Significado
Asking for the current time of day.
Contexto cultural
Punctuality is a high priority. If you ask 'Wie spät ist es?' and realize you are late, it is common to apologize immediately. Swiss watches are world-famous, and the Swiss are even more precise about time than Germans. Asking the time is often met with a very exact answer, down to the minute. In Austria, the pace of life can be slightly more relaxed ('Gemütlichkeit'), but the 24-hour clock is still the standard for all public transport and events. In many parts of the former East, the 'Viertel' system is used. 'Viertel acht' means 7:15. This can be very confusing for Western Germans!
The 'Schon' Trick
Add 'schon' (already) to sound more natural if you think it's late: 'Wie spät ist es schon?'
Don't say 'Was'!
Never start the question with 'Was'. It's always 'Wie' (How) or 'Wie viel' (How much).
Significado
Asking for the current time of day.
The 'Schon' Trick
Add 'schon' (already) to sound more natural if you think it's late: 'Wie spät ist es schon?'
Don't say 'Was'!
Never start the question with 'Was'. It's always 'Wie' (How) or 'Wie viel' (How much).
24-Hour Clock
Be prepared for answers like 'Es ist siebzehn Uhr'. Subtract 12 to get 5 PM.
Ponte a prueba
Fill in the missing word to ask the time.
Wie _______ ist es?
The standard phrase is 'Wie spät ist es?'.
Which of these is a polite way to ask a stranger for the time?
Select the best option:
'Entschuldigung' adds the necessary politeness for a stranger.
Complete the dialogue.
A: Wie spät ist es? B: Es ist _________ (8:00).
We use 'Uhr' to indicate the time on the clock.
Match the phrase to the situation.
You want to ask the time very formally.
This uses the subjunctive 'könnten' and the formal noun 'Uhrzeit'.
🎉 Puntuación: /4
Ayudas visuales
Ways to Ask the Time
Standard
- • Wie spät ist es?
- • Wie viel Uhr ist es?
Polite
- • Haben Sie die Uhrzeit?
- • Wissen Sie, wie spät es ist?
Casual
- • Wie spät haben wir's?
- • Wie spät?
Banco de ejercicios
4 ejerciciosWie _______ ist es?
The standard phrase is 'Wie spät ist es?'.
Select the best option:
'Entschuldigung' adds the necessary politeness for a stranger.
A: Wie spät ist es? B: Es ist _________ (8:00).
We use 'Uhr' to indicate the time on the clock.
You want to ask the time very formally.
This uses the subjunctive 'könnten' and the formal noun 'Uhrzeit'.
🎉 Puntuación: /4
Preguntas frecuentes
10 preguntasIn spoken German, 'Wie spät ist es?' is slightly more common, but both are perfectly natural and interchangeable.
Yes, in very informal settings with friends, you can shorten it to 'Wie spät?', but it's better to use the full sentence with strangers.
You start with 'Es ist...' followed by the time, e.g., 'Es ist zwei Uhr'.
Just add 'in [City]' at the end: 'Wie spät ist es in New York?'
It's a linguistic tradition that views time as the progression of the day toward the evening.
Not at all! Just start with 'Entschuldigung' (Excuse me) to be polite.
Yes, usually. 'Es ist fünf' is okay, but 'Es ist fünf Uhr' is more standard.
It's a colloquial variation that literally means 'How late do we have it?'.
Use 'Um wie viel Uhr?'. For example: 'Um wie viel Uhr beginnt der Film?'
In this phrase, yes. It describes the state of the day.
Frases relacionadas
Wie viel Uhr ist es?
synonymWhat time is it?
Um wie viel Uhr?
builds onAt what time?
Es ist spät.
similarIt is late.
Die Uhrzeit
specialized formThe clock-time
