One stereotype of Germans is that we are punctual. Indeed, it is considered to be impolite in German culture to be late when you have an appointment with somebody. So whenever you are late it is always advisable to call or text the person you will meet and let him or her know that you cannot make it in time.

So how do you ask for time in German? Well, there are at least two possibilities. You can either ask:

“Wie spät ist es?” (lit. How late is it?)

or

“Wieviel Uhr ist es?” (lit. How much is the clock?)

Your answer should start out with:

“Es ist…” (It is…)

Telling full hours is quite easy. All you have to do is to add a number and the German word “Uhr” (clock) to the sentence above. This will result in the following:

Es ist ein Uhr. – It’s one o’clock.

Es ist zwei Uhr. – It’s two o’clock.

Es ist drei Uhr. – It’s three o’clock.

… vier … – … four …

… fünf … – … five …

… sechs … – … six …

… sieben … – … seven …

… acht … – … eight …

… neun … – … nine …

… zehn … – … ten …

… elf … – … eleven …

Es ist zwölf Uhr (mittags). – It’s twelve o’clock (at noon).

Probably you know that in Germany often the 24-hour system is used, which is also known as military time. We use this system because there is no equivalent of the English a.m. and p.m. Thus, in order to avoid any misunderstandings we continue with the number 13 to count the hours from noon onwards.

Es ist dreizehn Uhr. (13) – It’s one p.m.

Es ist vierzehn Uhr. (14) – It’s two p.m.

Es ist fünfzehn Uhr. (15) – It’s three p.m.

… sechszehn … (16) – … sixteen …

… siebzehn … (17) – … seventeen …

… achtzehn … (18) – … eighteen …

… neunzehn … (19) – … nineteen …

… zwanzig … (20) – … twenty …

… einundzwanzig … (21) – … twenty-one …

… zweiundzwanzig … (22) – …twenty-two …

… dreiundzwanzig … (23) – … twenty-three …

Es ist vierundzwanzig Uhr. / Es ist null Uhr. (24 / 0)– It’s twelve mn.

As you can see, there are two ways to say that it is midnight. You can either say it’s “24 o’clock” or “0 o’clock”. Additionally, you have the option to say: “Es ist zwölf Uhr nachts.” (It’s twelve at midnight.)

Note that in colloquial language we do not necessarily use the 24-hour system but very often start with number 1 at 13:00.

When we Germans make an appointment with friends, for example, that we will meet the next day um 9 Uhr (at 9 o’clock) we usually specify that time with früh (morning) or abend (evening):

Bis morgen früh um 9 (Uhr). – See you tomorrow morning at 9 (o’clock).

Bis morgen abend um 9 (Uhr). – See you tomorrow evening at 9 (o’clock).