Numbers and Time Expressions em alemão

Marco arrived an hour late to the most important meeting of his life in Vienna — not because the train was late, but because someone said "halb drei" and he showed up at 3:30 instead of 2:30. This topic exists so you never make the same mistake.

Numbers (0–100)

Rule: From 21–99, German reverses the order: unit + "und" + tens — all as one word.

0–10	11–19	Tens	21–99
0 null	11 elf	10 zehn	21 einundzwanzig
1 eins	12 zwölf	20 zwanzig	32 zweiunddreißig
2 zwei	13 dreizehn	30 dreißig	45 fünfundvierzig
3 drei	14 vierzehn	40 vierzig	57 siebenundfünfzig
4 vier	15 fünfzehn	50 fünfzig	83 dreiundachtzig
5 fünf	16 sechzehn	60 sechzig	99 neunundneunzig
6–10 sechs…zehn	17–19 siebzehn…neunzehn	70–90 siebzig…neunzig	100 hundert

"Der Kurs kostet neunundneunzig Euro — nicht hundert."

The instructor emphasized the one-euro difference. (The course costs 99 euros — not one hundred.)

"Meine Oma ist dreiundachtzig und lernt noch Gitarre."

(My grandmother is 83 and still learning guitar.) dreiundachtzig = 3 + und + 80.

Telling Time — The German System

The rule that changes everything: halb in German means "halfway TO the next hour" — not "half past the mentioned hour".

Real time	German	Logic
2:00 PM	Es ist zwei Uhr.	exact hour + Uhr
2:15 PM	Es ist Viertel nach zwei.	quarter after two
2:30 PM	Es ist halb drei. ⚠️	halfway to three = 2:30!
2:45 PM	Es ist Viertel vor drei.	quarter before three
2:10 PM	Es ist zehn nach zwei.	[mins] nach [past hour]
2:50 PM	Es ist zehn vor drei.	[mins] vor [next hour]

"Der Zug fährt um halb neun ab."

The train leaves at 8:30. (halb neun = 8:30, not 9:30!)

"Wir treffen uns um Viertel vor sieben vor dem Kino."

(We meet at 6:45 in front of the cinema.) Lena noted it in her phone: 18:45.

Days, Months, and Dates

Category	Preposition	Example
Days of the week	am + Dative	am Montag, am Freitag
Months	im + Dative	im Januar, im Oktober
Seasons	im + Dative	im Sommer, im Winter
Dates	am + ordinal	am 3. Mai → am dritten Mai

"Am Dienstag habe ich frei — endlich."

(On Tuesday I'm off — finally.) Hanna wrote it in her calendar with a smile.

"Im August fahren wir immer nach Österreich."

(In August we always go to Austria.) A family tradition no one dares question.

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKES

❌ "halb drei" = 3:30

✓ "halb drei" = 2:30

German time is forward-looking: halb drei = halfway to three. English says "half past two" (looking back); German says "half [to] three" (looking forward).

❌ "in Montag" / "in Januar"

✓ "am Montag" / "im Januar"

Days take "am" (= an+dem); months and seasons take "im" (= in+dem). Never bare "in" for time.

🧠 REMEMBER: halb looks forward. Picture a clock: halb drei = the hand is past 2, halfway to 3 — it's 2:30, not 3:30.

Prepositions: am for specific days/dates. im for months, seasons, years (periods).

Numbers and Time Expressions

Explicação

Numbers (0–100)

Telling Time — The German System

Days, Months, and Dates

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKES

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