Times of the day in German: From Morgen to Nacht

Throughout a typical 24-hour cycle in Germany, you will find consistent cause to refer to different times of the day in German. When do you need to get up? When will you go to work, or plan to meet up with friends? 

From ancient times to today, daylight has influenced the daily structure of events in Germany and elsewhere across the globe. Understandably, words describing concepts like “day” and “night” are vital in discussions and planning. If you’re keen on mastering time expressions (or just getting around) in German, keep reading.

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Times of the day in Germany: Useful vocabulary

To make the most of valuable daylight, it’s best to be mindful of how quickly time slips away. This isn’t a principle limited to efficiency-minded Germans; across various cultures and languages, the day is typically divided into distinct time intervals. In German, these are:

While these German time expressions highlight the general parts of the day, there are also words to pinpoint a more precise time without relying on a clock:

How to use German time expressions in context

Time is an important matter and even absolute beginners will have to talk about it. Let’s learn about general time phrases like nachmittags (afternoon) and practice talking about specific times of the day.

Indefinite time expressions

Indefinite time expressions are vague time references without specific details. Examples in English include “sometimes,” “often” and “rarely.” You can also point to a time of the day (or, rather, a day) without specifying the day itself:

• Eines Morgens erhielt sie einen Anruf. (One morning she received a call.)
• Eines Tages packe ich meine Sachen und gehe. (One day I’ll pack my things and leave.)

Indefinite time is in the genitive and uses the indefinite article.

Note: Die Nacht (night) is feminine, but uses the male form of the indefinite article in indefinite time expressions: 

• Eines Nachts klopfte es an die Tür. (One night there was a knock on the door.)

Definite time expressions without prepositions

Definite time expressions without prepositions pinpoint a specific time without additional location indicators. Instead, they are accompanied by an adjective narrowing down the point of time:

• Letzte Nacht hat es geregnet. (It rained last night.)
• Morgen früh gehe ich nicht zur Arbeit. (I’m not going to work in the morning.)
• Er war den ganzen Abend zu Hause. (He was at home all evening.)
• Ich gehe jeden Morgen laufen. (I go for a run every morning.)

Definite time expressions without prepositions are in the accusative.

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Definite time expressions with prepositions

Definite time expressions with prepositions provide specific details about when an action occurs by using additional location indicators. Don’t forget to choose the grammatical case of the time of the day according to the preposition: 

An (at), in (at/during), vor (before), seit (since), nach (after) + dative:

• Ich gehe am Mittag nach Hause. (I’m going home at lunchtime.)
• In der Nacht war es kalt. (It was very cold at/during the night.)
• Ich war vor Sonnenaufgang zu Hause. (I was home before sunrise.)
• Ich bin seit heute Morgen auf den Beinen. (I’ve been on my feet since this morning.)
• Nach dieser Nacht werde ich nie wieder trinken. (After that night, I will never drink again.)

Note: An (at), in (at/during) and vor (before) are so-called two-way prepositions that can take the dative or the accusative. With time expressions, they always take the dative.

Gegen (towards), für, um + accusative:

• Gegen Abend wird es schnell dunkel. (It gets dark quickly towards evening.)
• Für den Morgen ist Schnee gemeldet. (Snow is reported for the morning.)
• Um Mitternacht gibt es ein Feuerwerk. (At midnight, there is a fireworks display.)

Während (during) + genitive:

• Während der Nacht gab es einen Sturm. (There was a storm during the night.)

If you have to give a lot of information in one sentence involving a general time, a definite time and a place, remember this: Time before place, and general time before specific time! For example:

• Eines Tages werde ich dich zum Schwimmen um Mitternacht in meinen Pool einladen. (One day I will invite you for a midnight swim in my pool.)

The importance of the times of the day in German

German, much like English, employs distinct words for various times of the day. 

Understanding both indefinite and definite time expressions is key for understanding what is happening when. For instance, Heute Morgen denotes “this morning” in German, while morgens means “every morning.” 

If you need some extra motivation to master these nuances, think about this: Would you rather get up early just this morning, or every morning? 

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Sandra Köktas

Sandra lives in Istanbul, together with her kids, cat and dog. As a historian she thrives exploring this ancient city with her two- and four-legged loved ones. Together, they also love to go on adventures through all of Turkey and its neighboring countries. The perfect opportunity to put all the language learning into practice. If she’s not on the road, Sandra is busy putting her experiences into writing as a freelance copywriter for the travel industry and everything related to language, culture and family. Her particular interest lies in providing information on animal welfare with her website contentrundumstier.de

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