Word
Diese Zahl ist wirklich groß.
Meaning
This number is really big.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Diese Zahl ist wirklich groß.
sein
to be
groß
big / tall
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
wirklich
really
Questions & Answers about Diese Zahl ist wirklich groß.
Is there a difference between Zahl and Nummer?
Yes! Use Zahl for numbers related to math, counting, or large quantities (like the hundreds and millions in this lesson). Use Nummer for identification, like a phone number (Telefonnummer) or a room number. Since we are talking about a mathematical value here, Zahl is the right choice.
Why do we use Diese instead of Dieser or Dieses?
The noun Zahl is feminine (die Zahl). The word for 'this' must match the gender of the noun it points to, so it takes the feminine -e ending to become Diese.
Why doesn't the adjective groß have an ending here, like große?
In German, adjectives only take endings when they come directly in front of the noun they describe (like eine große Zahl, meaning 'a big number'). When the adjective comes after a verb like ist to describe the subject, it stays in its basic, unchanged dictionary form.
Can wirklich also mean 'real'?
It sure can. Here it is used as an adverb meaning 'really' or 'truly' to make groß stronger. But it can also be used as an adjective meaning 'real' or 'actual', such as in das wirkliche Leben (real life).