📕 Lektion 6: Arbeitszeiten — Working Hours and Time
🕐 Welcome! In this lesson you'll learn how to ask for the time, tell the time, and talk about working hours in German. This is a very important lesson because Germans are known for being precise about time!
🎬 Lesson Video
1. 🕐 New Words (Neue Wörter)
First, you need to know the basic time words:
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| die Uhr | dee oor | the clock / watch |
| die Uhrzeit | dee OOR-tsyt | the time (what time it is) |
| die Stunde | dee SHTOON-duh | the hour (duration) |
| die Minute | dee mi-NOO-tuh | the minute |
| die Sekunde | dee ze-KOON-duh | the second |
| spät | shpayt | late |
| pünktlich | PUNKT-lish | punctual / on time |
| früh | fröö | early |
| die Arbeit | dee AR-byt | the work |
| die Pause | dee POW-zuh | the break |
| frei | fry | free / day off |
| die Zeit | dee tsyt | the time |
💡 Tip: The word Uhr has two meanings in German: (1) the clock or watch, and (2) you use it when telling the time. Example: Es ist 8 Uhr. = It's 8 o'clock.
2. ⏰ How to Tell Time (Die Uhrzeit)
In German, there are two ways to tell the time. Focus on the first way first — it's the easiest!
🟢 Method 1 — The Easy Way (Official + 24-hour)
In Germany, people mostly use the 24-hour system (especially for appointments and work). You say the hour + Uhr + the minutes.
| Time | In German | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | Acht Uhr | akht oor |
| 09:00 | Neun Uhr | noyn oor |
| 12:00 | Zwölf Uhr | tsvelf oor |
| 13:00 | Dreizehn Uhr | DRAI-tsayn oor |
| 15:00 | Fünfzehn Uhr | FÜNFF-tsayn oor |
| 18:00 | Achtzehn Uhr | AKHT-tsayn oor |
| 20:00 | Zwanzig Uhr | TSVAHN-tsikh oor |
With minutes:
| Time | In German | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 08:15 | Acht Uhr fünfzehn | akht oor FÜNFF-tsayn |
| 09:30 | Neun Uhr dreißig | noyn oor DRAI-sikh |
| 10:45 | Zehn Uhr fünfundvierzig | tsayn oor fünff-unt-FEER-tsikh |
| 14:05 | Vierzehn Uhr fünf | FEER-tsayn oor fünff |
| 16:20 | Sechzehn Uhr zwanzig | ZEKH-tsayn oor TSVAHN-tsikh |
🟡 Method 2 — Common (Informal)
In everyday conversation, Germans split the hour into half and quarter parts:
| Time | In German (informal) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | Acht Uhr | 8 o'clock sharp |
| 08:05 | fünf nach acht | 5 minutes after eight |
| 08:15 | Viertel nach acht | Quarter past eight |
| 08:30 | halb neun | Half nine (halfway to nine) |
| 08:45 | Viertel vor neun | Quarter to nine |
| 08:50 | zehn vor neun | 10 to nine |
⚠️ Warning! In German, halb neun means 8:30 (halfway to 9), NOT 9:30! This is a very common mistake. HALB means halfway to the next hour.
📌 Useful time words:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| nach | past / after |
| vor | to / before |
| Viertel | quarter |
| halb | half |
| genau | exactly / sharp |
| ungefähr | approximately |
| gegen | around (a bit before) |
| um | at (with specific time) |
Examples:
- um 8 Uhr — at 8 o'clock
- um halb zehn — at 9:30
- gegen 3 Uhr — around 3 o'clock
3. 📅 Days of the Week (Die Wochentage)
When talking about work hours, you need the days of the week:
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Montag | MOHN-tahk | Monday |
| Dienstag | DEENS-tahk | Tuesday |
| Mittwoch | MIT-vokh | Wednesday |
| Donnerstag | DON-ners-tahk | Thursday |
| Freitag | FRY-tahk | Friday |
| Samstag | ZAHM-stahk | Saturday |
| Sonntag | ZOHN-tahk | Sunday |
| der Tag | deer tahk | the day |
| die Woche | dee VOKH-uh | the week |
| das Wochenende | dahs VOKH-en-en-duh | the weekend |
| am (an + dem) | ahm | on (a day) — e.g. am Montag |
Rule: All days of the week are masculine (der) in German. Say am Montag = on Monday.
4. 📝 Important Grammar: Time Prepositions (Präpositionen)
um — at (for a specific time)
| Sentence | Translation |
|---|---|
| Der Unterricht beginnt um 9 Uhr. | Class starts at 9 o'clock. |
| Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf. | I wake up at 7 o'clock. |
| Die Arbeit endet um 17 Uhr. | Work ends at 5 PM. |
von … bis — from … to (for a time period)
| Sentence | Translation |
|---|---|
| Ich arbeite von 8 bis 17 Uhr. | I work from 8 to 5. |
| Die Pause ist von 12 bis 13 Uhr. | The break is from 12 to 1. |
| Der Kurs dauert von Montag bis Freitag. | The course runs from Monday to Friday. |
am — on (for a day of the week)
| Sentence | Translation |
|---|---|
| Am Montag habe ich Unterricht. | On Monday I have class. |
| Am Samstag arbeite ich nicht. | On Saturday I don't work. |
| Am Wochenende bin ich frei. | On the weekend I'm free. |
🎯 Summary: - um + time = at (a specific time) - von + time bis + time = from...to... - am + day = on (a specific day)
5. 💬 Conversation (Gespräch) — At Work
Here is a conversation between Herr Müller (the boss) and Frau Schmidt (the employee) talking about work hours.
Herr Müller: Guten Morgen, Frau Schmidt! Wie spät ist es? (Good morning, Mrs. Schmidt! What time is it?)
Frau Schmidt: Guten Morgen, Herr Müller! Es ist Viertel nach acht. (Good morning, Mr. Müller! It's quarter past eight.)
Herr Müller: Danke. Wann beginnt die Arbeit? (Thanks. When does work start?)
Frau Schmidt: Die Arbeit beginnt um 8 Uhr. Das ist jetzt. (Work starts at 8 o'clock. That's now.)
Herr Müller: Ah ja! Und wann ist die Pause? (Ah yes! And when is the break?)
Frau Schmidt: Die Pause ist von 12 Uhr bis 13 Uhr. (The break is from 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock.)
Herr Müller: Und wann endet die Arbeit? (And when does work end?)
Frau Schmidt: Die Arbeit endet um 17 Uhr. (Work ends at 5 PM.)
Herr Müller: Perfekt! Ich bin pünktlich. Vielen Dank! (Perfect! I'm on time. Thank you very much!)
Frau Schmidt: Bitte sehr! Um 17 Uhr sehen wir uns wieder. (You're welcome! At 5 PM we'll see each other again.)
Important questions from the conversation:
| German question | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Wie spät ist es? | vee shpayt ist es | What time is it? |
| Wann beginnt die Arbeit? | van be-GINT dee AR-byt | When does work start? |
| Wann endet die Arbeit? | van EN-det dee AR-byt | When does work end? |
| Wann ist die Pause? | van ist dee POW-zuh | When is the break? |
| Um wie viel Uhr? | oom vee feel oor | At what time? |
6. ⏳ Duration: How long does it take? (Dauer)
When asking about duration, use these sentences:
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Wie lange dauert das? | vee LAHNG-uh DOW-ert dahs | How long does that take? |
| Das dauert eine Stunde. | dahs DOW-ert EYE-nuh SHTOON-duh | That takes one hour. |
| Das dauert zwei Stunden. | dahs DOW-ert tsvai SHTOON-den | That takes two hours. |
| eine halbe Stunde | EYE-nuh HAL-buh SHTOON-duh | half an hour |
| eine Viertelstunde | EYE-nuh FEER-tel-SHTOON-duh | a quarter of an hour |
| drei Tage | drai TAH-guh | three days |
| eine Woche | EYE-nuh VOKH-uh | one week |
Examples:
- Der Film dauert zwei Stunden. — The movie lasts two hours.
- Die Pause dauert 30 Minuten. — The break lasts 30 minutes.
- Der Kurs dauert 6 Wochen. — The course lasts 6 weeks.
7. 🗣️ Lesson Vocabulary (Wortschatz)
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| die Uhr | dee oor | the clock / watch |
| die Uhrzeit | dee OOR-tsyt | the time |
| die Stunde | dee SHTOON-duh | hour (duration) |
| die Minute | dee mi-NOO-tuh | minute |
| der Wecker | deer VEK-er | alarm clock |
| die Arbeit | dee AR-byt | work |
| das Büro | dahs bü-ROH | office |
| die Pause | dee POW-zuh | break |
| der Termin | deer ter-MEEN | appointment |
| die Besprechung | dee be-SHPREKH-oong | meeting |
| der Kollege | deer ko-LEH-guh | male colleague |
| die Kollegin | dee ko-LEH-gin | female colleague |
| der Chef | deer shef | boss (male) |
| die Chefin | dee SHEF-in | boss (female) |
| pünktlich | PUNKT-lish | punctual / on time |
| zu spät | tsoo shpayt | too late |
| früh | fröö | early |
| spät | shpayt | late |
| die Woche | dee VOKH-uh | the week |
| das Wochenende | dahs VOKH-en-en-duh | the weekend |
| der Arbeitstag | deer AR-byt-tahk | workday |
| die Arbeitszeit | dee AR-byts-tsyt | working hours |
| beginnen | be-GIN-en | to begin |
| enden | EN-den | to end |
| dauern | DOW-ern | to last / take (time) |
| von … bis | fon … bees | from … to |
| um | oom | at (time) |
| am | ahm | on (day) |
| spät / früh | shpayt / fröö | late / early |
| Wie spät ist es? | vee shpayt ist es | What time is it? |
| Wann? | van | When? |
| Wie lange? | vee LAHNG-uh | How long? |
| heute | HOY-tuh | today |
| morgen | MOR-gen | tomorrow |
| gestern | ge-STERN | yesterday |
✅ Lesson Summary
| What you learned | Key phrase |
|---|---|
| How to ask for the time | Wie spät ist es? |
| How to answer | Es ist 8 Uhr. / Es ist halb neun. |
| How to say "at" a time | um 9 Uhr |
| How to say "from...to..." | von 8 bis 17 Uhr |
| Days of the week | Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch… |
| How to ask about duration | Wie lange dauert das? |
🎉 Excellent! You've completed Lektion 6! Now you can tell the time, talk about working hours, and ask about appointments in German.
👉 Next step: Go to the 📝 Übungsbuch exercises Lektion 06 and practice to make it stick!