Date and Time in German English-German Glossary

Do you know what time it is? How about the date? If you are in a German-speaking country, you will want to know how to ask and answer those questions in German. There are some tricks, so first review how to tell time in German. Now lets explore terms for  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹the clock, calendar, seasons, weeks, days, dates, and other time-related vocabulary. Dates and Time in German Noun genders: r (der, masc.), e (die, fem.), s (das, neu.)Abbreviations: adj. (adjective), adv. (adverb), n. (noun), pl. (plural), v. (verb) A after, past (prep., with time.) nachafter ten oclock nach zehn Uhrquarter past five viertel nach fà ¼nffive past ten fà ¼nf nach zehn afternoon (n.) r Nachmittagafternoons, in the afternoon nachmittags, am Nachmittag ago vortwo hours ago vor zwei Stundenten years ago vor zehn Jahren AM, a.m. morgens, vormittagsNote: German schedules and timetables use 24-hour time rather than AM or PM. annual(ly) (adj./adv.) jà ¤hrlich (YEHR-lich) The word jà ¤hrlich is based on das Jahr (year), the root word for many similar words in German, including das Jahrhundert (century) and das Jahrzehnt (decade). April (der) Aprilin April im April(See all of the months below, under month.) around (prep., with time) gegenaround ten oclock gegen zehn Uhr at (prep., with time) umat ten oclock um zehn Uhr autumn, fall r Herbstin (the) autumn/fall im Herbst B balance wheel (clock) (n.) e Unruh, s Drehpendel before (adv., prep.) (be)vor, vorher, zuvorthe day before yesterday vorgesternbefore ten oclock (be)vor zehn Uhryears before Jahre frà ¼her Because the English word before can have so many meanings in German, it is wise to learn the appropriate phrases or idioms. Part of the problem is that the word (in both languages) can function as an adverb, an adjective, or a preposition, AND can be used to express both time (previous to, earlier) and location (in front of). In clock time vor is used to mean before or to, as in ten to four zehn vor vier. behind (prep., time) hinter (dative)Thats behind me now. Das ist jetzt hinter mir. behind (n., time) r Rà ¼ckstand(be) behind schedule/time im Rà ¼ckstand (sein)weeks behind Wochen im Rà ¼ckstand C calendar (n.) r Kalender Both the English word calendar and German Kalender come from the Latin word kalendae (calends, the day when accounts are due) or the first day of the month. Roman dates were expressed in kalendae, nonae (nones), and idus (ides), the 1st, 5th, and 13th days of a month (the 15th day in the months of March, May, July, and October) respectively. The names for the months of the year came into English, German and most of the Western languages via Greek and Latin. Central European Daylight Saving Time Mitteleuropà ¤ische Sommerzeit (MESZ) (GMT 2 hours, from the last Sunday in March until the last Sunday in October) Central European Time Mitteleuropà ¤ische Zeit (MEZ) (GMT 1 hour) chronometer s Chronometer clock, watch e Uhr The word for clock/watch—Uhr—came to German via French heure from Latin hora (time, hour). That same Latin word gave English the word hour. Sometimes German uses the abbreviation h for Uhr or hour, as in 5h25 (5:25) or km/h ( Stundenkilometer, km per hour). clock face, dial s Zifferblatt clockwork s Rà ¤derwerk, s Uhrwerk count (v.) zà ¤hlen (TSAY-len) CAUTION! Do not confuse zà ¤hlen with zahlen (to pay)! day(s) r Tag (die Tage) day after tomorrow (adv.) à ¼bermorgen day before yesterday (adv.) vorgestern day by day, from day to day (adv.) von Tag zu Tag daylight saving time e Sommerzeitstandard time (n.) e Standardzeit, e Winterzeit Germany first introduced Sommerzeit during the war years. MESZ (Mitteleuropà ¤ische Sommerzeit, Central European DST) was reintroduced in 1980. In coordination with other European countries, Germany uses MESZ from the last Sunday in March until the last Sunday in October. dial (clock, watch) s Zifferblatt, e Zifferanzeige (digital display) digital (adj.) digital (DIG-ee-tal)digital display e Zifferanzeige, s Display E escapement (clock) e Hemmung escapement wheel (clock) s Hemmrad eternal(ly) (adj./adv.) ewig eternity e Ewigkeit evening r Abendevenings, in the evening abends, am Abend F fall, autumn r Herbstin the fall/autumn im Herbst fast (clock, watch) (adv.) vorMy watch is running fast. Meine Uhr geht vor. first (adj.) erst-the first car das erste Autothe first day der erste Tagthe first door die erste Tà ¼r See German Numbers for an English-German guide to ordinal (1st, 2nd, 3rd...) and cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3, 4...). fortnight, two weeks vierzehn Tage (14 days)in a fortnight/two weeks in vierzehn Tagen fourth (adj.) viert-the fourth car das vierte Autothe fourth day der vierte Tagthe fourth floor die vierte Etage Friday r Freitag(on) Fridays freitags Note that all of the German days of the week are masculine (der). The days of the German week (which starts with Monday) fall in this sequence: Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag (Sonnabend), Sonntag. G GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) (n.) e Greenwichzeit (GMT) (Also see UTC) grandfather clock, longcase clock (n.) e Standuhr Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) (n.) e Greenwichzeit (time at the prime meridian) H h (abbreviation) e Stunde (hour) Latin hora (time, hour) gave English the word hour and German the word for clock ( Uhr). Sometimes German uses the abbreviation h for Uhr or hour, as in 5h25 (5:25) or km/h (Stundenkilometer, km per hour). half (adj./adv.) halbhalf past one (five, eight, etc.) halb zwei (sechs, neun, usw.) hand (clock) r Zeiger (see hour hand, second hand, etc.)big hand großer Zeigerlittle hand kleiner Zeiger hour e Stundeevery hour jede Stundeevery two/three hours alle zwei/drei Stunden GENDER TIP: Note that all of the German nouns having to do with clock time are feminine (​die): e Uhr, e Stunde, e Minute, usw. hour glass, sand glass e Sanduhr, s Stundenglas hour hand r Stundenzeiger, r kleine Zeiger (little hand) hourly (adv.) stà ¼ndlich, jede Stunde I infinite (adj.) unendlich, endlos infinity (n.) e Unendlichkeit L last, previous (adv.) letzt, voriglast week letzte Woche, vorige Wochelast weekend letztes Wochenende late spà ¤tbe late Verspà ¤tung haben M minute (n.)  e Minute (meh-NOOH-ta) minute hand  r Minutenzeiger, r große Zeiger Monday  r Montag(on) Mondays  montags Montag, like English Monday, is named for the moon (der Mond), i.e., moon-day. On German (European) calendars, the week begins with Montag, not Sonntag (the last day of the week): Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag (Sonnabend), Sonntag. This has the benefit of putting the two weekend days together rather than separated, as on Anglo-American calendars. month(s)  r Monat (die Monate) Months in German: (all der) Januar, Februar, Mà ¤rz, April, Mai, Juni, Juli, August, September, Oktober, November, Dezember. morning  r Morgen, r Vormittagthis morning  heute Morgentomorrow morning  morgen frà ¼h, morgen Vormittagyesterday morning  gestern frà ¼h, gestern Vormittag N next (adv.)  nà ¤chstnext week  nà ¤chste Wochenext weekend  nà ¤chstes Wochenende night(s)  e Nacht (Nà ¤chte)at night  nachts, in der Nachtby night  bei Nacht number(s)  e Zahl (Zahlen), e Ziffer(n) (on clock face), e Nummer(n) O oversleep  sich verschlafen P past, after (clock time)  nachquarter past five  viertel nach fà ¼nffive past ten  fà ¼nf nach zehn pendulum  s Pendel pendulum clock  e Pendeluhr PM  abends, nachmittags Note: German schedules and timetables use 24-hour time rather than AM or PM. pocket watch  e Taschenuhr Q quarter (one fourth) (n., adv.)  s Viertelquarter to/past  viertel vor/nachquarter past five  viertel sechs S sand glass, hour glass  s Stundenglas, e Sanduhr Saturday  r Samstag, r Sonnabend(on) Saturdays  samstags, sonnabends season (of year)  e Jahreszeitthe four seasons  die vier Jahreszeiten second (n.)  e Sekunde (say-KOON-da) second (adj.)  zweit-second-largest  zweitgrà ¶ÃƒÅ¸tethe second car  das zweite Autothe second door  die zweite Tà ¼r second hand  r Sekundenzeiger slow (clock, watch) (adv.)  nachMy watch is running slow.  Meine Uhr geht nach. spring (n.)  e Feder, e Zugfeder spring (season)  r Frà ¼hling, s Frà ¼hjahrin (the) spring  im Frà ¼hling/Frà ¼hjahr spring balance  e Federwaage standard time  e Standardzeit, e Winterzeitdaylight saving time (n.)  e Sommerzeit summer  r Sommerin (the) summer  im Sommer Sunday  r Sonntag(on) Sundays  sonntags sun dial  e Sonnenuhr T third (adj.)  dritt-third-largest  drittgrà ¶ÃƒÅ¸tethe third car  das dritte Autothe third door  die dritte Tà ¼r time  e Zeit (pron. TSYTE) time clock  e Stempeluhr time zone  e Zeitzone The worlds official 24 time zones were created in October 1884 (1893 in Prussia) by an international conference in Washington, D.C. in response to the needs of railroads, shipping companies, and increasing international travel. Each hours zone is 15 degrees in width (15 Là ¤ngengraden) with Greenwich as the prime (zero) meridian (Nullmeridian) and the International Date line at 180 º. In practice, most time zone boundaries are adjusted to conform to various political and geographic considerations. There are even some half-hour time zones. Thursday  r Donnerstag(on) Thursdays  donnerstags today (adv.)  heutetodays newspaper  die heutige Zeitung, die Zeitung von heutea week/month from today  heute in einer Woche/einem Monat tomorrow (adv.)  morgen (not capitalized)tomorrow afternoon  morgen Nachmittagtomorrow evening  morgen Abendtomorrow morning  morgen frà ¼h, morgen Vormittagtomorrow night  morgen Nachta week/month/year ago tomorrow  morgen vor einer Woche/einem Monat/einem Jahr Tuesday  r Dienstag(on) Tuesdays  dienstags U UTC  UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, Universel Temps Coordonnà ©) - Also see GMT.) UTC was introduced in 1964 and is headquartered at the Paris Observatory (but calculated from the prime meridian at Greenwich). Since 1972 UTC has been based on atomic clocks. A UTC radio time signal (Zeitzeichen) is broadcast around the world. UTC is coordinated with solar time (UT1). Because of irregularities in the earths rotation, a leap second must be introduced from time to time in December or June.   W watch, clock  e Uhr, e Armbanduhr (wristwatch) Wednesday  r Mittwoch(on) Wednesdays  mittwochsAsh Wednesday  Aschermittwoch ï » ¿week(s)  e Woche (die Wochen)a week ago  vor einer Wochefor a week  (fà ¼r) eine Wochein a week  in einer Wochetwo weeks, fortnight (n.)  vierzehn Tage (14 days)in two weeks/a fortnight  in vierzehn Tagenthis/next/last week  diese/nà ¤chste/vorige Wochedays of the week  die Tage der Woche Days of the Week with Abbreviations: Montag (Mo), Dienstag (Di), Mittwoch (Mi), Donnerstag (Do), Freitag (Fr), Samstag (Sa), Sonntag (So). weekday (Mon.-Fri.)  r Wochentag, r Werktag (Mo-Fr)(on) weekdays  wochentags, werktags weekend  s Wochenendea long weekend  ein verlà ¤ngertes Wochenendeat/on the weekend  am Wochenendeat/on weekends  an Wochenendenfor/over the weekend  Ãƒ ¼bers Wochenende weekly (adj./adv.)  wà ¶chentlich, Wochen- (prefix)weekly newspaper  Wochenzeitung winter  r Winterin (the) winter  im Winter wristwatch  e Armbanduhr Y year(s)  s Jahr (YAHR) (e Jahre)for years  seit Jahrenin the year 2006  im Jahr(e) 2006 yesterday (adv.)  gestern