die Milliarde
billion
The number 1,000,000,000; one thousand million.
EXAMPLE
Die Weltbevölkerung liegt bei über acht Milliarden Menschen.
The world population is over eight billion people.
die Milliarde
billion
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Meanings
Usage tips
False friend
Careful: the German 'Milliarde' (10⁹) corresponds to the English 'billion'. The German 'Billion' (10¹²) corresponds to the English 'trillion'. This mix-up can lead to huge misunderstandings.
EXAMPLE
Das Unternehmen machte einen Gewinn von zwei Milliarden Euro.
The company made a profit of two billion euros.
Use as a number word
When 'Milliarde' (billion) is used as an exact number word, the noun being counted follows directly after it, without an article or preposition. It behaves like 'hundert' (hundred) or 'tausend' (thousand).
EXAMPLE
Auf der Erde leben fast acht Milliarden Menschen.
Almost eight billion people live on Earth.
Abbreviation
In newspaper articles, financial news, and scientific texts, the abbreviation 'Mrd.' is often used for 'Milliarde' or 'Milliarden' (billion/billions).
EXAMPLE
Der Konzernumsatz betrug im letzten Jahr 5,5 Mrd. Dollar.
The corporation's revenue last year was 5.5 billion dollars.
Compare with
Milliarde vs Billion
trillion
A Milliarde is one thousand million, while a Billion is one thousand billion. In German, Billion therefore refers to a number one thousand times larger than Milliarde. This difference is especially important when converting English numbers.
Milliarde
Das Unternehmen erzielte einen Umsatz von einer Milliarde Euro.
The company generated revenue of one billion euros.
Billion
Der weltweite Umsatz erreichte eine Billion Euro.
Global revenue reached one trillion euros.
In real life
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