The time of day is knitted into everyday conversations, schedules, and even the German mindset. Learning how to tell time in German is as practical a language skill to adopt as saying good morning in German, regardless of your reason for learning German grammar and vocabulary. From the basics of Stunden (hours) and Minuten (minutes) to quirky German time expressions, you can gain the skills needed to keep up with schedules, appointments, and social gatherings.
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The cultural importance of time in Germany
The idea of the stereotypically punctual German holds a lot of truth, which you’ll learn firsthand if you find yourself late to professional meetings or casual hangouts. Tardiness is seen as especially rude in Germany, where the saying goes fünf Minuten vor der Zeit ist des Deutschen Pünktlichkeit (five minutes early is German punctuality).
If you’re not proficient in understanding what a German speaker means when they tell you the time (Zeit) to meet up, you could miss out on important business opportunities with offended clients or risk losing new German friends who might think you don’t value their time.
When to use the 12-hour vs 24-hour clock
In English, we typically use a 12-hour clock and the initials a.m. or p.m. to tell the time. However, the US military uses the 24-hour clock without a.m. and p.m. In all German-speaking countries and throughout Europe, the 24-hour clock is the standard way to tell time. Especially in written communication, you will find it best to tell the time in the 24-hour format while you learn German.
However, in speech, you will often hear time spoken in the 12-hour reference, with the words morgens (morning) or abends (evening) to clarify between the early hours of the day and the later ones.
How to tell time in Germany by the hours and minutes
So, how do you tell time in German? Once you’re comfortable counting in German numbers, you’ve done most of the hard work. To say what hour of the day it is, you just follow the number of the hour with Uhr (clock, pronounced “oohr”), which is similar to using “o’clock” in English. If you’re an early riser who likes to greet the day at five o’clock a.m., then you would refer to this time as fünf Uhr in German. You can clarify a step further and say fünf Uhr morgens (five o’clock a.m.) or fünf Uhr abends (five o’clock p.m.), since the German language doesn’t use the terms “a.m.” or “p.m.”
If precision is key and you need to tell someone the exact minute, just tack on the number of minutes after the number + Uhr. You don’t even need to add Minuten (minutes) afterward, as you’ll be understood without it.
For example, if someone asked you when your train arrives, you could tell them it arrives at elf Uhr siebenunddreißig (eleven thirty-seven or 11:37). Note that since Uhr is considered a German noun, it will always be capitalized even if it’s in the middle of a sentence.
Practice this new skill with the example sentences telling time in German here:
- Es ist dreizehn Uhr dreißig. = It is 1:30 p.m.
- Um elf Uhr gehen wir los. = We’ll leave at eleven o’clock.
- Der Flug startet um achtzehn Uhr fünfundvierzig. = The flight departs at 6:45 p.m.
Understanding the difference between Morgen, morgen, and morgens
While the three words look very similar, Morgen (morning), morgen (tomorrow), and morgens (every morning) each have their own special meaning. Morgen is a noun you can use to refer to the early hours of the day and is always capitalized. For example, Der Morgen ist kalt means “The morning is cold.”
On the other hand, morgen with a lowercase “m” is a German adverb, meaning “tomorrow,” and isn’t capitalized unless it’s at the start of the sentence. So if you say Ich komme morgen (I’m coming tomorrow), then you’re letting them know you’ll be there the next day, rather than in the morning.
The term morgens is another adverb, so it won’t always be capitalized either. It’s used to describe something that happens regularly in the mornings or every morning. Since it’s more general, you can use it to talk about your typical schedule, rather than what you plan to do on a specific day. For example, Ich trinke morgens Kaffee (I drink coffee in the mornings) lets the listener know that you enjoy coffee most mornings—not just on one particular morning. The same pattern applies to other times of day, such as abends (in the evenings), mittags (at noon), and nachts (at night).
German ways to say ‘half past,’ ‘quarter to,’ and more
Learning time in German also means getting used to the everyday language used to communicate the time, rather than just by the hours and minutes. In the same way that we can say “It’s twenty past nine” to refer to 9:20, you can say es ist zwanzig nach neun. Nach means “after” or “past,” while vor means “before” or “until” in this context.
- Es ist zehn vor fünf. = It is ten before five. (It is ten to five.)
The time concepts of “quarter” and “half” show up in the German language as well. You can use viertel (quarter) alongside vor or nach to describe 15-minute increments within the hour.
- Es ist Viertel nach sechs. = It is a quarter past six
- Wir gehen am viertel nach Sieben. = We are going at a quarter past seven.
Halb, on the other hand, is less flexible and will usually mean “thirty minutes before the hour mentioned.” For example, halb zwölf refers to 11:30 a.m. rather than 12:30 p.m., so it’s important to understand the difference so you don’t show up an hour late!
Refer to the table below to learn how these German words are pronounced:
| German Word | Pronunciation | English Translation |
| halb | HALP | half |
| nach | NAHCH | after |
| viertel | FEER-tel | quarter |
| vor | FOR | before |
The right way to ask for the time in German
Imagine that you lose track of time while admiring the unique architecture of the Cologne Cathedral and need to find out if you can make it to the train station in time. How can you ask for the time in German? The answer depends on to whom you’re speaking. If you ask someone older than yourself, someone in a professional context, or just a random stranger on the street, you’ll need to use one of the formal versions of “What time is it?” below:
- Haben Sie die Uhrzeit, bitte? = Do you have the time, please?
- Wissen Sie zufällig, wie viel Uhr es ist? = Do you happen to know what time it is?
- Darf ich Sie nach der Uhrzeit fragen? = May I ask you for the time?
Otherwise, if you’re asking a friend, loved one, or someone younger than yourself, you can use one of these informal German phrases:
- Wie viel Uhr ist es? = What time is it?
- Wie spät ist es? = How late is it?
- Hast du die Uhrzeit? = Do you have the time?
Learn the terms for general times of day in German
Telling time in German can also revolve around general periods of time rather than a specific hour and minute of the day. For example, you could tell your friend that you like going on a run just after Sonnenaufgang (sunrise). Get comfortable pronouncing and referring to these times of day in German with the vocabulary chart below.
| German | Pronunciation | English Translation |
| der Abend | AH-bent | evening |
| die Abenddämmerung | AH-bent-DAYE-mehr-ung | dusk |
| die Abendessenzeit | AH-bent-ES-ens-tseit | dinner time |
| die Früh | FREW | early morning |
| die Frühstückszeit | FROOH-shtooks-tseit | breakfast time |
| der Mittag | MIT-tahk | noon |
| die Mittagszeit | MIT-tahks-tseit | lunch time |
| der Mitternacht | MIT-ter-nahcht | midnight |
| der Morgen | MORE-gen | mid-morning |
| die Morgendämmerung | MORE-gen-DAYE-mehr-ung | dawn |
| der Nachmittag | NACH-mi-tahk | afternoon |
| die Nacht | NAHCHT | night |
| Nachts | NAHCHTS | at night |
| die Schlafenszeit | SHLAHF-ens-tseit | bedtime |
| der Sonnenaufgang | ZON-en-OWF-gahng | sunrise |
| der Sonnenuntergang | ZON-en-OON-ter-gang | sunset |
| der Vormittag | FOR-mi-tahk | late morning |
While you practice pronouncing these terms, take some time to review how umlauts in German work to fully understand how some of these words should sound.
Frequently asked questions about telling time in German
Here are the three am häufigsten gestellten Fragen (most frequently asked questions) and their answers about telling time in German.
What does dreiviertel mean?
The term dreiviertel directly translates to “three quarters.” It’s used for telling time in German when the time is 45 minutes past the hour. Saying dreiviertel fünf for instance means “three quarters of five,” which refers to 4:45.
However, you wouldn’t say zweiviertel (two quarters), since that would mean 30 minutes, and halb (half) is already in use for this amount of time. You’re most likely to hear this term used in Western Germany as well as Switzerland and Western Austria.
Why do some Germans say null Uhr instead of Mitternacht?
Some Germans say null Uhr (zero o’clock) instead of Mitternacht (midnight) because the 24-hour clock is more commonly used in Europe than the 12-hour clock. Since midnight is written as the zero hour within the 24-hour clock, it’s possible that you’ll hear 12:00 a.m. referred to null Uhr, especially in writing.
How do Germans express approximate times, like “around five” or “just before six”?
Germans have many ways to say the approximate time depending on how general or casual they want to be. When talking with friends to decide when to meet up for a night on the town, you might hear gegen acht (around eight o’clock) or so um vier (somewhere around four). However, if you’re setting up a tentative lunch meeting for a new business client, something like circa (ca.) or ungefähr (approximately) would be more appropriate, but it’s usually best to be precise when planning a formal occasion in German.
If something happens just before or shortly after a certain time, you can use kurz vor (just before) or kurz nach (just after) as in Ich komme kurz vor neun (I’ll come just before nine).
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