das  Jahrhundert

B1

Estimated CEFR level.

/ˈjʊntɐˌhɛʁt/

🕰️ What does "das Jahrhundert" mean?

The German word das Jahrhundert (noun, neuter) refers to a period of one hundred (100) years. In English, this is a 'century'. It's used to structure and name longer historical periods.

It only has this one meaning and always uses the article das. It's a compound word formed from "Jahr" (year) and "hundert" (hundred).

• Meaning: Period of 100 years (century).
• Article: always "das".

📚 Grammar in Detail: Declension of "das Jahrhundert"

"Das Jahrhundert" is a neuter noun. Here are the declension tables (how the word changes depending on its grammatical case):

Example Sentences

1. Wir leben im 21. Jahrhundert.
   (We live in the 21st century.)
2. Das Mittelalter dauerte mehrere Jahrhunderte.
   (The Middle Ages lasted several centuries.)
3. Die Erfindung des Buchdrucks markierte den Beginn eines neuen Jahrhunderts der Wissensverbreitung.
   (The invention of the printing press marked the beginning of a new century of knowledge dissemination.)
4. Im Laufe des letzten Jahrhunderts hat sich die Technologie rasant entwickelt.
   (Over the course of the last century, technology has developed rapidly.)

💡 How to use "das Jahrhundert"?

"Das Jahrhundert" is mainly used in historical and temporal contexts:

• Counting centuries: Ordinal numbers (erste, zweite, dritte... meaning first, second, third...) are used to name specific centuries (e.g., das 19. Jahrhundert for the years 1801-1900). Note: The 1st century AD covers the years 1-100, the 20th century covers 1901-2000, etc.
• General time reference: It can also be used more generally to describe a long period of about 100 years (e.g., seit einem Jahrhundert - for a century).
• Figurative meaning: Sometimes it's used hyperbolically to express a very long perceived time (e.g., Es dauerte ein Jahrhundert, bis der Bus kam. - It took a century for the bus to arrive), similar to 'an eternity'.

Distinction: Don't confuse it with das Jahrzehnt (decade - 10 years) or das Jahrtausend (millennium - 1000 years).

🧠 Mnemonics for "das Jahrhundert"

1. For the article 'das': Think of das big timeline showing 100 years. Many neutral time-related nouns in German end in -t (das Moment, das Quartal, das Jahrzehnt). Also, think that a century is a neutral, abstract concept = das Jahrhundert.
2. For the meaning '100 years': The word itself tells you: Jahr (year) + hundert (hundred) = 100 years. Imagine a huge 'year-hundred' cake with 100 candles! 🎂

🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms

⚠️ Caution: Words like Epoche (epoch) or Ära (era) also refer to periods of time, but they are not fixed at exactly 100 years; they are defined by specific events or characteristics.

😂 A Little Time Joke

Teacher asks: "Was ist kürzer, ein Monat oder ein Jahrhundert?"
(Teacher asks: "What is shorter, a month or a century?")

Little Fritzchen: "Ein Monat, Herr Lehrer."
(Little Fritzchen: "A month, teacher.")

Teacher: "Richtig! Und warum?"
(Teacher: "Correct! And why?")

Little Fritzchen: "Weil mein Papa immer sagt: 'Ich kriege mein Gehalt erst in einem Jahrhundert!'" 😉
(Little Fritzchen: "Because my dad always says: 'I won't get my salary for another century!'") 😉

📜 Poem about Time

Ein Jahrhundert zieht vorbei,
(A century passes by,)
Mit Lachen, Weinen, mancherlei.
(With laughter, tears, and various things.)
Hundert Jahre, lang und kurz zugleich,
(A hundred years, long and short at once,)
Machen die Geschichte reich.
(Make history rich.)

Von gestern lernen, heut' bestehn,
(Learn from yesterday, endure today,)
Im nächsten Jahrhundert weitergehn.
(Continue into the next century.)
Die Zeit, sie rennt, hält niemals an,
(Time runs, never stops,)
Ein neuer Abschnitt fängt bald an.
(A new chapter will soon begin.)

❓ Little Riddle

Ich habe hundert Teile,
(I have a hundred parts,)
doch bin kein Puzzle, keine Eile.
(But I'm not a puzzle, no hurry.)
Ich messe Zeit in großem Maß,
(I measure time on a grand scale,)
bin weder kurz noch blass.
(I am neither short nor pale.)
Mal heiß ich "zwanzigstes", mal "neunzehntes",
(Sometimes I'm called "twentieth", sometimes "nineteenth",)
mein Name ist bekannt, ein viel besungenes.
(My name is known, often sung about.)

Was bin ich? / What am I?

Lösung / Solution: Das Jahrhundert (The Century)

🧩 Other Interesting Facts

• Word Formation: As mentioned, "Jahrhundert" is a compound word (Kompositum) from das Jahr (the year) + hundert (hundred).
• Ordinal Numbers: Ordinal numbers are used to name centuries (e.g., das einundzwanzigste Jahrhundert - the twenty-first century).
• Jahrhundertwende: The transition from one century to the next is called Jahrhundertwende (turn of the century), e.g., the turn from the 19th to the 20th century around 1900.
• Jahrhundertereignis: An extremely rare event is sometimes called a Jahrhundertereignis (event of the century or once-in-a-century event), e.g., a Jahrhundert-Hochwasser (hundred-year flood).