German · A1 · Everyday language
Our Busy Week in German
Use these simple German sentences to talk with your child about weekly routines. Practise weekdays, afternoon activities and telling someone when you leave.
What you'll learn
- Talk about familiar activities during the week.
- Use am with weekdays and parts of the day.
- Use um to say at what time something happens.
- Use du for your child and wir for activities you do together.
German phrases for our busy week
Du hast am Montag Fußball.
You have football on Monday.
A natural way to say that football is on your child's schedule. Du is the informal singular form of 'you'.
Wir lesen am Dienstag zusammen.
We read together on Tuesday.
Zusammen means 'together'.
Dein Freund kommt am Mittwoch.
Your friend comes on Wednesday.
Use dein Freund for a male friend and deine Freundin for a female friend.
Wir gehen am Donnerstag zu Fuß zur Schule.
We walk to school on Thursday.
Zu Fuß gehen means 'to walk'. Zur Schule means 'to school'.
Du bekommst am Freitag Taschengeld.
You get pocket money on Friday.
Bekommen means 'to get' or 'to receive', not 'to become'.
Wir gehen am Samstag schwimmen.
We go swimming on Saturday.
Schwimmen gehen means 'to go swimming'. Schwimmen goes at the end here.
Wir machen am Nachmittag Hausaufgaben.
We do homework in the afternoon.
German uses the plural Hausaufgaben for 'homework'.
Wir gehen um acht Uhr los.
We leave at eight o'clock.
Losgehen means 'to leave' or 'to set off'. In this sentence, los moves to the end.
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 Montag
Monday
Am Montag means 'on Monday'.
der Dienstag
Tuesday
Am Dienstag means 'on Tuesday'.
der Mittwoch
Wednesday
Am Mittwoch means 'on Wednesday'.
der Donnerstag
Thursday
Am Donnerstag means 'on Thursday'.
der Freitag
Friday
Am Freitag means 'on Friday'.
der Samstag
Saturday
Am Samstag means 'on Saturday'.
der Nachmittag
afternoon
Use am Nachmittag for 'in the afternoon'.
das Taschengeld
pocket money; allowance
Usually used without an article when talking about receiving pocket money.
die Hausaufgaben
homework
A plural noun: Hausaufgaben machen means 'to do homework'.
zu Fuß
on foot
Use this with gehen to make it clear that you are walking.
Am with weekdays and parts of the day
Use am before a weekday to mean 'on'. Also use am with Morgen, Vormittag, Nachmittag and Abend, even though English uses 'in the'. Am is short for an dem. German nouns, including weekdays, start with capital letters.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| On a weekday | am + weekday | am Montag — on Monday |
| In the afternoon | am + part of the day | am Nachmittag — in the afternoon |
Um with clock times
Use um to say when something happens at a specific clock time. Uhr comes after the number.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| At eight o'clock | um + number + Uhr | Wir gehen um acht Uhr los. — We leave at eight o'clock. |
Simple sentences about plans
German often uses the present tense for routines and upcoming plans when the time is clear. In these subject-first sentences, the conjugated verb comes immediately after the subject.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Talking to your child | du + conjugated verb | Du bekommst am Freitag Taschengeld. |
| Talking about doing something together | wir + conjugated verb | Wir lesen am Dienstag zusammen. |
More examples
Wir lesen am Montag zusammen.
We read together on Monday.
Swap the weekday to match your family's schedule.
Deine Freundin kommt am Nachmittag.
Your friend comes in the afternoon.
Deine Freundin refers to a female friend.
Wir gehen am Donnerstag um acht Uhr los.
We leave at eight o'clock on Thursday.
Use am for the day and um for the clock time.