Setting the time format to German

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
You are experiencing an issue where the time format on your WordPress site is displaying in English (e.g., 4:30 pm) instead of the desired 24-hour format (H:i) despite the WordPress settings being correctly set.
Solution:
We resolved this by adding a custom function to your theme's functions.php file. We recommend creating a child theme and moving this function there to avoid it being overwritten during theme updates. Here is the function you should use:

add_filter('gettext', 'wpml_date_format_multilingual', 10, 3);<br /><br />function wpml_date_format_multilingual($translated, $original, $domain) {<br />    if ($domain !== 'sitepress' || !is_admin()) {<br />        return $translated;<br />    }<br />    if ($original !== 'g:i a T' && $original !== 'F j, Y') {<br />        return $translated;<br />    }<br />    $current_lang = apply_filters('wpml_current_language', NULL);<br />    if ($original === 'F j, Y') {<br />        switch ($current_lang) {<br />            case 'de':<br />                return 'j. F Y';<br />            case 'cs':<br />                return 'j. F Y';<br />            case 'fr':<br />                return 'j F Y';<br />            case 'es':<br />                return 'j \d\e F \d\e Y';<br />        }<br />    }<br />    if ($original === 'g:i a T') {<br />        switch ($current_lang) {<br />            case 'de':<br />            case 'cs':<br />            case 'fr':<br />            case 'es':<br />                return 'H:i T';<br />        }<br />    }<br />    return $translated;<br />}

If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it becomes outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If further assistance is needed, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 3 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Lauren 3 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Lauren.

Author	Posts
September 17, 2025 at 2:33 pm
sebastianS-152	Background of the issue: I am trying to set the time format to German on my WordPress site hidden link. After resolving an issue with the date format on the admin's update page with Lauren's help, the time format is now incorrectly set to English. My WordPress installation is using H:i for 24-hour time, but it is displaying 4:30 pm, which is incorrect. Symptoms: The time format is displaying in English (e.g., 4:30 pm) instead of the 24-hour format (H:i) despite the WordPress settings. Questions: What exact menu do I need to open in my WordPress admin interface to change the time format setting?
September 18, 2025 at 4:30 pm #17414311
Lauren WPML Supporter since 10/2015 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: America/New_York (GMT-04:00)	Is it okay with you if I install and activate a plugin called String Locator? I believe this may help me find the location of the string that is causing the issue.
September 30, 2025 at 1:53 pm #17445285
sebastianS-152	Yes that's fine for me - thanks for getting back to me and sorry for the delay!
October 1, 2025 at 2:49 pm #17449237
Lauren WPML Supporter since 10/2015 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: America/New_York (GMT-04:00)	I was able to resolve this by pasting a custom function in your theme's functions.php file. I recommend creating a child theme and moving it there, otherwise whenever you update the theme, it will get overwritten. I'm also reporting this to our development team so that they can fix this permanently. The snippet, so you have it in case you need it again, is this: add_filter('gettext', 'wpml_date_format_multilingual', 10, 3); function wpml_date_format_multilingual($translated, $original, $domain) { // Only run in admin and only for sitepress domain if ($domain !== 'sitepress' \|\| !is_admin()) { return $translated; } // Only check for date format strings if ($original !== 'g:i a T' && $original !== 'F j, Y') { return $translated; } $current_lang = apply_filters('wpml_current_language', NULL); // Date format translations if ($original === 'F j, Y') { switch ($current_lang) { case 'de': // German return 'j. F Y'; // 1. Oktober 2025 case 'cs': // Czech return 'j. F Y'; // 1. října 2025 case 'fr': // French return 'j F Y'; // 1 octobre 2025 case 'es': // Spanish return 'j \d\e F \d\e Y'; // 1 de octubre de 2025 } } // Time format translations (24-hour for all) if ($original === 'g:i a T') { switch ($current_lang) { case 'de': // German case 'cs': // Czech case 'fr': // French case 'es': // Spanish return 'H:i T'; // 15:19 CEST } } return $translated; } Please let me know if you need any further assistance and I will be happy to help.