German has two ways to tell the time: official (trains, appointments, news) and everyday speech. Both come up in the A1 exam.
The 24-hour clock is used and the word "Uhr" goes between the hour and the minutes.
| Deutsch | |
|---|---|
| 8:00 | acht Uhr |
| 14:30 | vierzehn Uhr dreißig |
| 20:15 | zwanzig Uhr fünfzehn |
| 0:10 | null Uhr zehn |
⚠️ Careful: "halb neun" means 8:30, half an hour before nine, not half past nine. This is the most common mistake for English speakers.
| Deutsch | |
|---|---|
| 8:05 | fünf nach acht |
| 8:15 | Viertel nach acht |
| 8:30 | halb neun |
| 8:45 | Viertel vor neun |
| 8:50 | zehn vor neun |
| 8:25 | fünf vor halb neun |
| 8:35 | fünf nach halb neun |
Use "um" with clock times, "am" with days and parts of the day, and "im" with months and seasons.
| Deutsch | |
|---|---|
| um | um acht Uhr |
| am | am Montag · am Morgen · am Wochenende |
| im | im Mai · im Sommer |
| in der | in der Nacht |