Ordnungszahlen und das Datum
Back in Lesson 9, the Anmeldeformular asked for your Geburtsdatum - but you didn't yet have the tool to say a full date. Today closes that gap: ordinal numbers ("first, second, third") and the standard way to write and say a German date.
Add -te to numbers 2-19, and -ste from 20 upward:
| 2. zweite | 8. achte (no extra -t, already ends in -t sound) |
| 3. dritte (irregular) | 19. neunzehnte |
| 7. siebte (irregular, drops -en) | 20. zwanzigste |
1st (erste) is also irregular - it doesn't follow either pattern, similar to English "first" vs. "twoth."
Heute ist der dritte Mai. (Today is the third of May.)
Mein Geburtstag ist am fünfzehnten Juni. (My birthday is on the 15th of June.)
Notice am (an + dem, dative - Lesson 18) before a date, and the ordinal takes an extra -n in this dative construction: der fünfzehnte → am fünfzehnten.
German writes dates day.month.year, unlike US month/day/year:
15.06.1995 (the 15th of June, 1995 - not June 15th read American-style)
Worth double-checking on every form you fill out - misreading this order is a very common and very avoidable mistake for English speakers, especially Americans.
1. Ordinal for "third" (irregular)?
2. "My birthday is on the 15th of June." - Mein Geburtstag ist am ______ Juni.
3. In German date order, what comes first - day or month?
4. Ordinal for "first" (fully irregular)?
5. What extra letter does an ordinal take after "am" (dative)?
Cross-checked against the Goethe-Institut A1 practice materials.
Want to double-check a specific date or form field? Ask your teaching agent.