Telling the Time in German ⏰ | Learn German for Beginners (Part 1)

Hello, a warm welcome to Unit 5. In Unit 5, we will learn useful expressions you can use to talk about your daily routine. And in this first lesson, we're going to start learning how to tell the time in German. Now, because telling the time relies heavily on numbers, it may be helpful to look back over the numbers up to 59. So do revisit the lessons on numbers in Unit 1 for a recap. As always, let's first listen to two short dialogues and we will hear the key phrases we will learn in this lesson. Wie spät ist es? Es ist vier Uhr. Wie viel Uhr ist es? Es ist vier Uhr. Okay, so let's first learn how to ask the time in German. Wie spät ist es? Wie viel Uhr ist es? Now, these two questions both mean what time is it, so you can use either. The first question has the word spät, which means late. So this question literally means how late is it? The second question has the word Uhr, which means hour. And since wie viel means how many, this question literally means how many hours is it? Remember that W is pronounced as a V sound and V is pronounced as a F sound. And this vowel is pronounced high in the mouth, almost like saying A. Lastly, SP is pronounced as an SCHP sound. Let's listen to the questions again. Wie spät ist es? Wie viel Uhr ist es? Okay, so let's now practice saying these questions. Listen and repeat. Wie spät ist es? Wie viel Uhr ist es? Great, Jo, well done. Let's now look at how you say times on the hour or clock. Es ist ein Uhr. Es ist means it is. Then you need the number and then you say Uhr, which literally means hour. But in this example, Uhr means o'clock. Here are a few more example sentences. Es ist acht Uhr. Es ist Mittag. Es ist Mitternacht. To say midday, we say Mittag. And to say midnight, we say Mitternacht. Let's practice saying these sentences. Listen and repeat. Es ist ein Uhr. Es ist acht Uhr. Es ist Mittag. Es ist Mitternacht. Great work, well done. In German, people often use the 24-hour clock. So let's take a look at an example sentence. Es ist dreizehn Uhr zwanzig. Dreizehn Uhr means thirteen hour, so it refers to 1pm. Then zwanzig, twenty, refers to minute. So this sentence means it's 13.20 or it's 1.20pm. Here are two more example sentences. Es ist neunzehn Uhr dreißig. Es ist vierundzwanzig Uhr. Okay, so let's now do a listen and repeat practice. Es ist dreizehn Uhr zwanzig. Es ist vierundzwanzig Uhr. Excellent job, well done. Let's listen to the two short dialogues again. Wie spät ist es? Es ist vier Uhr. Wie viel Uhr ist es? Es ist vier Uhr. How would you say these times? It is two o'clock. Es ist zwei Uhr. It is six o'clock. Es ist sechs Uhr. It is eight o'clock. Es ist acht Uhr. It is three pm. Es ist fünfzehn Uhr. It is five pm. Es ist siebzehn Uhr. It is nine pm. Es ist einundzwanzig Uhr. Excellent job today, well done. Today we have looked at how to tell the time in German, focusing on the times on the hour and the 24 hour clock. As always, do make sure to take the following speaking drill lesson for more speaking practice. Auf Wiedersehen!