German · A1 · Family moment
Mark the Calendar in German
Use these phrases to mark special days on a calendar together. Learn German month names and ordinal numbers such as “first,” “third,” and “twenty-first.”
What you'll learn
- Tell your child when special events will happen.
- Use am to say “on” a date.
- Recognize ordinal numbers in spoken and written dates.
- Say today's date.
German phrases for mark the calendar
Du hast am ersten Mai Geburtstag.
Your birthday is on the first of May.
German commonly uses Geburtstag haben, literally “to have a birthday.”
Deine Party ist am dritten Mai.
Your party is on the third of May.
Use deine with the feminine noun Party.
Dein Spiel ist am zweiten Juni.
Your match is on the second of June.
Spiel can mean a game or a sports match.
Dein Konzert ist am fünften Juni.
Your concert is on the fifth of June.
Am fünften means “on the fifth.”
Dein Projekt ist am zehnten Juni fällig.
Your project is due on the tenth of June.
Fällig means “due”: this is the deadline for the project.
Deine Übernachtungsparty ist am zwölften Juli.
Your sleepover is on the twelfth of July.
Übernachtungsparty means a sleepover with friends.
Unser Ausflug ist am einundzwanzigsten Juli.
Our trip is on the twenty-first of July.
Ausflug means an outing or a short trip. For a longer journey, use unsere Reise.
Heute ist der vierte August.
Today is the fourth of August.
To state today's date, use der vierte, not am vierten.
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 Geburtstag
birthday
German nouns begin with a capital letter.
das Spiel
game; match
Use this for your child's sports match.
fällig
due
Use ist fällig to say that something is due.
die Übernachtungsparty
sleepover
A party where children stay overnight.
der Ausflug
outing; short trip
Often used for a family day trip.
Mai, Juni, Juli, August
May, June, July, August
German month names always begin with a capital letter.
Saying when an event happens
Use am + an ordinal number ending in -en + the month. Am is short for an dem and takes the dative case. German does not add a word for “of” before the month.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| On the first | am ersten + month | Du hast am ersten Mai Geburtstag. |
| On the third | am dritten + month | Deine Party ist am dritten Mai. |
| On the twenty-first | am einundzwanzigsten + month | Unser Ausflug ist am einundzwanzigsten Juli. |
Building ordinal numbers
Ordinal numbers tell us position: first, second, third. Most numbers from 1 to 19 add -te; numbers from 20 onward add -ste. Learn irregular forms such as erste and dritte separately. After am, these forms end in -en.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1st and 3rd: irregular forms | erste → am ersten; dritte → am dritten | am ersten Mai; am dritten Mai |
| 2nd, 4th and 5th | zweite → am zweiten; vierte → am vierten; fünfte → am fünften | am zweiten Juni; am vierten August; am fünften Juni |
| 10th and 12th | zehnte → am zehnten; zwölfte → am zwölften | am zehnten Juni; am zwölften Juli |
| 21st | einundzwanzigste → am einundzwanzigsten | am einundzwanzigsten Juli |
Today's date and written dates
After Heute ist, use der + the ordinal ending in -e + the month. In written dates, a dot after the day number marks it as an ordinal. Read the ending according to the sentence.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Today's date | Heute ist der + ordinal + month. | Heute ist der vierte August. |
| Written date after am | am 4. August → am vierten August | Deine Party ist am 4. August. |
| Written date after der | der 4. August → der vierte August | Heute ist der 4. August. |
More examples
Wann ist deine Party?
When is your party?
Wann means “when.” Ask this while looking at the calendar together.
Am dritten Mai.
On the third of May.
A short answer with am is natural.
Heute ist der erste Mai. Du hast heute Geburtstag!
Today is the first of May. It's your birthday today!
Use der erste when stating the date.