Asking and Telling the Time
To ask someone "What time is it?" in German, you literally ask "How late is it?" (Wie spät ist es?). To state the time on the hour, use the formula Es ist [number] Uhr.
Quarters and Prepositions
For times between the hours, conversational German uses Viertel (quarter). You will need two prepositions to connect the quarter to the hour:
- nach (past / after)
- vor (to / before)
When you want to state that an event happens at a specific time, use the word um.
Half Hours (A Crucial Difference)
Telling time with half-hours works differently in German. Instead of saying "half past" the current hour, Germans look ahead to the next hour. The word halb essentially means "halfway to".
Therefore, halb zehn does not mean 10:30. It means halfway to ten: 9:30.
Exact and Approximate Times
You can add descriptive words to specify exactly where you are on the clock:
- genau (exactly)
- kurz (shortly)
- gleich (almost)
Use kurz vor for "shortly before" and kurz nach for "shortly after". If it is just a minute or two away from striking the hour, you can simply use gleich.
Hours, Minutes, and Times of Day
Remember that die Uhr is used for "o'clock" or the physical clock itself. When talking about a duration of time, use die Stunde (hour) and die Minute (minute).
Finally, just like in English, you do not need numbers to talk about the very middle of the day or night. You can simply use der Mittag (noon) and die Mitternacht (midnight).
