsvay”, “twelve” - “tsvelf”.
A striking example of the rule for reading the letter s at the beginning of a word is the numbers "six" and "seven": "zeks", "zibn".