Language/German/Vocabulary/Food-and-Meals

German Vocabulary → Food and Drinks → Food and Meals

As a German language teacher with 20 years of experience, I know how important it is to learn the vocabulary related to food and drinks. Food is a central part of German culture, and there are many interesting traditions and dishes to explore. In this lesson, we will learn how to name and describe food items, and how to talk about meals in German.

Basic Vocabulary

Let's start by learning some basic vocabulary related to food and meals. Here are some common German words and phrases:

• Essen - food
• Trinken - drink
• Mahlzeit - mealtime
• Frühstück - breakfast
• Mittagessen - lunch (literally "midday meal")
• Abendessen - dinner (literally "evening meal")
• Snack - Snack

Now, let's learn some vocabulary for specific food items:

German	Pronunciation	English
das Brot	das Brot	bread
der Käse	der Keh-zuh	cheese
die Wurst	dee Vurst	sausage
das Fleisch	das Flysh	meat
das Gemüse	das Guh-moo-zuh	vegetables
der Salat	der Sah-laht	salad
die Suppe	dee Zoo-puh	soup
die Pizza	dee Peet-sa	pizza
das Eis	das Ice	ice cream
die Schokolade	dee Sho-ko-lah-duh	chocolate

Of course, there are many more food items to learn, but this table gives you a good starting point.

Ordering Food in a Restaurant

When you go to a German restaurant, you will need to know how to order your food. Here are some phrases you can use:

• Ich hätte gern… - I would like…
• Ein Glas Wasser bitte. - A glass of water, please.
• Die Rechnung bitte. - The bill, please.

It's also important to know how to ask for the menu:

• Die Speisekarte bitte. - The menu, please.

You can also ask for recommendations:

• Was empfehlen Sie? - What do you recommend?

And when you finish your meal, you can say:

• Danke, es war sehr gut. - Thank you, it was very good.

German Mealtime Traditions

Germans have some interesting mealtime traditions. For example, they often have a sweet breakfast with bread, jam, and honey. Lunch is the main meal of the day and is usually eaten around noon. Dinner is a lighter meal and is often eaten earlier than in other countries.

On Sundays, many Germans have a big family meal called "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake). This tradition involves drinking coffee and eating cake with friends or family.

Conclusion

Learning the German vocabulary related to food and meals is an important step in becoming fluent in the language. To practice, try ordering food in a German restaurant or cooking a German recipe at home. And don't forget to explore the rich culinary traditions of Germany and other German-speaking countries!

Sources

• German Cuisine
• German Breakfast

Table of Contents - German Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Basic Sentence Structures

• Subject and Verb
• Noun and Gender

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Greetings and Introduction

• Greetings and Goodbyes
• Introducing Yourself

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Definite and Indefinite Articles

• Gender and Articles
• Plural Forms
• Cases: Nominative and Accusative

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Numbers, Dates and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Days of the Week and Months
• Telling Time

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Verbs and Conjugation

• Verb Forms
• Present Tense
• Separable Verbs

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Family and Friends

• Family Members
• Talking About Your Friends

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Prepositions

• Using Prepositions
• Two-Way Prepositions

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Food and Drinks

• Food and Meals
• Drinks and Beverages

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Germany and German-Speaking Countries

• Geography and Landmarks
• Cuisine and Traditions

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Pronouns and Possessives

• Personal Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns

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Travel and Transportation

• Booking a Trip
• Public Transportation

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Modal Verbs

• Expressing Abilities
• Talking About Obligations

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Shopping and Clothes

• Shopping for Clothes
• Buying Groceries

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Music and Entertainment

• Popular Musicians and Genres
• Movies, TV and Literature

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Adjectives

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Comparative and Superlative Forms

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Health and Body

• Talking About Health
• Body Parts

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Time and Temporal Prepositions

• Using Time Expressions
• Temporal Prepositions