01
nachmittags
in the afternoons
Describes an action that regularly or habitually takes place in the afternoons.
example
Nachmittags gehe ich oft mit dem Hund im Park spazieren.
In the afternoons, I often take the dog for a walk in the park.
nachmittags
in the afternoons
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
Usage tips
Word formation with -s
The adverb 'nachmittags' (in the afternoons) is formed from the noun 'der Nachmittag' (the afternoon) and the ending '-s'. This ending turns time expressions into adverbs that express regular repetition. The same pattern appears in 'morgens' (in the mornings), 'abends' (in the evenings), or 'sonntags' (on Sundays).
EXAMPLE
Sonntags schlafe ich immer lange aus.
On Sundays, I always sleep in.
Sentence position
As an adverb, 'nachmittags' (in the afternoons) can stand in position 1; then the verb follows in position 2. But it can also stand after the verb and the subject in the middle of the sentence.
EXAMPLE
Nachmittags trinke ich gerne einen Kaffee.
In the afternoons, I like to drink a coffee.
Common mistake
Pay attention to lowercase spelling. The adverb 'nachmittags' (in the afternoons) is written in lowercase, unlike the noun 'der Nachmittag' (the afternoon).
EXAMPLE
Wir treffen uns am Nachmittag.
We're meeting in the afternoon.
Compare with
nachmittags vs abends
in the evenings
'abends' and 'nachmittags' both describe regular times of day, but they do not mean the same time. 'nachmittags' is after noon and before evening. 'abends' begins later, when the day is almost over. Learners may confuse the words because both are used as time adverbs and often describe habits. In practical terms: coffee at 3 p.m. is 'nachmittags', while dinner at 7 p.m. is more likely 'abends'.
nachmittags
Nachmittags geht sie wegen des guten Wetters oft spazieren.
In the afternoons, she often goes for a walk because of the nice weather.
abends
Abends beantwortet sie zu Hause noch ein paar E-Mails.
In the evenings, she answers a few more emails at home.
In real life
Loading video examples...