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Wir brauchen etwa ein Kilo Kartoffeln.

Wir brauchen etwa ein Kilo Kartoffeln.
We need roughly a kilo of potatoes.
From Lesson 251:Measurement plurals (zwei Liter, drei Glas)·German

Breakdown of Wir brauchen etwa ein Kilo Kartoffeln.

brauchen
to need
das Kilo
the kilo
die Kartoffel
the potato
etwa
roughly, about

Questions & Answers about Wir brauchen etwa ein Kilo Kartoffeln.

Why is there no German word for 'of' in ein Kilo Kartoffeln?
In English, we say 'a kilo of potatoes.' But in German, when a measurement or quantity word like Kilo is followed by the thing being measured (Kartoffeln), you just place them directly next to each other. You do not use von.
What happens to Kilo if we need more than one?
It stays exactly the same! Because das Kilo is a neuter measurement word, it takes a zero-plural. If we needed two kilos, we would say zwei Kilo Kartoffeln, without adding an 's'. Masculine and neuter units of measurement usually stay in their singular form after numbers.
What case is Kartoffeln in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case, matching ein Kilo. The whole phrase is the direct object of the verb brauchen. When a noun follows a unit of measurement, it normally adopts the same case as the measurement word itself.
Can I use ungefähr instead of etwa?
Yes, you can. Both etwa and ungefähr mean 'roughly' or 'about.' When estimating quantities or numbers, they are completely interchangeable in everyday German.

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