Telling the time
Ask and tell the time, understand the 24-hour clock of timetables and the everyday forms like halb drei, and read opening hours.
Numbers and time · Start from zero · 20 min · 20 exercises · Start from zero, Living in Germany, Goethe A1
Germany runs on time: trains, courses, appointments and shop hours all come with a precise Uhrzeit. You will hear two systems. Official time uses the 24-hour clock (14:30 = vierzehn Uhr dreißig) in announcements, timetables and on signs. Everyday time uses the 12-hour clock with words like halb and Viertel. One of them is a famous trap: halb drei is 2:30, not 3:30.
Words for the time
- die Uhrdie Uhrenclock, watch; also o'clockacht Uhr = eight o'clock
- die Uhrzeitthe time (of day)
- die Stundedie Stundenhour (a length of time)zwei Stunden = two hours
- die Minutedie Minutenminute
- halbhalfhalb drei = half an hour before three = 2:30
- ViertelquarterViertel nach, Viertel vor
- nachpast, afterzehn nach acht = 8:10
- vorto, beforezehn vor acht = 7:50
- umat (a time)um neun Uhr = at nine o'clock
- von ... bisfrom ... tovon acht bis zwölf
- Wie viel Uhr ist es?What time is it?
- Wie spät ist es?What time is it?literally: how late is it?
- Es ist ein Uhr.It is one o'clock.ein Uhr, not eins Uhr
- die Öffnungszeitenopening hoursalways plural; on every shop door
Inside the platform every word is read aloud by a German voice.
When does the course start?
Milan asks a teacher in the hallway of a language school in Zürich.
Official time: hour + Uhr + minutes
Read the hour from 0 to 23, say Uhr, then read the minutes: 14:30 = vierzehn Uhr dreißig, 20:05 = zwanzig Uhr fünf, 9:00 = neun Uhr. This is the time of train stations, airports, TV, school schedules and opening hours. Written time uses a colon or a point and often adds Uhr: 14:30 Uhr. Say Es ist ... to tell the time and um ... to say when something happens: Der Kurs beginnt um neun Uhr.
Official and everyday time
| Clock | Official (24-hour) | Everyday (12-hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | acht Uhr | acht Uhr, acht |
| 8:05 | acht Uhr fünf | fünf nach acht |
| 8:15 | acht Uhr fünfzehn | Viertel nach acht |
| 8:30 | acht Uhr dreißig | halb neun |
| 8:45 | acht Uhr fünfundvierzig | Viertel vor neun |
| 13:00 | dreizehn Uhr | ein Uhr, eins |
| 14:10 | vierzehn Uhr zehn | zehn nach zwei |
| 14:40 | vierzehn Uhr vierzig | zwanzig vor drei |
| 20:00 | zwanzig Uhr | acht Uhr (abends) |
Official
- vierzehn Uhr dreißig
- hour 0 to 23 + Uhr + minutes
- timetables, announcements, signs
Everyday
- halb drei
- halb looks forward to the next hour
- friends, family, small talk
Everyday time: halb looks forward
In the 12-hour system, halb names the hour that is coming: halb drei means half of the way to three, so 2:30. The same for halb neun = 8:30 and halb eins = 12:30. For quarters use Viertel nach (quarter past) and Viertel vor (quarter to): Viertel nach zwei = 2:15, Viertel vor drei = 2:45. Minutes work with nach and vor: zehn nach zwei = 2:10, zwanzig vor drei = 2:40. One o'clock is ein Uhr or just eins, never eins Uhr.
Times in everyday sentences
- Es ist ein Uhr.It is one o'clock.ein before Uhr
- Es ist halb sieben.It is half past six.6:30, not 7:30
- Es ist fünf vor zwölf.It is five to twelve.11:55
- Der Kurs beginnt um neun Uhr.The course starts at nine o'clock.um = at
- Der Film beginnt um zwanzig Uhr fünfzehn.The movie starts at 8:15 p.m.20:15 Uhr, official time
- Der Supermarkt ist von acht bis zwanzig Uhr geöffnet.The supermarket is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.von ... bis
Opening hours and the 24-hour clock
Written time in Germany is always the 24-hour clock: a sign that says Öffnungszeiten: Mo. bis Fr. 9:00 bis 18:00 Uhr means 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is no a.m. or p.m. Many shops close earlier on Samstag and almost all are closed on Sonntag. Also, being on time (pünktlich) matters: for a class or an appointment, arriving five minutes early is normal and arriving ten minutes late needs an apology.
To get halb right, think of a glass: at 2:30 the glass of the third hour is already half full, so Germans say halb drei. Whenever you hear halb + a number, subtract one hour and add 30 minutes. If you are unsure, ask for the official time: Also vierzehn Uhr dreißig? (So 14:30?). Everyone will confirm it happily.
The big trap: halb drei is 2:30, not 3:30. Second, Uhr means o'clock and Stunde means an hour of duration: Es ist drei Uhr, but Der Kurs dauert zwei Stunden. Third, at a time is um, never an or auf: um acht Uhr. Finally, in the east and south of Germany you may hear Viertel drei for 2:15 and drei Viertel drei for 2:45; understand it, but use Viertel nach and Viertel vor yourself.
The exercises of this lesson
20 corrected exercises in two sessions (discovery, practice), including listening items read aloud by a German voice: multiple choice (4), fill in the gap (5), matching (3), sorting (2), word order (1), translation (3), find the mistake (1), gap text (1). Every answer is corrected immediately, with the rule that applies.