1.9.1 Food vocabulary

Table of Contents

Eating and drinking in everyday German

In this chapter you learn the most important German words for food and drinks that you need in everyday life. You will see how Germans often group food, and you will meet many common expressions that you will meet again when ordering or shopping.

Basic words around food and meals

First, some very frequent words that appear together with many other food words.

Important pattern:
German often uses "das" for many general food words:
das Essen (food, meal), das Brot (bread), das Wasser (water), das Fleisch (meat).

Useful general nouns for this topic:

German	English
das Essen	food, meal
das Getränk	drink, beverage
das Frühstück	breakfast
das Mittagessen	lunch
das Abendessen	dinner, supper
die Mahlzeit	meal
der Snack	snack
die Küche	cuisine, kitchen (context)

You will usually meet these words together with verbs like essen (to eat) and trinken (to drink), which you practice in other chapters.

Bread and bakery products

Bread and bakery products are very important in German-speaking countries. Many everyday foods come from the bakery.

German	English
das Brot	bread
das Brötchen / die Semmel (regional)	bread roll
das Vollkornbrot	wholemeal bread
das Weißbrot	white bread
das Schwarzbrot	dark rye bread
der Toast	toast bread
der Keks	cookie, biscuit
der Kuchen	cake
die Torte	cream cake, layer cake
das Croissant	croissant
das Stück Kuchen	piece of cake
die Bäckerei	bakery

Tip:
A bread roll has many regional names. Standard and safest is "das Brötchen".

Dairy products and eggs

Dairy products are often used for breakfast or in simple dishes.

German	English
die Milch	milk
der Kaffee mit Milch	coffee with milk
die Sahne / der Rahm (CH, south DE)	cream
der Käse	cheese
der Joghurt	yoghurt
der Quark	curd cheese, quark
die Butter	butter
das Ei	egg
das Rührei	scrambled eggs
das Spiegelei	fried egg
das Frühstücksei	breakfast egg, boiled egg

Notice that some dairy products are masculine, some feminine, some neuter. You learn the article system in detail in other chapters, but start to remember the word together with its article.

Meat, fish, and vegetarian basics

Here you see central words for meat, fish, and simple vegetarian items that you will often see on menus.

German	English
das Fleisch	meat
das Rindfleisch	beef
das Schweinefleisch	pork
das Hähnchen / das Hühnchen	chicken (meat)
das Schnitzel	schnitzel, breaded cutlet
die Wurst	sausage, cold cut
die Bratwurst	fried sausage, grilled sausage
die Salami	salami
der Schinken	ham
der Fisch	fish
der Lachs	salmon
der Thunfisch	tuna

Vegetarian and vegan words are also important.

German	English
vegetarisch	vegetarian
vegan	vegan
das Gemüse	vegetables
die Suppe	soup
die Gemüsesuppe	vegetable soup
der Tofu	tofu

Very useful:
If you do not eat meat, you can say:
"Ich esse kein Fleisch." = I do not eat meat.

Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are often used in simple everyday sentences, in recipes, and on shopping lists.

Fruit

German	English
das Obst	fruit (general)
der Apfel	apple
die Apfelsine / die Orange	orange
die Banane	banana
die Traube	grape
die Weintraube	grape (more specific)
die Erdbeere	strawberry
die Himbeere	raspberry
die Zitrone	lemon
der Pfirsich	peach
die Birne	pear
die Kirsche	cherry

You can say der Saft (juice) with many fruits: Apfelsaft (apple juice), Orangensaft (orange juice).

Vegetables

German	English
das Gemüse	vegetables (general)
die Tomate	tomato
die Gurke	cucumber
die Karotte / die Möhre	carrot
die Kartoffel	potato
der Salat	salad, lettuce
die Zwiebel	onion
der Knoblauch	garlic
die Paprika	bell pepper
der Brokkoli	broccoli
der Blumenkohl	cauliflower
der Spinat	spinach
die Erbse	pea
die Bohne	bean
der Pilz	mushroom

Watch the gender:
"der Salat" can mean the green leaves or a mixed salad. It is masculine, not feminine.

Side dishes and simple main dishes

When you look at a simple menu, you often see these classic side dishes and basic main dishes.

Side dishes

German	English
die Beilage	side dish
der Reis	rice
die Nudeln	pasta
die Pommes frites / die Pommes	French fries, chips
der Kartoffelsalat	potato salad
das Brötchen	bread roll
das Gemüse	vegetables (as a side dish)

Simple main dishes and fast food

German	English
die Pizza	pizza
der Hamburger	hamburger
der Döner (Kebab)	döner kebab
der Salat	salad (as a dish)
die Suppe	soup
die Tomatensuppe	tomato soup
die Hühnersuppe	chicken soup
die Currywurst	curry sausage
der Hotdog / der Hot Dog	hot dog

Sweets, desserts, and snacks

If you like sweets, these words help you a lot in cafés and supermarkets.

German	English
der Zucker	sugar
der Kuchen	cake
die Torte	cream cake, layer cake
die Schokolade	chocolate
die Praline	chocolate praline
der Keks	cookie, biscuit
das Eis	ice cream
die Kugel Eis	scoop of ice cream
der Pudding	pudding, custard
der Joghurt	yoghurt
die Marmelade	jam
der Honig	honey
der Snack	snack
die Chips	crisps, chips
die Nuss	nut
die Erdnuss	peanut
die Haselnuss	hazelnut

Note:
In German, "das Eis" means ice cream in everyday contexts. For normal ice (frozen water) you usually say "das Eis" only with context or "das Speiseeis" in more precise language.

Drinks: cold and hot

Here are the most important drinks for A1 level. You will combine them later with phrases for ordering and quantities.

Cold drinks

German	English
das Wasser	water
das stille Wasser	still water
das Mineralwasser	mineral water, sparkling water
der Saft	juice
der Apfelsaft	apple juice
der Orangensaft	orange juice
die Limonade / die Limo	lemonade, soft drink
die Cola	cola
das Bier	beer
das Glas Wasser	glass of water
die Flasche Wasser	bottle of water

Hot drinks

German	English
der Kaffee	coffee
der Kaffee mit Milch	coffee with milk
der Kaffee ohne Milch	coffee without milk
der Tee	tea
der Schwarztee	black tea
der Kräutertee	herbal tea
die heiße Schokolade	hot chocolate
der Espresso	espresso
der Cappuccino	cappuccino

Very common patterns:
"ein Kaffee" = a coffee (a cup of coffee)
"ein Wasser" = a water (a glass or bottle, context decides)

Food in and around the kitchen

Finally, some helpful words that do not name a specific dish, but often appear with food vocabulary.

German	English
die Küche	kitchen, cuisine
die Speisekarte	menu in a restaurant
das Menü	set menu, fixed menu
die Zutat	ingredient
die Zutaten	ingredients
die Portion	portion
das Stück	piece, slice
der Teller	plate
die Schüssel	bowl
das Glas	glass
die Flasche	bottle

You will use these together with structures for ordering and shopping in later chapters.

Vocabulary list for this chapter

German	English
das Essen	food, meal
das Getränk	drink, beverage
das Frühstück	breakfast
das Mittagessen	lunch
das Abendessen	dinner, supper
die Mahlzeit	meal
der Snack	snack
die Küche	kitchen, cuisine
das Brot	bread
das Brötchen	bread roll
die Semmel	bread roll (regional)
das Vollkornbrot	wholemeal bread
das Weißbrot	white bread
das Schwarzbrot	dark rye bread
der Toast	toast bread
der Keks	cookie, biscuit
der Kuchen	cake
die Torte	cream cake, layer cake
das Croissant	croissant
das Stück Kuchen	piece of cake
die Bäckerei	bakery
die Milch	milk
die Sahne	cream
der Käse	cheese
der Joghurt	yoghurt
der Quark	curd cheese, quark
die Butter	butter
das Ei	egg
das Rührei	scrambled eggs
das Spiegelei	fried egg
das Frühstücksei	boiled breakfast egg
das Fleisch	meat
das Rindfleisch	beef
das Schweinefleisch	pork
das Hähnchen / Hühnchen	chicken (meat)
das Schnitzel	schnitzel, cutlet
die Wurst	sausage, cold cut
die Bratwurst	fried or grilled sausage
die Salami	salami
der Schinken	ham
der Fisch	fish
der Lachs	salmon
der Thunfisch	tuna
vegetarisch	vegetarian
vegan	vegan
das Gemüse	vegetables
die Suppe	soup
die Gemüsesuppe	vegetable soup
der Tofu	tofu
das Obst	fruit
der Apfel	apple
die Apfelsine	orange
die Orange	orange
die Banane	banana
die Traube	grape
die Weintraube	grape
die Erdbeere	strawberry
die Himbeere	raspberry
die Zitrone	lemon
der Pfirsich	peach
die Birne	pear
die Kirsche	cherry
die Tomate	tomato
die Gurke	cucumber
die Karotte	carrot
die Möhre	carrot
die Kartoffel	potato
der Salat	salad, lettuce
die Zwiebel	onion
der Knoblauch	garlic
die Paprika	bell pepper
der Brokkoli	broccoli
der Blumenkohl	cauliflower
der Spinat	spinach
die Erbse	pea
die Bohne	bean
der Pilz	mushroom
die Beilage	side dish
der Reis	rice
die Nudeln	pasta
die Pommes frites / die Pommes	French fries, chips
der Kartoffelsalat	potato salad
der Zucker	sugar
die Schokolade	chocolate
die Praline	chocolate praline
das Eis	ice cream
die Kugel Eis	scoop of ice cream
der Pudding	pudding, custard
die Marmelade	jam
der Honig	honey
die Chips	crisps, chips
die Nuss	nut
die Erdnuss	peanut
die Haselnuss	hazelnut
das Wasser	water
das stille Wasser	still water
das Mineralwasser	mineral water
der Saft	juice
der Apfelsaft	apple juice
der Orangensaft	orange juice
die Limonade / die Limo	soft drink, lemonade
die Cola	cola
das Bier	beer
das Glas Wasser	glass of water
die Flasche Wasser	bottle of water
der Kaffee	coffee
der Kaffee mit Milch	coffee with milk
der Kaffee ohne Milch	coffee without milk
der Tee	tea
der Schwarztee	black tea
der Kräutertee	herbal tea
die heiße Schokolade	hot chocolate
der Espresso	espresso
der Cappuccino	cappuccino
die Speisekarte	menu (restaurant)
das Menü	set menu
die Zutat	ingredient
die Zutaten	ingredients
die Portion	portion
das Stück	piece, slice
der Teller	plate
die Schüssel	bowl
das Glas	glass
die Flasche	bottle
die Pizza	pizza
der Hamburger	hamburger
der Döner (Kebab)	döner kebab
die Currywurst	curry sausage
der Hotdog / Hot Dog	hot dog
die Gemüsesuppe	vegetable soup
die Tomatensuppe	tomato soup
die Hühnersuppe	chicken soup

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