Telling the time in German
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 spät ist es? This literally means ‘how late is it?’
To answer, say es ist (it is), followed by the number of the hour, and then Uhr (o’clock). Uhr also means clock or watch.
- Es ist acht Uhr - It is eight o'clock (it is 08:00).
Es ist zwölf Uhr - It is 12 o'clock (it is 12:00).
Remember: To say ‘it is one o'clock’, 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 o’clock in the afternoon is fünfzehn 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 fünfzehn - It is quarter past two (02:15).
Es ist zwanzig Uhr dreißig - It is eight thirty (20:30). (It is half past eight.)
- Es ist neun Uhr fünfundvierzig – It is quarter to ten (09:45).
To say half past, 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 siebzehn - It is 16:30 (literally half to five).
- Es ist halb vierzehn - It is 13:30 (literally half to two).
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:
- Frühstück ist um sieben Uhr - Breakfast is at 07:00.
- Mittagessen ist um zwölf Uhr dreißig - Lunch is at 12:30.
- Abendessen ist um achtzehn Uhr - Dinner is at 18:00.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| um | at |
| das Frühstück | breakfast |
| das Mittagessen | lunch |
| das Abendessen | dinner / 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?
| German | English |
|---|---|
| ich frühstücke | I have breakfast |
| ich verlasse das Haus | I leave the house |
| ich gehe in die Schule | I go to school |
| ich esse zu Mittag | I eat lunch |
| ich gehe nach Hause | I go home |
| ich mache meine Hausaufgaben | I do my homework |
| ich übe Klavier | I practise piano |
| ich spiele Fußball / Videospiele | I play football / video games |
| ich esse zu Abend | I eat dinner / evening meal |
| ich gehe ins Bett | I 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 dreißig in die Schule - I go to school at 08:30.
- Um acht Uhr dreißig gehe ich in die Schule - At 08:30 I go to school.
Quiz
Watch the video and test your understanding in this short quiz!
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