On the 1st of January 1999, eleven European nations - after years of intensive preparation and controversial discussions - introduced the Euro as the official European currency. Germany was one of the major driving forces behind this currency union and the German Mark was replaced by the Euro.

There are seven different Euro notes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Euros.

Listen to these pronunciations:

€5
€10
€20
€50
€100
€200
€500

There are coins of 1 and 2 Euros and 10, 20 and 50 Euro Cents. The value side of the coin is the same for all European countries that have adopted the Euro. The other side has designs representing something unique to each country. Look at the German Euro Cents below:

Euro coins German euro coins

Expressing Prices

When we express prices in English, the currency itself will be in the plural if the number is greater than one:

€2.50 - two euros and fifty cents
$2.50 - two dollars and fifty cents

However, in German the currency is always in the singular in prices regardless of the amount.

The words Euro and Cent are always used in the singular regardless of the amount. The word Cent is not usually used when saying a price, unless the price is less than one Euro:

€ 2,50 zwei Euro fünfzig (Cent)*
€ 0,30 dreißig Cent
€ 5,- fünf Euro
€ 1, 50 ein Euro fünfzig
€ 150 hundert fünfzig Euro
€ 8, 20 acht Euro zwanzig

In written German, a comma is invariably used in prices where we would put a decimal point in English. Thus € 3,99 (or 3,99 €) means "three euros and ninety-nine cents". English uses a comma to split up large numbers, German uses a decimal point. So "€ 3.456" means "three thousand four hundred and fifty-six euros" - not "3 point four five six euros"!

When a price ends in a round number of euros, it is most commonly written as € 7,- etc.

Application

Listen as the waitress reads aloud the prices for menu items 1, 2 and 3:

Heute
Lauchcremesuppe

Rahmblättle mit Röstzwiebeln und Fleischwurst, dazu Salat 5.50
3 Tacos „Mexikanische-Art“ gefüllt mit Hähnchen und Salat 7.30
Gänsekeule mit Rotkraut dazu Butterkartoffeln 16.50

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