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I'm writing a program and need to know how dates, versions, time, and numbers are formatted in the German Language

Example (in English)

Version 1.0.0 (Build 0)

How would that look in German?

Cole Tobin
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  • In German it looks like that: Version 1.2.3 (Build 1234) You see, nothing changed ;p Btw. of course it is also possible to write Version 1.2.3.1234 – Em1 May 14 '12 at 07:23
  • But I see one problem. In your sentence you ask about how dates, versions, time and numbers are formatted in German. At least date, time and number are easily looked up on the world wide web, therefore would be general reference. Just about version I'm not sure if there is a easy-to-find reference. But why do you need to translate the version? It's either in a "about box" or in a "readme file" and for both I wouldn't translate either of them. (If just listed, in a written text, though, date, time and number should be translated). – Em1 May 14 '12 at 07:29

1 Answers1

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Time and date

Time and date formats in technical publications and software can be made according to the ISO-8601. This norm is valid in German too (see here for many examples in German). See also this question for more.

There are many efforts to adapt the ISO 8601 to all texts written in German but still the older formats are widely used. These officially obsolete date formats were therefore reintroduced in the DIN 5008. Accoring to this a date can be written as follows:

2012-05-14 - 12-05-14 - 14.05.2012 - 14. Mai 2012

Versions

Version numbering of software is done identical to their English counterparts. There is no need to change that in a German localization (this would even include your example "Build" - a term that is perfectly understood in the context of software).

Note that "version" translates 1:1 to the German "Version".

Numbers

A difference for large numbers exists in the "thousands separator" where a stop sign rather than a comma is used in Germany, and the "decimal mark" is a comma rather than a full stop:

1.022.334,21

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Takkat
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    I was thinking about "Build". I think it should be noted that any possible translation would a.) not be any easier to understand for a layman and b.) would probably confuse someone who knows what "Build" stands for in this context. – Joachim Sauer May 14 '12 at 08:30
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    Just be careful, the ISO/DIN standard YYYY-MM-DD is hardly ever used outside the IT domain. I'd say 99% of Germans would write a date: 14.5.2012 (DD.MM.YYYY). I don't think there is much confusion. So even in an IT context, you'd most likely report the date to the user using the DD.MM.YYYY format. The 70+ generation might even use 14.V.2012, that is the months indicated in Roman numbers. – Jules May 14 '12 at 09:17
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    @Jules: this is very true. I would put it like that: the standard YYYY-MM-DD format is increasingly used outside computing as well but it is still far from widely accepted. – Takkat May 14 '12 at 10:18
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    Cheers for the clarification and edit. While I support sensible date formats, I also keep in mind the high number of learners who frequent this site. If they were to use the ISO date in some sort of language test, they might be marked down for it. – Jules May 14 '12 at 13:07
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    It should be 14. Mai 2012 (not 5. Mai) in your example. Except from that I agree. But: if it comes to programming and dates/numbers you should use the tools, your programming language/framework of choice offers, don't reinvent the wheel. – Hinek Jun 07 '12 at 14:22
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    You're welcome. What I wanted to say is, don't use something static like date.Format("dd.MM.yyyy"), prefer something like date.Format(Culture.De-de) or date.Format(CurrentCulture) – Hinek Jun 07 '12 at 14:37
  • @JoachimSauer: Ich würde denken "Build" kann von denen nicht übersetzt werden, die nicht verstehen was es heißt. Der schwarze Peter wird dann den Lesern zugeschoben, die unfähig sind zu verstehen, was man nicht übersetzt hat. Und im Softwarekontext wird der Begriff natürlich auch nur verstanden von Leuten die ohnehin Englisch können, nicht von denen, die nur Coke und Cheeseburger kennen. – user unknown Jun 09 '12 at 04:28