German · A1 · Family moment
How was your day? in German
Use these gentle German phrases to talk about the day together before sleep. Practise war (was) and hatte (had), and end with a loving goodnight thought.
What you'll learn
- Ask your child about their day.
- Use war and hatte to describe past experiences.
- Share affection and look forward to tomorrow.
German phrases for how was your day?
Wie war dein Tag?
How was your day?
Dein means “your” when speaking to one child.
Was hast du heute gemacht?
What did you do today?
German normally uses the conversational past, hast … gemacht, for this question.
Es hat Spaß gemacht.
It was fun.
This is a natural German way to say something was fun.
Ich hatte einen schönen Tag.
I had a good day.
Hatte means “had.” Einen schönen Tag describes a nice or enjoyable day.
Was war das Schönste?
What was the best part?
Literally, “What was the nicest thing?” A natural way to ask about the day's highlight.
Danke für heute.
Thank you for today.
A short, warm way to show appreciation for the day together.
Ich hab dich ganz doll lieb.
I love you very much.
An affectionate, child-friendly expression. Hab is the spoken short form of habe; ganz doll means “very much” here.
Morgen ist ein neuer Tag.
Tomorrow is a new day.
Morgen means “tomorrow.” German uses the present tense here, just like English.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Tag; plural: die Tage
day
Use dein Tag for “your day” and ein neuer Tag for “a new day.”
der Spaß; plural: die Späße
fun
For “fun,” use the singular: Spaß machen. The plural usually means “jokes” or “pranks.”
das Schönste; no usual plural
the nicest thing; the best part
An adjective used as a noun, so it starts with a capital letter.
heute
today
A time word: Was hast du heute gemacht?
morgen
tomorrow
Normally lowercase, but capitalized at the start of a sentence.
schön
nice; lovely; beautiful
Its ending changes before a noun: einen schönen Tag.
Simple past: war and hatte
War is a past form of sein (to be); hatte is a past form of haben (to have). These simple past forms are common in everyday spoken German.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I was | ich war | Ich war müde. — I was tired. |
| You were | du warst | Du warst heute fröhlich. — You were cheerful today. |
| It was | es war | Es war schön. — It was lovely. |
| I had | ich hatte | Ich hatte einen schönen Tag. — I had a good day. |
| You had | du hattest | Du hattest Spaß. — You had fun. |
Questions about the past
Put the question word first and the conjugated verb next. German does not add “did.” For actions such as machen (to do), spoken German usually uses the perfect tense: a form of haben plus gemacht at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Question with war | Wie + war + subject? | Wie war dein Tag? — How was your day? |
| Question about an action | Was + hast + du + heute + gemacht? | Was hast du heute gemacht? — What did you do today? |
A good day: einen schönen Tag
Tag is masculine. After hatte, the day is the direct object, so ein becomes einen. The adjective takes the ending -en: schönen.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | ein schöner Tag | Es war ein schöner Tag. — It was a good day. |
| Direct object | einen schönen Tag | Ich hatte einen schönen Tag. — I had a good day. |
More examples
Wie war dein Tag? — Es war schön.
How was your day? — It was lovely.
A simple question and answer for bedtime.
Was hast du heute gemacht? — Ich habe gespielt.
What did you do today? — I played.
Habe gespielt is the usual spoken past form of spielen (to play).
Was war das Schönste? — Das Spielen mit dir.
What was the best part? — Playing with you.
A short answer is natural; a full sentence is not necessary.
Danke für heute. Ich hab dich ganz doll lieb.
Thank you for today. I love you very much.
A warm way to finish your bedtime conversation.