German · Time, Numbers & Colors
"Three" in German: drei
drei
Three in German is drei. Say drei Tickets or wir sind zu dritt. Dreimal means three times.
Ordering
Drei Brötchen und ein Brot, bitte.Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free
How to pronounce drei
Say it
dry
/dʁaɪ̯/
dry. Ei like English eye. Soft d.
"Three" in German: quick reference
| German | English | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| drei | three Default number. | Default number. |
| zu dritt | as a group of three People. | People. |
| dreimal | three times Frequency. | Frequency. |
| dritte / dritter | third Ordinal forms. | Ordinal forms. |
How to use drei in real life
- 1Ordering
Drei Brötchen und ein Brot, bitte.
Three rolls and one loaf, please.
Drei + noun.
- 2Meeting size
Wir kommen zu dritt — also drei Personen.
We're coming as three — so three people.
Drei in the count; zu dritt is the set phrase.
- 3Practice
Lies den Satz bitte dreimal laut.
Please read the sentence out loud three times.
Dreimal.
Mistakes English speakers make with drei
Incorrect: dreie Personen
Correct: drei Personen
Drei does not add -e before nouns.
Incorrect: am drei Uhr
Correct: um drei / um drei Uhr
Clock times usually take um, not am: um drei.
Good to know
Drei is everywhere in signs and offers — drei für zwei deals, drei Minuten Wartezeit. Phone clarity sometimes pushes people to speak numbers carefully next to zwei.
Try it in a ChatPal conversation
Splitting a bill for a group
ChatPal
Wie viele Desserts?
How many desserts?
You
Drei. Eines für jeden.
Three. One for each of us.
ChatPal
Dann teilen wir die Rechnung durch drei?
Then we split the bill by three?
You
Ja. Drei ist einfach.
Yes. Three is easy.
This is a sample. In ChatPal you have this conversation out loud and get feedback on what you say.
Practice this conversation in ChatPal"Three" in other languages
FAQ
Common questions about "Three" in German
How do you say three?
Drei.
As a trio?
Zu dritt.
Three times?
Dreimal.
Third?
Dritte / dritter / drittes.
Learn a word, then use it out loud
- Step 1: See it in context
- Step 2: Say it out loud
- Step 3: Get feedback
- Step 4: Use it in real scenarios
