Question 1

Why is it Millionen with an "-en" at the end, instead of just Million?

Accepted Answer

In English, we say "two million" without an "s" at the end. But in German, Million is a regular feminine noun (die Million), not just a number word. Because of this, it gets a plural ending when you have more than one: eine Million, but zwei Millionen.

Question 2

Do I need to always capitalize Millionen?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Because it acts as a true noun in German, Million (and its plural Millionen) must always be capitalized. Smaller number words like hundert (hundred) or tausend (thousand) are written in lowercase, but millions and billions always get capital letters.

Question 3

Why isn't there a word for "of" between the number and Menschen?

Accepted Answer

Just like in English where we say "two million people" instead of "two million of people", in German you put the number directly next to the noun: Zwei Millionen Menschen. You do not need to add a word like von (of) in between.

Question 4

Why use wohnen instead of leben for "live" here?

Accepted Answer

Wohnen specifically means to reside or dwell in a physical place, like a house, city, or neighborhood. Leben means to be alive, or refers to your life in general. When talking about where a population resides (hier), wohnen is the most precise and natural choice.

Question 5

Could I use Leute instead of Menschen for "people"?

Accepted Answer

You could, but Menschen sounds much better here. Menschen refers to human beings in a broader, demographic, or statistical sense, which fits perfectly when talking about a massive population of two million. Leute is more casual and is usually used for smaller, everyday groups, like the people at a party or in a store.

Zwei Millionen Menschen wohnen hier.

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