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um

around

preposition UM Common
Grammar & Structure Prepositions

Also means

at

Usage Note

um takes the accusative and means 'around' spatially but 'at' for clock times (um acht Uhr). The pattern um ... zu introduces a purpose clause meaning 'in order to'. It also appears in es geht um ('it's about').

Examples

"Wir treffen uns um acht."

Natural Translation

We're meeting at eight.

Literal Translation

We meet ourselves at eight.

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