drei

From Old High German drī.

• IPA^(key): /dʀei̯/

drei

1. (most dialects) three

• drey (obsolete)
• Drei (when used substantively)

From Old High German drī, from Proto-Germanic *þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Compare Dutch drie, English three, Danish tre.

• IPA^(key): /dʁaɪ̯/, [dʁaɪ̯]

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• Rhymes: -aɪ̯

drei

1. three (numerical value represented by the Arabic numeral 3; or describing a set with three elements)
   • 1845, Carl von Holtei, Theater. In einem Bande, Breslau, page 370:

     Wenn also diese Küsse zu dem letzten
     Gerechnet werden, ist die Summe drei,
     Wie aller guten Dinge dreie sind.

• Nominative and accusative are nowadays always uninflected. The substantival form dreie is nowadays dialectal.
• The genitive case takes the form dreier if no article or pronoun is preceding: Vater dreier Kinder – “a father of three children”. But: der Vater der drei Kinder – “the father of the three children”. The form dreier is somewhat elevated; even in formal writing it is sometimes more natural to avoid it (Vater von drei Kindern).
• The dative case is often uninflected in adjectival use: Ich sprach mit drei Zeugen. – “I spoke with three witnesses.” When used as a noun, it may take the form dreien: Ich sprach mit dreien. – literally, “I spoke with three.” This rule is usually observed in formal standard German; but when a specification in the genitive case (or with von) is following, the bare form is common: Ich sprach mit drei der Zeugen. – “I spoke with three of the witnesses.” In colloquial German, dreien is never obligatory.

• drei in Duden online

• dree (some dialects)

Compare Old Saxon thrīe, from Proto-Germanic *þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Ultimately cognate to German drei, Dutch drie, English three, Plautdietsch dree.

drei

1. (Low Prussian, Münsterländisch) three (3)

• (Münsterländisch) twee (“two”); veer (“four”); fyv; seß; ; ; niegen; tein (“ten”); twintig (“twenty”); hundert; duusend — eerste (“first”); tweede; diädde; veerde

From Old High German drī, from Proto-Germanic *þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

• IPA^(key): /traɪ̯/

drei

1. three

   Meer hon drei Kinner.

   We have three children.

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

drei

1. Alternative form of drye

drei

1. imperative of dreie

From Old High German drī, from Proto-Germanic *þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Compare German drei, Dutch drie, English three.

drei

1. three

From English dry.

drei

1. dry