Latest / Learn German with Fexingo / German Ordinal Numbers 1st to 10th
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey, Luna, ready for another episode of Learn German with Fexingo? Luna: Yep, I'm ready. So what are we learning today? Lucas: Today we're tackling ordinal numbers — first, second, third, up to tenth. Super useful for dates, floors in a building, or ranking things. Luna: Oh good, I've been wondering how to say 'first' in German. Is it 'der erste'? Lucas: Exactly! 'Der erste' — the first. Let's start with that. Repeat after me: der erste. Luna: Der erste. Lucas: Perfect. Now, 'der zweite' — the second. Luna: Der zweite. That sounds like 'tsvye-te'. Lucas: Good guess. And 'der dritte' — the third. This one's a bit tricky: der dritte. Luna: Der dritte. Ooh, that 'dr' is strong. Lucas: Yeah, like 'der drei' with a 'te' at the end. Now let's go through the rest quickly. Der vierte, der fünfte, der sechste. Luna: Der vierte, der fünfte, der sechste. I think I got those. Lucas: Great. Now der siebte, der achte, der neunte, der zehnte. Luna: Der siebte, der achte, der neunte, der zehnte. Wait, 'achte' is like 'okh-te'? Lucas: Exactly. The 'ch' is soft, like in 'Bach'. Now let's put them in a sentence. Imagine you're in an elevator — 'Ich bin im dritten Stock.' That means 'I'm on the third floor.' Luna: Ich bin im dritten Stock. So the ordinal changes depending on gender? Lucas: Yes, but for now, we're using the masculine form 'der' because 'Stock' is masculine. Let's practice with all ten quickly. I'll say the number in English, you say the German ordinal. Luna: Okay, hit me. Lucas: First. Luna: Der erste. Lucas: Second. Luna: Der zweite. Lucas: Third. Luna: Der dritte. Lucas: Fourth. Luna: Der vierte. Lucas: Fifth. Luna: Der fünfte. Lucas: Sixth. Luna: Der sechste. Lucas: Seventh. Luna: Der siebte. Lucas: Eighth. Luna: Der achte. Lucas: Ninth. Luna: Der neunte. Lucas: Tenth. Luna: Der zehnte. Lucas: You nailed it. Now let's do a mini conversation. Imagine you're at a hotel. You say: 'Ich bin im zweiten Stock.' — 'I'm on the second floor.' Then the receptionist says: 'Zimmer 210, im zweiten Stock.' — 'Room 210, on the second floor.' Luna: Oh, so the ordinal matches the floor number. 'Im zweiten Stock' — that's good to know. Lucas: Exactly. And if you're on the tenth floor, you'd say 'im zehnten Stock'. Luna: Im zehnten Stock. So the ending changes from 'te' to 'ten' when it's dative? Lucas: Right! Because 'im' is a contraction of 'in dem', which is dative. But for now, just focus on the base forms we practiced. Luna: Got it. So these ordinals are really handy. Lucas: They are. And you know, if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with German, a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making episodes like this. Luna: Yeah, I think it's cool that the show stays ad-free because of that support. Lucas: Totally. Anyway, back to ordinals. Let's do one more round. I'll say the English ordinal, and you say the German, but this time without the 'der'. Luna: Okay, I'll try. Lucas: First. Luna: Erste. Lucas: Second. Luna: Zweite. Lucas: Third. Luna: Dritte. Lucas: Fourth. Luna: Vierte. Lucas: Fifth. Luna: Fünfte. Lucas: Sixth. Luna: Sechste. Lucas: Seventh. Luna: Siebte. Lucas: Eighth. Luna: Achte. Lucas: Ninth. Luna: Neunte. Lucas: Tenth. Luna: Zehnte. Lucas: Beautiful. You've got it. Now, if you want to say 'the first time', it's 'das erste Mal'. 'Mal' is neuter, so 'das erste Mal'. Luna: Das erste Mal. That sounds like a common phrase. Lucas: It is. And 'the second time' is 'das zweite Mal'. Try it. Luna: Das zweite Mal. Lucas: Perfect. These ordinals also work for dates. 'Der erste Mai' is the first of May, 'der dritte Oktober' is the third of October. Luna: Der erste Mai, der dritte Oktober. That will be handy for birthdays. Lucas: Exactly. Keep practicing, and next time we'll learn how to say dates in full sentences. For now, review these ordinals. They're small but powerful. Luna: Will do. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: You're welcome, Luna. And thanks to you listeners for joining us. Practice these till we chat again.