German word

vierzig

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈfɪʁt͡sɪç/

Meaning

  • numberforty

Example

Er ist vierzig Jahre alt.

He is forty years old.

Illustration for vierzig (forty)

More examples

Sie arbeitet seit vierzig Jahren als Lehrerin.

She has been working as a teacher for forty years.

Core concept

Four neat bundles, each holding ten items, form a larger count used for quantities and ages.

Common phrases

  • seit vierzig Jahren

    for forty years

  • mehr als vierzig

    more than forty

  • vierzig Personen

    forty people

Similar words

einundvierzig: The number 41, formed by saying the unit before forty and joining them with und.
dreißig: The number 30, equal to three groups of ten.
fünfzig: The number 50, equal to five groups of ten.
vierzehn: The number 14, formed by adding four to ten.

Definition in German

Bezeichnet das Produkt aus vier und zehn

Word origin

German vierzig combines vier with the suffix -zig, which developed from Old High German -zug meaning a group of ten.

Usage tips

  • In compound numbers, vierzig comes after the unit, as in einundvierzig for 41, so the spoken order differs from English forty-one.

Related words

  • Vierzigerperson in their fortiesnoun
  • vierzigstefortiethordinal number

Word lists with this word