German Phrase
Heute ist der 21. April.
Meaning
This phrase is the standard way to state the current date in German. It uses the verb 'sein' (to be) combined with a nominative ordinal number to identify the specific day of the month.
When to use
Use this when someone asks for the date or when you are starting a meeting or journal entry. It is suitable for any social or professional context.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Heuteistder21.April
Nominative Dates
When stating the date after 'ist', use the masculine article 'der' followed by the ordinal number.
Ordinal Numbers
The dot after the number 21 indicates it is an ordinal (21st). In this sentence, it is pronounced 'einundzwanzigste'.
🗨In Conversation
Welches Datum haben wir heute?
What is today's date?
Heute ist der 21. April.
Today is the 21st of April.
✕Common Mistakes
Heute ist 21 April.
German requires the definite article 'der' and an ordinal number (indicated by a dot) for dates.
Heute ist am 21. April.
Use 'der' for 'Today is...'; 'am' is used for 'on the...' when describing when an event happens.
↔Alternatives
Wir haben heute den 21. April.
Today is the 21st of April (lit: We have today the 21st).
Den Wievielten haben wir heute?
What is the date today? (lit: The how-many-eth do we have today?)
Cultural Tip
Germans write dates using the DD.MM.YYYY format, using dots as separators. In speech, always use the ordinal form of the number, which for numbers up to 19 ends in '-te' and from 20 onwards ends in '-ste' in the nominative case.