Ordering Lunch for the Team in German — Office Vocabulary
After this lesson you can take an order, phone it through and hand it out.
Do this first: Modal verbs
Übungen
Eight exercises on what you just watched. Get 80% and the lesson is marked done and added to your A1 progress.
1 / 8 · Type the missing word
2 / 8 · Type the missing word
3 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
Do you eat vegetarian?
4 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
Do you have any allergies?
5 / 8 · Choose
How do you order two of a dish?
6 / 8 · Choose
What does bestellen mean?
7 / 8 · Choose
What does abholen mean?
8 / 8 · Choose
What does die Kantine mean?
In short
To order lunch for a group you need three things: Was möchtest du? to take the order, Ich hätte gern … to place it, and Zusammen, bitte to pay in one go. Ask about diets with Isst du vegetarisch? and note allergies — Allergien.
How it works
Ordering for other people is the everyday office task that forces you to use modal verbs properly: möchte, kann, muss and wollen all turn up in a single conversation, and so do the separable verbs anrufen (to phone the order through) and abholen (to collect it).
The sequence is predictable. You take the order — Was möchtest du?, Mit oder ohne …? — then phone or walk it in — Ich möchte bestellen, Ich hätte gern zweimal …. Note zweimal and dreimal for "two of" and "three of", which is how Germans order multiples of the same dish.
Two habits are worth copying. Ask about diet before you order rather than after: vegetarisch, vegan, and Allergien are normal questions and nobody finds them awkward. And settle the payment shape up front — zusammen (together) or getrennt (separately) — because German colleagues really do split to the cent, and offering to pay for everyone can read as odd rather than generous.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Was möchtest du? | What would you like? |
| Ich bestelle für alle. | I'm ordering for everyone. |
| Isst du vegetarisch? | Do you eat vegetarian? |
| Hast du Allergien? | Do you have any allergies? |
| Mit oder ohne Pommes? | With or without fries? |
| Sonst noch jemand? | Anyone else? |
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Ich möchte bestellen. | I'd like to order. |
| Ich hätte gern zweimal Currywurst. | I'd like two currywursts. |
| Einmal mit, einmal ohne. | One with, one without. |
| Zum Mitnehmen, bitte. | To take away, please. |
| Wie lange dauert das? | How long will it take? |
| Auf welchen Namen? | Under what name? |
| German | English |
|---|---|
| das Mittagessen | lunch |
| die Kantine | canteen |
| der Imbiss | snack bar |
| die Bestellung | the order |
| bestellen | to order |
| abholen | to collect (separable) |
| anrufen | to phone (separable) |
| die Rechnung | the bill |
| zusammen / getrennt | together / separately |
Examples
- Ich bestelle heute für alle — was möchtest du?I'm ordering for everyone today — what would you like?
- Isst du vegetarisch?Do you eat vegetarian?
- Hast du Allergien?Do you have any allergies?
- Ich hätte gern zweimal Currywurst mit Pommes.I'd like two currywursts with fries.
- Einmal mit, einmal ohne, bitte.One with, one without, please.
- Wie lange dauert das?How long will it take?
- Ich hole das Essen um zwölf ab.I'll collect the food at twelve.
- Ich rufe kurz an.I'll give them a quick call.
- Zusammen, bitte.All together, please.
- Kannst du mir das später überweisen?Can you transfer me the money later?
Mistakes to avoid
✗ Ich will zweimal Currywurst.
✓ Ich hätte gern zweimal Currywurst.
Ich will is a demand. In any shop, café or Imbiss, use Ich hätte gern or Ich möchte.
✗ zwei Currywurst
✓ zweimal Currywurst
For ordering multiples of a dish, German uses -mal: einmal, zweimal, dreimal. It is the standard form at a counter.
✗ Ich abhole das Essen.
✓ Ich hole das Essen ab.
abholen is separable — conjugate holen and send ab to the end. Same for anrufen: Ich rufe an.
✗ Insisting on paying for everyone
✓ Asking zusammen oder getrennt?
Cultural rather than grammatical: German colleagues split precisely and will usually want to pay their share. Paying for the table can create an obligation rather than goodwill.
Wortschatz
The words from this lesson.
| das Mittagessen | lunch | |
| bestellen | to order | |
| die Bestellung | the order | |
| abholen | to collect | separable |
| anrufen | to phone | separable |
| vegetarisch | vegetarian | |
| die Allergie | allergy | |
| die Kantine | canteen | |
| zweimal | two of, twice | |
| die Rechnung | bill, invoice |
Kulturnotiz
The German office lunch is taken seriously and taken away from the desk — eating at your keyboard is regarded as slightly sad rather than hard-working. Many companies run a Kantine with a hot meal, and colleagues go together at a fixed time. And the splitting is real: an app transfer for €6.80 after a shared order is completely normal and not considered petty.
Common questions
+How do I order two of the same thing?
Use -mal: einmal, zweimal, dreimal Currywurst. It is the standard counter form and sounds more natural than zwei Currywurst.
+How do I ask about dietary requirements?
Isst du vegetarisch? or Hast du Allergien? Both are ordinary, unremarkable questions in a German office — asking is expected rather than intrusive.
+Should I pay for everyone?
Usually not. Ask zusammen oder getrennt? and expect people to want to pay their share, often by instant transfer afterwards. Splitting precisely is the norm, not meanness.
+Which verbs here are separable?
abholen (Ich hole das Essen ab) and anrufen (Ich rufe an). Both conjugate normally and send the prefix to the end of the clause.