Telling the Time

Asking for the time

There are two standard ways to ask what time it is: Wie spät ist es? and Wie viel Uhr ist es? Both mean "What time is it?" and both are completely normal; pick one and use it confidently.

To ask when something happens, use Wann? or, more precisely, Um wie viel Uhr?: Wann beginnt der Kurs? Um wie viel Uhr kommst du? The answer to um wie viel Uhr always starts with um: Um neun Uhr.

Remember the difference between Uhr and Stunde: Uhr is used for clock times (Es ist drei Uhr), while Stunde means an hour as a length of time (Der Film dauert zwei Stunden). English speakers often mix these up because both translate as "hour" or "o'clock"; keeping them apart instantly makes your German clearer.

• Wie spät ist es?

  What time is it?

• Es ist drei Uhr.

  It is three o'clock.

• Um wie viel Uhr beginnt der Film?

  At what time does the film start?

• Der Kurs dauert zwei Stunden.

  The course lasts two hours.

  Stunde = duration, Uhr = clock time

Official time: the 24-hour clock

In timetables, announcements, radio and formal appointments, German uses the 24-hour clock and reads the numbers exactly as written. 14:30 is vierzehn Uhr dreißig, 20:15 is zwanzig Uhr fünfzehn, 9:05 is neun Uhr fünf. The pattern is always: hour + Uhr + minutes.

This style is easy because there is nothing to calculate. It is also the style you will hear at stations and airports, so it is worth practising with random times until reading them feels automatic. In writing, Germans put Uhr after the number: Der Zug fährt um 16:45 Uhr.

A practical exam tip: the A1 listening test loves times. Announcements almost always use the official style, while people chatting use the everyday style from the next section. Train both, and when you hear a time, write it down in digits straight away.

• Es ist vierzehn Uhr dreißig.

  It is 2:30 p.m.

  official style: 14:30

• Der Zug fährt um sechzehn Uhr fünfundvierzig.

  The train leaves at 4:45 p.m.

• Die Praxis öffnet um acht Uhr.

  The practice opens at eight o'clock.

Everyday time: halb, Viertel, vor and nach

In conversation, Germans use a 12-hour style with four key words. nach means past: zehn nach drei is 3:10. vor means to: fünf vor zwölf is 11:55. Viertel nach is quarter past and Viertel vor is quarter to: Viertel nach neun is 9:15, Viertel vor fünf is 4:45.

The word that surprises learners is halb. halb acht does NOT mean half past eight; it means half WAY TO eight, so 7:30. Likewise halb sieben is 6:30 and halb zwölf is 11:30. Think of halb as "half of the way to the next hour". This one rule prevents countless missed appointments, so drill it: halb + hour = thirty minutes BEFORE that hour.

• Es ist zehn nach drei.

  It is ten past three. (3:10)

• Es ist fünf vor zwölf.

  It is five to twelve. (11:55)

• Es ist Viertel nach neun.

  It is quarter past nine. (9:15)

• Es ist halb acht.

  It is half past seven. (7:30)

  halb points to the NEXT hour

• Der Bus kommt um halb sieben.

  The bus comes at half past six. (6:30)

Times of day and useful patterns

To place an event roughly in the day, use am with parts of the day: am Morgen, am Vormittag, am Mittag, am Nachmittag, am Abend, and in der Nacht for night. The adverbs morgens, mittags, abends and nachts describe things that happen regularly: Morgens trinke ich Kaffee (In the mornings I drink coffee).

Combine what you know: um for the exact time, von ... bis for a span, and gegen for an approximate time: gegen acht Uhr means around eight. With these small words you can arrange any A1 appointment.

A final practice idea: every time you look at a clock today, say the time twice, once in the official style and once in the everyday style. Ten seconds per glance, and within a week both systems feel like old friends.

• Am Nachmittag lerne ich Deutsch.

  In the afternoon I study German.

• Morgens trinke ich immer Kaffee.

  In the mornings I always drink coffee.

• Ich komme gegen acht Uhr.

  I will come at around eight o'clock.