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Telling the time in German

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How to say what time it is

Being able to tell the time is a useful skill in a foreign language. To ask what time it is in German, you can say: Wie sp盲t ist es? This literally means 鈥榟ow late is it?鈥

To answer, say es ist (it is), followed by the number of the hour, and then Uhr (辞鈥檆濒辞肠办). Uhr also means clock or watch.

  • Es ist acht Uhr - It is eight o'clock (it is 08:00).
  • Es ist zw枚lf Uhr - It is 12 o'clock (it is 12:00).

Remember: To say 鈥榠t is one o'clock鈥, say es ist ein Uhr, not eins Uhr.

24-hour clock

Most people use the 24-clock in German. So, three o'clock in the morning is drei Uhr (03:00) and three 辞鈥檆濒辞肠办 in the afternoon is 蹿眉苍蹿锄别丑苍 Uhr (15:00).

  • Es ist dreizehn Uhr - It is 13:00.
  • Es ist zwanzig Uhr - It is 20:00.
  • Es ist dreiundzwanzig Uhr - It is 23:00.

Quarter past, half past and quarter to

To say quarter past and quarter to the hour, start with the hour and then add the number of minutes:

  • Es ist zwei Uhr 蹿眉苍蹿锄别丑苍 - It is quarter past two (02:15).

  • Es ist zwanzig Uhr 诲谤别颈脽颈驳 - It is eight thirty (20:30). (It is half past eight.)

  • Es ist neun Uhr 蹿眉苍蹿耻苍诲惫颈别谤锄颈驳 鈥 It is quarter to ten (09:45).

To say half past when using the 12-hour clock, use halb (half). In German, you say half to the hour, instead of half past the hour. So half past six in English would be halb sieben (half to seven) in German.

  • Es ist halb zehn - It is 09:30 (literally half to ten).
  • Es ist halb acht - It is 07:30 (literally half to eight).

Saying what you do at different times of the day

To say at when referring to a time, use um. Meal times are a good example of this:

  • Fr眉hst眉ck ist um sieben Uhr - Breakfast is at 07:00.
  • Mittagessen ist um zw枚lf Uhr 诲谤别颈脽颈驳 - Lunch is at 12:30.
  • Abendessen ist um achtzehn Uhr - Dinner is at 18:00.
GermanEnglish
umat
das Fr眉hst眉ckbreakfast
das Mittagessenlunch
das Abendessendinner / evening meal

Talking about your daily routine

To talk about your daily routine, use um (at).

  • Ich gehe um neun Uhr in die Schule - I go to school at 09:00.
  • Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben um sechzehn Uhr - I do my homework at 16:00.

Can you talk about your daily routine using the phrases in the table below?

GermanEnglish
ich fr眉hst眉ckeI have breakfast
ich verlasse das HausI leave the house
ich gehe in die SchuleI go to school
ich esse zu MittagI eat lunch
ich gehe nach HauseI go home
ich mache meine HausaufgabenI do my homework
ich 眉be KlavierI practise piano
ich spiele Fu脽ball / VideospieleI play football / video games
ich esse zu AbendI eat dinner / evening meal
ich gehe ins BettI go to bed

Word order

German word order changes if you use a time phrase at the start of the sentence. The verb has to be the second idea, so make sure you swap the verb and the subject round.

  • Ich gehe um acht Uhr 诲谤别颈脽颈驳 in die Schule - I go to school at 08:30.
  • Um acht Uhr 诲谤别颈脽颈驳 gehe ich in die Schule - At 08:30 I go to school.

Video

Watch the video then test your understanding in the short quiz!

Quiz

Visit the festival and practise German language skills in this game

Game - FestiLingo: German

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