Today's words · 🥗 Allergies & diets
Saying what you can't eat: 10 German diet words
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Reading a German menu is one thing — explaining what you can't eat is another.
You're out for a friend's birthday dinner. Milk upsets your stomach, and your friend's husband is allergic to nuts. Now someone has to explain all that to the waiter — in German.
Today's ten words cover vegetarian and vegan food, allergies, intolerances and gluten- or lactose-free products. With them you can order safely in restaurants and shop with confidence. 🥗
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
vegetarisch
[veh-geh-TAH-rish]vegetarian📌 Gibt es hier auch vegetarische Gerichte?
→ Do you have vegetarian dishes here too?
💡 English vegetarian plus -isch 🥦 It's an adjective, so lower case.
Bonus Ask like this: Haben Sie etwas Vegetarisches?
der Vegetarier
[veh-geh-TAH-ree-er]vegetarian(Pl. die Vegetarier)
📌 Ich bin Vegetarier und esse kein Fleisch.
→ I'm a vegetarian and don't eat meat.
💡 -er means ‘a person who…’ 🙋 Someone who eats vegetarian = Vegetarier.
⚠ No article: Ich bin Vegetarier. A woman says Vegetarierin.
vegan
[veh-GAHN]vegan📌 Immer mehr Restaurants bieten vegane Gerichte an.
→ More and more restaurants offer vegan dishes.
💡 Stress the second syllable: veh-GAHN 🌱 The English ‘VEE-gan’ may not be understood.
Bonus a vegan (person) = der Veganer / die Veganerin
die Allergie
[al-er-GEE]allergy(Pl. die Allergien)
📌 Mein Sohn hat eine Allergie gegen Nüsse.
→ My son has a nut allergy.
💡 Just like allergy, but the stress jumps to the end 🤧 al-er-GEE.
Bonus an allergy to something = eine Allergie gegen + accusative
allergisch
[a-LAIR-gish]allergic📌 Sie ist allergisch gegen Katzenhaare.
→ She's allergic to cat hair.
💡 Allergie + -isch = allergic 🥜 It teams up with gegen (against).
⚠ Not zu like English ‘to’: allergisch gegen Nüsse.
glutenfrei
[gloo-TAYN-fry]gluten-free📌 Die Bäckerei bietet auch glutenfreies Brot an.
→ The bakery also sells gluten-free bread.
💡 Gluten + frei 🍞 Here frei means ‘without’, not ‘free of charge’.
Bonus Same pattern: zuckerfrei (sugar-free), alkoholfrei (alcohol-free)
laktosefrei
[lak-TOH-zuh-fry]lactose-free📌 Ich vertrage keine Milch, deshalb kaufe ich laktosefreie Produkte.
→ I can't tolerate milk, so I buy lactose-free products.
💡 Laktose + frei 🥛 You'll spot it all over the supermarket dairy aisle.
Bonus lactose intolerance = die Laktoseintoleranz
die Unverträglichkeit
[OON-fair-trayg-likh-kite](food) intolerance; incompatibility(Pl. die Unverträglichkeiten)
📌 Wegen einer Unverträglichkeit verzichtet sie auf Milchprodukte.
→ Because of an intolerance, she avoids dairy products.
💡 un (not) + vertragen (tolerate) + -keit 😣 -keit nouns are always die.
Bonus More common in conversation: Ich vertrage keine Milch. (Milk doesn't agree with me.)
die Ernährung
[air-NAIR-oong]diet, nutrition(no pl.)
📌 Eine gesunde Ernährung ist wichtig für den Körper.
→ A healthy diet is important for the body.
💡 From nähren (to nourish) + -ung 🍎 Same family as Nahrung (food).
⚠ A weight-loss diet is die Diät. Ernährung is what you eat in general.
die Kalorie
[ka-lo-REE]calorie(Pl. die Kalorien)
📌 Ein Stück Torte hat ziemlich viele Kalorien.
→ A piece of gateau has quite a lot of calories.
💡 From Latin calor (heat) 🔥 The energy your body burns.
⚠ Plural: die Kalorien, pronounced ka-lo-REE-en.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
On German menus you'll often see small numbers or letters next to dishes. They usually mark allergens and additives (Zusatzstoffe), and the key is at the bottom of the menu.
Especially in big cities, lots of restaurants offer vegetarian and vegan dishes, sometimes marked with a little leaf. If you're not sure, it's always best to ask the staff directly.
Supermarkets usually have a shelf for laktosefrei and glutenfrei products, and chemists and organic shops (Bioladen) often stock even more. 🛒
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You want to tell the waiter you're allergic to nuts. Which sentence is right?
- ① Ich bin allergisch zu Nüssen.
- ② Ich esse gern Nüsse.
- ③ Ich bin allergisch gegen Nüsse.
Show the answer
③ Ich bin allergisch gegen Nüsse.
In German, allergisch is followed by gegen + accusative.
Pick one food you can't or don't eat and say it out loud: Ich bin allergisch gegen … or Ich vertrage kein … You'll be ready for your next meal out! 🍽️
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🥙 Street food & snacks