Formum halb + Zahl (die kommende Stunde)
Meaning and usage
German builds this time from the hour that is coming, not the one that has started. halb acht names the half hour before eight, so it is 7:30. English half past counts from the hour that has begun, so half past seven is 7:30. The two languages look at the same moment from opposite sides.
The pattern is fixed: halb plus the number of the next full hour, usually with um for clock times: um halb neun = 8:30. The classic mistake is translating word by word and taking halb acht for 8:30, one hour off. Check the direction: German counts down to the coming hour.
Examples 6
Rufen Sie mich bitte um halb sieben an.
Call me at six-thirty, please.
Wir treffen uns um halb drei bei mir.
We're meeting at my place at 2:30.
Der Unterricht fängt erst um halb neun an.
Class doesn't begin until eight-thirty.
Die Schule fängt um halb neun morgens an.
School begins at half past eight in the morning.
Würden Sie mich um halb drei bitte anrufen?
Would you please call me at 2:30?
Um halb drei solltet ihr damit fertig sein.
You should be done doing that by 2:30.
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Der Bus fährt um 7:30, also um .
Show answer
Correct answer: halb acht
German names the half hour by the coming hour: 7:30 is half an hour before eight, so halb acht.
- halb sieben is 6:30: German counts towards the coming hour.
- halb nach sieben copies English half past; German says halb acht.
- sieben halb puts the hour first; German says halb and then the hour.
In this topic: Numbers, dates and time
- einundzwanzig, siebenundvierzig numbers 21 to 99: ones first, joined by und
- eins, ein Buch, einundzwanzig the many faces of the number one
- der erste, der zweite, der zwanzigste saying first, second, twentieth with the right endings
- der dritte Mai, am dritten Mai saying and writing dates with ordinals
- 1998, im Jahr 1998 saying a year: bare, with im Jahr, never with in
- halb acht = 7:30 halb + next hour means half before it
- Viertel nach sieben, zehn vor acht saying minutes past and to the hour with nach and vor
- 19:45 Uhr: neunzehn Uhr fünfundvierzig Saying clock times with the 24-hour clock
- 3,50 €: drei Euro fünfzig saying prices: Euro then cents, no plural -s
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.