Telling Time

Level 1

Ask for the time with Wie spät ist es? Use um (at) for specific times. Official time uses the 24-hour clock (14:00 = vierzehn Uhr), while colloquial time uses vor (to), nach (past), and halb (halfway to the next hour).

How It Works

German time-telling uses two main systems to help you become confident with daily schedules:

1. Official/Unambiguous (24-hour clock):
Used for travel, media, and business to avoid confusion. It follows the pattern: [Hour] + Uhr + [Minutes].
Example: 18:05 is achtzehn Uhr fünf.
Note: Relative markers like vor, nach, or halb are never used in this official format.

2. Colloquial (12-hour clock):
Used in everyday conversation. It uses relative markers:

  • nach (after/past): fünf nach zwei (2:05)
  • vor (before/to): fünf vor zwei (1:55)
  • Viertel (quarter): Viertel nach zwei (2:15)
  • halb (half): CRITICAL: halb looks forward to the next hour. halb drei is 2:30 (halfway to three).
  • Relative to 'halb': For times near the half-hour, Germans use halb as a reference point. For example: 2:20 is zehn vor halb drei, 2:25 is fünf vor halb drei, 2:35 is fünf nach halb drei, and 2:40 is zehn nach halb drei.

Regional Variations:
In Southern and Eastern Germany, you may hear Viertel drei for 2:15 and Dreiviertel drei for 2:45. These also look forward to the next hour.

Asking the Time:
Use Wie spät ist es? or Wie viel Uhr ist es?

Grammar Notes:
When saying 'one o'clock', eins becomes ein Uhr. Use adverbs to clarify the time of day: morgens (early morning), vormittags (late morning), mittags (noon), nachmittags (afternoon), abends (evening), or nachts (late night).

Examples (6)

  1. Wie spät ist es?

    What time is it?

    Word by Word: How late is it?

    One of the two standard ways to ask for the time in German.

  2. Der Film beginnt um acht Uhr.

    The movie begins at eight o'clock.

    Word by Word: The movie begins at eight clock.

    Uses the preposition 'um' for a specific time and the standard word 'Uhr'.

  3. Es ist halb fünf.

    It is half past four (4:30).

    Word by Word: It is half five.

    In German, 'halb' refers to the hour that is coming next. So 'half five' means 4:30.

  4. Es ist fünf vor halb drei.

    It is 2:25.

    Word by Word: It is five before half three.

    In colloquial German, times near the half-hour are often expressed relative to 'halb'.

  5. Der Zug fährt um siebzehn Uhr dreißig ab.

    The train departs at 17:30 (5:30 PM).

    Word by Word: The train drives at seventeen clock thirty off.

    This is the official 24-hour system where 'Uhr' sits between the hours and minutes.

  6. Ich komme um ein Uhr.

    I am coming at one o'clock.

    Word by Word: I come at one clock.

    Note that eins becomes 'ein' when followed by the word 'Uhr'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'halb' to mean 'half past' the current hour.

    Es ist halb zwei. (Thinking it is 2:30)
    Es ist halb zwei. (It is 1:30)

    English speakers often think 'halb zwei' is 2:30. In German, it always means 30 minutes BEFORE the hour mentioned.

  • Using 'eins Uhr' instead of 'ein Uhr'.

    Es ist eins Uhr.
    Es ist ein Uhr.

    When the number 1 is used with the word 'Uhr', the final -s is dropped.

  • Confusing 'Uhr' (point in time) with 'Stunde' (duration).

    Der Film dauert zwei Uhr.
    Der Film dauert zwei Stunden.

    Use 'Uhr' for 'o'clock' and 'Stunde' for a duration of 60 minutes.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Telling TimeLevel 1

Learn This First

To tell time in German, you need to be able to conjugate the verb 'sein' for the phrase 'Es ist...' and have a solid grasp of cardinal numbers to state the specific hour and minute.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

halbViertel