All the GERMAN WORDS you need to speak about FOOD in German

Finally I get to talk about my favorite topic! Food! I recommend not to watch this video hungry, because it will get mouth watering!

Ich bin Spring German Lehrerin Brunhild. Hier kommt deutsches Essen! (I am Spring German teacher Brunhild and here comes food in German!)

1. Brot (Bread)

Sorry, I have to mention this first because it goes with so many meals. Deutsches Brot is so special! We have something for every taste and preference! Here are some kinds of bread you could order in a deutsche Bäckerei (German bakery).

• Bauernbrot (farmhouse bread)
• Vollkornbrot (whole-grain bread)
• Roggenbrot (rye bread)
• Weizenbrot (wheat bread)

But some people prefer

• Toastbrot (toast) or
• Knäckebrot (crispbread)

KIM
Guten Morgen!
(Guten Morgen!)

LENA
Guten Morgen! Welches Brot möchtest du lieber? Weizenbrot oder Roggenbrot?
(Good morning! Which bread to you prefer? Wheat bread or rye bread?)

KIM
Wieso hast du kein Toastbrot?
(Why don’t you have any toast?)

LENA
Hmm … wie wäre es mit Knäckebrot?
(Hmm… how about crispbread?)

KIM
Na gut.
(Fine.)

Was tun wir auf das Brot? (What do we put on the bread?)

Great with Brot goes:

• Butter (butter)
• Käse (cheese)
• Aufstrich (spread)
• Honig (honey)
• Marmelade (jam)
• Schokocreme (chokolate spread), of which there are many kinds, the most common one probably being
• Nutella (Nutella), which I don’t have right now. But who needs Nutella when you have
• Erdnussbutter (peanut butter)?

LENA
Möchtest du Marmelade oder Aufstrich auf dein Knäckebrot?
(Good morning! Would you prefer jam or bread spread with your toast?)

KATHARINA
Hast du Erdnussbutter? Ich liebe Erdnussbutter!
(Do you have peanut butter? I love peanut butter.)

LENA
Ja, klar.
(Yes, sure.)

Womit belegst du dein Brot am liebsten? (What is your favorite bread topping?) Apart from the toppings I mentioned, there is also a really weird one which is quite popular. I’m talking about it in this video about weird things in German supermarkets: //

2. Suppen (soups)

Brot (bread) goes great with soup, like:

• Tomatensuppe (tomato soup)
• Eintopf (stew)
• Kürbissuppe (pumpkin soup)

KIM
Wann gibt’s Essen? Ich habe Hunger!
(When is lunch? I am hungry!)

EVA
In einer Stunde.
(In one hour.)

KIM
Was gibt es?
(What are you making?)

EVA
Kürbissuppe.
(Pumpkin soup.)

KIM
Wieso immer Suppe? Ich brauche etwas Festes!
(Why always soup? I need something solid!)

EVA
Du kannst einen Salat als Vorspeise essen.
(You can have a salad as a starter.)

KIM
Bin ich ein Kaninchen?
(Am I a bunny?)

EVA
Stell dich nicht so an. Das ist gesund!
(Don’t make a fuss. It’s healthy!)

CHUNK ALERT!
Stell dich nicht so an! (Don’t make a fuss!) literally means “Don’t stand yourself… in line like that!” It’s almost impossible to translate. Either way, it’s about telling the other person that they’re exaggerating. It’s the perfect expression if you wanna to finish an argument quickly while maintaining the upper hand.

To help you place German idioms and use them correctly yourself, take a look at the link in the description. You will find our German chunking kit which you can download. Like the name already suggests, it’s completely free.

3. Fleischgerichte (meat dishes)

Very popular Fleischgerichte (meat-based dishes) in Bavaria are:

• Bratkartoffeln mit Speck (Fried potatoes with bacon)
• Hackbraten (Meatloaf)
• Sauerbraten (Sour roast), which is a
• Schmorbraten (Pot roast) that has been pre-treated for several days in an aspic of vinegar and what not.

I realize there’s a lot of Braten (roast) going on in Germany. I never reflected on what a roastland we are.

Except of Braten, there is another kind of meat we can’t live without: Wurst (sausage), which shows through all the meals that have some kind of Wurst in them. Like

• Weißwurst mit Senf (Veal sausage with mustard)
• Bratwurst mit Sauerkraut *(*Bratwurst with sauerkraut)
• Rostbratwürste (grilled sausages)

If Fleisch (meat) isn’t really your thing, fear not. There are Alternativen (alternatives).

4. Vegetarische Gerichte (vegetarian dishes)

Katharina
Was isst du da?
(What are you eating?)

Baileys
Vegetarisch gefüllte Paprika mit Reis. Möchtest du probieren?
(Vegetarian stuffed peppers with rice. Would you like to try?)

Katharina
Gerne! Mmh, lecker! Ich wusste gar nicht, dass vegetarisches Essen so gut schmeckt!

Baileys
Ich koche halt mit Liebe!
(I cook with love!)

If you agree that meat isn’t the best option for every meal of every day, you might wanna cook vegetarisch (vegetarian), at least every so often. 😉 Apart from Salate (sallads), which we will take a closer look at later on in the video, you could try these dishes:

• vegetarisch gefüllte Paprika (vegetarian stuffed peppers), as we’ve just seen. But you could also try
• Kartoffelgratin (potato bake),
• Nudelauflauf (pasta casserole)
• Käsespätzle (spaetzle), all of which are classics.

KIM
Ich habe so Hunger! Können wir einen Döner holen?
(I am so hungry! Can we get a Doner?)

EVA
Ich wollte Käsespätzle kochen!
(I wanted to cook spaetzle!)

KIM
Du immer mit deinen vegetarischen Gerichten.
(Always you and your vegetarian dishes!)

EVA
Ich mag halt kein Fleisch. Massentierhaltung ist Tierquälerei, verbraucht zu viele Ressourcen und deutsches Fleisch …
(I don’t like meat. Industrial life stock farming is cruelty to animals, takes too many resources and German meat…)

KIM
…enthält zu viel Antibiotika blablabla.
(…contains too many antibiotics etc. )

EVA
Genau.
(You said it.)

KIM
Ja passt, lass uns Käsespätzle kochen.
(Fine, let’s cook spaetzle.)

EVA
Na also.
(There you go.)

Just to clarify the nature of Käsespätzle (spaetzle)! It’s a kind of noodles with fried Zwiebeln (onions) and grated Käse (cheese). Quite delicious, actually, and the number one vegetarian alternative in most Bavarian restaurants.

At the end of this video, I will share with you a super lecker (super delicious) and vollkommen gesundes (perfektly healthy) vegetarian dish, which is super quickly prepared and perfect when you’re in a hurry. I guarantuee you’ll love it.

5. Vegane Gerichte (vegan dishes)

The following dishes can easily be prepared with pflanzenbasierten Produkten (plant based products):

• Spaghetti Arrabiata (Spaghetti Arrabiata)
• Gemüse-Eintopf (Vegetable soup)
• Semmelknödel (bread dumplings)
• Bratkartoffeln mit Zwiebeln

Natürlich gibt es noch viel mehr! (Of course there is much more).

6. Internationale Küche (international cuisine)

MONIKA
Was kochst du heute?
(What are you cooking today?)

MARIE
Ich dachte, fernöstlich!
(I thought, far eastern!)

MONIKA
Köstlich!
(Delicious!)

In Germany, we don’t just love Bratwurst (Bratwurst), Knödel (Dumplings) and Sauerkraut (Sauerkraut). In fact, according to a study from Welt.de, only about one third of all restaurants serve German food. We’re into internationale Gerichte (international meals) as well! That’s why we have tons of exotische Restaurants (exotic restaurants).

LISA
Was ist das?
(What is that?)

LENA
Das ist chinesisch!
(That’s chinese!)

What do you think our most popular internationale Küche (international cuisine) is? Is it…

a) Griechische Küche (Greek cuisine)

b) Indische Küche (Indian cuisine)

c) Chinesische Küche (Chinese cuisine) oder

d) Italienische Küche (Italian cuisine)

The correct answer is… d! According to several sources I had the patience to look up, italienische Küche (Italian cuisine) is the most popular one in Germany by far! And that’s also my personal impression. Everybody here loves Pasta und Pizza (pasta and pizza).

Was ist deine Lieblingsküche? Schreibe es mir in die Kommentare (What is your favorite cuisine? Write it in the comments) and I will guess, what your Lieblingsgericht (favorite meal) is. Personally, I am a huge fan of Äthiopische Küche (Ethiopian cuisine).

Now apart from italian Essen (food), there is another really big fish in Deutschland (Germany). Can you guess? Here comes!

7. Fast Food (fast food in German)

Accordning to Hello Fresh, on average about 11% of all restaurants in Germany’s largest cities serve some kind of fast food. Danke Amerika! (Thank you, Amerika!)

KATHARINA
Was gibt’s?
(What’s up?)

LENA
Hi! Ich bin bei Mc Donalds. Soll ich dir etwas mitbringen? Pommes? Ein Milchshake?
(Hi! I’m at Mc Donalds! Should I bring you anything? French fries? A milkshake?)

KATHARINA
Nein danke! Ich esse kein Fast Food.
(No thanks! I don’t eat fast food.)

LENA
Wie du meinst!
(Whatever you say!)

Here are som examples for popular German fastfood

• Döner Kebab (Doner kebab) Delicious invention!
• Grillhähnchen (grilled chicken): There are street booths that make you smell the Hähnchen (chicken) streets away. It’s really hard to resist.
• Currywurst mit Pommes Frites (Currywurst with french fries): Apparently we love Wurst (sausages) so much, we also need the fast version of it.
• Hamburger (hamburger) The king of burgers, which we don’t pronounce hamburger but hamburger. It’s weird, but that’s how it is. Hamburger (hamburger) not to confuse with Hamburger (Citicen of Hamburg) which is somebody who lives in Hamburg (Hamburg).

KATHARINA
Mmmh! Was duftet hier so?
(Mmh! What is the good smell?)

LENA
Das ist wohl mein Hamburger!
(Probably my hamburger!)

KATHARINA
Lecker. Schmeckt der gut?
(Delicious. Does it taste good?)

LENA
Jaaa …

KATHARINA
Wonach schmeckt der?
(What does it taste like?)

LENA
Nach Hamburger …
(Like Hamburger…)

KATHARINA
Köstlich …
(Delicious…)

LENA
Jaaa …
(Yees…)

KATHARINA
Darf ich mal beißen?
(Can I have a bite?)

LENA
Ernsthaft?
(Seriously?)

8. Salate (Salads)

Salads are frisch (fresh), gesund (healthy) und lecker (and delicious). Like Obstsalat (fruit salad), in which you could put:

• Erdbeeren (strawberries)
• Äpfel (apples),
• Walnüsse (walnuts),
• Apfelsinen (oranges),
• Bananen (Bananas),
• Kiwis (Kiwis)
• Melonen (melons) and so on.
• Honig (honey) makes a great dressing!

Welches Obst tust du in deinen Obstsalad? (What fruit do you put in your fruit salad?)

MOTHER
Ihr müsst mehr Obst essen. Die Bananen sind schwarz, die Äpfel verschrumpelt …
(You need to eat more fruit. The bananas are black, the apples shriveled….)

DAUGHTER
Lass uns doch einen Obstsalat machen!
(Let’s make some fruit salad!)

MOTHER
Du bist gar nicht so dumm!
(You are not that stupid!)

Personally, mein absoluter Lieblingssalat ist Gnocchi Salat. (My absolute favorite salad is gnocchi salad) because it’s quick, easy and sehr gesund! (very healthy!) And since it’s too good to be true, I feel that I have to share it’s Rezept (recipe) with you. You’re welcome!

First you fry

• Zwiebeln (onions)
• Pilze (mushrooms)
• Käse (cheese) and
• Paprika (pepper) cubes.

Then you cut fresh

• Tomaten (tomatoes)
• Frühlingslauch (spring onions),
• Dill (dill) and
• Petersilie (parsley) and/ or whatever other lovely herbs you have lying around, and put all of it in a sallad bowl.

Now it’s time for the key ingredient! Gnocchi! So you put the

• Gnocchi (gnocchi) into the frying pan. While they’re getting their share of fry, you can make the dressing, which is made of
• Honig (honey)
• Senf (mustard)
• Essig und Olivenöl (vinegar and olive oil).

Then you put the

• Dressing (dressing) and the Gnocchi into the sallad bowl. And like I said, if you have more lovely
• Kräuter (herbs) in your garden, feel free to add them. That’s only delicious and
• gesund (healthy). I decided to add some
• Spinat (spinach) from a balcony plant.

Now you squeeze in some fresh

• Zitronensaft (lemonj uice).
• Salz (salt) and
• Pfeffer (pepper).
• Gut vermischen! (Blend it well!)

Tada! Und fertig ist der perfekte Salat! (Ta-da! And the perfect salad is ready!)

I’m going to eat this delicious salad now. Now, before I leave, promise me that the first Restaurant (restaurant) you’ll visit in Germany will be a German one.