zween

German

Alternative forms

• zwen (Early New High German)

Etymology

From Middle High German zwēne, from Old High German zwēne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tsveːn/

Numeral

zween m (feminine zwo, neuter zwei or zwey)

1. (obsolete) two

Usage notes

• The gender distinction in the numeral zwei was widely given up in modern German. Some grammarians, well into the 19th century, continued to recommend it but it was rarely applied and is now entirely obsolete. Zwo, the original feminine, lives on as a variant without gender distinction.

Declension

As an example, Es steht in zwei Büchern, Es steht in zweien Büchern and Es steht in zweien, mean "It is found in two [books]", the latter does not have a substantive after it and is thus declined (in the dative case).

declension of zween

	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	zween	zwo	zwei
genitive	zweener	zwoer	zweier
dative	zweenen	zwoen	zweien
accusative	zween	zwo	zwei

See also

• Alemannic: zwe/zwee m, zwo/zwoo f, zwöi n; drei m or f or n, drụ̈/drü/drüü n
• Bavarian: zwen/zween m, zwo f, zwai n
• Luxembourgish: zwéin m, zwou f, zwee n
• Nürnbergisch: zwöi m, zwou f, zwa n