The German numbers are very easy and yet at the same time very challenging. Numbers 1-10 are pretty simple but from beyond twelve it gets complicated. For example eighty three in English would be “dreiundachtzig” in German. It is confusing because in German “drei” is three and “achtzig” is eighty. So you can see that they put the ones place before the tens place.

Zero 0 = null One1 = eins Two 2 = zwei

Three 3 = drei Four 4 = vier Five 5 = funf

Six 6 = sechs Seven 7 = sieben Eight 8 = acht

Nine 9 = neun Ten 10 = zehn

eleven = elf twelve = zwolf

Thirteen = dreizehn fourteen = vierzehn

Fifteen= funfzehn sixteen = sechzehn

Seventeen = siebzehn eighteen = achtzehn

Nineteen = neunzehn twenty = zwanzig

The months of the year in German are very similar to some of the names of our months. In German “April” is “April” and “May” is “Mai”. Next I will show you the further similarities between the names of the months.

January = Januar

February = Februar

March = Marz

April = April

May = Mai

June = Juni

July = Juli

August = August

September = September

October = Oktober

November = November

December = Dezember

German pronouns are very easy to remember and pronunciate. They also are very confusing. They are very confusing because, for example, “sie” in German is “you” singular/plural and it is formal. “Sie” in German also means “she”. So as you can see some words are the same.

I = ich you (S/informal) = du

He = er she = sie

It = es we = wir

You (S/P/formal) Sie you (P/informal) = ihr

They = sie

The German Pleasantries are very simple and easy to learn. They are also not thet Hard to learn.

Yes = ja please = bitte

Thank you = danke no = nein

You’re welcome. = Bitte schon

No problem = Kein problem.

Of course = naturlich

Correct = richtig

Excuse me. = Entshuldigung!

The German language has different forms of “the” to show if it is neuter, boy, or girl. They are very confusing since each German form of the is for neuter, boy, or girl so it is hard to get them right and correct.

Help = Hilfe! Information= Auskunft

I need…. = Ich brauche police = die polizei

Emergency = der Notfall accident = der Unfall

Doctor = der Arzt pharmacy = die Apotheke

Das (neuter) = the die (girl) = the

der (boy) = the

It is very hard to get the pronunciation in German right because their letters have different sounds then we do.

A= ah b= bay c = tsay d=dayE= a f= f g= gay h= hai= e j= yut k= kay l= elM= em n= en o= o p= payQ= qu r= er s= es t= tayU=u v= vow w= vay x= ichsY= espalon z= zed

Questions for Mr. WalterQ: What did you think about the English numbers, such as that the English numbers the tens place comes before the ones place? Was it difficult because it differed from the German numbers?Beside the alphabet the English numbers were one of the first English lessons I got. I was a fifth grade and I did not think about the differences to the German numbers. At that time I simply learned them by rote. Nowadays, I do not have any problems with the differences. Nonetheless, I am of the opinion it is easier to remember that the tens place comes before the ones place. In that case the numbers are more in a logical order.Q: Was it easy for you to learn the English months since some of them are the same?It was definitely easier for me to learn the English months. The similarity to the German months was very helpful. Most difficult for me is still that December is written with a “C” instead with a “Z” in German.Q: Was it difficult for you to learn the meanings of the English pronouns, such as “he” or “she”?The meanings of the English pronouns were not difficult to learn. The German language also uses this kind of pronouns. And as well as in the English language the use of for example demonstrative ore indefinite pronouns are really not easy. I am sure that even I use the pronouns in my native tongue in the wrong context.

Q: Were the English pleasantries simple to learn, such as saying “excuse me”, “Yes”, “No”, and “Please?” Was it hard to learn the correct English pronunciation?Concerning the pleasantries I have noticed one difference. In Germany we welcome each other by saying “Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night” or more casual by saying “Hallo”. If you say “How is going” or “How are you today” a German always wants to give an answer. If you go straight ahead the German would be of the opinion that you are very unfriendly. First you ask him / her how he / she is / are feeling like and then you are obviously not interested in the answer. But that has also to do with cultural differences. Q: Was it confusing to you that in the English language there is only one form of “the” which does not stand for boy, girl, or neuter such as in the German language?In my opinion it is difficult to learn the German language because of the sex of the nouns. There is no rule to explain why the chair in German is male or the pigeon is female. If you use the wrong sex in German it sounds very strange to a native speaker. “The” simplifies this case and to be honest it makes it much easier to learn the English language.Q: Was it hard for you to learn the English alphabet? How was it different from the German alphabet?All in all it was not very hard to learn the English alphabet. As mentioned earlier I just had to learn it by rote. But there are differences. One example is the English pronunciation of “E” and “I”, because in German it is exactly the opposite. Furthermore the English pronunciation of the letters “H”, “W” and “Y” is obviously more different to the German language. As a conclusion this differences have an impact on the right pronunciation of so many English words.

Interview with Mr. EversQ: Was it hard for you to learn the German numbers since their ones place comes before the tens place? Yes, it was hard initially but after a while it became second nature.

Q: Was it easy to learn and remember the German months of the year since some of the months like “Mai” in the German language is “May” in English?Yes it was very easy.

Q: Was it challenging for you because some of the German pronouns have multiple meanings?Yes, it’s hard to tell when you should use the formal “sie”, especially when you are a kid and you are addressing elders.

Q: Were the German pronouns easy to remember?Yes, it was easy once I memorized them.

Q: Were the German pleasantries easy to learn?Yes, they were easy to learn because you used them everyday.

Q: When you were speaking the German language, the first couple years you were using the language, did you ever get the different forms of “the” wrong?Yes, all the time. I still do.

Q: Which German pleasantry did you use the most?Probably “danke” (thank you).

Q: Were the words used for “Asking for Help” challenging to you?No, I never really need to use them.

Q: Was it hard to remember some of the letters the German language has that we do not, such as “ß” Yes, initially it was hard to remember and now a days you don’t have those keys on an American keyboard.

Q: Was it hard for you to pronounce words right because the German language has a different pronunciation?Yes, you have to learn how to make the different sounds. It’s important that you have a patient teacher who will work with you to learn the proper vocal distortions to make.

Angela Wilkes, German for Beginners, NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company, January 1999

Edward Surich Wiley, German for Dummies, For Dummies Publishing Company, 2008

Rosetta Stone, Rosetta Stone Ltd, 1999-2008

torstenwalter1@us.army.mil, Torsten Walter, December 10, 2008

Evers, Jason. German Interview. December 11, 2008