Hello everywann,
and welcome to our German Word of the Day and if you’re new here in 2021, welcome to your favorite German learning website. Seriously… all the other sites are okay, but this one is the most okay of them all.
Anyway, let’s get on with the topic, and today, we’ll take a look at the difference between
wann and wenn
Both of them are translations for when and lots of learners are struggling to tell when to use which.
But all we need is one beautifully simple test that I’ll call the Einstein-Check.
Because… it sounds smart.
And it has to do with time, so why not.
Anyway, let’s light speed jump right in…
The one important thing to realize is that wann is a question word asking for a point in time. That means we should be able to replace it with other phrases that also ask for time, without ruining the structure.
And that’s the Einstein-Check:
“If we can say at what point time instead of when, then we need to use wann.”
Let’s try it out. First, with direct questions.
- Wann kommt der Bus?
- What time/when does the bus come?
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Seit wann lernst du Deutsch?
- Since when, what point in time have you been learning German?
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Bis wann musst du arbeiten?
- Till when, what time do you have to work?
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Von wann bis wann geht der Kurs?
- From what time, when till what time, when is the course?
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
Now let’s do indirect question.
- Thomas fragt Maria, wann genau sie nach Hause kommt.
- Thomas asks Maria when, at what time exactly she is going to come home.
- Ich werde meinen Chef fragen, bis wann er morgen im Büro ist.
- I will ask my boss, till when, what time he is going to be in the office tomorrow.
- I know exactly when, at what time the bus comes.
- Ich weiß genau, wann der Bus kommt.
Seems to work great.
But let’s do a counter test.
- I’ll go home when
at what timeI am done. - Ich gehe nach Hause, wenn
wannich fertig bin.
Perfect!
Here, changing when for at what time results in a nonsense sentence. And it’s the same in German, if we use wann instead of wenn.
So yeah, this simple test of replacing when with at what (point in) time is really all we need and if you just needed a quick fix, you can skip right down to the quiz and see if you really got it.
But we still have some time left here on our readable Podcast.
So I thought we could explore WHY the last example sounds so wrong with at what time in it.
Like… why can we sometimes replace when and sometimes we can’t?
There must be an underlying difference and by exploring that, we’ll not only increase our level of nerd, we’ll also get a nice view at how function is really really important in language. Something that’s really useful for German because German has a penchant for using different words for different functions.
So, if you have a little time, let’s geek out for a bit.
Grammar – making things simple
The difference between wann or wenn is actually pretty fundamental because they have different functions.
A wann-clause is ALWAYS functioning as the object of the verb.
For those of you who have read my article on the box-model (really important read :):
a wann-sentence is the what-box.
So… if I want to ask for a wann-sentence I would do that by asking what?
A wenn-sentence on the other hand functions as a TIME indication. So if I wanted to ask for it, I would ask at what time.
Ooof…. I’m feeling slightly confused. Quick let’s pop some Exampledine 20mg and see if that helps.
- Ich sage dir, [wann ich zu dir komme.]
- I tell you [when I am planning to come over to your place]
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Ich sage dir [meinen Namen.]
- I tell you [my name.]
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
You can see that my name and when I am planning to come over to your place have the same function…they fill the role of [something] in to say something.
Let’s do the same with to know something.
- Thomas knows [when to leave Maria alone.]
- Thomas weiß, [wann man Maria in Ruhe lassen sollte.]
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Thomas weiß [viel über Deutsch.]
- Thomas knows [a lot about German.]
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
Basically, whenever your when-sentence can be replaced by a thing, then you need to use wann in German and you do NOT need to think about whether it is an indirect question or not.
Now, let’s look at a wenn-sentence again. We said that it answers when (at what time).
Or in box speak: it fills a when-box. So it can be replaced by any other time indication.
- I’ll write you [when I have finished my work].
- Ich schreibe dir, [wenn ich meine Arbeit fertig hab’.]
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- I’ll write you [tonight].
- Ich schreibe dir [heut’ abend.]
And that’s all we need. No need for much thinking, just check what the when-clause is answering to:
if it answers to “what?” then use wann, if it answer to “what time?”, then use wenn.
Pretty simple, actually.
Let’s do a combination…
- [When I have finished work], I will call you and tell you [when I will be at home.]
- [Wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin,] rufe ich dich an und sage dir, [wann ich zuhause bin.]
[what time is the call?] [what will I tell you?] - Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
English relies on context here, which might be the reason why synonyms like as soon as or at what time are more common in English while German has a tendency to just use wenn. Because German uses two different words for two different functions – something that German likes to do :).
Cool.
So now we know what the difference is between wann and wenn.
But before we wrap up, let’s look at a few really useful phrasings and expressions with wann. Because… if not now then when :).
Some Common Phrasings
The first one is dann und wann, which translated to every now and then or other similar expressions.
- Dann und wann esse ich Sushi.
- Every now and then I eat Sushi.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
There are other ways to say this in German. For example ab und zu or hin und wieder those are more common than dann und wann.
And then there is wann anders.
- Heute schaffen wir das nicht mehr aber kein Problem, wir machen das einfach wann anders.
- We won’t be able to do it today, but no problem; we’ll just do it some other time.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Das muss ich dir mal wann anders erklären.
- I will have to explain that to you some other time.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
I am not sure as to whether this is a regional thing of northern Germany but I say it quite a lot. The “official” word would be ein andermal but wann anders just has more of a punchline character so I think that’s why people use it.
And finally there is the irgendwann which means at some point.
- Ich hab’ irgendwann letzte Woche deine Schwester gesehen.
- I have seen your sister some time last week.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Irgendwann will ich mal nach Neuseeland.
- I want to go to New Zealand at some point.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Hast du morgen irgendwann (mal) Zeit?
- Will you have time tomorrow at some point.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
Oh … and to be super-turbo-comprehensive, wann is also often used as whenever.
- Ruf an, wann du willst!
- Call, whenever you want!
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
Cool.
So that’s it. This was our look at the difference between wann and wenn, and it really turned out not that big of a deal.
If you want to see if you can tell wenn and wann apart, you can take the little quiz I have prepared. But I have to warn you… I made it tricky :).
If you have any questions about it, or about the article, just leave me a comment.
I hope you liked it and see you next time.
Emmanuel,
Thanks for a super course. I wasn’t as good a student in college (many years ago), and I’m enjoying getting to know German again. Your articles are top notch.
Gerry
Happy to hear that, vielen Dank und viel Erfolg :)!
I think our thought process is greatly influenced by our native languages. In Hindi, there are two words for ‘when’ as well. ‘Kab’ is the word for ‘wann’ and ‘jab’ is the word for ‘wenn’. I am having a hard time understanding the concept of object of verb vs ‘what time’, but I instinctively know when to use wann and when wenn.
Ha, that’s perfect then, if you have the same distinction :). No need for grammar analysis.
Oh, is that something many foreigners get wrong when they speak Hindi?
hallochen. Just wanted to let you know. I can’t see where i can make notes for this page…
Should be back up now
Supi, danke dir!
Thanks for this wonderful article! You don’t find these so well written articles on the web anymore, either they are extremely seo-optimized to result soulless or they are border line useless.
This is what the web should be like. Thanks!!
Thanks a lot, I am really really happy to hear that!!
Yes, these SEO articles are an epidemic.
I’ve even been thinking about writing an article about how these articles are actually made and why.
They’re like plastic.
Hi Emanuel-
Thanks for the fantastic article! Was super insightful. I got this sentence wrong:
I’ll know for sure when I’m there/wenn
I am struggling with why it isn’t wann like the following sentence:
I know for sure when I’ll be there/wann
I was wondering if there is a hint of uncertainty in it so one cannot say for certain “at what time?”
Sorry to burden you with this question. Thanks for any direction in understanding
It’s a great question actually!
Sometimes, when I create these questions, I am so focused on one version of reading the answer that I don’t realize if there actually is ambiguity in there and I totally see now that the first could also be “wann”. We’d have to ask an English major if the first one is clear or not. I might actually have done it, but maybe not.
So yeah… your doubts are totally justified :)
First time seeing this site but this was a good article. Fairly to the point, but with enough informality and humor that it didn’t feel dry
I am confused with these two of your sentences:
1) If we can say at what point time instead of when, then we need to use wann.”
2) So… if I want to ask for a wann-sentence I would do that by asking what?
A wenn-sentence on the other hand functions as a TIME indication. So if I wanted to ask for it, I would ask at what time.
I must have something terribly backwards because I only got 2 questions correct
Good question, it’s indeed easy to get confused.
1) This is about REPLACING “when”. If you can REPLACE it with “at what point in time”.
2) This is about the role of the when-sentence in the overarching sentence.
How would you ask for the part in [ ]? In this case, we’d ask “what? What will you tell me?”
And THAT’S a strong indication that the part in [ ] in German will have “wann”.
Does that help?
I thought I got this sentence, but still didn’t do much better on the quiz.
just check what the when-clause is answering to:
if it answers to “what?” then use wann, if it answer to “what time?”, then use wenn.
But it still seems in conflict with:
“If we can say at what point time instead of when, then we need to use wann.”
Isn’t answering “What time” (use wenn) and “at what point in time” (use wann) the same thing?
I obviously need more studying on this. Thank you for trying to help though.
Your part of the 2) makes sense to me. What will you tell me? use wann
It’s just a tiny little untangling we need to do.
You need to distinguish between
and
The replacing test (when – at what point in time) refers to the when-sentence.
The other test refers to the container sentence
Let’s do an example together:
Test 1 – can I replace the “when” with “at what time”
Test 2 – what question does the when-part answer?
Test 1 suggests it’s “wenn”, test 2 also suggests it’s “wenn :).
But technically, you should be okay with one of the two tests. You don’t really need to do both.
Let me know if that helps :)
I don’t think I could explain it to anyone else yet, (my test of true understanding) but it is becoming more clear to me and I am getting more examples correct. Thank you for spending so much time with my question.
Yeah, that’s the best test of understanding – explaining it to someone else :)!
As I said… you can (and even should) totally stick with one of the tests. No need to combine them and get tangled up :)
What is Exampledine? Our pharmacies don’t seem to carry it
I have the patent for that.
It’s examples, basically ;)
Thank you so much for awesome explanation
Glad it helps :)
,,
My first attempt at the quiz I got a 90%. But I cheated… kind of. I used process of elimination by filling in “when” with the phrase “as soon as”. If the substitution “as soon as” didn’t make sense in the english sentence I choose “wann”. Obviously the only question I got wrong was the question where both answers are correct. I think I’m missing a very important part of the lesson loll. But I’ll keep practicing. The concept seems to be right at the tips of my fingers.
Hello. Thank you for your article. I like your approach to languages. It’s logical. Logic is the thing that helps me with learning.
But nevertheless I struggle with the subject :(
Your offered 2 ways to figure out which word to use:
The 1st approach I saw in some youtube-videos about wenn & wann. But it looks like it doesn’t work well for me, because I am not an English native speaker and in some sentences where you can’t put the word – I can :) I don’t feel the language well enough. Luckily in English there’s only one “when”.
I tried to replace it with my mother language – Russian (“в какое время”). It worked better, cause I feel the language, but I struggle with it again. There’re always some examples that doesn’t work well. And the more I use it the worse I know Russian. Just because I started doubting with everything, lol.
So I concentrated my attention on the “what” & “when” boxes. It worked really well. And I can use this very quickly. Buuuut… You know, it looks like it doesn’t work in some cases.
It looks like I have some understandings on what is going on. These wann-sentences are probably indirect questions. But how on the Earth can I differ them from conditional clauses?
For me “wenn ich Lust habe” and “wann ich will” have the same meaning. Nothing changed… except the w-word. It’s… you know – looks crazy. And if they have different grammar with the same sence, then how the heck do they work?
So, finally I’m frustrated. It looks like this language laughs at me :)
Could you please help me with it?
So first of let me say that there will almost always be some examples where an rule of thumb like this doesn’t really work. It’s never gonna be 100%.
That said, let’s talk about both ways.
I don’t speak Russian but I speak a bit Bulgarian and there the difference between the asking when and the other one is a “to”
– Кога?
– Когато …
Is it the same in Russian? If yes, then you can just use that. That should hold up pretty well.
Now, about the other one, you do point out a “systemic” exception there.
In both examples you gave, both options “wann” and “wenn” are possible. In the first one, it’s a VERY truncated sentence (with lots of elements missing), but in spoken German, people say things like that.
– Wenn ich Lust habe…
This is in essence a conditional statement. If the condition that I have “Lust” is met, then blah blah
– Wann ich will…
This is a statement about a point in time. Something will happen at the point in time in which I want to.
The message of both is ultimately the same because you’re talking about some action depending on your “feelings”
The “wann” in “wann ich will.” is actually a short version of “wann immer” (whenever). So you can use that as a test, as well.
Not sure if my answer is actually helpful :). I feel like it’s a bit disorganized. But let me know if you need me to clear it up more.
Danke schön für so schnelle Antwort.
Yes, they’re almost the same (“когда?” = “when?”, “когда то” oder “тогда” = “then”, “some time”). I will try them again with my sentences-cards.
I think I got the point. Could you plz clarify it for me – did I understand you properly that:
? und so weiter
If these ^ are true, then I can formulate it as:
So I can use whatever I want (wann or wenn), and the difference is just a nuance (it’s either a condition or a time-point)? It means both “wann ich will” and “wenn ich will” are correct (even though one may be way more popular than other).
Or did I understand it wrong?
Thx!
Emmanuel, kann man sagen ‘Ruf an, irgendwann du willst!’, oder nur ‘Ruf an, wann du willst!’?
Gute Frage, aber nee “irgendwann du willst” funktioniert nicht.
“irgendwann” ist keine Konjunktion, sonder ein Adverb. “wann” ist ein Fragewort und kann eine Konjunktion sein.
Du kannst
– “wann immer du willst”
sagen, wenn du “whenever” betonen willst.
I don’t speak German and am not trying to learn, but I ran across this article during a family discussion about pronunciations and meanings of wan, win, when, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and kept saying, “I like this person! I want to have a conversation with this person.” :) We definitely share the same sense of humor!
Wow, what a great feedback :). That made me really happy, danke!!
Hey
I have looked through the comments to see if this has already been asked…can’t see anything.
“If” – I always translated this as “Wenn” also. For example: Nicht wenn aber Wann = Not if but when (making a plan more concrete but now the time needs to be agreed)
If you want to do that = wenn du das machen willst/magst. Ist das richtig?
I know there are other words for “If” but can “Wenn” be one of them? Thanks
The second example works, but the first one doesn’t. You need “ob” there.
Have you read my article on “ob”? That’ll make it more clear :)
https://yourdailygerman.com/meaning-of-ob/
This article owns. Very fun and helpful
Glad to hear that. Danke :)
Hi! Can I just ask then about the phrase ‘wann auch immer’, because to me that seems to go against your description of the use of ‘wann’. Wann auch immer means whenever, so in a sentence is that not giving a time rather than actually acting as the object? Ich tu es, wann auch immer es möglich ist. ‘wann auch immer’ there is telling you when you do it, right?
You’re absolutely right!! That doesn’t fit my description. It’s not a sentence on its own though, so just think of it as a fixed phrase.
Where can I go to learn the difference between when to use the direct and indirect pronoun?
In this example sentence: “Wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin, rufe ich dich an und sage dir, wann ich zuhause bin.” I am unclear on why we use dich and dir differently when both seem to be the object of the action.
Dictionary says “jmdn. anrufen”, which implies accusative. You are the direct object of the verb “to call someone”. Ich sage dir etw., on the other hand, means you receive something, which is what I am telling you. You, as the receiver, are a dative (indirect object) while what I am saying is the object of the verb (accusative)
Perfect!
That’s because they have different roles. “mir” is NOT the direct object for “sagen”… the information in the part after is.
Check out my article on Dative and accusative for more details. That should clear it all up
https://yourdailygerman.com/german-cases-accusative-dative/
Sorry for the broken line and any other mistakes I might have overlooked but realized after my comment was posted! Oh, I so wish there were an edit button, smile.
I have one and I rarely use it :)… shame on me!
Oh I must confess that first I needed to get the basic distinction between these two words to build my self-reliance on this topic, for only then to try and understand this much more intricate analysis which
Emanuel so brilliantly makes here and in the other posting about ‘wenn’ – and which grows in complexity with each new discussion brought about by most of the comments!
Please, I hope you understand my intention with this, Emanuel, as I would never try to downplay your excellent work, quite the opposite: I´m just admitting my own limitations for such intricacies, without first getting a previous foundation, so I can try to follow the complex analysis you´ve made here, which is, of course, very clever and actually helps us to develop our own capacity of analysis.
Vielen Dank, lieber Lehrer!
Here is my tip of a wonderful link for those who feel the same way about the need of a basic distinction as the foundation for more complex analyses on the distinction between “wenn” and “wann”:
https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/als-wenn-wann/
Thanks for the great link!! And thanks (as always) for your great and kind words. No need to sugar coat it… the article is a bit nerdy and complicated. I think I went so into depth because I felt like the basic distinction just wasn’t enough material for a whole post.
But I’m really glad to hear that it helps with building analyzing skills, because I believe that maybe the most important and beneficial thing a teacher can do is to empower the student, make them feel like “they’re up for the challenge”.