Time - Die Uhrzeit
කාලය - Die Uhrzeit
Tell the time officially and conversationally, name every day and month, talk about seasons, and use time expressions in everyday German.
Time (Die Uhrzeit) is one of the most tested topics in the Goethe A1 exam - it appears in Listening, Reading, and Speaking. This lesson follows: core time vocabulary, official 24-hour time, conversational 12-hour time, days of the week, months, seasons, and holiday expressions.
කාලය (Die Uhrzeit) Goethe A1 විභාගයේ වැඩිපුරම විමසන මාතෘකාවලින් එකකි - Listening, Reading සහ Speaking හි දිස්වෙනවා. මෙම පාඩම අනුව: කාල ශබ්ද, නිල 24-පැය කාලය, සාමාන්‍ය 12-පැය කාලය, සතියේ දිනයන්, මාස, ඍතු සහ නිවාඩු ප්‍රකාශ.
Core time vocabulary - Die Zeit
die Zeit
time
die Uhr / die Uhren
clock / clocks
der Tag / die Tage
day / days - Ein Tag hat 24 Stunden. (A day has 24 hours.)
die Stunde / die Stunden
hour / hours - Eine Stunde hat 60 Minuten. (An hour has 60 minutes.)
die Minute / die Minuten
minute / minutes - Eine Minute hat 60 Sekunden. (A minute has 60 seconds.)
die Sekunde / die Sekunden
second / seconds
Wie spät ist es?
What time is it? (informal / conversational)
Wie viel Uhr ist es?
What time is it? (formal / official)
Es ist…
It is…
Um wie viel Uhr?
At what time?
Time expressions
| German | Sinhala guide | English |
|---|---|---|
| Heute | හොයිටෙ | Today |
| Morgen | මෝර්-ගෙන් | Morning / Tomorrow |
| Vormittag | ෆෝර්-මිටාග් | Forenoon / morning (before noon) |
| Mittag | මිටාග් | Noon / midday |
| Nachmittag | නාශ්-මිටාග් | Afternoon |
| Abend | ආ-බෙන්ට් | Evening |
| Nacht | නාශ්ට් | Night |
| Mitternacht | මිටෙර්-නාශ්ට් | Midnight |
| Gestern | ගෙස්-ටෙර්න් | Yesterday |
| Übermorgen | ඉ-බෙර්-මෝර්-ගෙන් | Day after tomorrow |
| Vorgestern | ෆෝර්-ගෙස්-ටෙර්න් | Day before yesterday |
| Heute Abend | හොයිටෙ ආ-බෙන්ට් | Tonight |
| Gestern Abend | ගෙස්-ටෙර්න් ආ-බෙන්ට් | Last night |
| täglich | ටේ-ග්ලිශ් | Daily |
| wöchentlich | වේ-ශෙන්ට්-ලිශ් | Weekly |
| vor | ෆෝර් | Before / to (in time context) |
| nach | නාශ් | After / past (in time context) |
| halb | හාල්ප් | Half (halfway to next hour) |
| kurz | කූර්ට්ස් | Shortly / briefly |
| bis | බිස් | Until |
| Um 8 Uhr | උම් අශ්ට් උවර් | At 8 o'clock |
| Viertel nach | ෆීර්-ටෙල් නාශ් | Quarter past |
| Viertel vor | ෆීර්-ටෙල් ෆෝර් | Quarter to |
| kurz nach | කූර්ට්ස් නාශ් | Just after |
| kurz vor | කූර්ට්ස් ෆෝර් | Just before / almost |
| die Woche | ඩී වෝ-ශෙ | the week (die Woche -n) |
| das Wochenende | ඩාස් වෝ-ශෙන්-එන්-ඩෙ | the weekend |
German days of the week are all masculine (der). To say 'on Monday' use 'am Montag'. To say 'every Monday' say 'jeden Montag'. Add -s to make it mean 'on Mondays' (montags).
Official vs Inofficial time - offizielle / inoffizielle Zeit
German has two time systems. Official time (offizielle Zeit) uses the 24-hour clock - used in train stations, airports, flight schedules, and corporate appointments. Inofficial time (inoffizielle Zeit) uses the 12-hour clock in everyday conversation and slang. You need both for the A1 exam.
Offizielle Zeit (formal)
24-පැය ආකෘතිය
Es ist dreizehn Uhr dreißig. (13:30)
Inoffizielle Zeit (casual)
12-පැය ආකෘතිය
Es ist halb zwei. (1:30pm in conversation)
Wie viel Uhr ist es?
ඔ! - official ප්‍රශ්නය
Formal: What time is it?
Wie spät ist es?
ඉශ් - informal ප්‍රශ්නය
Informal: What time is it?
Official Time - Offizielle Uhrzeit · 24-hour clock
| Time | German (official) |
|---|---|
| 1:00 | ein Uhr |
| 2:00 | zwei Uhr |
| 3:00 | drei Uhr |
| 4:00 | vier Uhr |
| 5:00 | fünf Uhr |
| 6:00 | sechs Uhr |
| 7:00 | sieben Uhr |
| 8:00 | acht Uhr |
| 9:00 | neun Uhr |
| 10:00 | zehn Uhr |
| 11:00 | elf Uhr |
| 12:00 | zwölf Uhr |
| 13:00 | dreizehn Uhr |
| 14:00 | vierzehn Uhr |
| 15:00 | fünfzehn Uhr |
| 16:00 | sechzehn Uhr |
| 17:00 | siebzehn Uhr |
| 18:00 | achtzehn Uhr |
| 19:00 | neunzehn Uhr |
| 20:00 | zwanzig Uhr |
| 21:00 | einundzwanzig Uhr |
| 22:00 | zweiundzwanzig Uhr |
| 23:00 | dreiundzwanzig Uhr |
| 0:00 | null Uhr |
Official Time - Minutes: 2:00 to 3:00
| Time | German - Wie viel Uhr ist es? |
|---|---|
| 2:00 | Es ist zwei Uhr |
| 2:05 | Es ist zwei Uhr fünf |
| 2:10 | Es ist zwei Uhr zehn |
| 2:15 | Es ist zwei Uhr fünfzehn |
| 2:20 | Es ist zwei Uhr zwanzig |
| 2:25 | Es ist zwei Uhr fünfundzwanzig |
| 2:30 | Es ist zwei Uhr dreißig |
| 2:35 | Es ist zwei Uhr fünfunddreißig |
| 2:40 | Es ist zwei Uhr vierzig |
| 2:45 | Es ist zwei Uhr fünfundvierzig |
| 2:50 | Es ist zwei Uhr fünfzig |
| 2:55 | Es ist zwei Uhr fünfundfünfzig |
| 3:00 | Es ist drei Uhr |
Official Time - Minutes: 13:00 to 14:00 - pm example
| Time | German - Wie viel Uhr ist es? |
|---|---|
| 13:00 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr |
| 13:05 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr fünf |
| 13:10 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr zehn |
| 13:15 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr fünfzehn |
| 13:20 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr zwanzig |
| 13:25 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr fünfundzwanzig |
| 13:30 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr dreißig |
| 13:35 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr fünfunddreißig |
| 13:40 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr vierzig |
| 13:45 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr fünfundvierzig |
| 13:50 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr fünfzig |
| 13:55 | Es ist dreizehn Uhr fünfundfünfzig |
| 14:00 | Es ist vierzehn Uhr |
Inofficial Time - Inoffizielle Uhrzeit · conversational
Es ist zwei Uhr. (2:00)
It is two o'clock. (exact hour, same in both systems)
Es ist fünf nach zwei. (2:05)
It is five past two. - [minutes] nach [hour]
Es ist zehn nach zwei. (2:10)
It is ten past two.
Es ist viertel nach zwei. (2:15)
It is quarter past two.
Es ist zehn vor halb drei. (2:20)
It is ten to half three - ten minutes before 2:30.
Es ist fünf vor halb drei. (2:25)
It is five to half three - five minutes before 2:30.
Es ist halb drei. (2:30) ⚠
It is half three - HALFWAY TO three. This means 2:30, NOT 3:30!
Es ist fünf nach halb drei. (2:35)
It is five past half three - five minutes after 2:30.
Es ist zehn nach halb drei. (2:40)
It is ten past half three - ten minutes after 2:30.
Es ist viertel vor drei. (2:45)
It is quarter to three.
Es ist zehn vor drei. (2:50)
It is ten to three.
Es ist fünf vor drei. (2:55)
It is five to three.
Es ist kurz nach zwei. (≈2:01–2:04)
It is just after two - a minute or two after the hour.
Es ist kurz vor drei. (≈2:56–2:59)
It is almost three - a minute or two before the hour.
Es ist drei Uhr. (3:00)
It is three o'clock. - the full cycle completes.
'halb drei' is the most common beginner mistake. It means HALFWAY TO three - so 2:30. NOT 3:30. The German logic: halb [X] = 30 minutes before hour X. So halb vier = 3:30 (halfway to 4), halb zwölf = 11:30 (halfway to 12).
'halb drei' = 2:30 (3 වෙතට ගමනේ අඩ). 3:30 නෙවෙයි! ජර්මන් තර්කය: halb [X] = X ට මිනිත්තු 30 කලින්. halb vier = 3:30, halb zwölf = 11:30.
Days of the Week - Die Tage der Woche
| German | Book pronunciation | Sinhala guide | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montag | mohn-tahk | මෝන්-ටාග් | Monday |
| Dienstag | deens-tahk | ඩීන්ස්-ටාග් | Tuesday |
| Mittwoch | mit-vock | මිට්-වොක් | Wednesday |
| Donnerstag | don-ers-tahk | ඩොන්-ස්-ටාග් | Thursday |
| Freitag | fry-tahk | ෆ්‍රයි-ටාග් | Friday |
| Samstag | zahms-tahk | සාම්ස්-ටාග් | Saturday |
| Sonntag | zon-tahk | සොන්-ටාග් | Sunday |
Day vocabulary
| German | Book pronunciation | Sinhala guide | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Tag (-e) | dehr tahk | ඩෙය් ටාග් | day |
| der Morgen (-) | mawr-gun | ඩෙය් මෝර්-ගෙන් | morning |
| der Nachmittag (-e) | nakh-mih-tahk | ඩෙය් නාශ්-මිට-ටාග් | afternoon |
| der Abend (-e) | ah-bunt | ඩෙය් ආ-බෙන්ට් | evening |
| die Nacht (ä,-e) | nahkt | ඩී නාශ්ට් | night |
| heute | hoy-tuh | හොයිටෙ | today |
| morgen | mawr-gun | මෝර්-ගෙන් | tomorrow / morning |
| heute Abend | hoy-tuh ah-bunt | හොයිටෙ ආ-බෙන්ට් | tonight |
| gestern | geh-stairn | ගෙස්-ටෙර්න් | yesterday |
| gestern Abend | geh-stairn ah-bunt | ගෙස්-ටෙර්න් ආ-බෙන්ට් | last night |
| die Woche (-n) | voh-kuh | ඩී වෝ-ශෙ | week |
| das Wochenende (-n) | voh-ken-en-duh | ඩාස් වෝ-ශෙන්-එන්-ඩෙ | weekend |
| täglich | teh-glikh | ටේ-ග්ලිශ් | daily |
| wöchentlich | wer-khent-likh | වේ-ශෙන්ට්-ලිශ් | weekly |
Using 'am' with days - saying ON a day
To say something happens ON a specific day, use 'am' before the day name. To say 'on Mondays' (every Monday), add -s to the day: montags. All days are masculine (der), so they all follow the same pattern.
am Montag
අම් මෝන්-ටාග්
on Monday
am Dienstag
අම් ඩීන්ස්-ටාග්
on Tuesday
am Wochenende
අම් වෝ-ශෙන්-එන්-ඩෙ
at/on the weekend
montags
මෝන්-ටාග්ස්
on Mondays (every Monday)
Modifying days - every, next, last, previous
All days, months, and seasons are masculine (der). So they all use the same modifier forms before them: jeden (every), nächsten (next), letzten (last), vorigen (previous).
jeden Montag
යෙ-ඩෙන් මෝන්-ටාග්
every Monday
nächsten Dienstag
නෙශ්-ස්ටෙන් ඩීන්ස්-ටාග්
next Tuesday
letzten Freitag
ලෙට්ස්-ටෙන් ෆ්‍රයි-ටාග්
last Friday
vorigen Sonntag
ෆෝ-රිගෙන් සොන්-ටාග්
previous Sunday
Months of the Year - Die Monate
| German | Book pronunciation | Sinhala guide | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Januar | yah-noo-ahr | යා-නූ-ආර් | January |
| Februar | fay-broo-ahr | ෆේ-බ්‍රූ-ආර් | February |
| März | mehrts | මේර්ට්ස් | March |
| April | ah-pril | ආ-ප්‍රිල් | April |
| Mai | my | මයි | May |
| Juni | yoo-nee | යූ-නී | June |
| Juli | yoo-lee | යූ-ලී | July |
| August | ow-goost | ඔව්-ගූස්ට් | August |
| September | zehp-tehm-ber | සෙප්-ටෙම්-බෙර් | September |
| Oktober | ok-toh-ber | ඔක්-ටෝ-බෙර් | October |
| November | no-vehm-ber | නො-ෆෙම්-බෙර් | November |
| Dezember | deh-tsem-ber | ඩෙ-ට්සෙම්-බෙර් | December |
Month vocabulary
| German | Book pronunciation | Sinhala guide | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Monat (-e) | moh-naht | ඩෙය් මෝ-නාට් | month / months |
| das Jahr (-e) | yaar | ඩාස් යාර් | year / years |
| monatlich | moh-naht-likh | මෝ-නාට්-ලිශ් | monthly |
| jährlich | jehr-likh | යේර්-ලිශ් | yearly / annually |
Using 'im' with months - saying IN a month
To say something happens IN a specific month, use 'im' before the month name. All months are masculine (der), so they all follow the same pattern.
im Januar
ඉම් යා-නූ-ආර්
in January
im April
ඉම් ආ-ප්‍රිල්
in April
im Oktober
ඉම් ඔක්-ටෝ-බෙර්
in October
im Dezember
ඉම් ඩෙ-ට්සෙම්-බෙර්
in December
To say 'on a certain day' use 'am': am Montag, am Freitag.
To say 'on Mondays' (recurring): montags (add -s).
All days, months and seasons are masculine: jeden (every), nächsten (next), letzten (last), vorigen (previous).
'In der Woche' = during the week (Northern Germany)
'Unter der Woche' = during the week (Southern Germany/Austria/Switzerland)
Seasons - Die Jahreszeiten
| German | Book pronunciation | Sinhala guide | English | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| der Frühling | dehr frew-ling | ඩෙය් ෆ්‍රූ-ලිං | Spring | März – Mai |
| der Sommer | dehr zom-mer | ඩෙය් සොම්-මෙර් | Summer | Juni – August |
| der Herbst | dehr hehrpst | ඩෙය් හෙර්ප්ස්ට් | Autumn / Fall | September – November |
| der Winter | dehr vin-ter | ඩෙය් වින්-ටෙර් | Winter | Dezember – Februar |
Using 'im' with seasons
All seasons are masculine (der). Use 'im' to say IN a season, just like months. All days, months and seasons share the same modifier words: jeden, nächsten, letzten, vorigen.
im Frühling
ඉම් ෆ්‍රූ-ලිං
in spring
im Sommer
ඉම් සොම්-මෙර්
in summer
im Herbst
ඉම් හෙර්ප්ස්ට්
in autumn
im Winter
ඉම් වින්-ටෙර්
in winter
Holiday & celebration phrases - Urlaub Phrasen
Frohe Weihnachten!
Merry Christmas!
Frohe Ostern!
Happy Easter!
Glückliches Neues Jahr!
Happy New Year!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag!
Happy Birthday! (Herzlichen = heartfelt)
Das Silvester
New Year's Eve (December 31)
Das Neujahr
New Year's Day (January 1)
Der Valentinstag!
Valentine's Day! (February 14)
Die Hochzeit
Wedding / Marriage
Der Fasching / Der Karneval
Mardi Gras / Carnival - Fasching in South Germany, Karneval in Rhineland
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
Happy Birthday! (All the best for your birthday!)
Prost! / Zum Wohl!
Cheers!
der Karneval
carnival (Rhineland)
der Fasching
carnival (Southern Germany)
Key celebration vocabulary
| German | Sinhala guide | English |
|---|---|---|
| das Ostern | ඩාස් ඕස්-ටෙර්න් | Easter |
| das Weihnachten | ඩාස් වයි-නාශ්-ටෙන් | Christmas |
| der Geburtstag | ඩෙය් ගෙ-බූර්ට්ස්-ටාග් | birthday |
| der Feiertag | ඩෙය් ෆයි-එ-ටාග් | public holiday |
| das Fest | ඩාස් ෆෙස්ට් | festival / celebration |
In Germany: 'Silvester' is New Year's Eve (31 Dec) and 'Neujahr' is New Year's Day (1 Jan). In Sri Lanka we often say both as 'New Year' - in German they are different words entirely.
ජර්මනියේ: 'Silvester' = දෙසැම්බර් 31 (New Year's Eve) සහ 'Neujahr' = ජනවාරි 1 (New Year's Day). ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ 'New Year' ලෙස දෙකම හඳුන්වන නමුත් ජර්මන් භාෂාවේ වෙනස් වචන දෙකකි.
Useful Expressions
Wann haben Sie Geburtstag?
When is your birthday? (formal)
Ich bin im März geboren.
I was born in March.
Welche Jahreszeit magst du am liebsten?
Which season do you like most?
Ich mag den Sommer am liebsten.
I like summer the most.
Check your understanding
What does 'Es ist halb drei' mean?