heute schulfrei
The English phrase "no school today" can be said in German as heute schulfrei.
You use this phrase to state that students do not have to attend classes on a particular day. This often happens due to public holidays or teacher strikes. Another common way to express this is by saying heute kein Unterricht, which means "no lessons today".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of heute (today) and schulfrei (school-free).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Bavaria, you may hear Heid is koa Schui (Today there is no school) or Mir san heit schulfrei (We have no school today). In Switzerland, the phrases Hüt händ mer schulfrei (Today we have no school) and Mir händ hüt kei Schuel (We have no school today) are used.
How does it change in a sentence?
To use this in a full sentence such as "We have no school today", pair the phrase with the verb haben (to have), for example: Wir haben heute schulfrei.
Did you know?
- In Germany, schulfrei can be declared suddenly by the government due to extreme weather like heavy snow, known as Schneetage.
- While heute means 'today', the related dialect word heuer actually means 'this year'.
- The German word frei in schulfrei does not just mean 'free' as in liberty, but 'exempt' or 'off work'.
Example conversation
Hannah and Felix are talking in their living room in the morning.
- HannahFelix, müssen wir heute in die Schule gehen?Felix, do we have to go to school today?
- FelixNein, wir haben heute schulfrei.No, we have no school today.
- HannahDas ist toll, dann können wir spielen!That is great, then we can play!
- FelixJa, Hannah, das machen wir.Yes, Hannah, let's do that.
