Die Grundlagen · Unit 7 of 10 · 14 min
Datum, Uhrzeit und Geld
Dates, time and money
Days, months, the 24-hour clock, and paying with a decimal comma.
Dates, times and money are where a small misunderstanding costs you a train or an appointment. One German habit matters more than all the rest: the clock counts toward the next hour.
Learning objectives
- Name days, months and seasons, and say a date at beginner level.
- Read conversational 12-hour time and formal 24-hour time.
- Say and understand prices with a decimal comma.
Can-Do outcomes
- I can understand halb neun as 8:30 without hesitating.
- I can read a train or meeting time in the 24-hour form.
- I can say what something costs and understand the answer.
Native-speaker review required
Die Wochentage
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Montag | Monday |
| Dienstag | Tuesday |
| Mittwoch | Wednesday |
| Donnerstag | Thursday |
| Freitag | Friday |
| Samstag / Sonnabend | Saturday |
| Sonntag | Sunday |
Monate und Jahreszeiten
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Januar, Februar, März | January, February, March |
| April, Mai, Juni | April, May, June |
| Juli, August, September | July, August, September |
| Oktober, November, Dezember | October, November, December |
| der Frühling, der Sommer | spring, summer |
| der Herbst, der Winter | autumn, winter |
Dates
Dates are written day first: 14.08.2026. Spoken, the day takes an ordinal ending: der vierzehnte August.
With am, the ending changes slightly: am vierzehnten August.
Telling the time
German counts forward to the next hour, not back from the last one. Halb is the trap: halb neun means half an hour BEFORE nine, so 8:30 — never 9:30.
Viertel nach and Viertel vor behave the way English does: Viertel nach acht is 8:15, Viertel vor neun is 8:45.
Schedules, appointments and announcements use the 24-hour clock instead: acht Uhr dreißig for 8:30, neunzehn Uhr dreißig for 19:30. When the exact minute matters, say it this way and nobody can misread you.
Regional variant: in parts of eastern and southern Germany you will also hear dreiviertel neun (8:45) and viertel neun (8:15). Both count toward nine, exactly like halb.
Count toward the next hour
Read each row left to right: the clock face, what Germans say, and what it means in English. Notice that every phrase names the hour it is heading TOWARD.
8:00
acht Uhr
eight o'clock · 24-hour: acht Uhr
8:15
Viertel nach acht
quarter past eight · 24-hour: acht Uhr fünfzehn
Regional: viertel neun — a quarter of the way to nine.
8:30
halb neun
half past eight · 24-hour: acht Uhr dreißig
Halfway to NINE. This is 8:30, not 9:30 — the single most common beginner mistake.
8:45
Viertel vor neun
quarter to nine · 24-hour: acht Uhr fünfundvierzig
Regional: dreiviertel neun — three quarters of the way to nine.
9:00
neun Uhr
nine o'clock · 24-hour: neun Uhr
9:30
halb zehn
half past nine · 24-hour: neun Uhr dreißig
Halfway to TEN. Compare it directly with halb neun above.
19:30
halb acht (abends)
7:30 p.m. · 24-hour: neunzehn Uhr dreißig
Timetables and appointments prefer the 24-hour form.
Quick check
What time is “halb neun”?
Quick reference
| Clock | Conversational | 24-hour | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 | halb neun | acht Uhr dreißig | 8:30 |
| 9:30 | halb zehn | neun Uhr dreißig | 9:30 |
| 12:30 | halb eins | zwölf Uhr dreißig | 12:30 |
| 8:15 | Viertel nach acht | acht Uhr fünfzehn | 8:15 |
| 8:45 | Viertel vor neun | acht Uhr fünfundvierzig | 8:45 |
| 20:00 | acht (abends) | zwanzig Uhr | 8 p.m. |
Money
Prices use a decimal comma: 4,50 € is spoken vier Euro fünfzig.
Cents are der Cent; both Euro and Cent stay singular after a number.
Ask and answer
- Wie spät ist es?What time is it?
- Wie viel Uhr ist es?What time is it? (equally common)
- Was kostet das?What does that cost?
- Wie viel kostet das?How much does that cost?
- Heute ist Donnerstag.Today is Thursday.
- Der Termin ist am Freitag um neun Uhr.The appointment is on Friday at nine o'clock.
Real situations
Train station, doctor's office, restaurant, hotel, office.
- Der Zug nach Berlin fährt um sechzehn Uhr zwölf ab.The train to Berlin departs at 16:12.Announcements almost always use the 24-hour clock.
- Ich hätte gern einen Termin am Montagvormittag.I'd like an appointment on Monday morning.
- Zusammen oder getrennt?Together or separately? (paying at a restaurant)
- Das macht neunzehn Euro achtzig.That comes to €19.80.
- Das Frühstück ist von sieben bis zehn Uhr.Breakfast is from seven to ten.
- Die Besprechung ist um vierzehn Uhr.The meeting is at 2 p.m.
Say it aloud
Aussprachetrainer
Es ist halb zehn.
It is half past nine.
Aussprachetrainer
Das macht vier Euro fünfzig.
That comes to €4.50.
Wortschatz
- dieUhr— clock, o'clockPlural: die Uhren
- derTermin— appointmentPlural: die Termine
- derMontag— MondayPlural: die Montage
- dieWoche— weekPlural: die Wochen
- derMonat— monthPlural: die Monate
- derFrühling— springPlural: die Frühlinge
- derZug— trainPlural: die Züge
- kosten— to cost
Übungen
Interpret halb
„Der Termin ist um halb neun.“ Wie spät ist das?
“The appointment is at halb neun.” What time is that?
Optional between-session assignment
Mein nächster Termin
My next appointment
Writing · about 8 min · Self-reported completion
- 1.Take a real appointment from your calendar this week.
- 2.Say it conversationally: am Freitag um halb neun.
- 3.Then say it formally: am Freitag um acht Uhr dreißig.
In-app alternative · No calendar handy? Invent one appointment per day of the week and say both forms aloud with the clock walkthrough open.
Willkommen zurück!
Return checkpoint
Two or three quick checks the next time you open this unit. Attempting it is what counts — anything you miss becomes a review recommendation, not a failure.
1. „halb neun“ ist …
2. „Viertel vor zehn“ ist …
3. Wie schreibt man „neunzehn Euro achtzig“?
Completion summary
Datum, Uhrzeit und Geld abgeschlossen
You can arrange a time, read a schedule and pay for something without guessing at the numbers.
Unit 8 gives you the sentences that keep a conversation alive.
Marking a unit complete adds its Can-Do outcomes to your spaced-repetition queue. Perfect scores are never required.