Translate to German:
an hour
eine Stunde
Stunde is a feminine noun, therefore: die Stunde or eine Stunde.
Translate to German:
a half-hour / half an hour
eine halbe Stunde
In German, eine halbe Stunde literally means “a half hour”, but it’s used the same way as “half an hour” in English.
Translate to German:
a minute
eine Minute
Minute is a feminine noun, therefore: die Minute or eine Minute.
Translate to German:
two minutes & ten seconds
zwei Minuten und zehn Sekunden
Since both Minuten and Sekunden are plural, the plural ending -n is used.
Translate to German:
It’s one o’clock.
Es ist ein Uhr.
In German, the word Uhr means “clock” or “o’clock” and is used after numbers to indicate time, similar to saying “one o’clock” in English.
Although Uhr is feminine, ein Uhr is a fixed expression. You do not say eine Uhr when telling the time.
Translate to German:
It’s three o’clock.
Es ist drei Uhr.
Note that German doesn’t use “a.m./p.m.” Instead, the corresponding time of the day is added after the time, which might be: morgens, vormittags, nachmittags, abends or nachts. Like: 11 Uhr vormittags (“11 a.m.”).
Alternatively the 24-hour time is used: drei Uhr means “3 o’clock”, 15 Uhr means “3 p.m.”.
Translate to German:
It’s five thirty.
Es ist fünf Uhr dreißig.
fünf Uhr dreißig literally means “five o’clock thirty”.
In German a very popular way to say “five thirty” is halb sechs, literally meaning “(a) half (to) six”.
Translate to German:
It’s 11am in the morning.
Es ist 11 Uhr morgens.
Translate to German:
It’s 12:30.
Es ist 12:30 Uhr.
Note that 12:30 Uhr is read zwölf Uhr dreißig.
Translate to German:
It’s noon.
Es ist Mittag.
Mittag can mean the exact time 12 o’clock like in English. But Mittag is also used for the time between 11:30 a.m. and roughly 1:30 p.m., the period called midday or lunchtime in English.
Translate to German:
It’s midnight.
Es ist Mitternacht.
In German, Mitternacht is a compound word combining Mitte (“middle”) and Nacht (“night”), similar to “midnight” in English.
Note that Mitternacht, like in English, can be expressed as 12 Uhr (usually avoiding confusion with noon by saying: 12 Uhr nachts), or 24 Uhr. In official contexts, 00:00 Uhr (read: Null Uhr) is used.
Translate to German:
What time is it?
Wie spät ist es?
Literally Wie spät ist es? means “How late is it?”. But it’s used to ask for the time, similar to “What time is it?” in English.
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
- Man: Wann?
- Woman: Um 16 Uhr.
Translation:
- Man: “When?”
- Woman: “At 4 p.m.”
Alternatively Germans might say um 4 Uhr nachmittags.
Fixed Rule: Use um as the required preposition when referring to a specific clock time (e.g., um acht Uhr, um vierzehn Uhr dreißig, etc.).
Translate to German:
now
jetzt
Jetzt is used just like “now” in English to indicate the present moment or immediate action.
Translate to German:
a long time
eine lange Zeit
Zeit is a feminine noun, therefore both the article and the adjective take the -e ending.
Translate to German:
It’s late.
Es ist spät.
Translate to German:
later
später
später is used to indicate a time in the future, similar to “later” in English. It is often used in bis später meaning “see you later”.
Note that später alone cannot be used as the casual way of saying “later” as a farewell.
Translate to German:
It’s early.
Es ist früh.
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
- Man: Wann? Jetzt?
- Woman: Ja, bald.
Translation:
- Man: “When? Now?”
- Woman: “Yes, soon.”
bald usually means “soon”, but can be vaguer than “soon”. It might mean minutes, days, or even weeks or months depending on context.
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
- Woman: Wann? Jetzt?
- Man: Nein, später. Heute Abend!
Translation:
- Woman: “When? Now?’
- Man: “No, later. This evening!”
