How do you say “The eleventh hour” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is In letzter Minute, which literally means “In the last minute”. English speakers use the eleventh hour to mean the last possible moment before a deadline or an important event. The everyday choice for something happening just before it is too late. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
In letzter Minute
/ɪn ˈlɛtstɐ miˈnuːtə/
- Literal meaning
- “In the last minute”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
93 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
English counts up to an eleventh hour. German moves straight to the last minute.
The practical meaning is the same, but the German phrase is less dramatic. “In letzter Sekunde” adds urgency when the escape was especially close.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity3 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in German?
Im letzten Moment
Literally: “In the last moment”
Very close and useful across everyday situations.
In letzter Sekunde
Literally: “In the last second”
More dramatic, suggesting almost no time remained.
Common translation traps
In der elften Stunde
This reads as a numbered hour rather than the usual German deadline expression.
The notes above explain why these versions do not work in this context in German.
In context
English
They reached an agreement at the eleventh hour.
German
Sie haben sich in letzter Minute geeinigt.
English
Help arrived at the eleventh hour.
German
Die Hilfe kam im letzten Moment.
Related expressions
- What “The eleventh hour” means in English
- Miss the boat, To be too late for an opportunity.
- By the skin of your teeth, Just barely managing to succeed or escape danger.
Last updated 2026-09-12