Date

Writing the Date

When we write the date in German, we can write the day and the month as ordinal numbers. But we can also write the month out as a word, a method which is particularly preferred when we are also mentioning the day of the week.
Example:
5.10.2011
5. Oktober 2011
Dienstag, 5. Oktober 2011

Endings of the Ordinal Numbers

When we write or say the date, the ending changes, depending on whether we are using the date with a preposition or with or without an article.

Example:
fünfter Oktober zweitausendelf (no article → er)
Es war ein fünfter Oktober. (indefinite article → er)
der fünfte Oktober zweitausendelf (definite article → e)
am fünften Oktober zweitausendelf (preposition and article → en)

Saying the Years

Up to the year 1999, the years are spoken as hundreds. Starting with 2000, though, we use normal cardinal numbers.

Example:
1813 – achtzehnhundertdreizehn
1999 – neunzehnhundertneunundneunzig
2000 – zweitausend
2010 – zweitausendzehn