Study Resource: German proverbs about time

The following are German proverbs, idioms, and sayings about time:

• Alles hat seine Zeit.

  There is a time for everything

  lit. Everything has its time.

• alle Zeit der Welt haben

  to have all the time in the world

• Eile mit Weile!

  One step at a time.

  lit. Hurry with a while!

• Die Uhr tickt!

  The clock is ticking!

• Ach du liebe Zeit!

  Oh dear!

  lit. Oh you dear time!

• Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm.

  The early bird catches the worm.

• Kommt Zeit, kommt Rat.

  Time will tell.

  lit. Comes time, comes advice.

• Es ist fünf vor Zwölf!

  Time is running out fast!

  lit. It's five to midnight!

• nicht richtig ticken

  to be not quite right in the head

  lit. to not tick right

• Mir läuft die Zeit davon!

  I'm running out of time!

  lit. Time is running away from me!

• im Laufe der Zeit

  in the course of time

• Die Zeit heilt alle Wunden.

  Time heals all wounds.

• Es schlägt gleich dreizehn!

  Enough is enough!

  lit. It's about to strike thirteen!

• Morgenstund' hat Gold im Mund

  The early bird catches the worm.

  lit. Morning hour has gold in its mouth.

• Je früher/eher, desto besser.

  The sooner the better.

• Was du heute kannst besorgen, das verschiebe nicht auf morgen.

  A stitch in time saves nine.

  lit. What you can do today don't transfer to tomorrow.

• Gut Ding will Weile haben.

  Good things take time.

• Zeit ist Geld.

  Time is money.

• Was lange währt, wird endlich gut.

  Good things come to those who wait.

  lit. What takes long will eventually be good.

• die Zeit totschlagen

  to kill time

  lit. to beat time to death

• etwas auf den St. Nimmerleinstag verschieben

  to move something to when the pigs fly

• Morgen, morgen, nur nicht heute, sagen alle faulen Leute.

  Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

  lit. Tomorrow, tomorrow, just not today, that's what all lazy people say.

• rund um die Uhr

  24/7

  lit. around the clock

• Wer zuerst kommt, mahlt zuerst.

  First come, first served.

  lit. Who comes first, grinds flour first.

• Morgen ist auch noch ein Tag.

  Tomorrow is another day.

• Wer zu spät kommt, den bestraft das Leben.

  Life punishes those who delay.

  lit. Who comes too late is punished by life.

• die Zeichen der Zeit erkennen

  to see the signs of the times

• auf Zeit spielen

  to stall for time

  lit. to play for time

• bis in die Puppen feiern

  to party into the wee hours

  lit. to party into the dolls

• vor der Tür stehen

  to be just around the corner

  lit. to stand outside the door