1 000 (eintausend)
1,000 (one thousand)
1,5 (eins komma fünf)
1.5 (one point five)
1 234,56 (eintausendzweihundertvierunddreißig Euro
sechsundfünfzig Cent)
1,234.56 (1,234 euros and 56 cents)
When writing large numbers, a point is sometimes used instead of a space:
17.450.263
17,450,263
59.6 Other punctuation
A point (full stop) is used with ordinal numbers:
der 3. Juni
The 3rd of June
Quotation marks open on the line and close above the line:
Er sagte sofort: „Herzlich willkommen!”
Straight away he said ‘Welcome!’
See 84.1c (p. 304).
Single or double quotation marks may be used. In printed texts quoted material is often
found enclosed between single or double chevrons (<Herzlich willkommen!>).
The use of the exclamation mark, as the above example also shows, follows English
usage (see also 41.2).
59.7 Sample checklist of changes brought about by the 1998 reforms
If you are reading a text published before the reforms took effect (and this may include
some publications up to 2005), it is useful to be able to recognize the changes which
have been introduced. For a full list, you need to consult a recently published
dictionary. The following list of common words and phrases is drawn from Die deutsche
Rechtschreibung (Duden, see the introduction to this section).
Old spelling New spelling
alleinstehend allein stehend
alles übrige alles Übrige
Apotheke Apotheke or Apoteke
aufs beste aufs Beste
braungebrannt braun gebrannt
daß dass
das Schwarze Brett das schwarze Brett
du läßt du lässt
du mußt du musst
Erste Hilfe erste Hilfe
fallen*lassen fallen lassen
59
Spelling and punctuation