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Learn to Speak German Online:
German Grammar Guidebook

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Germans have two words for the English concept "time." When expressing "time" as a quantity, i.e. how much time, use Zeit.
 

Wie viel Zeit haben Sie?
How much time do you have?

When expressing "time" as an occurrence, i.e. how many times, use Mal.
 

Wie viele Male waren Sie schon in Frankfurt?
How many times have you been to Frankfurt already?

With numerals, Mal is usually written as one word.
 

einmal, zweimal, dreimal, usw.
once, twice, three times, etc.


Examples of Mal and Zeit

  • Du, Michael. Das ist ja großartig, dass du auch Zeit hast, die Saalmanns in Braunschweig zu besuchen.
  • Während ihr hier seid, müssen wir einmal ins Theater oder in die Oper.