German · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 3 of 12
At the café
Im Café
Order drinks in a German café, ask what you owe, and learn when to say du and when to say Sie.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Order a drink politely
- Ask how much it is and pay
- Choose between du and Sie
- Use der, die, das and ein, eine
Listen
Tobias orders at the counter of a café in Cologne. Then his friend Nele comes in. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Waiter
Guten Tag. Was möchten Sie?
Hello. What would you like?
Tobias
Einen Milchkaffee, bitte.
A milky coffee, please.
Waiter
Sonst noch etwas?
Anything else?
Tobias
Nein, danke. Was macht das?
No, thanks. How much is that?
Waiter
Drei Euro achtzig.
Three euros eighty.
Tobias
Hier, bitte. Stimmt so.
Here you are. Keep the change.
Waiter
Vielen Dank!
Thank you very much.
Nele
Hallo, Tobias!
Hi, Tobias.
Tobias
Hallo, Nele! Was möchtest du? Einen Kaffee?
Hi, Nele. What would you like? A coffee?
Nele
Nein, ich möchte einen Tee, bitte.
No, I'd like a tea, please.
Understand
du or Sie?
German has two words for “you” when you talk to one person. Use with friends, family, children and, in relaxed places, people your own age. Use with strangers, staff, older people and at work until someone offers . is the polite form and always has a capital S, even in the middle of a sentence. When you talk to two or more friends, “you” is ; polite works for one person or several.
The verb changes too: but Both mean “What would you like?”. Sound tip: the ö in is like the “e” in “bed” said with rounded lips, and ch in and is the soft sound of , a bit like a whispered “h” in “huge”.
| Word | Use it with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| friends, family, children | ||
| two or more friends or family members | ||
| strangers, staff, older people (one or more) |
der, die, das and ein, eine
Every German noun is masculine, feminine or neuter, and all nouns start with a capital letter. “The” is for masculine nouns, for feminine nouns and for neuter nouns. “A” is (masculine and neuter) or (feminine).
You can't always guess the gender, so learn every noun with , or . In a compound noun, the last part decides: + = .
| English | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| the | |||
| a |
Ordering: einen for masculine nouns
When you order something, with or just “…, ”, masculine becomes . That's why Tobias says . Feminine and neuter don't change.
This is the form for the thing you want or order. For now, remember: ordering a masculine noun means . Chapter 8 shows the whole picture.
- Einen Kaffee, bitte.A coffee, please.
- Ich möchte einen Tee.I'd like a tea.
- Ich möchte eine Cola.I'd like a cola.
- Ein Wasser, bitte.A water, please.
More in the grammar: Articles and gender: der, die, das · Cases: nominative and accusative · Modal verbs: können, müssen, wollen … · Personal pronouns: ich, du, Sie …
New words
- Was möchten Sie?What would you like? (polite)
- der Milchkaffeemilky coffee, similar to a latte · masculine, plural:
- der Kaffeecoffee · masculine, plural:
- die Milchmilk · feminine, no plural
- bitteplease · = Here you are.
- Sonst noch etwas?Anything else?
- Stimmt so.Keep the change.
- Vielen Dank!Thank you very much.
- Was möchtest du?What would you like? (to a friend)
- Ich möchte …I'd like …
- der Teetea · masculine, plural:
- das Wasserwater · neuter; in a café the plural is (two waters)
- die Colacola · feminine, plural: ; in Austria and Switzerland often
- die Rechnungbill, check · feminine, plural:
Practise
1.You're talking to a colleague's young child. Which “you” do you use?
2.Order a tea. Write , or .
I'd like a tea, please.
3.Write , or .
The bill, please.
4.The waiter speaks to a customer. Complete with the polite “you”.
What would you like?
5.Put the words in order to order a drink.
Tap the words below in the right order.I'd like a milky coffee, please.
6.Match the German with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Einen Milchkaffee, bitte.
A milky coffee, please.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.