zwei

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See also: Zwei and zwëi

Alemannic German

cardinal number
2 Previous: ain
Next: drüü

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle High German zwei, from Old High German zwei (neuter of zwēne).

Cognate with German zwei, Dutch twee, English two, Icelandic tveir.

Number

zwei

  1. two

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

  • zwien (archaic masculine form)
  • zwo, zwu (archaic feminine form)

Etymology

From Middle High German zwei, from Old High German zwei (neuter of zwēne).

Pronunciation

Numeral

zwei

  1. (most dialects) two

Descendants

  • Hunsrik: zweu

German

German numbers (edit)
20
[a], [b] ←  1 2 3  → 
    Cardinal: zwei
    Ordinal: zweite
    Sequence adverb: zweitens
    Ordinal abbreviation: 2.
    Adverbial: zweimal
    Adverbial abbreviation: 2-mal
    Multiplier: zweifach
    Multiplier abbreviation: 2-fach
    Fractional: Hälfte
German Wikipedia article on 2

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle High German zwei, from Old High German zwei (neuter of zwēne).

Compare Dutch twee, English two, twain. In Old High German, and still today in some dialects, distinct forms are used for the three grammatical genders. Zwei was originally the neuter form, now used for all genders. The Old High German masculine zwēne is found back in early modern German zween; the feminine zwō lives on in the variant zwo (but now without any gender distinction).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /t͡svaɪ̯/,
  • Audio(file)
  • Audio(file)
  • IPA(key): (regionally) /t͡svo/
  • Rhymes: -aɪ̯

Numeral

zwei

  1. (cardinal number) two (numerical value represented by the Arabic numeral 2; or describing a set with two components)
    Synonym: zwo

Declension

  • In adjectival use (that is, with a following noun):
    • Nominative and accusative are always uninflected.
    • The genitive case takes the form zweier if no article or pronoun is preceding: Vater zweier Kinder – “a father of two children”; but: der Vater der zwei Kinder – “the father of the two children”. The form zweier is somewhat elevated; even in formal writing it is sometimes more natural to avoid it (Vater von zwei Kindern).
  • In substantival use (that is, without a following noun):
    • Nominative and accusative are uninflected in the contemporary standard language. The form zweie still exists in colloquial German, chiefly in eastern Germany.
    • The genitive is often expressed using beide, for example einer der beiden ist... (“one of the two is...”). The equivalent form einer der zwei ist... is rare.
    • The dative case may take the form zweien: Ich sprach mit zweien. – “I spoke with two (people).” This rule is usually observed in formal standard German; but when a specification in the genitive case (or with von) is following, the bare form is more common: Ich sprach mit zwei der Zeugen. – “I spoke with two of the witnesses.” In colloquial German, zweien is never obligatory.

Coordinate terms

German cardinal numbers from 0 to 99
—0 —1 —2 —3 —4 —5 —6 —7 —8 —9
0— null eins, (before a noun) ein zwei drei vier fünf sechs sieben acht neun
1— zehn elf zwölf dreizehn vierzehn fünfzehn sechzehn siebzehn achtzehn neunzehn
2— zwanzig einundzwanzig zweiundzwanzig dreiundzwanzig vierundzwanzig fünfundzwanzig sechsundzwanzig siebenundzwanzig achtundzwanzig neunundzwanzig
3— Germany, Austria: dreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: dreissig		 Germany, Austria: einunddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: einunddreissig		 Germany, Austria: zweiunddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: zweiunddreissig		 Germany, Austria: dreiunddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: dreiunddreissig		 Germany, Austria: vierunddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: vierunddreissig		 Germany, Austria: fünfunddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: fünfunddreissig		 Germany, Austria: sechsunddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: sechsunddreissig		 Germany, Austria: siebenunddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: siebenunddreissig		 Germany, Austria: achtunddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: achtunddreissig		 Germany, Austria: neununddreißig
Switzerland, Liechtenstein: neununddreissig
4— vierzig einundvierzig zweiundvierzig dreiundvierzig vierundvierzig fünfundvierzig sechsundvierzig siebenundvierzig achtundvierzig neunundvierzig
5— fünfzig einundfünfzig zweiundfünfzig dreiundfünfzig vierundfünfzig fünfundfünfzig sechsundfünfzig siebenundfünfzig achtundfünfzig neunundfünfzig
6— sechzig einundsechzig zweiundsechzig dreiundsechzig vierundsechzig fünfundsechzig sechsundsechzig siebenundsechzig achtundsechzig neunundsechzig
7— siebzig einundsiebzig zweiundsiebzig dreiundsiebzig vierundsiebzig fünfundsiebzig sechsundsiebzig siebenundsiebzig achtundsiebzig neunundsiebzig
8— achtzig einundachtzig zweiundachtzig dreiundachtzig vierundachtzig fünfundachtzig sechsundachtzig siebenundachtzig achtundachtzig neunundachtzig
9— neunzig einundneunzig zweiundneunzig dreiundneunzig vierundneunzig fünfundneunzig sechsundneunzig siebenundneunzig achtundneunzig neunundneunzig
German cardinal numbers from 100 onward

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Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Further reading

  • “zwei” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “zwei” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • “zwei” in Duden online
  • zwei on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
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