Asking the time in German
In this lesson we find out about how to ask and tell the time. Asking someone the time is a great ice-breaker question, even if you don't really need to know the time! And what's more, asking the time is simple in German.
Resources for further reading:
All you need for asking the time in German is:
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
Rocket Record lets you perfect your German pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
Wieviel Uhr ist es?
What time is it?
You could also ask
Wie spät ist es?
How late is it?
If you wish to ask a stranger for the time in a more polite way, you could say
Können Sie mir bitte sagen wie spät es ist?
Could you please tell me what time it is?
The answer will start with Es ist…. It is…
For example:
Es ist neun Uhr
It is nine o'clock (9:00)
Es ist drei Uhr
It is three o'clock (3:00)
Talking about Quarter Hours and Thirty Minutes
You can also tell the time in 15- or 30-minute chunks.
viertel
15 min / quarter
viertel vor
quarter to
viertel nach
quarter past
halb
30 min / half
For example:
Es ist viertel nach zwei
It's a quarter past two (2:15)
Es ist halb zwei
It's half past one (1:30)
The sentence “Es ist halb zwei” literally translates as "it is half two." In German half two “halb zwei” means half way to two, or 1.30. Let’s have a look at some more examples
Es ist halb vier
It's half past three (3:30)
Es ist halb zehn
It's half past nine (9:30)
Es ist viertel vor vier
It's a quarter to four (3:45)
Es ist viertel nach fünf
It's a quarter past five (5:15)
Es ist viertel nach sieben
It's a quarter past seven (7:15)
You can also tell how much time remains until striking the hour:
Es ist fünf vor drei
It's five to three (2:55)
Es ist zehn vor fünf
It's ten to five (4:50)
Use the word “nach” past, to tell how many minutes past the full hour it is.
Es ist fünf nach zwei
It's five past two (2:05)
Es ist zwanzig nach vier
It's twenty past four (4:20)
If you want more lessons on German time then I recommend these ones!
- Being able to count to 100 in German.
- Counting in German.
- Know the days of the week in German.
Bis bald!
Paul Weber: Rocket German
Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement
Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities!