In German, like in English, we introduce the time of day with the phrase es ist… meaning it is…, as in the example below:
But the way you format the time is a little different. For example:
In German we sometimes use the 12-hour clock, and sometimes the 24-hour clock, even in everyday speech.
In German, halb acht literally half eight is used to mean half an hour until eight (e.g. 7:30), not half past eight.
Knowing how to tell the time in any foreign language is essential to be able to communicate well. In this post, we’ll teach you everything you need to know to be on time in (which we know is very important to Germans!). We’ll go over how to ask the time and how to give the time in a variety of formats. Along the way, we’ll drop in some helpful words and phrases you can use to help clarify your meaning.
So let’s get into it! Let’s learn how to ask about and express time in German!
How to ask what time it is in German?
There are several different ways to ask what time it is in German, but some of the most frequent are:
- Wie viel Uhr ist es?Translation: lit. How many hours is it?
- Wie viel Uhr haben wir?Translation: lit. How many hours do we have?
- Wie spät ist es?Translation: lit. How late is it?
- Haben Sie/du die Uhrzeit?Translation: Do you (formal) / (informal) have the time?This is less common, so you’ll rarely hear it these days.
Here are some more helpful phrases to inquire about the time:
- Um wie viel Uhr …?Translation: At what time…?Um wie viel Uhr treffen wir uns vor dem Kino?Translation: At what time do we meet in front of the movie theater?
- Wann… ?Translation: When…?Wann beginnt der Film am Samstag?Translation: When does the movie start on Saturday?
How to say what time it is in German?
In German, there are a couple different ways to say what time it is. You can either use official time (the 24-hour clock) or colloquial time (the 12-hour clock).
Both ways of giving the time will require numbers! Here are the numbers from 0-24, for your convenience, but if you want to use other numbers, you’ll want to review our post on numbers in German.
0 = null | 6 = sechs | 12 = zwölf | 18 = achtzehn |
1 = eins* | 7 = sieben | 13 = dreizehn | 19 = neunzehn |
2 = zwei | 8 = acht | 14 = vierzehn | 20 = zwanzig |
3 = drei | 9 = neun | 15 = fünfzehn | 21 = einundzwanzig |
4 = vier | 10 = zehn | 16 = sechzehn | 22 = zweiundzwanzig |
5 = fünf | 11 = elf | 17 = siebzehn | 23 = dreiundzwanzig |
24 = vierundzwanzig |
With all the types of time, you can tell someone the time right now using this formula:
time
When and how to use the 24-hour clock in German?
In German, we use the 24-hour clock in official settings. You might hear the time given this way when making official appointments (e.g. with a doctor, at work), in the media (television, radio, news), or in public transportation schedules.
When using the 24-hour clock, to give the time in speech, follow this sentence structure:
hour number
minute number
hour number
.
minute number
When and how to use the 12-hour clock in German?
In German, you’ll use the 12-hour clock to talk about the time in everyday or colloquial contexts.
The simplest way to use the 12-hour clock is to use the same formula we saw above for time on the 24-hour clock:
The one big difference is that, when you use the 12-hour clock, you need to add a time adverb that tells you whether you’re discussing a time in the morning or evening.
How to say “five minutes to” or “a quarter past” in German?
In German, you can also give the time in other ways, using the German equivalents of English expressions like “five minutes to” the hour, “a quarter past” the hour or “half past” the hour.
You’ll use two basic formulas to do this:
To express the number of minutes past the hour…
number of minutes
nachTranslation: past, afterhour number
fünf nach neunTranslation: 5 after 9 (=9:05)Es ist viertel nach neun.Translation: It’s a quarter past nine (=9:45).To express the number of minutes until the hour…
number of minutes
vorTranslation: to, till, beforehour number
fünf vor zehnTranslation: 5 to 10 (=9:55)Es ist viertel vor zehn.Translation: It’s a quarter to ten (=9:45).
Want to see some examples? Check out the table below!
| 9.05 | fünf nach neun Translation: 5 after 9 |
|---|---|
| 9.10 | zehn nach neun Translation: 10 after 9 |
| 9.15 | fünfzehn nach neun Translation: 15 after 9 |
| 9.20 | zwanzig nach neun Translation: 20 past 9 zehn vor halb zehn Translation: or 10 before half (to) 10 |
| 9.25 | fünf vor halb zehn Translation: 5 before half (to) 10 |
| 9.30 | halb zehn Translation: half (to) 10 |
| 9.35 | fünf nach halb zehn Translation: 5 past half (to) 10 |
| 9.40 | zehn nach halb zehn Translation: 10 after half (to) 10 |
| 9.45 | fünfzehn vor zehn Translation: 15 before 10 |
| 9.50 | zehn vor zehn Translation: 10 before 10 |
| 9.55 | fünf vor zehn Translation: 5 before 10 |
What are some regional ways to say the time?
In Southern and Eastern regions, namely Bavaria, Thuringia, Baden-Württemberg, and in some areas of Switzerland and Austria you will often hear some alternative ways for giving the time. Compare:
| Time | Regional way | Standard way |
|---|---|---|
| 4.15 | Es ist viertel fünf. Translation: It’s a quarter past four. Literally: It’s quarter five. | Es ist viertel nach vier. Translation: It’s quarter past four. |
| 4:45 | Es ist dreiviertel fünf. Translation: It’s a quarter to five. Literally: It’s three quarters five. | Es ist viertel vor fünf. Translation: It’s quarter to five. Literally: It’s quarter before five. |
Ach du liebe Zeit! meaning Oh dear! This one often confuses natives just as much as non-natives, so no need to worry if this does not become second nature right away. Kommt Zeit, kommt Rat! meaning Time will tell!
What’s with all these proverbs? Would you like to hear some more fun ones about time? Believe me, some of the literal translations are hilarious! Check out our comprehensive list of German proverbs about time!
How to indicate that a time is approximate vs. exact in German?
When you’re giving a time using hours and minutes, you can indicate that the time you’re giving is approximate by using adverbs like the ones below:
gegen meaning approximately
um zirka/circa meaning at around
kurz nach meaning shortly after
kurz vor meaning shortly before
For example:
On the contrary, if you wanted to emphasize that you wanted to meet exactly on the dot, you’d add either (Um) Punkt meaning on the dot or genau um meaning exactly at before the time.
Summary
Here are the most important take-aways from this article:
There are several different ways to ask the time in German, but the most common are:
- Wie viel Uhr ist es?
- Wie spät ist es?
When giving the time, you’ll use the 24-hour clock to give official times or schedules, but the 12-hour clock in a more casual context.
Check out this chart illustrating the most common ways to give the time in German:
| In writing | In speech | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 7.15 07:15 | sieben Uhr fünfzehn | seven fifteen |
fünfzehn nach sieben | fifteen minutes past seven | |
viertel nach sieben | quarter past seven | |
| 7.30 07:30 | seben Uhr dreißig | seven thirty |
halb acht | half past seven (lit. half eight) | |
| 7.45 07:45 | sieben Uhr fünfundvierzig | seven forty-five |
fünfzehn vor acht | fifteen minutes to eight | |
viertel vor acht | quarter to eight |
And now it’s time to practice telling the time in German! Happy learning!
