Time and dates

The classic trap is halb. halb drei is half past two, because German counts towards the coming hour. In parts of the east and south the same logic gives viertel drei for 2:15, which confuses other Germans too. Timetables and invitations use the 24-hour clock: um 19 Uhr.

Uhr is the clock and the "o'clock". Stunde is sixty minutes of duration. zwei Uhr is a time of day, zwei Stunden is how long you waited.

Capital letters carry meaning here. Morgen with a capital is the morning, morgen in lower case is tomorrow, and morgen früh is tomorrow morning.

The prepositions follow a pattern: um for clock times, am for days and dates, im for months. am Montag um acht, im Januar. Dates run day, month, year, with dots: 03.05. is the third of May. In the north and east Samstag is also called Sonnabend. Which days count as a Feiertag depends on the federal state, and shops close on them.