📕 Lektion 9: Termine — Appointments & Days of the Week
📅 Hello! In this lesson you will learn how to say the days of the week, make appointments, and ask "When do you have time?" — all in German! Let's begin!
🎬 Lesson Video
1. 📅 Days of the Week (Die Wochentage)
In Germany, the week starts on Monday, not Sunday. Let's see the days:
| 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 |
💡 Note: All days end with -tag meaning "day".
They are all masculine — we say der Montag, der Dienstag...
Mittwoch is the only one that doesn't have "tag" at the end — wait, it does! M i t t w o c h — yes it does!
🎵 Memory Song:
Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch — that's three days
Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag — now we have six days
Sonntag, Sonntag — the last day of the week!
2. 🗣️ Important Questions About Appointments
When you want to ask about an appointment or day, use these sentences:
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Wann hast du Zeit? | vahn hahst doo tsyt | When do you have time? (informal) |
| Wann haben Sie Zeit? | vahn HAH-ben zee tsyt | When do you have time? (formal) |
| Wann ist der Termin? | vahn ist deer tair-MEEN | When is the appointment? |
| Welcher Tag ist heute? | VEL-cher tahk ist HOY-teh | What day is it today? |
| Hast du am Montag Zeit? | hahst doo ahm MOHN-tahk tsyt | Do you have time on Monday? |
| Um wie viel Uhr? | oom vee feel oor | At what time? |
🟢 The Word am
In German, when we say "on (a day)..." we use am before the day: - am Montag = on Monday - am Dienstag = on Tuesday - am Mittwoch = on Wednesday - am Sonntag = on Sunday
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Am Montag habe ich Deutschkurs. | On Monday I have German class. |
| Am Dienstag habe ich einen Termin. | On Tuesday I have an appointment. |
| Am Freitag habe ich frei. | On Friday I am free / day off. |
⚠️ Golden rule: am = an + dem = on + the (masculine day).
All days are masculine (der + Tag), so it's always am Montag, am Dienstag...
3. 🕐 Times of Day (Tageszeiten)
You can be more specific about time:
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| am Morgen | ahm MOR-gen | in the morning |
| am Vormittag | ahm FOR-mit-tahk | in the late morning |
| am Mittag | ahm MIT-tahk | at noon |
| am Nachmittag | ahm NAKH-mit-tahk | in the afternoon |
| am Abend | ahm AH-bent | in the evening |
| in der Nacht | in deer nakht | at night |
💡 We say in der Nacht not am Nacht because "night" is feminine (die Nacht)!
4. 📆 Months of the Year (Die Monate)
Now let's look at the months:
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Januar | YAH-nu-ar | January |
| Februar | FAY-bru-ar | February |
| März | mairts | March |
| April | ah-PREEL | April |
| Mai | my | May |
| Juni | YOO-nee | June |
| Juli | YOO-lee | July |
| August | ow-GOOST | August |
| September | zep-TEM-ber | September |
| Oktober | ok-TOH-ber | October |
| November | no-VEM-ber | November |
| Dezember | deh-TSEM-ber | December |
🟢 How to say "in (month)..."
Use im = in + dem: - im Januar = in January - im Februar = in February - im März = in March - im April = in April - im Mai = in May - im Juni = in June - im Juli = in July - im August = in August - im September = in September - im Oktober = in October - im November = in November - im Dezember = in December
⚠️ Rule: im = in + dem (for masculine and neuter).
All months are masculine, so we say im Januar, im Februar...
Examples: - Im Januar ist es kalt. — In January it is cold. - Im Juli habe ich Urlaub. — In July I have vacation. - Im September beginnt der Kurs. — In September the course starts.
5. 📞 Making an Appointment (Einen Termin machen)
You can now make appointments! Let's see the important phrases:
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ich möchte einen Termin. | ikh MUSH-teh EYE-nen tair-MEEN | I would like an appointment. |
| Ich möchte einen Termin am Montag. | ikh MUSH-teh EYE-nen tair-MEEN ahm MOHN-tahk | I would like an appointment on Monday. |
| Haben Sie am Freitag frei? | HAH-ben zee ahm FRY-tahk fry | Are you free on Friday? |
| Der Termin ist am Mittwoch um 10 Uhr. | deer tair-MEEN ist ahm MIT-vokh oom tsayn oor | The appointment is on Wednesday at 10 o'clock. |
| Kann ich am Donnerstag kommen? | kahn ikh ahm DON-ners-tahk KOH-men | Can I come on Thursday? |
| Das passt mir gut. | dahs pahst meer goot | That suits me fine. |
| Das passt mir nicht. | dahs pahst meer nikht | That doesn't suit me. |
| Tut mir leid, ich habe keine Zeit. | toot meer lyt, ikh HAH-beh KY-neh tsyt | Sorry, I don't have time. |
6. 💬 Conversation (Gespräch)
Here is a conversation between Ahmed and Frau Schmidt booking an appointment:
Person A: Guten Tag, Frau Schmidt! Ich möchte einen Termin.
(Good day, Mrs. Schmidt! I would like an appointment.)Person B: Guten Tag, Herr Ahmed! Wann haben Sie Zeit?
(Good day, Mr. Ahmed! When do you have time?)Person A: Am Montag um 10 Uhr — geht das?
(On Monday at 10 o'clock — is that okay?)Person B: Tut mir leid, am Montag habe ich keine Zeit. Am Dienstag um 11 Uhr?
(Sorry, on Monday I have no time. On Tuesday at 11 o'clock?)Person A: Ja, am Dienstag um 11 Uhr passt mir gut.
(Yes, on Tuesday at 11 o'clock suits me fine.)Person B: Sehr gut! Der Termin ist am Dienstag um 11 Uhr.
(Very good! The appointment is on Tuesday at 11 o'clock.)Person A: Vielen Dank! Auf Wiedersehen!
(Thank you very much! Goodbye!)Person B: Auf Wiedersehen!
(Goodbye!)
Short Conversation — Between Two Friends:
A: Hallo! Hast du am Samstag Zeit?
(Hi! Do you have time on Saturday?)B: Ja, am Samstag habe ich Zeit. Um wie viel Uhr?
(Yes, on Saturday I have time. At what time?)A: Um 15 Uhr. Gehen wir ins Kino?
(At 3 PM. Shall we go to the cinema?)B: Super! Am Samstag um 15 Uhr — das ist perfekt!
(Great! Saturday at 3 PM — that's perfect!)
7. 🧩 Simple Rule — am / um / im
Let's summarize when to use each word:
| Word | Meaning | Used with | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| am | on (day/time) | days of the week + times of day | am Montag, am Abend |
| um | at (clock time) | clock times | um 10 Uhr, um 3 Uhr |
| im | in (month/season) | months and seasons | im Januar, im Sommer |
🎯 The short rule: - am + day/time = am Montag, am Morgen - um + clock time = um 8 Uhr, um half past 2 - im + month/season = im Januar, im Winter
8. 🍂 The Four Seasons (Die Jahreszeiten)
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| der Frühling | deer FROO-ling | spring |
| der Sommer | deer ZOM-mer | summer |
| der Herbst | deer HAIRPST | autumn / fall |
| der Winter | deer VIN-ter | winter |
Examples: - Im Frühling ist es warm. — In spring it is warm. - Im Sommer ist es heiß. — In summer it is hot. - Im Herbst sind die Blätter bunt. — In autumn the leaves are colorful. - Im Winter ist es kalt. — In winter it is cold.
9. 📅 How to Say the Date (Das Datum)
To say the date in German:
Der wievielte ist heute? — What is the date today?
To ask: | German | Pronunciation | English | |--------|---------------|---------| | Der wievielte ist heute? | deer vee-FEEL-teh ist HOY-teh | What is the date today? | | Den wievielten haben wir heute? | den vee-FEEL-ten HAH-ben veer HOY-teh | What is the date today? (another way) | | Wann hast du Geburtstag? | vahn hahst doo geh-BOORTS-tahk | When is your birthday? |
To answer: | German | English | |--------|---------| | Heute ist der 1. Januar. | Today is January 1st. | | Heute ist der 15. März. | Today is March 15th. | | Mein Geburtstag ist am 20. Mai. | My birthday is on May 20th. |
💡 Note: In German we say der erste (the first) not "eins".
1. = erster / 2. = zweiter / 3. = dritter / 4. to 31. = number + -ter
| Number | German ordinal |
|---|---|
| 1st | erste (ER-steh) |
| 2nd | zweite (TSVY-teh) |
| 3rd | dritte (DRI-teh) |
| 4th–19th | number + -te (e.g., vierte, fünfte, sechste) |
| 20th–31st | number + -ste (e.g., zwanzigste, einundzwanzigste) |
Examples: - Heute ist der erste Mai. = Today is May 1st. - Mein Geburtstag ist am zwanzigsten Juni. = My birthday is on June 20th.
10. 📝 Conjugation of haben (to have) with Days
We need the verb haben (to have) to talk about appointments:
| Pronoun | Conjugation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ich | habe | Ich habe am Montag Zeit. (I have time on Monday.) |
| du | hast | Du hast am Dienstag einen Termin. (You have an appointment on Tuesday.) |
| er / sie / es | hat | Er hat am Mittwoch keine Zeit. (He has no time on Wednesday.) |
| wir | haben | Wir haben am Freitag frei. (We are free on Friday.) |
| ihr | habt | Ihr habt am Samstag Urlaub. (You have vacation on Saturday.) |
| sie / Sie | haben | Sie haben am Sonntag Zeit. (They/You have time on Sunday.) |
⚠️ Irregular: The verb haben changes in du (hast) and er/sie/es (hat) — it's not like heißen!
11. 🗣️ Lesson Vocabulary (Wichtige Wörter)
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| der Termin | deer tair-MEEN | the appointment |
| der Tag | deer tahk | the day |
| die Woche | dee VOH-kheh | the week |
| das Wochenende | dahs VOH-khen-en-deh | the weekend |
| der Monat | deer MOH-naht | the month |
| das Jahr | dahs yahr | the year |
| heute | HOY-teh | today |
| morgen | MOR-gen | tomorrow |
| übermorgen | Ü-ber-MOR-gen | the day after tomorrow |
| gestern | GES-tern | yesterday |
| die Zeit | dee tsyt | the time |
| haben | HAH-ben | to have |
| keine Zeit | KY-neh tsyt | no time |
| frei haben | fry HAH-ben | to be free / off work |
| der Geburtstag | deer geh-BOORTS-tahk | the birthday |
| der Urlaub | deer OOR-lowp | the vacation |
| das Kino | dahs KEE-noh | the cinema |
| der Kurs | deer koors | the course |
| das Konzert | dahs kon-TSAIRT | the concert |
| der Arzttermin | deer ARTST-tair-MEEN | the doctor's appointment |
| Vielen Dank! | FEE-len dahnk | Thank you very much! |
| Das passt. | dahs pahst | That works / suits me. |
| Kein Problem! | kyne proh-BLEHM | No problem! |
| Tut mir leid. | toot meer lyt | I'm sorry. |
| die Uhr | dee oor | the clock / o'clock |
| um ... Uhr | oom ... oor | at ... o'clock |
| am ... | ahm ... | on (day) ... |
🎉 Excellent! You finished Lektion 9! Now you can: - Say all the days of the week - Ask about and make appointments - Use am / um / im correctly - Say the date and your birthday - Book a full appointment!
👉 Next step: Go to the 📝 Übungsbuch exercises Lektion 09 and solve them to practice!