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How to say 'one day' and 'one evening' in German

When English speakers tell a story, they often start with one day, one morning or one evening. German has a neat equivalent: eines Tages, eines Morgens, eines Abends. There is no preposition at all. The article and the noun simply stand in the genitive case, and that alone tells the listener: at some point in time, I'm not saying exactly when.

This trips English speakers up for two reasons. First, the instinct is to translate word for word and reach for a preposition (an einem Tag) or an accusative (einen Tag). Both change the meaning. Second, the genitive here looks unusual, and one member, Nacht, breaks its own grammar rules to fit the pattern.

Word list
AbendmA1 evening eines Abends = one evening MittagmA1 noon eines Mittags = one lunchtime MorgenmA1 morning eines Morgens = one morning NachmittagmA1 afternoon eines Nachmittags = one afternoon NachtfA1 night eines Nachts = one night TagmA1 day eines Tages = one day
How it works

Take a time noun, put eines in front of it and add the genitive ending -s or -es to the noun. The phrase works on its own as an adverb of time, usually at the start of the sentence, followed directly by the verb.

Eines Tages werde ich nach Japan reisen.
(One day I will travel to Japan.)

Compare the alternatives English speakers tend to produce:

  • eines Tages = one day, some day (indefinite, when exactly does not matter)
  • an einem Tag = on a (particular) day, in a single day
  • einen Tag = for one day (duration)

These are fixed expressions with a storytelling flavour rather than a rule you must apply to every time noun. You will meet them constantly in novels, fairy tales and anecdotes, and they sound natural in conversation when you recount something that happened.

The words
Day: past and future

Tag is the most flexible member. Eines Tages can look back into the past or forward into the future.

Eines Tages stand plötzlich mein alter Schulfreund vor der Tür.
(One day my old school friend was suddenly standing at the door.)
Du wirst das eines Tages verstehen.
(You'll understand that one day.)
Parts of the day

The masculine parts of the day all follow the same model: Morgen, Mittag, Nachmittag and Abend. These are mostly used in narratives about the past.

Eines Morgens war der ganze Garten weiß.
(One morning the whole garden was white.)
Eines Mittags rief mich meine Chefin ins Büro.
(One lunchtime my boss called me into her office.)
Eines Nachmittags haben wir zufällig ein kleines Café entdeckt.
(One afternoon we discovered a little café by chance.)
Eines Abends kam er nicht nach Hause.
(One evening he didn't come home.)
Night: the odd one out

Nacht is feminine, so its normal genitive would be einer Nacht. In this expression, however, German treats it as if it were masculine, by analogy with eines Tages and eines Abends, and you say eines Nachts.

Eines Nachts hörte ich ein seltsames Geräusch im Keller.
(One night I heard a strange noise in the cellar.)
Watch out
Don't fix Nacht

Eines Nachts is correct. Einer Nacht sounds wrong here, even though it is the regular genitive you would use elsewhere, as in am Ende einer langen Nacht.

Indefinite versus habitual

Don't confuse these phrases with the lowercase adverbs morgens, abends and nachts, which mean every morning, in the evenings or at night as a habit.

Ich trinke morgens immer Kaffee.
(I always drink coffee in the mornings.)
Not every time noun works

Forms like eines Jahres or eines Wochenendes sound odd. For those, use a preposition: an einem Wochenende im Mai.

Adding colour

In stories you will often hear eines schönen Tages (one fine day). The adjective takes the genitive ending -en.

Eines schönen Tages zog sie einfach nach Berlin.
(One fine day she simply moved to Berlin.)
Summary

To say one day, one morning or one evening in German, use no preposition: put eines plus the noun with -s or -es at the start of the sentence: eines Tages, eines Morgens, eines Mittags, eines Nachmittags, eines Abends. Remember that feminine Nacht joins in as eines Nachts.