German café vocabulary for beginners
Learn ten German café words and expressions with noun articles, translated examples, explained exercises and a linked listening dialogue for pronunciation.
Prepared by Deutsch Schreiben with AI assistance; examples and exercises created for this site. ·
How do you order a drink or food in German?
Start with a short, polite request such as Einen Tee, bitte. Learn more than the translation: remember the noun with its article, then use it in a sentence. These words belong to one situation so you can practise them together.
Ten useful words and expressions
| Deutsch | Meaning | Example and translation |
|---|---|---|
| der Tee | tea | Ich möchte einen Tee. I would like a tea. |
| die Milch | milk | Mit Milch, bitte. With milk, please. |
| der Kuchen | cake | Möchten Sie Kuchen? Would you like some cake? |
| der Apfelkuchen | apple cake | Haben Sie Apfelkuchen? Do you have apple cake? |
| der Schokoladenkuchen | chocolate cake | Wir haben Schokoladenkuchen. We have chocolate cake. |
| das Stück | piece | Ein Stück Kuchen, bitte. A piece of cake, please. |
| trinken | to drink | Was möchten Sie trinken? What would you like to drink? |
| essen | to eat | Möchten Sie etwas essen? Would you like something to eat? |
| bitte | please | Einen Tee, bitte. A tea, please. |
| leider | unfortunately | Leider haben wir keinen Apfelkuchen. Unfortunately, we do not have apple cake. |
Why do we say einen Tee?
In Ich möchte einen Tee., Tee is masculine and is the direct object in the accusative, so ein becomes einen. The shortened request Einen Tee, bitte. keeps the same form. For a piece of cake, say ein Stück Kuchen, because Stück is neuter.
Hear the words in context
Open the café listening dialogue and find Tee, Milch and Kuchen in the transcript. Listen to one sentence, pause and repeat it before moving to the next. The audio uses synthetic voices from the site's existing recordings.
Three short exercises
Practise without copying
Write an order containing a drink and some food. Change the drink or food and write another order. Check the article and the noun's capital letter, then keep the whole sentence for your next review.
Review: Akkusativ and Dativ · German from scratch.