Time
- now
- jetzt (yetst)
- later
- später (SHPET-er)
- before
- vor (for)
- morning
- Morgen (MOR-gen)
- in the morning
- morgens (MOR-genss)
- tomorrow morning
- morgen früh (MOR-gen FRUU)
- afternoon
- Nachmittag (NAHKH-mit-tahk)
- in the afternoon
- nachmittags (NAHKH-mit-tahks)
- evening
- Abend (AH-bent)
- in the evening
- abends (AH-bents)
- night
- Nacht (nahkht)
- in the night
- nachts (nahkhts)
Clock time
In German speaking countries as in many other European countries, it’s usual to use a 24 hour clock, ranging from 0.00 to 24.00. Okay, 24.00 is actually the same as 0.00, but one day later.
- one o’clock AM
- ein Uhr (IGHN oor)
- two o’clock AM
- zwei Uhr (TSVIGH oor)
- noon
- zwölf Uhr or Mittag (TSVOOLF oor or MIT-tahk)
- one o’clock PM
- dreizehn Uhr (DRIGH-tsayn oor)
- two o’clock PM
- vierzehn Uhr (FEER-tsayn oor)
- midnight
- Mitternacht or null Uhr or vierundzwanzig Uhr (MIT-er-nahkht or NOOL oor or FEER-oont-TSVAHN-tsikh oor)
Expressing “fractional hours” differs slightly among various regions of Germany. The “normal” way of doing it is:
- Quarter past one – Viertel nach eins or Viertel zwei
- Half past one – Halb zwei (half two)
- A quarter to two – Viertel vor zwei or Dreiviertel zwei
Duration
- _____ minute(s)
- _____ Minute(n) (mih-NOO-tuh [mih-NOO-ten])
- _____ hour(s)
- _____ Stunde(n) (SHTOON-duh [SHTOON-den)
- _____ day(s)
- _____ Tag(e) (TAHK [TAH-guh])
- _____ week(s)
- _____ Woche(n) (VOKH-uh [VOKH-en])
- _____ month(s)
- _____ Monat(e) (MOH-naht [moh-NAH-tuh])
- _____ year(s)
- _____ Jahr(e) (YAHR[-uh])
- in _____
- Im Jahr _____ (im YAHR _____)
Days
- today
- heute (HOY-tuh)
- the day before yesterday
- vorgestern (for-GESS-tern)
- yesterday
- gestern (GESS-tern)
- tomorrow
- morgen (MOR-gen)
- the day after tomorrow
- übermorgen (uuber-MOR-gen)
- this week
- diese Woche (DEE-zuh VOH-khuh)
- last week
- letzte Woche (LETS-tuh VOH-khuh)
- the week before last week
- vorletzte Woche (for-LETS-tuh VOH-khuh)
- next week
- nächste Woche (NEX-tuh VOH-khuh)
- the week after next week
- übernächste Woche (uuber-NEX-tuh VOH-khuh)
The week is considered starting on monday in germany.
- Monday
- Montag (MON-tahk)
- Tuesday
- Dienstag (DEENS-tahk)
- Wednesday
- Mittwoch (MIT-vokh)
- Thursday
- Donnerstag (DON-ers-tahk)
- Friday
- Freitag (FRIGH-tahk)
- Saturday
- Samstag (ZAMS-tahk), in some regions “Sonnabend” (ZON-ah-bent)
- Sunday
- Sonntag (ZON-tahk)
Months
- January
- Januar (YAH-noo-ahr), in Austria “Jänner” (YEH-nna)
- February
- Februar (FAY-broo-ahr.), in Austria “Feber” (FAY-ber)
- March
- März (mehrts)
- April
- April (ah-PRILL)
- May
- Mai (migh)
- June
- Juni (YOO-nee)
- July
- Juli (YOO-lee)
- August
- August (ow-GOOST)
- September
- September (zep-TEM-ber)
- October
- Oktober (ok-TOH-ber)
- November
- November (noh-VEM-ber)
- December
- Dezember (day-TSEM-ber)
Writing Time and Date
In the clock time, hours and minutes are separated by a ‘.’ instead of ‘:’, but the latter is also widely used. Another usual way is to write the minutes raised like an exponent.
The date is always written in the order day, month, year, e.g.:
12/24/2003 is in German 24.12.2003. 24th of December 2003 is in German 24. Dezember 2003
Don’t get confused about that, especially if you’re an American!