Today's words · ☕ At the café
Coffee, cake and the bill: 10 words for a German café
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Ordering a cappuccino is easy, but have you ever frozen when the waiter asked ‘Zusammen oder getrennt?’
It's Sunday afternoon and you're at a local café with a friend. You spend ages at the cake counter, finally order, and then the waiter asks you something else. Cream with that? One bill or two? Your mind goes blank.
Today's ten words get you through a German café visit from start to finish: choosing a coffee, ordering a slice of cake, adding cream and paying the bill. ☕
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
das Café
[ka-FAY]café(Pl. die Cafés)
📌 Wir treffen uns im Café.
→ Let's meet at the café.
💡 It came from France, so it kept its French é ☕ The place is das Café.
⚠ Coffee is der Kaffee, the café is das Café. Different gender, different spelling.
der Kaffee
[KA-feh]coffee(Pl. die Kaffees)
📌 Möchtest du einen Kaffee?
→ Would you like a coffee?
💡 Double f, double e — a double shot of coffee ☕ That's how you spell Kaffee.
Bonus Kaffee und Kuchen = the German coffee-and-cake afternoon
der Cappuccino
[ka-poo-CHEE-no]cappuccino(Pl. die Cappuccinos)
📌 Einen Cappuccino, bitte!
→ A cappuccino, please!
💡 Named after the brown robes of Capuchin friars 🟤 Picture a monk in a foamy hood.
Bonus A café favourite in Germany: der Milchkaffee (milky coffee)
der Espresso
[es-PRESS-oh]espresso(Pl. die Espressos)
📌 Nach dem Essen trinke ich gern einen Espresso.
→ After a meal I like to have an espresso.
💡 Coffee pressed out under pressure 💪 Same word in German.
⚠ There's no x in it: Espresso, not ‘expresso’.
die Tasse
[TASS-uh]cup(Pl. die Tassen)
📌 Möchtest du eine Tasse Tee?
→ Would you like a cup of tea?
💡 Sounds a bit like ‘tasse-l’ hanging off a cup handle 🍵 eine Tasse Kaffee = a cup of coffee.
Bonus Water and juice come in a Glas: ein Glas Wasser
der Kuchen
[KOO-khen]cake(Pl. die Kuchen)
📌 Möchtest du ein Stück Kuchen?
→ Would you like a piece of cake?
💡 Same Germanic root as English cake 🍰 Kuchen ≈ cake.
⚠ The plural doesn't change: die Kuchen.
das Stück
[SHTUEK]piece(Pl. die Stücke)
📌 Ich nehme zwei Stück Kuchen.
→ I'll have two pieces of cake.
💡 Think of a piece that got ‘stuck’ on your fork 🍴 ein Stück Kuchen!
⚠ When counting, it stays singular: zwei Stück Kuchen.
die Sahne
[ZAH-nuh]cream(Sg. · Swiss: der Rahm · Austrian: das/der Obers)
📌 Möchtest du Sahne auf deinen Kuchen?
→ Would you like cream on your cake?
💡 Sahne sounds like ‘sauna’ — and cream melts like it's in one 🍦 mit Sahne = with cream.
Bonus Whipped cream = die Schlagsahne
zusammen
[tsoo-ZAM-en]together; in total📌 Wir zahlen zusammen.
→ We'll pay together.
💡 Like sammeln (to collect): gather it all into one 🤝 One bill for everyone.
Bonus Das macht zusammen 8 Euro. = That's 8 euros altogether.
getrennt
[guh-TRENT]separate(ly)📌 Zusammen oder getrennt? – Getrennt, bitte.
→ Together or separately? – Separately, please.
💡 From trennen (to separate) ✂️ Imagine snipping the bill in two.
Bonus Same verb for sorting rubbish: Müll trennen
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Germany has a whole afternoon ritual called Kaffee und Kuchen. Especially at weekends, families and friends meet for coffee and cake. Often you pick your slice at the counter and staff bring it to your table.
In cafés and restaurants you usually pay at the table. Say ‘Zahlen, bitte!’ and the server will come over and ask ‘Zusammen oder getrennt?’. People often tip by rounding up and simply saying the amount they want to pay, like ‘10 Euro, bitte.’
And if you just order ‘einen Kaffee’, some places will bring you filter coffee. If you want something stronger, check the menu! 🍰
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You want to pay separately from your friend. The waiter asks ‘Zusammen oder getrennt?’. What do you say?
- ① Zusammen, bitte.
- ② Getrennt, bitte.
- ③ Mit Sahne, bitte.
Show the answer
② Getrennt, bitte.
getrennt means separately, so it's what you say when everyone pays for themselves.
Practise one full café order out loud: ‘Einen Cappuccino und ein Stück Kuchen mit Sahne, bitte!’ Three times, then treat yourself! 🍰
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🍽️ At a restaurant