How to Describe Your Typical Day in German: Daily Routines with Time Expressions
Learn to say what you do on a normal weekday in German using the present tense and simple time expressions like um 7 Uhr, dann, and danach.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
In this lesson you will learn to describe a regular weekday in German: when you get up, when you start work, and what you do in between. German uses the present tense (Präsens) for these routines, and time expressions usually come early in the sentence. You will practise the key verbs aufstehen, frühstücken, fahren and arbeiten, and the connectors dann, danach and normalerweise. This lesson is about ordinary days, not weekend plans, so the focus stays on habits that repeat.
By the end, you can…
- say what time I get up and go to work in German.
- link three or four daily activities with dann and danach.
- ask another person when they get up and start work.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
I get up at seven o'clock.
ikh SHTAY-uh oom ZEE-bm OOR OWF
Separable verb aufstehen: the prefix auf goes to the end of the sentence. Use for your regular wake-up time.
Normalerweise frühstücke ich um halb acht.
I usually have breakfast at half past seven.
nor-MA-ler-vy-zuh FRY-shtue-kuh ikh oom halp akht
halb acht means 7:30 in German, not 8:30. Normalerweise signals a habit, not a one-off plan.
Dann fahre ich zur Arbeit.
Then I go to work.
dan FAH-ruh ikh tsoor AR-byt
zur Arbeit is a fixed phrase for going to your workplace. Use mit dem Bus or mit dem Fahrrad to add how.
Ich arbeite von neun bis fünf Uhr.
I work from nine to five.
ikh AR-by-tuh fon noyn bis fuenf OOR
von ... bis ... states a regular working span. The verb arbeiten is regular: ich arbeite, du arbeitest.
Danach koche ich Abendessen.
After that I cook dinner.
da-NAKH KOKH-uh ikh AH-bnt-es-sn
danach moves the story forward one step. It is more common in speech than a long list of times.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
German puts time expressions near the front: Um sieben Uhr stehe ich auf. If the time phrase comes first, the verb comes second and the subject moves after it: Um sieben Uhr stehe ich auf, not Um sieben Uhr ich stehe auf. The same pattern works with Normalerweise: Normalerweise fahre ich mit dem Bus. With separable verbs like aufstehen, the prefix stays at the end: Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
When to use it
Use the present tense for routines that repeat: Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf. Dann frühstücke ich. Use dann and danach to connect steps in order, and normalerweise or immer to show that something happens regularly. For a single future plan, German often still uses the present tense with a time word: Morgen fahre ich zur Arbeit. The difference is the time expression, not the verb form.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Wann stehst du normalerweise auf?
When do you usually get up?van SHTAYST doo nor-MA-ler-vy-zuh OWFIch stehe um Viertel vor sieben auf.
I get up at a quarter to seven.ikh SHTAY-uh oom FEER-tl for ZEE-bm OWFUnd wann fährst du zur Arbeit?
And when do you go to work?unt van FAIRST doo tsoor AR-bytUm halb acht. Danach arbeite ich bis fünf Uhr.
At half past seven. After that I work until five o'clock.oom halp akht. da-NAKH AR-by-tuh ikh bis fuenf OORA little context goes a long way
German time telling can surprise learners: halb acht means 7:30, and Viertel vor sieben means 6:45. In Austria and parts of southern Germany you may also hear Viertel sieben for 6:15 and dreiviertel sieben for 6:45, so listen for the regional form. Punctuality matters in work contexts, so um sieben Uhr is understood as at seven, not around seven.
One thing to watch for
Ich stehe auf um sieben Uhr.
Try this instead: Put the separable prefix at the very end: Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf. The time phrase sits between the verb and its prefix. If you start with the time, keep verb second: Um sieben Uhr stehe ich auf.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'I get up at half past six' in German?
Show a sample answer
Ich stehe um halb sieben auf.
halb sieben means 6:30 in standard German. The separable prefix auf goes at the end. Ich stehe um sechs Uhr dreißig auf is also correct but less idiomatic in speech.
2Turn 'Ich fahre zur Arbeit' into a sentence with 'then'.
Show a sample answer
Dann fahre ich zur Arbeit.
When dann comes first, the verb fahre stays in second position and the subject ich follows it. Danach fahre ich zur Arbeit also works.
3Ask a friend when they usually have breakfast.
Show a sample answer
Wann frühstückst du normalerweise?
Wann asks for the time, and normalerweise signals a routine. Wann isst du normalerweise Frühstück? is also correct but more formal.
For a typical day, use the present tense, put the time phrase early, and keep separable prefixes like auf at the end: Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf, dann fahre ich zur Arbeit.
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