First of all, telling time in English and in German is pretty similar. The only big difference is that Germans refer to a 24-hour circle of the day. That means, they start at 1 o’clock in the morning counting upwards to 24 o’clock at midnight. The big changes happen after 12 o’clock noon: 1 PM would be 13 (dreizehn) Uhr in German, 2 PM would be 14 (vierzehn) Uhr in German, 9 PM would be 21 (einundzwanzig) Uhr in German and so on.
Quarters Before and After Full Hours
The other difference is that Germans don’t just say how many minutes after a certain hour it is, when asked for the time. Many Germans refer to the percentage of the full hour, which still has to pass or has passed already. Therefore 7:15 AM would be, similar to the English equivalent “a quarter past 7”: “Viertel nach Sieben”. 6:45 AM would be “Viertel vor Sieben”, meaning “a quarter towards 7”.
More complicated terminology is found in the north-eastern parts of Germany, where people might just say “Viertel Sieben”, meaning “A quarter has passed towards Seven” or 6:15 AM. But, they don’t use phrases like this when using the numbers 13 (1 PM) and beyond. Here they simply tell the time like a digital watch would show it. 13:15 PM therefore would be “Dreizehn Uhr fünfzehn”.
The Half Hour Trap
When a German person says “Halbdrei” he probably means 2:30 PM (not AM). Don’t get confused by the “Drei”. Using half hour chunks, Germans always refer to the half hour before the hour mentioned. Halbvier would be 3:30 PM, Halbzwölf would be 11:30 PM and so on.
Helpful phrases
Here are some helpful phrases to use when talking about time in German:
- Wieviel Uhr ist es? - What time is it?
- Wie spät ist es? - What time is it?
- Es ist Halbsieben. - It is 6.30 AM or PM (depending on the situation).
- Es ist neunzehn Uhr. - It is 7 o’clock PM
- Wann kommst du? - When will you arrive?
- Wann fährt der Zug ab? - When does the train leave?
- Wann kommt der Zug an? - When does the train arrive?
- Wann beginnt die Vorstellung? - When does the show start?
- Wann endet die Vorstellung? - When does the show end?
- Um wieviel Uhr treffen wir uns? - At what time will we meet?
After having mastered the half-hour trap and the 24-hour circle, telling time will be no problem at all. Also practice numbers and find interesting ideas on how to practice German for free, how to make German learning fun for your kid, or how to ask for directions in German.
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