German Meals & Mealtimes Vocabulary
This set covers how Germans talk about eating from Frühstück to Abendessen, including the meals in between: Mittagessen, the various words for snacks, and Vorspeise for a starter. One trap here is that Speise isn't just "spice" (a classic false friend) - it means food or dish in general, as in Speisekarte, the menu.
Learn these 20 words
Spaced-repetition flashcards, straight in your browser. No sign-up, no install — the same review ladder Anki uses, on the words above.
All 20 words
plural: die Abendessen
dinner
Wir essen um sieben Abendessen. — We eat dinner at seven.
plural: die Frühstücke
breakfast
Möchtest du ein Ei zum Frühstück? — Would you like an egg for breakfast?
plural: die Pausen
break, pause
Von 12.00 bis 12.30 Uhr haben wir Mittagspause. — We have a lunch break from 12:00 to 12:30.
eat breakfast
Ich frühstücke immer um 9:00 Uhr. — I always eat breakfast at 9:00.
lunch
Um zwölf Uhr gibt es Mittagessen. — There is lunch at twelve o'clock.
plural: die Snacks
snack
Zwischendurch esse ich gern einen Snack. — In between I like eating a snack.
plural: die Stücke
piece
Möchten Sie noch ein Stück Kuchen? — Would you like another piece of cake?
plural: die Vorspeisen
starter, appetizer
Als Vorspeise nehme ich eine Suppe. — As a starter I'll have soup.
plural: die Brotzeiten
light meal, bread snack
Zur Brotzeit gibt es Brot und Wurst. — For the snack there's bread and sausage.
plural: die Jausen
snack
Es ist Zeit für eine kleine Jause. — It's time for a small snack.
plural: die Mahlzeiten
meal
Die Tropfen bitte immer nach den Mahlzeiten einnehmen. — Please always take the drops after meals.
- SpeiseB1
dining, food
Als Vorspeise nehme ich eine Suppe, aber dafür nehme ich keine Nachspeise. — As a starter I take soup, but I take no dessert course.
plural: die Zwischenmahlzeiten
snack between meals
Obst eignet sich gut als Zwischenmahlzeit. — Fruit is good as a snack between meals.
plural: die Festmähler
feast / banquet
Wir haben ein großes Festmahl zu Ehren des Gastes vorbereitet. — We prepared a great feast in honor of the guest.
plural: die Hauptgerichte
an entree / main dish
Das Hauptgericht war ein köstliches Fischfilet. — The main dish was a delicious fish fillet.
plural: die Kaffeepausen
a coffee break
Wir machen eine Kaffeepause um drei Uhr. — We take a coffee break at three o'clock.
plural: die Schmäuse
a feast / nosh
Das Festessen war wirklich ein köstlicher Schmaus. — The banquet was truly a delicious feast.
plural: die Henkersmahlzeiten
a last meal
Der Verurteilte aß sein Henkersmahlzeit vor der Hinrichtung. — The condemned man ate his last meal before the execution.
- labenC1
to feast
Wir laben uns an dem großen Festmahl. — We feast on the grand banquet.
consumption (aka eating)
Der Verzehr von Obst ist gesund. — The consumption of fruit is healthy.
How to learn this set
Notice that almost every noun in this set is neuter or feminine, and the neuter ones cluster around whole meals: das Frühstück, das Mittagessen, das Abendessen, das Hauptgericht, das Festmahl. Drill those five together as "the meal words are das" and you'll cut your gender-guessing in half. Separately, group die Jause, die Brotzeit, and die Zwischenmahlzeit as regional or informal words for "snack" so you stop mixing them up with der Snack, which is just the modern loanword. For the verbs, frühstücken and laben are worth learning as pairs with their noun cousins (Frühstück, Labung isn't on this list but the root shows up elsewhere) so the connection sticks.
More Food & Drink word packs
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Brotzeit and Jause?
They mean the same thing: a light, informal meal, usually bread with cold cuts or cheese, eaten outside the main three meals. Brotzeit is the word used in Bavaria, Jause is the Austrian equivalent.
Is Mahlzeit just a greeting in German?
Mahlzeit literally means 'meal', but colleagues in Germany also say it to each other around midday as a casual way of saying 'enjoy your lunch' or just 'hi' near lunchtime. On this list it also shows up in compounds like Zwischenmahlzeit (snack between meals).
What does Henkersmahlzeit mean?
Literally 'the executioner's meal', it refers to the last meal a condemned prisoner gets, but Germans use it jokingly for any last big meal before a diet, deadline, or trip. It's a good example of how German compounds pack a whole scene into one word.
Other popular word packs
Free to start · no credit card
Words fade fast — spaced reviews make them stick.
Based on Dr. Hermann Ebbinghaus · memory science, proven since 1885