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| Germany: | € 1 (euro) = 1.95583 Deutsche Marks (DM) |
| Austria: | € 1 (euro) = 13.7603 Austrian Schillings (ATS) |
| Luxembourg: | € 1 (euro) = 40.3399 Luxembourgian francs (LUF) |
1 euro is 100 cents.
Switzerland, another European country with German as one of its official languages, is not a member of the European Union. Its currency is the Swiss franc (CHF). 1 Swiss franc is 100 centimes.
Currently, € 1 (euro) = around 1.5 CHF.
As German Translation Tips and Resources focuses on providing useful information for all aspects of German translation, here are a few pointers for translating German currency terms!
Commas (das Komma) V Decimal Points!!
(Especially important if you translate English to German.)
| German | English |
|---|---|
| € 1.000.000,00 or EUR 1,0 Mill (eine Million Euro) | € 1,000,000.00 (one million euros) |
| € 1.000,00 or TEUR 1,0 (ein Tausend Euro) | € 1,000.00 euros (one thousand euros) |
| € 100,00 or EUR 100 (ein Hundert Euro) | € 100.00 euros (one hundred euros) |
| € 1,00 or € 1,-- (ein Euro) | € 1.00 (one euro) |
The “Billion” problem
This is more a UK English/American English difference, but the German translation is absolute:
| German | UK English (traditional) | American English |
|---|---|---|
| Eine Million 6 zeros) (Mill, mio) | One million 6 zeros) | One million (6 zeros) |
| Eine Milliarde (9 zeros) (Md, Mrd, Mia) | One thousand million (9 zeros) | One billion (9 zeros) |
| Eine Billion (12 zeros) | One billion (12 zeros) | One trillion (12 zeros) |
Why the variation?
During the last two centuries there was a difference between American and UK understanding of the term “billion”. In the UK the “long scale” numerical system defined one billion as 1,000,000 x 1,000,000 = 1,000,000,000,000 (a million million - 12 zeros, or 10¹²).In the US the “short scale” was used, with one billion representing 1,000 x 1,000,000 = 1,000,000,000 (a thousand million - 9 zeros, or 10⁹).
In 1974 the UK government officially adopted the “short scale” numerical system to avoid any misunderstandings with “one thousand million” becoming a “billion”. Adoption is almost complete although some residual uncertainty still remains in the UK (my Oxford Duden German dictionary still implies that the choice is optional).
| TIP! If there is any chance that your translation may be misunderstood then spell it out . For example, if your German translation includes an important, officially authorized figure, such as GDP, then you can happily say “35 thousand million euros” or “thirty-five thousand million euros” and avoid any potential confusion. |
Other articles in this German language series include:
Guide to pronouncing the German alphabet
The German umlaut – an explanation and keyboard commands
German holidays and customs
Common German abbreviations, their meanings and translations
The world of German SMS language – from A to L
The world of German SMS abbreviations – from M to Z
German loan words – so familiar we forget they’re German!
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