Today's words · 🍺 Beer & wine
Prost! 10 German words for the pub and the wine bar
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The first word you learn at a German table is ‘Prost!’ — the next ten are right here.
After work a colleague asks, ‘Gehen wir noch in die Kneipe?’ The menu lists more beers than you can count, everyone raises their glass and locks eyes — and you feel a bit lost.
Here are ten words for evenings with beer and wine. You'll be able to order, toast and even chat your way round a brewery. 🍺
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
das Bier
[BEER]beer(Pl. die Biere)
📌 Zwei Bier, bitte!
→ Two beers, please!
💡 Sounds almost exactly like English beer 🍺 Order it simply: Ein Bier, bitte!
⚠ When ordering, no plural: Zwei Bier, bitte!
der Wein
[VINE]wine(Pl. die Weine)
📌 Ein Glas Rotwein, bitte.
→ A glass of red wine, please.
💡 W sounds like v, so it's ‘vine’ 🍷 Grapes grow on vines — easy!
Bonus white wine = der Weißwein
die Flasche
[FLAH-shuh]bottle(Pl. die Flaschen)
📌 Eine Flasche Wasser, bitte.
→ A bottle of water, please.
💡 Same root as English flask 🍾 Most nouns ending in -e are die.
Bonus bottle deposit = das Pfand — bring the bottle back, get money back.
das Glas
[GLAHS]glass(Pl. die Gläser)
📌 Ein Glas Wasser, bitte.
→ A glass of water, please.
💡 Just like English glass 🥛 but no ‘of’: ein Glas Wasser.
⚠ The plural gets an umlaut: zwei Gläser
der Rotwein
[ROHT-vine]red wine(Pl. die Rotweine)
📌 Zum Steak trinke ich gern einen Rotwein.
→ I like a red wine with steak.
💡 rot (red) + Wein = red wine 🍷 Colour + Wein, done.
Bonus Rosé is der Roséwein, often just Rosé on the menu.
die Kneipe
[KNY-puh]pub, bar(Pl. die Kneipen)
📌 Wir gehen nach der Arbeit in die Kneipe.
→ We go to the pub after work.
💡 Say the K! ‘k-NY-puh’ sounds like a cosy corner pub 🍻 It came from old student slang.
Bonus A smarter place is die Bar.
der Sekt
[ZEKT]sparkling wine(Pl. die Sekte)
📌 Zu Silvester stoßen wir mit Sekt an.
→ We toast with sparkling wine on New Year's Eve.
💡 From Italian secco (dry) 🥂 At midnight on New Year's Eve, it's Sekt time.
⚠ die Sekte means ‘cult’! The drink is der Sekt.
anstoßen
[AHN-shtoh-sen]to clink glasses, toast; to initiate, trigger(stößt an – hat angestoßen)
📌 Lasst uns auf deinen Erfolg anstoßen!
→ Let's drink to your success!
💡 an (against) + stoßen (bump) = bump glasses together 🥂
⚠ Separable: Wir stoßen an! Toast to something with auf + acc.
die Brauerei
[brow-uh-RYE]brewery(Pl. die Brauereien)
📌 In Bamberg gibt es viele kleine Brauereien.
→ There are many small breweries in Bamberg.
💡 brauen (brew) + -erei (workplace) = brewery 🏭 Nouns in -ei are always die.
Bonus The bakery, die Bäckerei, is in the same -erei family.
der Alkohol
[AL-koh-hohl]alcohol(Pl. die Alkohole (usually sg.))
📌 Ich trinke keinen Alkohol, weil ich noch fahren muss.
→ I'm not drinking alcohol because I still have to drive.
💡 From Arabic al-kuḥl 🧪 That al- is the Arabic word for ‘the’.
Bonus alcohol-free beer = alkoholfreies Bier
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
When Germans clink glasses, they look each other in the eye. There's a joke that if you don't, you'll have seven years of bad luck. With beer people usually say ‘Prost!’, with wine often ‘Zum Wohl!’
German beer isn't one thing. Regions are proud of their own styles: small glasses of Kölsch in Cologne, Altbier in Düsseldorf, Weißbier in Bavaria. Bamberg in Franconia is famous for its many small breweries.
Wine makes people think of France, but Germany has well-known wine regions too, especially along the Rhine and the Moselle, famous for Riesling. 🍇
✅ Quick quiz
Q. Everyone raises their glass at your friend's birthday. How do you say ‘Let's toast to your birthday!’?
- ① Lasst uns auf deinen Geburtstag anstoßen!
- ② Lasst uns deinen Geburtstag abheben!
- ③ Lasst uns zu deinem Geburtstag bremsen!
Show the answer
① Lasst uns auf deinen Geburtstag anstoßen!
auf + accusative + anstoßen means to toast to something.
Next time you have a drink — water counts — look someone in the eye and say ‘Prost!’ 🥂
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🥕 Fruit & vegetables