German · A1 · Everyday language
Pocket Money Plans in German
Practise counting euros and talking about prices as your child saves for something special. Learn German numbers from 11 to 100.
What you'll learn
- Say how many euros your child has.
- Talk about the prices of familiar things.
- Recognise and build German numbers from 11 to 100.
German phrases for pocket money plans
Du hast elf Euro.
You have eleven euros.
Use du when speaking to your child. Hast means ‘have’ with du.
Dieses Buch kostet zwölf Euro.
This book costs twelve euros.
Dieses Buch means ‘this book’. Kostet means ‘costs’.
Der Ball kostet fünfzehn Euro.
The ball costs fifteen euros.
Fünfzehn combines fünf (five) and zehn (ten).
Du hast zwanzig Euro.
You have twenty euros.
Learn zwanzig (twenty) as a whole word.
Das Spiel kostet dreißig Euro.
The game costs thirty euros.
Dreißig is spelled with ß and ends in -ßig, not -zig.
Du hast vierzig Euro.
You have forty euros.
Vierzig combines vier (four) and -zig.
Das Skateboard kostet sechzig Euro.
The skateboard costs sixty euros.
Sechzig drops the final s of sechs (six).
Das Fahrrad kostet einhundert Euro.
The bike costs one hundred euros.
Einhundert and hundert both mean ‘one hundred’.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Euro
the euro
After a number stating an amount, use Euro without an added -s: elf Euro.
das Taschengeld
pocket money
A useful word for money a child receives to spend or save.
sparen
to save money
Wir sparen means ‘We are saving’.
kosten
to cost
Use kostet when talking about one item: Das Buch kostet zwölf Euro.
das Buch
the book
Learn the noun with its article, das.
der Ball
the ball
Learn the noun with its article, der.
das Spiel
the game
German nouns start with a capital letter.
das Fahrrad
the bike
Fahrrad is the everyday German word for ‘bicycle’.
Numbers 11–19
Learn elf and zwölf separately. Numbers 13–19 usually combine the unit with -zehn. Watch the shortened forms sechzehn and siebzehn.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 11 and 12 | elf, zwölf | Du hast elf Euro. |
| 13–15 | dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn | Der Ball kostet fünfzehn Euro. |
| 16 and 17 | sechzehn, siebzehn | Du hast siebzehn Euro. |
| 18 and 19 | achtzehn, neunzehn | Das Buch kostet neunzehn Euro. |
Tens and one hundred
Most tens end in -zig. Learn zwanzig and dreißig carefully. Sechzig and siebzig use shortened forms of sechs and sieben.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 20 and 30 | zwanzig, dreißig | Das Spiel kostet dreißig Euro. |
| 40 and 50 | vierzig, fünfzig | Du hast vierzig Euro. |
| 60 and 70 | sechzig, siebzig | Das Skateboard kostet sechzig Euro. |
| 80 and 90 | achtzig, neunzig | Du hast achtzig Euro. |
| 100 | einhundert / hundert | Das Fahrrad kostet einhundert Euro. |
Building numbers such as 21 and 35
For numbers between the tens, say the unit first, then und (‘and’), then the tens. Write the whole number as one word. Use ein, not eins, in numbers such as einundzwanzig.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 21: one-and-twenty | ein + und + zwanzig → einundzwanzig | Du hast einundzwanzig Euro. |
| 35: five-and-thirty | fünf + und + dreißig → fünfunddreißig | Das Spiel kostet fünfunddreißig Euro. |
| 99: nine-and-ninety | neun + und + neunzig → neunundneunzig | Das Fahrrad kostet neunundneunzig Euro. |
Talking about money and prices
Use du hast to say how much your child has. Use kostet for the price of one item. In these statements, the verb comes directly after the subject.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Money you have | Du hast + number + Euro. | Du hast zwanzig Euro. |
| Price of one item | Item + kostet + number + Euro. | Der Ball kostet fünfzehn Euro. |
| This book | das Buch → dieses Buch | Dieses Buch kostet zwölf Euro. |
More examples
Du hast dreizehn Euro.
You have thirteen euros.
Count thirteen euros together and practise dreizehn.
Dieses Buch kostet einundzwanzig Euro.
This book costs twenty-one euros.
German puts ‘one’ before ‘twenty’, joined by und.
Das Spiel kostet fünfunddreißig Euro.
The game costs thirty-five euros.
Fünfunddreißig is literally ‘five-and-thirty’.
Du hast fünfzig Euro.
You have fifty euros.
Compare fünfzehn (15) with fünfzig (50).