German word

dreimal

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈdʁaɪ̯maːl/

Meaning

  • adverbthree times

Example

Sie hat ihn dreimal angerufen.

She called him three times.

Illustration for dreimal (three times)

More examples

Ich habe das Formular dreimal ausgefüllt.

I filled out the form three times.

Core concept

Three identical event tokens appear in sequence, with the final token completing the count.

Common phrases

  • dreimal am Tag

    three times a day

  • dreimal hintereinander

    three times in a row

Similar words

einmal: Describes an event occurring once.
zweimal: Describes an event occurring twice.
wieder: Describes an event happening again.
mehrmals: Describes an event occurring several times.

Definition in German

Angibt, dass etwas drei Mal geschieht.

Word origin

The word was formed transparently from drei, 'three', and Mal, 'time' or 'occasion', a Germanic word with an old counting sense.

Usage tips

  • Dreimal means three occurrences in total, not a third occurrence; 'for the third time' is zum dritten Mal.

Related words

  • dreifachthreefoldadjective
  • dreiteiligthree-partadjective

Word lists with this word