German · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 11
Wie alt bist du?How old are you?
Numbers 11 to 100 (elf, zwanzig, hundert) plus tausend and null. For age, German — like English — uses the verb "sein" (to be): Ich bin zwanzig (Jahre alt). The question is: Wie alt bist du? Watch the number flip: 21 = einundzwanzig ("one-and-twenty"), the units come FIRST. New vocabulary: elf, zwanzig, hundert, tausend, null, das Jahr, das Alter, erste, letzte, das Mal.
Dialogue
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Zwanzig-eins oder einundzwanzig?— zwanzig-eins or einundzwanzig?
- LukasMike, wie alt bist du?Mike, how old are you?
- MikeIch bin zwanzig-eins.I'm twenty-one. (slip: German flips it — the unit comes first: "einundzwanzig")
- LukasIm Deutschen kommt der Einer zuerst: einundzwanzig — eins und zwanzig.In German the unit comes first: einundzwanzig — one and twenty.
- MikeAh, ich bin einundzwanzig. Und du?Ah, I am twenty-one. And you?
- LukasIch bin neunzehn.I'm nineteen.
Dialogue
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Das Alter der Familie— The Family Ages
- LenaLukas, wie alt ist deine Schwester?Lukas, how old is your sister?
- LukasMeine Schwester Mia ist dreiundzwanzig. Sie ist die Erste.My sister Mia is twenty-three. She is the first (oldest).
- LenaUnd dein kleiner Bruder?And your little brother?
- LukasFinn ist vierzehn. Er ist der Letzte.Finn is fourteen. He is the last (youngest).
Vocabulary
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- elf
numeraleleven
- zwanzig
numeraltwenty
- hundert
numeralhundred
- tausend
numeralthousand
- null
numeralzero
- das Jahr
n.n.year (n)
- das Alter
n.n.age (n)
- erste
adjectivefirst
- letzte
adjectivelast
- das Mal
n.n.time, occasion (n)
Grammar
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Age with "sein" + the number flip
Explanation
Good news: age works like English — with "sein" (to be), not "haben" (to have). Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt. Wie alt bist du? — Ich bin neunzehn. You can drop "Jahre alt": Ich bin zwanzig. Bad news: numbers from 13 flip. Up to 12 they're their own words (elf, zwölf); 13–19 = unit + ten (dreizehn, vierzehn); and from 21 the unit comes FIRST, with "und": einundzwanzig (1+20), zweiundzwanzig (2+20). So 21 is "one-and-twenty", not "twenty-one". The tens: zwanzig, dreißig, vierzig, fünfzig; hundert = 100.
Examples
- Wie alt bist du? — Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt.How old are you? — I am twenty years old.
- Meine Großmutter ist hundert Jahre alt.My grandmother is a hundred years old.
- Es ist das erste Mal.It's the first time.
- Meine Nummer ist zwei, null, null, eins.My number is two, zero, zero, one.
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