wie spät ist es?
The German phrase for "what time is it?" is wie spät ist es?
This phrase is used to ask someone for the current time of day.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, wie spät ist es? translates to "how late is it?"
Which one should you use?
While an English speaker asks "What time is it?", the idiomatic German way to ask the same question is wie spät ist es?, which literally asks "How late is it?"
Did you know?
- When answering this question in casual conversation, Germans often use a 'half-hour' system that counts toward the next hour, such as halb vier meaning 3:30.
- Because the phrase asks 'how late' it is, a German speaker might respond with 'Es ist erst…' (It is only…) to suggest that it is still early.
- While wie spät ist es? is common, you can also ask wie viel Uhr ist es?, which literally means 'how much clock is it?'
Examples in context
- Entschuldigen Sie, wie spät ist es?Excuse me, what time is it?
- Es ist halb drei.It is half past two.
Example conversation
Hannah and Maximilian are waiting for a train at the station.
- HannahMaximilian, wie spät ist es?Maximilian, what time is it?
- MaximilianEs ist genau fünf Uhr.It is exactly five o'clock.
- HannahOh, dann kommt der Zug bald.Oh, then the train is coming soon.
- MaximilianJa, wir müssen uns beeilen.Yes, we must hurry.
