Today's words · 🥙 Street food & snacks
Grab a bite: 10 German words for street food
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Some of the best food in Germany isn't in restaurants — it's at the Imbiss on the corner.
After class I was starving, so I joined the queue at the Imbiss by the station. The man in front fired off ‘Pommes rot-weiß!’, then the server turned to me: ‘Zum Mitnehmen?’ My mind went completely blank.
Today's ten words are about street food and snacks. With them you can order at an Imbiss with confidence, ask for a takeaway and pick up crisps at the kiosk. 🍟
📋 The ten words at a glance
- der Imbiss — snack bar, food stand; snack
- die Pommes — chips, French fries
- der Ketchup — ketchup
- der Snack — snack
- die Pizza — pizza
- der Hamburger — hamburger
- mitnehmen — to take along, take away
- der Kiosk — kiosk, newsstand
- die Bude — (colloquial) room, digs; stall, booth
- der Chip — chip (electronic); crisp
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Imbiss
[IM-biss]snack bar, food stand; snack(Pl. die Imbisse · Austrian: die Jause · Swiss: das/der Zvieri · Swiss: das/der Znüni)
📌 Mittags esse ich oft schnell etwas am Imbiss.
→ At lunchtime I often grab something quick at a snack bar.
💡 Possibly a cousin of English bite 🥙 A place for a quick bite.
Bonus am Imbiss = at the snack stand: Ich esse schnell was am Imbiss.
die Pommes
[POM-mes]chips, French fries(Pl. (plural only))
📌 Ich nehme eine Currywurst mit Pommes.
→ I'll have a currywurst with chips.
💡 French pommes frites with the frites chopped off 🍟
⚠ Always plural: Die Pommes sind lecker.
der Ketchup
[KETCH-up]ketchup(Sg. · = der/das Ketchup · = der/das Ketschup)
📌 Möchtest du Ketchup zu den Pommes?
→ Would you like ketchup with your fries?
💡 Same as English — a free word 🍅 Just remember der.
Bonus Its best friends: der Senf (mustard), die Mayo
der Snack
[SNECK]snack(Pl. die Snacks)
📌 Nach der Schule esse ich gern einen kleinen Snack.
→ After school I like to have a little snack.
💡 English snack 🍪 Germans often say it more like ‘sneck’.
Bonus The very German word: die Zwischenmahlzeit (a between-meals snack)
die Pizza
[PIT-sa]pizza(Pl. die Pizzas / Pizzen)
📌 Wir bestellen heute Pizza.
→ Let's order pizza today.
💡 Straight from Italy 🍕 The zz sounds like ‘ts’.
⚠ Two plurals: die Pizzas or die Pizzen
der Hamburger
[HAM-bur-ger]hamburger(Pl. die Hamburger)
📌 Ich esse einen Hamburger mit Pommes.
→ I'm having a hamburger with fries.
💡 It just means ‘from Hamburg’ 🍔 People from Hamburg are Hamburger too!
Bonus For the people, Germans say it the German way: HAHM-boor-ger.
mitnehmen
[MIT-nay-men]to take along, take away(nimmt mit – hat mitgenommen)
📌 Zum Mitnehmen oder hier essen?
→ To take away or to eat in?
💡 mit (with) + nehmen (to take) = take it with you 🛍️
⚠ Separable: Ich nehme das mit. · Takeaway, please = Zum Mitnehmen, bitte.
der Kiosk
[KEE-osk]kiosk, newsstand(Pl. die Kioske)
📌 Am Kiosk kaufe ich eine Zeitung.
→ I buy a newspaper at the kiosk.
💡 From a Persian word for a pavilion 🗞️ A tiny shop with papers, drinks and sweets.
Bonus In Berlin a late-night corner shop is der Späti.
die Bude
[BOO-duh](colloquial) room, digs; stall, booth(Pl. die Buden)
📌 Seine Studentenbude ist winzig, aber gemütlich.
→ His student digs are tiny but cosy.
💡 Same root as English booth 🏚️ A stall, or your tiny student room — both are a Bude!
Bonus sturmfreie Bude = the place to yourself because your parents are away
der Chip
[CHIP]chip (electronic); crisp(Pl. die Chips)
📌 Auf der Karte ist ein kleiner Chip.
→ There's a small chip on the card.
💡 Crisps are Chips, fries are Pommes 🥔 Don't mix them up!
⚠ Usually plural: eine Tüte Chips = a bag of crisps
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
The stars of German street food are Currywurst and Döner. Currywurst is especially loved in Berlin and the Ruhr area, and Döner as Germans know it was developed by Turkish-German cooks.
Ordering fries has its own local language. With ketchup and mayo it's ‘Pommes rot-weiß’, and in the Ruhr area you may hear ‘Pommes Schranke’ — the red and white stripes look like a level-crossing barrier (Schranke).
Also in the Ruhr area, ‘die Bude’ usually means the local kiosk: the place to grab a drink and chat with the neighbours outside. 🍟
✅ Quick quiz
Q. At the Imbiss the server asks: ‘Zum Mitnehmen oder hier essen?’ You want to take it with you.
- ① Hier essen, bitte.
- ② Zum Mitnehmen, bitte.
- ③ Ich habe keinen Hunger.
Show the answer
② Zum Mitnehmen, bitte.
zum Mitnehmen means to take away.
Next time you're at an Imbiss, order with today's words: Eine Currywurst mit Pommes, zum Mitnehmen, bitte! 🥙
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🥤 Drinks