What is the difference between the words zuerst
and erste
in meaning?
Can it be used interchangeably?
German Language Stack Exchange is a bilingual question and answer site for speakers of all levels who want to share and increase their knowledge of the German language. It's 100% free, no registration required.
Sign up to join this communityWhat is the difference between the words zuerst
and erste
in meaning?
Can it be used interchangeably?
"Zuerst" is used as "doing something first, before something else". It can be shortened to "erst". "Erste", however, means "the first" and it can only be used if a woman is first. Therefore, these two are not interchangeable as the meaning is completely different.
Der Erste
and Das Erste
(First german television channel)? Does the gender really matter?
– Richard Neumann
Jan 26 '17 at 16:01
Zuerst is an adverb
Erst(-e/-es/-er/-en/-em) is a count word or maybe an adjective
For Example:
Zuerst gehe ich Milch einkaufen. --> First, I go to buy milk.
If you want to count something you have to use erste.
Das Erste, das Zweite, das Dritte.... -> The first, the second, the third.... Das erste Haus -> the first house
So erste is used as adjective.
You can exchange zuerst with als erstes to keep the same meaning in the first example.