A meeting starts in five minutes. You need just one more minute. Someone’s late — by a full twenty minutes! Talking about time is part of every single day, and learning how to say minute in German will give you confidence in real-life conversations and schedules.

The German word is die Minute. It’s feminine, and the plural is die Minuten. For a refresher on how gender works in German, my gender video lesson will help.

Minute is one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German, and it shows up constantly — whether you’re setting timers, checking the clock, or estimating how long something will take.

Let’s look at Minute in each case:

Nominative:
Die Minute vergeht schnell.
The minute goes by fast.

Accusative:
Ich brauche eine Minute.
I need a minute.

Dative:
In einer Minute bin ich fertig.
I’ll be done in a minute.

Genitive:
Die Zahl der Minuten war überraschend.
The number of minutes was surprising.

Some of the most useful phrases include:

• eine Minute später / früher – a minute later / earlier

• nur eine Minute! – just a minute!

• in letzter Minute – at the last minute

• jede Minute zählt – every minute counts

• eine ruhige Minute haben – to have a quiet moment

Verbs: dauern (to last), warten (to wait), vergehen (to pass), nehmen (to take), brauchen (to need)
Adjectives: kurz (short), lang (long), ruhig (quiet), spät (late), wertvoll (valuable)

Minute is a small word that opens the door to precision, flexibility, and politeness — and it’s deeply woven into how Germans plan their day.

Beginner dialogue with Minute:

A: Hast du eine Minute Zeit?
B: Klar, worum geht’s?
A: Do you have a minute?
B: Sure, what’s up?

Now it’s your turn. Think of your answer and say it out loud using Minute or Minuten.

“Was kannst du in nur fünf Minuten erledigen?”
What can you get done in just five minutes?

Take a moment — and say it out loud in German.

Duden entry for “Minute”

German Word of the Day
Now you’ve learned how to say minute in German — and how die Minute gives you the power to talk about time with confidence and clarity.

Download the free illustrated PDF of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German and keep growing your daily vocabulary.

Ready for more German Words of the Day?
Check out Mitarbeiter — and explore how to talk about work and collaboration.
Or revisit Mittel — and discover how Germans express tools, methods, and strategies.