German word

zwölft

Pronunciation

IPA/tsvœlft/

Meaning

  • ordinal numbertwelfth

Example

Ich lese mein zwölftes Buch.

I'm reading my twelfth book.

Illustration for zwölft (twelfth)

More examples

In der zwölften Runde fiel die Entscheidung.

The decision was made in the twelfth round.

Core concept

The item carrying label 12 in an ordered row, whether the row contains books, people, or events.

Common phrases

  • in der zwölften Runde

    in the twelfth round

  • der zwölfte Versuch

    the twelfth attempt

Similar words

zwölfte: The form for twelfth used with feminine nouns and -e endings.
zwölfter: The form for twelfth used with masculine nouns and masculine endings.
zwölftes: The form for twelfth used with neuter nouns and neuter endings.
zwölften: The form for twelfth used in dates and prepositional phrases with an -en ending.

Definition in German

Die Position zwölf bezeichnet; Grundform zwölfte, mit dem Stamm zwölft- vor flektierenden Endungen.

Word origin

German forms zwölft- from zwölf by adding the ordinal-forming element -t-, while forms such as zwölfte and zwölftes add inflectional endings.

Usage tips

  • In dates, the dative phrase am zwölften is standard, as in am zwölften Mai, while der zwölfte Mai uses the nominative form.

Related words

  • zwölfjährigtwelve-year-oldadjective
  • zwölffachtwelvefoldadjective

Word lists with this word