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What's up with german numbers?


GodYezi

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Basically it is easier to say the smaller number first instead of the larger numbers. That's the short explanation.

 

The long explanation is a lot more complex and has to do with arabic numbers and how our brain works. I can suggest you to look this topic up if you are really interested. It actually really makes sense why Germans do that. 

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yeah

243 is zwei hundert drei und vierzig

It makes no sense

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My country has 11 official languages and one of them is derivative of Dutch/German so the numbering system is similar. Twenty-Four would be 'Vier-en-Twintig' = Four and Twenty. It's not really difficult if you were raised thinking about numbers in that order lol. Sometimes when I speak english I say them wrong though and then I have to correct myself.

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My country has 11 official languages and one of them is derivative of Dutch/German so the numbering system is similar. Twenty-Four would be 'Vier-en-Twintig' = Four and Twenty. It's not really difficult if you were raised thinking about numbers in that order lol. Sometimes when I speak english I say them wrong though and then I have to correct myself.

Austria?

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I came here to bitch about french numbers. Base 20? I hate you whoever decided that

 

yeah i hate everything started since 11. 

70 = 60+10   

90 = 4x20+10 wtf

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if you see older english texts you might see the same german system (e.g. "four-and-twenty"). you may even note there's remnants of this in our (English's) contemporary number system (thirteen fourteen fifteen etc. instead of tenthree, tenfour tenfive etc.)

this system was used and spoken before language was codified so to speak. in germany

Luther, whose Bible translation was the basis for the creation of a common German language (prior to Luther, there was no High German only a number of mutually hard to understand German dialects), decided to retain the traditional number names (i.e. "backwards"), contrary to other authors who proposed "zwanzigeins", in accordance with the writing direction of the new numbers.

so there you have it .
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