This subject will torment me for ever. Keep in mind that I am a guy who stares at my watch for at least 10 seconds eveytime I need to tell the time. I should buy a digital, but the analog face look so much better…

But the Germans have made the whole thing about ten times more complicated… for example.

Where we would say five thirty five for 5:35, they would say five minutes past half an hour before six…. which sounds like fünf nach halb sechs.

The first thing to remember is that they never say “half past”, it is always “half before”. So halb sechs is half past five…

The next thing to remember is that they use those half hour references the same way we use the hour references. So where we would say twenty five minutes past five, they would say five minutes to half six, or fünf vor halb sechs.

Rather than using AM or PM they use 24 hour references. So 2 O’clock in the afternoon is 14 O’clock, Viertzehn Uhr. (Uhr is German for O’clock)

Note: Uhr is also German for clock, or watch. die Uhr

Most of the other stuff is basically the same.

5 minutes to six is fünf vor sechs

Quarter past seven would be Viertel nach seben

In their defence, many of them have realised the error of their ways, and now speak purely in 24 hour time. So 10:30 in the evening (22:30)  is simply Zwei und zwanzig, dreißig

If this is confusing, you might want to check out a professional explanation on telling the time in German.