German Duration & Periods Vocabulary
This set covers the vocabulary you need to talk about how long something takes and when it starts or stops, including words like dauern, die Weile, and der Zeitraum. One trap for English speakers: German splits "time" into die Zeit (time in general) and der Zeitraum (a specific stretch or period), a distinction English handles with one word.
Learn these 21 words
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All 21 words
plural: die Anfänge
beginning
Sie wohnt am Anfang der Straße. — She lives at the beginning of the street.
- bisA1
until, to
Ich fahre nur bis Stuttgart. — I'm only driving until Stuttgart.
- dauernA1
to last, take time
Wie lange dauert der Film? — How long does the film last?
plural: die Enden
end
Sie wohnt am Ende der Straße. — She lives at the end of the street.
- langeA1
for a long time
Wie lange fährt der Zug von Hamburg nach Berlin? — How long does the train ride from Hamburg to Berlin take?
plural: die Minuten
minute
Warte bitte noch eine Minute. — Please wait one more minute.
plural: die Momente
moment
Moment mal bitte! — One moment please!
plural: die Schlüsse
end, conclusion
Ich muss jetzt Schluss machen. — I have to end now.
- seitA1
since, for
Ich wohne seit drei Jahren in Köln. — I have been living in Cologne for three years.
plural: die Zeiten
time
Ich habe heute keine Zeit. — I don't have time today.
has lasted
Das Konzert hat drei Stunden gedauert. — The concert lasted three hours.
plural: die Jahrhunderte
century
Das Schloss ist über ein Jahrhundert alt. — The castle is over a century old.
a while
Das dauert noch eine Weile. — That will take a while longer.
plural: die Augenblicke
moment, instant
Ich wollte gerade parken. In dem Augenblick ist ein Wagen aus der Ausfahrt gekommen. — I was just about to park. At that moment a car came out of the driveway.
plural: die Anfänge
beginning, start
Zu Beginn der Stunde begrüßt die Lehrerin ihre Schüler. — At the beginning of the lesson the teacher greets her pupils.
plural: die Dauern
duration
Sie können das Buch für die Dauer behalten. — You can keep the book for the duration.
- ewigB1
eternal, forever
Ich warte schon ewig auf mein neues Auto! — I've been waiting forever for my new car!
within
Diese Fahrkarte gilt nur innerhalb der Stadt. — This ticket is valid only within the city.
plural: die Jahrzehnte
decade
Diese Tradition gibt es seit einem Jahrzehnt. — This tradition has existed for a decade.
plural: die Zeiträume
period (of time)
In diesem Zeitraum war ich krank. — During this period I was sick.
plural: die Sekundenbruchteile
a fraction of a second
Im Sekundenbruchteil passierte der Unfall. — The accident happened in a fraction of a second.
How to learn this set
Notice that der Anfang, der Beginn, der Moment, der Augenblick, and der Schluss are all masculine, so if you learn one gender you've basically learned five. Drill dauern separately as a verb pattern: Es hat lange gedauert (it took a long time) is a phrase you'll use constantly, so practice conjugating it rather than just memorizing the infinitive. For seit, bis, and innerhalb, build three or four of your own example sentences with real dates or numbers (seit 2020, bis Montag, innerhalb einer Woche) since these prepositions only stick when tied to concrete time expressions.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between der Moment and der Augenblick?
They're near-synonyms for a short instant in time and are often interchangeable. Der Augenblick literally means 'eye-blink' and can feel slightly more literary, but in everyday speech you can swap one for the other.
What's the difference between seit and bis in German?
Seit points backward: it marks the starting point of something ongoing, like seit einer Woche (for a week now). Bis points forward: it marks the endpoint, like bis Freitag (until Friday). Mixing them up is a common English-speaker mistake because English 'since' and 'until' don't always map cleanly onto German tense use.
What is the difference between der Anfang and der Beginn?
Both mean 'beginning' and are largely interchangeable. Der Anfang is more common in everyday speech, while der Beginn shows up more in formal or written contexts, such as announcements or official schedules.
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