die  Stunde

A1

Estimated CEFR level.

/ˈʃtʊndə/

🕰️ What does "die Stunde" mean?

The word die Stunde (noun, feminine) has several meanings:

• Unit of time: The most common meaning is a unit of time consisting of 60 minutes. Example: Eine Stunde hat 60 Minuten. (An hour has 60 minutes.)
• Lesson/Period: In a school or university context, it refers to a teaching unit, the duration of which often differs from 60 minutes (e.g., 45 or 90 minutes). Example: Die erste Stunde ist Mathematik. (The first period/lesson is math.)
• Point in time or Period of time: It can also refer to a specific point in time or a special period. Examples: die Stunde der Wahrheit (the moment of truth), eine ruhige Stunde (a quiet hour), zur blauen Stunde (at the blue hour/twilight).
• Walking hour (obsolete): Formerly, it was also used as a unit of distance (the distance covered in an hour on foot, approx. 4-5 km). This meaning is rare today.

🚨 Attention: The duration of an "Unterrichtsstunde" (lesson) is not always 60 minutes!

Article rules for der, die, and das

📊 Grammar in Detail: die Stunde

The noun "Stunde" is feminine. Therefore, the correct article is die.

Declension of "die Stunde"

💡 Example Sentences

1. Der Film dauert zwei Stunden.
   (The movie lasts two hours.)
2. Während der Stunde war es sehr laut.
   (During the lesson/hour, it was very loud.)
3. Ich komme in einer Stunde zurück.
   (I'll be back in an hour.)
4. Wir haben heute fünf Stunden Unterricht.
   (We have five lessons today.)
5. Die letzte Stunde des Tages war Sport.
   (The last period/hour of the day was sports.)

🤔 How to use "die Stunde"?

• Time measurement: Very common for indicating duration or time (in combination with numbers). Examples: "Es ist drei Stunden her." (It was three hours ago.), "Ich warte seit einer Stunde." (I've been waiting for an hour.), "Um wie viel Uhr beginnt die nächste Stunde?" (At what time does the next hour/lesson start?) (Often implies 60 minutes)
• School/Course: Refers to a lesson or learning unit. Examples: "Die Deutschstunde war interessant." (The German lesson was interesting.), "Ich habe eine Fahrstunde." (I have a driving lesson.)
• Idiomatic expressions: Used in fixed phrases. Examples: "Stunde Null" (zero hour, a new beginning after a catastrophe), "seine große Stunde" (his/her big moment, moment of triumph), "von Stunde zu Stunde" (from hour to hour, changing very quickly), "zur blauen Stunde" (at twilight).
• Distance (rare): Sometimes still used in rural or historical contexts as a measure of distance. Example: "Das Dorf ist eine Stunde entfernt." (The village is an hour away - meaning: an hour's walk)

Comparison: While "Uhr" indicates the time on the clock (Es ist 15 Uhr - It's 3 PM), "Stunde" primarily denotes a duration (Es dauert eine Stunde - It takes an hour). In the plural, "Stunden" can also mean imprecise periods of time (stundenlang warten - to wait for hours).

🧠 Mnemonics for "die Stunde"

For the article "die": Think of the sun dial. Die Sonne (the sun, grammatically feminine in German) determines die Stunde. Or: Die Uhr (the clock, also feminine) shows die Stunde.

For the meaning: Imagine you have to stand under the sun for a long time - a whole Stunde (hour)! (Sound association)

🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms for Stunde

⚠️ Potential for confusion:

• Uhr: Refers to the time-telling device (die Uhr - the clock) or a specific time (um drei Uhr - at three o'clock), not primarily the duration.
• Zeit: A much more general term for the passage of events (time).

😄 A little joke

DE: Lehrer: "Fritzchen, warum kommst du eine halbe Stunde zu spät zur Schule?"
Fritzchen: "Ich habe verschlafen!"
Lehrer: "Was, du schläfst auch zu Hause?"

EN: Teacher: "Fritzchen, why are you half an hour late for school?"
Fritzchen: "I overslept!" (literal German: 'Ich habe verschlafen' = I slept through it / missed it by sleeping)
Teacher: "What, you sleep at home too?" (Playing on the literal possibility of 'sleeping' vs 'oversleeping')

📜 Poem about the Stunde

DE:
Die Stunde, sie verrinnt so schnell,
Mal dunkel und mal sonnenhell.
Sechzig Minuten, Schlag auf Schlag,
Begleiten uns durch jeden Tag.
Im Klassenzimmer, still und klar,
Ist sie zum Lernen für uns da.
Drum nutze jede, sei bereit,
Die Stunde ist ein Teil der Zeit.

EN:
The hour, it passes oh so fast,
Sometimes dark, sometimes sun-cast.
Sixty minutes, tick by tock,
Accompany us around the clock.
In the classroom, quiet, clear,
It's there for us, for learning dear.
So use each one, be prepared and bright,
The hour is a part of time's great flight.

🧩 Riddle

DE:
Ich habe sechzig Töchter klein,
Doch keine kann alleine sein.
Ich messe Zeit, mal kurz, mal lang,
Begleit' den Tag mit meinem Gang.
In der Schule bin ich oft zu Haus,
Mal Mathe, Deutsch, dann ist es aus.

Was bin ich?

Lösung: die Stunde

EN:
I have sixty daughters small,
But none can ever stand alone, enthrall.
I measure time, sometimes short, sometimes long,
Accompanying the day with my steady song.
In school, I often make my home,
Math or German, then I roam.

What am I?

Solution: die Stunde (the hour)

➕ More Information

Word Compounds: "Stunde" is part of many compound words (Komposita):

• Schulstunde: School lesson/period.
• Sprechstunde: Consultation hour, office hour (fixed time when a doctor, teacher, etc., is available).
• Überstunde: Overtime hour.
• Sternstunde: Moment of glory, great/shining hour.
• Rushhour (from English, often Germanized as Stoßzeit): Rush hour.
• Stundenplan: Timetable, schedule (listing lessons).
• Kilowattstunde (kWh): Kilowatt-hour (unit of energy).

Etymology: The word "Stunde" comes from the Old High German "stunta", which originally meant "point in time", "fixed time", or even "standstill". It is related to the German verb "stehen" (to stand).