1.5.4 Dates and seasons

Table of Contents

Understanding Dates in German

In this chapter you learn how to say and write calendar dates and how to talk about the seasons in German. You already know numbers and time, so here the focus is on the special patterns that German uses for days, months, and seasons.

Days, Months, and the Structure of a Date

In German, a full date follows this basic order: day, month, year.

For example, English “March 5, 2024” becomes in German: “5. März 2024.”

You normally write the date in this numeric order:

Day.Month.Year

Examples:
“01.02.2024”, “15.08.1999”, “31.12.2020”

Important:
• German order: day.month.year
• Put a dot after the day number: “5.”, “21.”

When you read the written date, the month is capitalized, because it is a noun.

Example:
“5. März 2024”
Literally: “fifth March 2024”

Ordinal Numbers for Dates

Dates use ordinal numbers, like “first, second, third” in English. In German, written dates usually show only the number with a dot, but when you say the date, you use the ordinal word.

For the dates of the month, these forms are especially important:

Numeral	Spoken German (ordinal)	English
1.	der erste	the first
2.	der zweite	the second
3.	der dritte	the third
4.	der vierte	the fourth
5.	der fünfte	the fifth
6.	der sechste	the sixth
7.	der siebte	the seventh
8.	der achte	the eighth
9.	der neunte	the ninth
10.	der zehnte	the tenth
11.	der elfte	the eleventh
12.	der zwölfte	the twelfth
13.	der dreizehnte	the thirteenth
14.	der vierzehnte	the fourteenth
15.	der fünfzehnte	the fifteenth
16.	der sechzehnte	the sixteenth
17.	der siebzehnte	the seventeenth
18.	der achtzehnte	the eighteenth
19.	der neunzehnte	the nineteenth
20.	der zwanzigste	the twentieth
21.	der einundzwanzigste	the twenty-first
22.	der zweiundzwanzigste	the twenty-second
23.	der dreiundzwanzigste	the twenty-third
24.	der vierundzwanzigste	the twenty-fourth
25.	der fünfundzwanzigste	the twenty-fifth
26.	der sechsundzwanzigste	the twenty-sixth
27.	der siebenundzwanzigste	the twenty-seventh
28.	der achtundzwanzigste	the twenty-eighth
29.	der neunundzwanzigste	the twenty-ninth
30.	der dreißigste	the thirtieth
31.	der einunddreißigste	the thirty-first

For all dates from 1 to 19, the ordinal ends in “-te.”
From 20 upward, the ordinal ends in “-ste.”

Pattern:
• 1–19: ordinal = number + -te (z. B. vierzehnte)
• 20 and higher: ordinal = number + -ste (z. B. zwanzigste)
• In written dates: use the dot, not the ending: “14.”, not “14te.”

Saying “On” a Certain Date

To say “on the first of May,” German uses a special form with “am,” which is a combination of a preposition and an article.

Structure: “am” + ordinal number with “-n” ending + month.

Examples:
“am ersten Januar” = on the first of January
“am dritten März” = on the third of March
“am zwanzigsten Oktober” = on the twentieth of October

Formula:
am + ordinal number (with -n) + month
Example: am fünften Juli = on the fifth of July

You can combine this with a year:

“am fünften Juli 2024” = on July 5th, 2024

Often, in normal speech, the year is just said as the full number, for example “zweitausendvierundzwanzig.”

Asking and Answering about the Date

There are common phrases for asking today’s date or a specific date.

To ask for today’s date, you can say:
“Welches Datum ist heute?”
or:
“Der Wievielte ist heute?”

To answer with “today,” use “Heute ist” plus the date:

“Heute ist der zwölfte Mai.”
“Heute ist der 12. Mai.” (written with numbers and a dot)

If someone asks about a specific date, for example for a party, you can say:

“Die Party ist am 15. August.”
“Mein Geburtstag ist am einunddreißigsten Januar.”

Here, the spoken form uses the full ordinal, but in writing you usually use the number with a dot:

“Die Party ist am 15. August.”
“Mein Geburtstag ist am 31. Januar.”

Months in German

Here are the 12 months with their English equivalents. All months are masculine in German.

German	English
Januar	January
Februar	February
März	March
April	April
Mai	May
Juni	June
Juli	July
August	August
September	September
Oktober	October
November	November
Dezember	December

To say “in January,” you simply use “im Januar,” “im Februar,” etc.:

“Im April” = in April
“Im Dezember” = in December

You can also say “im Januar 2023” for “in January 2023.”

Seasons in German

German uses four seasons, similar to English. They are all masculine and capitalized because they are nouns.

German	English
der Frühling	spring
der Sommer	summer
der Herbst	autumn / fall
der Winter	winter

To say “in spring,” “in summer,” and so on, German usually uses “im” plus the season.

“im Frühling” = in (the) spring
“im Sommer” = in (the) summer
“im Herbst” = in (the) autumn / fall
“im Winter” = in (the) winter

Examples in short sentences:

“Im Sommer ist es warm.”
“In summer it is warm.”

“Im Winter ist es oft kalt.”
“In winter it is often cold.”

You can also connect seasons with months:

“Der Sommer beginnt im Juni.”
“Der Herbst ist im September, Oktober und November.”

Talking about Birthdays and Holidays

German speakers often talk about birthdays and holidays with the same patterns you have learned.

For birthdays, a frequent question is:

“Wann hast du Geburtstag?” = When is your birthday?
or politely: “Wann haben Sie Geburtstag?”

To answer, you use “am” plus the ordinal and the month:

“Ich habe am vierten November Geburtstag.”
“My birthday is on the fourth of November.”

With holidays:

“Weihnachten ist im Dezember.” = Christmas is in December.
“Silvester ist am 31. Dezember.” = New Year’s Eve is on the 31st of December.
“Ostern ist im Frühling.” = Easter is in spring.

You can see that German uses “im” with the month or season, and “am” for the exact calendar day.

Summary:
• am + day = on a specific date
• im + month / season = in a month or in a season
Examples: am 3. April, im April, im Frühling

New Vocabulary in This Chapter

German	English
das Datum	the date
der Tag	the day
der Monat	the month
das Jahr	the year
am	on (a specific day / date)
im	in (a month or season)
der erste	the first
der zweite	the second
der dritte	the third
der vierte	the fourth
der fünfte	the fifth
der sechste	the sixth
der siebte	the seventh
der achte	the eighth
der neunte	the ninth
der zehnte	the tenth
der elfte	the eleventh
der zwölfte	the twelfth
der dreizehnte	the thirteenth
der vierzehnte	the fourteenth
der fünfzehnte	the fifteenth
der sechzehnte	the sixteenth
der siebzehnte	the seventeenth
der achtzehnte	the eighteenth
der neunzehnte	the nineteenth
der zwanzigste	the twentieth
der einundzwanzigste	the twenty-first
der zweiundzwanzigste	the twenty-second
der dreiundzwanzigste	the twenty-third
der vierundzwanzigste	the twenty-fourth
der fünfundzwanzigste	the twenty-fifth
der sechsundzwanzigste	the twenty-sixth
der siebenundzwanzigste	the twenty-seventh
der achtundzwanzigste	the twenty-eighth
der neunundzwanzigste	the twenty-ninth
der dreißigste	the thirtieth
der einunddreißigste	the thirty-first
Januar	January
Februar	February
März	March
April	April
Mai	May
Juni	June
Juli	July
August	August
September	September
Oktober	October
November	November
Dezember	December
der Frühling	spring
der Sommer	summer
der Herbst	autumn / fall
der Winter	winter
heute	today
Welches Datum ist heute?	What is the date today?
Der Wievielte ist heute?	What is the date today? (lit. which day of the month is today?)
der Geburtstag	birthday
Wann hast du Geburtstag?	When is your birthday? (informal)
Wann haben Sie Geburtstag?	When is your birthday? (formal)
Weihnachten	Christmas
Silvester	New Year’s Eve
Ostern	Easter

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