German Eating & Drinking Vocabulary
This set covers the mechanics of eating and drinking in German, from the basic verb essen up to more specific actions like kauen (to chew), schlürfen (to slurp), and naschen (to snack on something sweet). English speakers often reach for essen when they mean naschen, but German keeps these apart: naschen always implies something sweet and a bit sneaky, like raiding the cookie jar, while essen is neutral for any food.
Learn these 13 words
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All 13 words
- essenA1
eat
Was gibt es zu essen? — What is there to eat?
plural: die Bissen
bite (of food)
Nimm nur einen kleinen Bissen davon. — Just take a small bite of that.
- kauenA2
to chew
Man sollte langsam kauen beim Essen. — One should chew slowly while eating.
to try, taste
Möchten Sie den Käse probieren? — Would you like to try the cheese?
plural: die Schlucke
sip, gulp
Sie nahm einen Schluck von ihrem Wasser. — She took a sip of her water.
to swallow
Er schluckt die Tablette mit Wasser. — He swallows the pill with water.
to serve
Die Kellnerin serviert uns das Essen. — The waitress serves us the food.
plural: die Happen
small bite/morsel
Er isst nur einen kleinen Happen. — He only eats a small bite.
- naschenB1
to snack/nibble sweets
Die Kinder naschen gern Schokolade. — The children like nibbling chocolate.
to slurp
Kinder schlürfen oft laut ihre Suppe. — Children often slurp their soup loudly.
to devour
Der Junge verschlingt sein Essen sehr schnell. — The boy devours his food very quickly.
to consume / eat
Die Familie verspeiste das Abendessen mit Genuss. — The family consumed the dinner with pleasure.
to consume
Wir verzehrten das ganze Huhn an einem Tag. — We consumed the whole chicken in one day.
How to learn this set
Three of the words here, verspeisen, verzehren, and verschlingen, share the prefix ver-, and once you notice that pattern you can guess their flavor: ver- often pushes a verb toward "using something up completely," which is exactly what these do to essen. Drill der Bissen and der Happen together as a pair since both mean a small bite and largely swap in real sentences, so practice them in the same phrase ("einen Bissen probieren" vs "einen Happen probieren") rather than as isolated flashcards. For der Schluck, attach it to a liquid every time you review it, like "ein Schluck Wasser," so the noun never floats free of context.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between verspeisen, verzehren, and verschlingen?
All three are formal ways of saying 'eat', but the intensity differs. Verzehren is neutral and often seen on restaurant bills or menus ('bitte hier verzehren'), verspeisen is a slightly literary way to say someone ate a dish, and verschlingen means to devour or wolf something down fast.
What's the difference between der Bissen and der Happen?
Both mean a small bite or morsel of food, and in most everyday sentences they're interchangeable. Happen is the more casual, spoken word, while Bissen shows up more in fixed phrases like 'keinen Bissen essen' (not eat a single bite).
Is naschen the same as essen?
No. Naschen specifically means to snack on something sweet, usually secretly or between meals, like sneaking chocolate from the cupboard. Essen is the general, neutral verb for eating any meal or food.
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