English–German

“first” in German

German

Alsozuerst · erstens · zunächst

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈeːɐ̯stə/

Example

Am ersten Tag war alles neu.

On the first day, everything was new.

Illustration for erste (first)

How to say “first” in German

“First” in German is erste.

A row of numbered doors with one marked as the point where the sequence begins.

Full entry for erste: usage tips, similar words and word origin

Example sentences with erste

Zum ersten Mal habe ich alleine gekocht.

I cooked by myself for the first time.

Tips for using erste

  • Ordinal adjectives are normally lowercase before nouns, but erste is capitalized when used as a noun, as in der Erste.

Other German words for “first”

Zuerst müssen wir essen.

First, we have to eat.

Erstens musst du deine Hausaufgaben machen.

First, you have to do your homework.

Zunächst sollten wir kurz die Fakten prüfen.

First, we should briefly check the facts.

“first” in other languages