How would you answer if in Germany somebody asked you “Wie spät ist es?” (What’s the time, although lit. How late is it?)
You could…
- Show them your watch or phone
- use the 24-hour clock
- or read this blog post and learn the 12-hour clock ☺
And now you have three choices to find out about the 12-hour clock in German, an infographic, a video or the slides from the video but without my voice!
If you’d like this infographic as a PDF, you can get it here: The German 12 hr clock – a quick reminder
If the infographic is not enough, check out this video:
This video is taken from my online course “Numbers in German” where you will learn everything you ever wanted to know and learn about saying and using numbers in German!
If you need reinforcement, watch the slides again. But this time YOU can say the different times:
One more thing: imagine it’s a minute or so before 3 o’clock. In English you would say ‘it’s just before three’ or ‘almost three’. In German you would say
Es ist kurz vor drei.
And if it was just after three?
Es ist kurz nach drei.
Final question: How would you say that it’s nearly half past two? (scroll down for answer)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Answer: Es ist kurz vor halb drei ☺
