dreißig

Dreißig is the cardinal number for thirty in standard German. It is used to count, quantify quantities, ages, temperatures, and other measures, as well as in expressions involving decades or ranges.

Etymology and spelling: The form is built from drei (three) plus the suffix -ßig, which marks tens in modern German. Historically, the word appeared as dreissig in older texts. Since the 1996 orthography reform, the standard spelling is dreißig. In Swiss German, the variant dreissig is also common and reflects a different orthographic convention that often uses ss in place of ß.

Usage: Dreißig serves as the basic tens-number from 20 to 99 in German counting. It integrates into phrases such as dreißig Jahre alt (thirty years old) or dreißig Grad (thirty degrees). The ordinal form is dreißigste (the thirtieth), used in contexts like der dreißigste Tag des Monats.

Pronunciation: Dreißig is pronounced roughly as [ˈdʁaɪ̯zɪç], with the first syllable reflecting the diphthong in drei and a final -ig pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative in typical German pronunciation. The ß represents a 'ss' sound after a long vowel or diphthong.

Significance: As a round number, dreißig is commonly used in everyday life and in mathematics to denote a multiple of ten. It also marks a notable personal milestone in German-speaking cultures, such as reaching the age of thirty.