In German, like in English, we introduce the time of day with the phrase es ist…(it is…), as in the example below:
Es ist schon 11 Uhr, ich bin zu spät!
It’s already 11 o’clock, I’m late!
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(lit. 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.
Wir müssen lediglich entscheiden, was wir mit der Zeit, die uns gegeben wurde, veranstalten. - Gandalf, Der Herr der Ringe
All we have to do is decide what to do with the time given to us. - Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings
So let’s get into it! Let’s learn how to ask about and express time 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?
lit. How many hours is it?
Wie viel Uhr haben wir?
lit. How many hours do we have?
Wie spät ist es?
lit. How late is it?
Haben Sie/du die Uhrzeit?
Do you (formal) / (informal) have the time?
Here are some more helpful phrases to inquire about the time:
Um wie viel Uhr …?
At what time…?
Um wie viel Uhr treffen wir uns vor dem Kino?
At what time do we meet in front of the movie theater?
Wann… ?
When…?
Wann beginnt der Film am Samstag?
When does the movie start on Saturday?
When you are out and about and you are approaching a stranger to ask what time it is, make sure to be extra polite — it doesn’t hurt and will simply make you look better!
Entschuldigen Sie, können/könnten Sie mir bitte sagen, wie viel Uhr es ist?
Excuse me, can/could you please tell me what time it is?
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:
Es ist
It is
time
Wie spät ist es? → Es ist 10 Uhr. / Es ist 17 Uhr.
What time is it? → It’s 10 o’clock. / It’s 5 p.m..
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
Uhr
hour
minute number
Wann kommt der Zug? → Um vierzehn Uhr fünfzehn.
When does the train arrive? → At 2:15 p.m.
Wann beginnt deine Nachtschicht? → Sie beginnt um einundzwanzig Uhr dreißig.
When does your night shift start? → It starts at 9:30 p.m.
Wie spät ist es jetzt? → Es ist siebzehn Uhr .
What time is it now? → It’s 5 p.m.
Though it’s not common in everyday speech, you will sometimes hear the word Minuten(minutes) after the number of minutes, like this:
Guten Abend, meine Damen und Herren. Es ist genau 20 Uhr und 30 Minuten.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is exactly 8:30 p.m.
lit. …8 hours and 30 minutes.
hour number
.
minute number
Uhr
hour
Wann kommt der Zug? → Um 14.15 Uhr.
When does the train arrive? → At 2:15 p.m.
Wann beginnt deine Nachtschicht? → Sie beginnt um 21.30 Uhr.
When does your night shift start? → It starts at 9:30 p.m.
Wie spät ist es jetzt? → Es ist 17 Uhr.
What time is it now? → It’s 5 p.m.
In German, you’ll often see a simple period between the hours and minutes:
Der Zug fährt um 8.05 Uhr ab.
The train leaves at 8:05 a.m.
If you want to follow the guidelines set by the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN) for using the 24-hour clock, though, you should both use a colon and make sure both the hours and minutes are double digits, like this:
Der Zug fährt um 08:05 Uhr ab.
The train leaves at 8:05 a.m.
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:
Das Konzert hat um acht Uhr abends begonnen.
The concert started at eight o’clock in the evening.
Wie spät ist es? → Es ist 11 Uhr vormittags.
What time is it? → It’s 11 a.m.
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.
German doesn’t use the abbreviations a.m. and p.m. with times of day. Instead, use one of the time adverbs below:
German | English |
|---|---|
morgens | in the morning |
vormittags | in the late morning (after 10 a.m.) |
mittags | around midday (between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.) |
nachmittags | in the afternoon |
abends | in the evening |
nachts | at night |
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.
Here are some German words you may find useful when expressing the time this way:
viertel(quarter)
halb(half)
dreiviertel(three quarters) → regional
You’ll use two basic formulas to do this:
To express the number of minutes past the hour…
number of minutes
nach
past, after
hour number
fünf nach neun
5 after 9 (=9:05)
Es ist viertel nach neun.
It’s a quarter past nine (=9:45).
To express the number of minutes until the hour…
number of minutes
vor
to, till, before
hour number
fünf vor zehn
5 to 10 (=9:55)
Es ist viertel vor zehn.
It’s a quarter to ten (=9:45).
In German, we do not say “half past” the hour! Instead, you will hear people describe the time using the word halb(half), but only to talk about a time 30 minutes before the hour. Follow this formula:
halb
half
next hour
Es ist halb elf.
It’s half (to) eleven (=10:30)
Es ist halb drei.
It is half (to) three (=2:30)
You can actually also give other times in reference to halb + hour, as below:
zehn vor halb zehn
10 before half (to) 10 (=9:20)
With enough context, you can even eliminate the hour number after halb:
zehn vor halb
10 before the half hour
Want to see some examples? Check out the table below!
9.05 | fünf nach neun 5 after 9 |
|---|---|
9.10 | zehn nach neun 10 after 9 |
9.15 | fünfzehn nach neun 15 after 9 |
9.20 | zwanzig nach neun 20 past 9 zehn vor halb zehn or 10 before half (to) 10 |
9.25 | fünf vor halb zehn 5 before half (to) 10 |
9.30 | halb zehn half (to) 10 |
9.35 | fünf nach halb zehn 5 past half (to) 10 |
9.40 | zehn nach halb zehn 10 after half (to) 10 |
9.45 | fünfzehn vor zehn 15 before 10 |
9.50 | zehn vor zehn 10 before 10 |
9.55 | fünf vor zehn 5 before 10 |
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. It’s a quarter past four. lit. It’s quarter five. | Es ist viertel nach vier. It’s quarter past four. |
4:45 | Es ist dreiviertel fünf. It’s a quarter to five. lit. It’s three quarters five. | Es ist viertel vor fünf. It’s quarter to five. lit. It’s quarter before five. |
Ach du liebe Zeit!(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!(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!
You might have already heard the stereotype that Germans are always on time. I think it’s one of the biggest stereotypes, after Germans being very organized and having no sense of humor (the latter is totally false, btw!). While punctuality is certainly not the norm for every individual, it is indeed a German value that is a very important part of German culture. It’s considered polite and respectful to not let anybody wait for you—both in business as well as in casual settings. It is actually even considered better to be a couple minutes early than rushing in too late!
Even when it comes to social gatherings at let’s say a friend’s or family member’s house, Germans take the concept of “being a bit early or right on time” very seriously. Let’s say you are hosting a dinner party and told everyone to come at 7pm. While this may mean that some guests don’t show up before 7.30pm (make sure it’s 7.30pm and not 8.30pm!), expect your German party guests to knock on your door a couple minutes early or exactly when the clock strikes 7. So get those drinks in the fridge early enough and put out some snacks to be prepared!
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(approximately)
um zirka/circa(at around)
kurz nach(shortly after)
kurz vor(shortly before)
For example:
Wann kommst du nach Hause? → Gegen fünfzehn Uhr.
When are you coming home? → at approximately 3 p.m.
Wann endet deine Vorlesung? → Um zirka/circa zwölf (Uhr).
When does your lecture end? → At around noon.
Wieviel Uhr ist es jetzt? → Es ist kurz nach/vor neun (Uhr).
What time is it now? → It’s shortly after/before nine (o’clock).
On the contrary, if you wanted to emphasize that you wanted to meet exactly on the dot, you’d add either (Um) Punkt(on the dot) or genau um(exactly at) before the time.
Wann treffen wir uns morgen? → (Um) Punkt / Genau um fünf.
When are we meeting tomorrow? → At exactly five.
Have you ever heard the stereotype that Germans are always on time? After Germans being very organized and having no sense of humor (totally false, btw!), it’s probably one of the most common stereotypes you’ll hear about Germans!
While not all Germans are on time, punctuality is indeed a German value that is a very important part of German culture. It’s considered polite and respectful to make sure people aren’t forced to wait for you — both in business and in casual settings. It is actually even considered better to be a couple minutes early than to rush in too late! Germans take the concept of “being a bit early or right on time” very seriously.
Let’s say you are hosting a dinner party and told everyone to come at 7. While in America you might expect most of your guests to show up around 7:30, at a German party, guests are more likely to knock on your door a couple minutes early or exactly when the clock strikes 7. So get those drinks in the fridge early enough and put out some snacks to be prepared!
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!
