A1 Grammar · Unit 2 · Topic 4 of 30
About 3 minutes · tables, common mistakes and practice with answers
In short
German builds numbers by saying the ones digit before the tens ("one-and-twenty" not "twenty-one"). Clock times are usually said relative to the hour, especially in speech.
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In everyday German, halb points to the next hour: halb neun is 8:30. Viertel nach and Viertel vor work like quarter past and quarter to. Stations, TV and official notices use the 24-hour clock instead.
हिंदी में समझें
रोज़ की बोलचाल में halb अगले घंटे की तरफ़ गिना जाता है: halb neun = 8:30, यानी नौ बजने में आधा घंटा। Viertel nach = सवा, Viertel vor = पौने। स्टेशन और टीवी पर 24 घंटे वाली घड़ी चलती है: 20:30 = zwanzig Uhr dreißig।
Numbers 0 to 12 are individual words. 13 to 19 add "-zehn": dreizehn (13), vierzehn (14), etc. Then you have the tens: zwanzig (20), dreißig (30), vierzig (40), etc.
From 21 to 99, say the ones digit first, then "and," then the tens. 21 is einundzwanzig (one-and-twenty), 47 is siebenundvierzig. Written as one word.
For time, use "Es ist" or "Wie spät ist es?" For appointments, use "Um wie viel Uhr?"
The biggest trap for English speakers: halb (half) looks ahead to the next hour. Halb neun is 8:30, not 9:30, because it's halfway to nine. Viertel nach (quarter past) and Viertel vor (quarter to) work like you'd expect.
| Written | Spoken |
|---|---|
| 08.00 Uhr | acht Uhr |
| 08.15 Uhr | Viertel nach acht |
| 08.30 Uhr | halb neun |
| 08.45 Uhr | Viertel vor neun |
Don't say halb neun for 9:30. It's 8:30. For 9:30, say halb zehn. And say the ones digit first: einundzwanzig, not zwanzigeins.
Memory trick
Half toward the next hour. Halb neun means halfway to nine. For numbers, read backwards: one-and-twenty.
Practice
Write in words, then tell the time.
Answers: dreiundzwanzig, siebenundvierzig, sechsundsechzig. Halb zehn, Viertel nach vier, Viertel vor sieben.
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