German A1 Lesson 7: Food and Drinks

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In this lesson you learn to:

name common foods and drinks with their articles
say what you like with mögen and gern
form plurals of common nouns
explain that you are vegetarian or don't eat something

Dialogue: Lunch in the canteen

LukasHallo Priya! Was isst du heute?Hi Priya! What are you eating today?

PriyaIch nehme das Gemüsecurry. Ich esse kein Fleisch.I'm having the vegetable curry. I don't eat meat.

LukasAh, du bist Vegetarierin?Ah, you're vegetarian?

PriyaJa. Aber ich esse Eier und Käse. Und du?Yes. But I eat eggs and cheese. And you?

LukasIch esse fast alles. Heute nehme ich Schnitzel mit Kartoffeln.I eat almost everything. Today I'm having schnitzel with potatoes.

PriyaMagst du indisches Essen?Do you like Indian food?

LukasJa, sehr! Ich mag Dal und Naan. Aber nicht so scharf!Yes, a lot! I like dal and naan. But not so spicy!

PriyaUnd was trinkst du gern?And what do you like to drink?

LukasIch trinke gern Apfelschorle. Und du?I like drinking apple spritzer. And you?

PriyaIch trinke lieber Tee. Deutscher Kaffee ist mir zu stark!I prefer tea. German coffee is too strong for me!

Words and phrases

German	Meaning
das Essen	food, meal
das Getränk, -e	drink
das Brot, -e	bread
das Brötchen, -	bread roll
der Käse	cheese
das Ei, -er	egg
das Fleisch	meat
das Hähnchen, -	chicken (food)
der Fisch, -e	fish
das Gemüse	vegetables
die Kartoffel, -n	potato
die Tomate, -n	tomato
der Apfel, Äpfel	apple
die Banane, -n	banana
der Reis	rice
die Linsen (pl.)	lentils
der Tee, -s	tea
der Kaffee, -s	coffee
der Saft, Säfte	juice
mögen	to like
der Vegetarier, - / die Vegetarierin, -nen	vegetarian
scharf	spicy
süß / salzig	sweet / salty
lecker	tasty

Grammar

mögen and gern

Use mögen + noun to say you like something: Ich mag Käse. Magst du Fisch? Use gern + verb to say you like doing something: Ich esse gern Reis. Ich trinke gern Tee.

Person	mögen
ich	mag
du	magst
er / sie	mag
wir	mögen
ihr	mögt
sie / Sie	mögen

Negative: Ich mag keinen Fisch. Ich esse kein Fleisch. Ich trinke nicht gern Kaffee.

Plural forms

German has several plural endings, so learn each noun with its plural. Common patterns: -n / -en for many feminine nouns (die Tomate → die Tomaten), -e often with an umlaut (der Saft → die Säfte), -er with umlaut where possible (das Ei → die Eier), -s for many foreign words (der Tee → die Tees), and no ending for masculine and neuter nouns ending in -chen, -er, -el, sometimes with an umlaut (das Brötchen → die Brötchen, der Apfel → die Äpfel). The plural article is always die.

Practice

Fill in the gaps

Ich Käse. (mögen)

du Fisch? (mögen)

Ich esse Fleisch. (no)

Ich trinke Tee. (like doing)

die Tomate, die (plural)

das Ei, die (plural)

Ich bin . (vegetarian, woman)

Match the German with the English

das Fleisch

scharf

das Brötchen

die Linsen

lecker

das Getränk

Put the words in order

Tap the words in the right order.

Writing task

Write 5 sentences about your food habits: what you like, what you don't like, what you drink, and whether you are vegetarian or eat everything.

Show a model answer

Ich mag indisches Essen sehr. Ich esse gern Reis, Dal und Gemüse. Ich esse kein Rindfleisch. Morgens trinke ich gern Tee mit Milch. Deutsches Brot mag ich auch.

Good to know

Vegetarian and vegan options are easy to find in Germany: menus mark them with vegetarisch or a green leaf, and supermarkets have large vegetarian sections. If you avoid certain foods for health or personal reasons, the phrase Ich esse kein … is enough; staff are used to such questions. Look for the ingredient list (Zutaten) on packages.

Can you do this now?

I can name common foods and drinks with their articles. I can say what I like with mögen and gern. I can say what I don't eat. I know the most common plural endings.

Lesson 7: Essen und Trinken: food and drinks