Billion
/bɪˈli̯oːn/feminine
The German word for trillion is Billion.
The term refers to a million million, or 10¹².
Meaning: a million million, 1012 (num)
Which one should you use?
In English, "billion" typically refers to 10⁹, but in German, the equivalent for 10⁹ is Milliarde. The German word Billion corresponds to the English "trillion" (10¹²).
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of Billion is Billionen.
How do you pronounce it?
/bɪˈli̯oːn/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use Billion to mean 10⁹ (the English "billion"), but in German, Billion refers to 10¹² (the English "trillion").
Did you know?
- In German, the suffix '-arde' marks a step of one thousand, such as in Milliarde (one thousand millions), whereas the suffix '-ion' marks a step of one million, such as in Billion (one million millions).
- If you want to say 'trillion' (10¹⁸) in German, you would say Trillion, but this is a different number than the English 'trillion' (10¹²).
- The word Billion traces its roots back to the French word 'billion', showing that the German term was imported from French rather than being a native Germanic construction.
Examples in context
- Eine Billion ist eine sehr große Zahl.One trillion is a very large number.This sentence illustrates the scale of the number Billion.Tatoeba #13095240 by Vortarulo, translation #12616806 by gatdet
- Das Gesamtvermögen der reichsten Menschen der Welt stieg im Jahre 2016 um 18 % auf 6,48 Billionen Euro.The total net worth of the world's richest people rose by 18% in 2016 to $7.67 trillion.This sentence shows how Billionen is used when discussing large sums of money.Tatoeba #6379406 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #5964825 by Hybrid
- Ein Lichtjahr ist die Entfernung, die das Licht in einem Jahr zurücklegt: 9,5 Billionen (9,5 ⋅ 10¹²) km.A light-year is the distance light travels in one year. It's 9.5 trillion (9,500,000,000,000) kilometers.This sentence uses Billionen to express a very large distance in kilometers.Tatoeba #9689775 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #3957768 by Hybrid
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hannah and Maximilian are discussing a science documentary about the universe.
- HannahGibt es eine Billion Sterne in der Galaxie?Are there a trillion stars in the galaxy?
- MaximilianJa, das ist eine unglaublich große Zahl.Yes, that is an incredibly large number.
- HannahWissenschaftler sagen, es sind sogar mehr als eine Billion.Scientists say there are even more than a trillion.
- MaximilianDas ist wirklich kaum vorstellbar.That is truly hard to imagine.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “trillion” translations and entries Billion, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Billion, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
