Currency and how to read prices in German

In daily life in Germany you constantly see prices: in supermarkets, cafés, on tickets. This lesson shows you how the German currency works and how to read and say prices correctly.

1Currency: Euro and Cent

Germany uses Euro (€). The smaller unit is Cent.

• 1 Euro = 100 Cent
• Writing: 3,50€ (comma, not a dot)

Common notes and coins

2Asking for the price

Typical questions:

• Was kostet das? (How much does this cost?)
• Wie viel kostet das? (How much does this cost?)
• Was kostet diese Jacke? (How much is this jacket?)
• Wie teuer ist die Fahrkarte? (How expensive is the ticket?)

Possible answers:

• Es kostet 10€. (It costs ten euros.)
• Die Jacke kostet 75€. (The jacket costs seventy-five euros.)
• Die Fahrkarte kostet 3,20€. (The ticket costs three euros twenty.)

Important: Standard German does not use „Sie ist 10€“ for prices; you say „Sie kostet 10€“.

3Reading written prices

In German, prices use a comma:

• 1,50€ → one euro fifty
• 0,80€ → eighty cents
• 2,00€ → two euros

For 0,xx€, people normally just say the Cent value:

• 0,30€ → thirty cents
• 0,05€ → five cents

4Saying prices: two variants

a) Short way (very common)

You just say the number, without „Euro“ or „Cent“.

You often hear this in shops.

b) Full way

Here you say Euro and Cent clearly.

Both are correct. The full form is useful in class; the short form is very common in everyday speech.

5Mini dialogues

Example 1:

• Kunde: Was kostet das Brot? (Customer: How much does the bread cost?)
• Verkäuferin: Es kostet 2,30€. (Saleswoman: It costs two euros thirty.)

Example 2:

• Kunde: Wie viel kostet der Kaffee? (Customer: How much is the coffee?)
• Kellner: Er kostet 3,50€. (Waiter: It costs three euros fifty.)

After practising these patterns, you can understand and ask about prices in German shops and cafés.