German food vocabulary: 60 words with der, die, das and audio

German food vocabulary is the fastest way to feel at home in German — you use it three times a day, at the bakery, the supermarket and the restaurant. This guide gives you about 60 everyday food words, each with its article (der, die or das), the plural where it matters and its CEFR level, plus recordings of real speakers from Wikimedia Commons. Every gender and plural was checked in Wiktionary's German entries. Not sure of your level yet? Take the free German level test first.

Updated November 15, 2026 · 6 min read

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How to learn German food vocabulary (and why the article matters)

German nouns are always written with a capital letter, and every noun has a gender: masculine der, feminine die or neuter das. The gender changes the words around it — ein Apfel, eine Banane, ein Brot — so the one rule that saves you the most trouble is: learn the article with the noun, every time. Say der Apfel, never just Apfel. There is rarely a reason you can see from the meaning: der Käse, die Butter and das Brot all sit on the same breakfast table. Our advice is to learn food words in small daily sets and to say each one aloud with its article.

Breakfast and the bakery

German	English	Plural	Level
das Brot	bread	die Brote	A2
das Brötchen	bread roll	die Brötchen	B2
die Butter	butter	—	B1
der Käse	cheese	die Käse	A2
das Ei	egg	die Eier	A2
die Milch	milk	—	A2
der Zucker	sugar	—	A2
die Sahne	cream	—	A2
der Kaffee	coffee	die Kaffees	A1
der Tee	tea	—	A1
der Saft	juice	die Säfte	A2
das Wasser	water	—	A1

Brot

Literally: das Brot — bread

Meaning: Plural die Brote. IPA bʁoːt.

Brötchen

Literally: das Brötchen — bread roll

Meaning: Words ending in -chen are always das, and their plural does not change.

Meals, meat, fish, cakes and the basics

German	English	Plural	Level
das Essen	food; meal	die Essen	A2
die Mahlzeit	meal	die Mahlzeiten	A2
das Mittagessen	lunch	die Mittagessen	A1
das Abendessen	dinner, supper	die Abendessen	A1
das Fleisch	meat	—	A2
der Fisch	fish	die Fische	A1
das Huhn	chicken	die Hühner	A2
der Reis	rice	—	A2
die Nudeln	noodles, pasta	(plural)	B1
die Suppe	soup	die Suppen	A2
die Soße	sauce	die Soßen	B1
der Senf	mustard	—	B2
der Kuchen	cake	die Kuchen	A2
die Torte	gateau, layer cake	die Torten	A2
das Eis	ice cream; ice	—	A1
der Nachtisch	dessert	die Nachtische	B1

Suppe

Literally: die Suppe — soup

Mahlzeit

Literally: die Mahlzeit — meal; also a lunchtime greeting

Meaning: From Mahl (meal) + Zeit (time). See the next section.

Kuchen

Literally: der Kuchen — cake

Meaning: Plural unchanged: die Kuchen.

Guten Appetit and Mahlzeit

Before eating, Germans wish each other guten Appetit — Wiktionary translates it bon appétit, enjoy your meal. You will also hear Mahlzeit! Wiktionary lists it as a colloquial enjoy your meal (short for gesegnete Mahlzeit, "blessed meal") and as a greeting used around lunchtime, roughly between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., especially at work. Guten Appetit is the more formal of the two wishes.

Fruit and vegetables

German	English	Plural	Level
der Apfel	apple	die Äpfel	A2
die Banane	banana	die Bananen	B1
die Birne	pear	die Birnen	B2
die Orange	orange	die Orangen	A2
die Zitrone	lemon	die Zitronen	B1
die Kirsche	cherry	die Kirschen	B1
die Erdbeere	strawberry	die Erdbeeren	B2
die Traube	grape	die Trauben	B2
das Obst	fruit	—	A2
die Kartoffel	potato	die Kartoffeln	B1
die Tomate	tomato	die Tomaten	B1
die Zwiebel	onion	die Zwiebeln	B2
die Karotte	carrot	die Karotten	B2
die Gurke	cucumber	die Gurken	B2
der Knoblauch	garlic	—	B2
der Pilz	mushroom	die Pilze	B2
die Bohne	bean	die Bohnen	B1
die Erbse	pea	die Erbsen	B2
der Salat	salad; lettuce	die Salate	B2

Apfel

Literally: der Apfel — apple

Meaning: Plural with an umlaut: die Äpfel.

Kartoffel

Literally: die Kartoffel — potato

Meaning: Wiktionary traces it to older Tartuffel, from Italian tartufolo, a little truffle.

A pattern worth knowing: most of the fruit and vegetables above that end in -e are feminine (die Banane, die Birne, die Kirsche, die Tomate, die Gurke, die Bohne) and take -n in the plural. It is a tendency, not a law — it holds for every fruit and vegetable ending in -e in this guide, but breakfast already has an exception: der Käse.

At the restaurant

German	English	Plural	Level
das Restaurant	restaurant	die Restaurants	A2
die Reservierung	reservation	die Reservierungen	B1
die Speisekarte	menu	die Speisekarten	B1
der Kellner	waiter	die Kellner	B1
das Gericht	dish (a meal)	die Gerichte	A2
die Beilage	side dish	die Beilagen	A1
das Getränk	drink	die Getränke	B2
die Rechnung	bill	die Rechnungen	A1
das Messer	knife	die Messer	A2
die Gabel	fork	die Gabeln	B1
der Löffel	spoon	die Löffel	B1
der Teller	plate	die Teller	A2
das Glas	glass	die Gläser	A2
die Tasse	cup	die Tassen	A2

Rechnung

Literally: die Rechnung — the bill

Meaning: Asking for it is the moment you will need it most.

Verbs and adjectives for food

Six verbs carry most food conversations: essen (to eat), trinken (to drink), kochen (to cook), backen (to bake), braten (to fry, roast) and schmecken (to taste — es schmeckt means it tastes good). For praise, köstlich means delicious. Two nouns you will need: der Hunger (hunger) and der Appetit (appetite).

Word lists, exams and the next step

Food words appear early in every German exam: the Goethe-Zertifikat A1 and A2 (guide, path), telc Deutsch (guide, path) and, at university level, TestDaF (guide, path). Not sure which one you need? Compare them in Goethe, TestDaF or telc.

If you speak Turkish or Arabic, our free German word lists give every word with its Turkish or Arabic meaning, gender, plural and a recording: for Turkish speakers food and restaurants, fruit, vegetables, restaurant and kitchen and spices (all lists: Almanca kelimeler, and Almanca öğren); for Arabic speakers food and restaurants, fruit, vegetables and restaurant and kitchen (all lists: German words).

Reading a menu is one thing; ordering out loud is another. If you want to practise speaking German with a teacher, Edluxio offers live one-to-one lessons with teachers and professionals in many fields, starting with a trial lesson that is fully refunded if it is not right for you.

Learn German 16 words a day

16Word teaches 16 German words a day — always with der, die or das — using active recall, spaced repetition and a short Blocks game between answers. Free to start.

Keep learning

Free German level test · Free level tests in 36 languages
Goethe-Zertifikat explained · TestDaF explained · telc Deutsch explained
Neighbours: Dutch food words and the Dutch food word list; Luxembourgish food sayings and the Luxembourgish food word list
All guides

Recordings (Wikimedia Commons, MP3 versions): Brot — Kampy, CC BY-SA 3.0; Brötchen — Jeuwre, CC BY-SA 4.0; Suppe — Kampy, CC BY-SA 3.0; Mahlzeit — Jeuwre, CC BY-SA 4.0; Kuchen — Kampy, CC BY-SA 3.0; Apfel — Kampy, CC BY-SA 3.0; Kartoffel — Jeuwre, CC BY-SA 4.0; Rechnung — Kampy, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Questions about German food vocabulary

What are the most important German food words for beginners?

Start with A1–A2 words you use daily: das Wasser, der Kaffee, der Tee, das Brot, der Käse, das Ei, die Milch, das Fleisch, der Fisch, der Apfel, das Mittagessen, das Abendessen and die Rechnung (the bill).

Why do German food words have der, die or das?

Every German noun has a grammatical gender — masculine der, feminine die or neuter das — and the words around it change with it. The gender of a food rarely follows from its meaning, so learn each noun with its article.

Is there a rule for the gender of German fruit and vegetables?

There is a useful tendency: nouns ending in -e, like die Banane, die Birne and die Tomate, are mostly feminine and take -n in the plural. Words ending in -chen, like das Brötchen, are always neuter.

How do you say 'enjoy your meal' in German?

Guten Appetit! Colloquially, and especially at work around lunchtime, you will also hear Mahlzeit!, which Wiktionary lists as both a wish for a good meal and a lunchtime greeting.

How do you ask for the bill in German?

The word is die Rechnung. A simple, polite way is Die Rechnung, bitte — the bill, please.

Where can I hear German food words pronounced?

Every word with a play button in this guide is a recording of a real person from Wikimedia Commons, credited at the end. Our German word lists for Turkish and Arabic speakers have a recording for every word.