die
Sechzehn
🔢 What does Sechzehn mean?
Sechzehn is the German cardinal number for 16, the natural number between fünfzehn (fifteen) and siebzehn (seventeen).
Although cardinal numbers usually don't take an article (e.g., "Ich habe sechzehn Äpfel" - I have sixteen apples), "Sechzehn" is sometimes nominalized (used as a noun), especially when referring to the digit itself. In this case, it takes the feminine article die: die Sechzehn (because it refers to die Zahl - the number, or die Ziffer - the digit).
🚨 Spelling Alert: Notice that the 's' from "sechs" (six) is dropped in "Sechzehn"! It's not Sechszehn, but Sechzehn.
Article rules for der, die, and das
Numbers, calculations → almost always feminine.
Caution: When verbs are turned into nouns, the result is 'das Addieren', 'das Subtrahieren', 'das Multiplizieren', 'das Dividieren'.
🧐 Grammar of Sechzehn in Detail
As a cardinal number, "sechzehn" is usually invariable (indeclinable).
However, when used as a noun (substantiviert), it is feminine and declined as follows:
| Case | Singular |
|---|---|
| Nominative | die Sechzehn |
| Genitive | der Sechzehn |
| Dative | der Sechzehn |
| Accusative | die Sechzehn |
Note: A plural form ("die Sechzehnen") is very rare and would refer to multiple instances of the digit 16 (e.g., "Auf dem Trikot sind lauter Sechzehnen gedruckt." - There are lots of sixteens printed on the jersey.).
💡 Grammar Examples
- As a number: "Der Zug fährt um sechzehn Uhr ab." (The train leaves at sixteen o'clock / 4 PM.)
- As a number: "Sie wird bald sechzehn Jahre alt." (She will soon be sixteen years old.)
- Nominalized: "Meine Glückszahl ist die Sechzehn." (My lucky number is sixteen.)
- Nominalized: "Kreuzen Sie bitte die Sechzehn auf dem Lottoschein an." (Please mark the sixteen on the lottery ticket.)
📝 How to use Sechzehn?
"Sechzehn" is primarily used in the following contexts:
- Counting and Quantities: "Es sind noch sechzehn Plätze frei." (There are still sixteen seats available.)
- Age: "Mit sechzehn darf man in Deutschland bestimmte alkoholische Getränke kaufen." (At sixteen, you are allowed to buy certain alcoholic beverages in Germany.) - Often referred to as "Sweet Sixteen" in English-speaking cultures.
- Telling Time: "Wir treffen uns um sechzehn Uhr (16:00 Uhr)." (We meet at sixteen hundred hours / 4 PM.)
- Numbering: "Hausnummer sechzehn." (House number sixteen.)
- Nominalized (as the number itself): "Die Sechzehn gilt manchen als Unglückszahl, anderen als Glückszahl." (The number sixteen is considered unlucky by some, lucky by others.)
Difference to "sechzehnte": "Sechzehn" is the cardinal number (how many?), while "sechzehnte" is the ordinal number (which one in order?). Example: "Das ist das sechzehnte Kapitel." (This is the sixteenth chapter.)
🧠 Mnemonics for Sechzehn
-
Article Mnemonic (when nominalized): Think of die Zahl (the number). Numbers used as nouns in German often take the feminine article (like die Eins - the one, die Fünf - the five), so it's die Sechzehn.
-
Word Mnemonic: Think "sechs" (six) and "zehn" (ten). But be careful, the 's' vanishes in the middle: Sech(s) + Zehn = Sechzehn. Like a slight hiccup when counting! 😉 Compare to English six + teen = sixteen.
🔄 Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms
- Direct synonyms for numbers are rare. Possible descriptions:
- Ein Dutzend plus vier (a dozen plus four)
- Viermal vier (four times four)
- Sweet Sixteen (cultural term for the age)
- 16
Antonyms
- Any other number (e.g., fünfzehn - fifteen, siebzehn - seventeen, zwanzig - twenty)
⚠️ Similar Words
- Sechzig (60): Sounds similar, but means sixty. Don't mix them up!
😄 A Little Joke
Warum hat die Zahl Sechzehn Angst vor der Siebzehn?
(Why is the number Sixteen afraid of Seventeen?)
Weil Siebzehn, Achtzehn, Neunzehn!
(Because Seven-teen, Eigh-teen, Nine-teen! - Sounds like "seven ate nine" in English, though the German pun is slightly different, based on the sound sequence)
📜 Poem about Sechzehn
Zehn plus sechs, das ist bekannt,
(Ten plus six, that is known,)
ergibt die Zahl, Sechzehn genannt.
(results in the number, called Sixteen.)
Mal vier mal vier, quadratisch rein,
(Times four times four, purely square,)
so kann die Sechzehn auch schön sein.
(thus the Sixteen can also be fine.)
Ob Alter, Uhrzeit oder Stück,
(Whether age, time or piece,)
die Sechzehn bringt mal Pech, mal Glück.
(the Sixteen sometimes brings bad luck, sometimes good.)
❓ Riddle
Ich bin mehr als Fünfzehn, doch weniger als Achtzehn.
(I am more than fifteen, but less than eighteen.)
Bin ich eine Zahl, nennt man mich oft "die".
(If I am a number, they often call me "die" [the feminine article].)
Welche Zahl bin ich?
(Which number am I?)
Solution: Die Sechzehn (Sixteen)
💡 Other Information
- Etymology: The word is composed of "sechs" (six) and "zehn" (ten). The Old High German "sehs" often lost its 's' before consonants in Middle High German, leading to the modern form.
- Hexadecimal System: In computer science, 16 is the base of the hexadecimal system (using digits 0-9 and letters A-F).
- Cultural Significance: The age of 16 is an important threshold in many countries, granting rights like driving certain vehicles, limited legal capacity, or voting rights in some elections (e.g., in some German states). Known culturally as "Sweet Sixteen".
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Sechzehn?
"Sechzehn" as the cardinal number (16) is typically used without an article. When referring to the number itself as a noun (e.g., 'the number 16'), the correct article is die Sechzehn.
