4.8 Im Restaurant (1) 
 Anna Müller and Margarete Schäfer, the two Berlin neighbours whom we saw meeting for the first time in an earlier section, have met up at the "Café Lit" restaurant for a meal. But first they need to find a seat! Click on the sound graphic at the top of this paragraph or here to listen to their conversation.
 Conversation 3: Im Restaurant (1) |
| Anna Müller |
Guten Tag. Ist hier noch frei? |
| Mann |
Nein, hier ist leider besetzt. |
| Anna Müller |
Entschuldigen Sie bitte. Ist hier noch frei? |
| Frau |
Ja, natürlich. Nehmen Sie Platz! |
| Anna Müller |
Vielen Dank. |
| Kellner |
Guten Tag. Sie wünschen bitte? Tee, Kaffee, Kakao, Cola, Limonade, Wein? |
| Anna Müller |
Ich möchte gerne ein Kännchen Tee, bitte. |
| Kellner |
Mit Milch oder mit Zitrone? |
| Anna Müller |
Mit Zitrone, bitte. |
| Margarete Schäfer |
Und ich nehme ein Glas Wein. Nein, ein Bier! |
| Kellner |
Ein großes oder ein kleines? |
| Margarete Schäfer |
Ein kleines. |
| Kellner |
Ja. Möchten Sie auch die Speisekarte? |
| Anna Müller |
Ja, bitte. Gerne. |
|
 |
| Inside the Café Lit |
|
| Glossary |
| das Restaurant |
This is written as in English but it is pronounced quite differently. |
| im Restaurant |
in the restaurant |
| Ist hier noch frei? |
"Is this seat taken?" Literally: "Is here still free?" |
| entschuldigen Sie bitte |
"Excuse me please". This is the most polite way of gaining somebody's attention. |
| leider |
unfortunately |
| hier ist leider besetzt |
"Unfortunately, this seat is taken". The word "besetzt" is also used to translate "engaged" both for a phone-line and a toilet cubicle. |
| natürlich |
of course; naturally |
| nehmen Sie Platz |
"Take a seat". This is a word-for-word translation of the English, with the indefinite article being omitted. Both this phrase and "Entschuldigen Sie, bitte" are requests / instructions. In the "Sie" form, this means that the subject and the verb are reversed such that the verb is the first element in the sentence. |
| der Kellner |
waiter |
| der Tee |
tea |
| der Kakao |
cocoa |
| die (Coca-)Cola |
No need to translate this one, but note that this is feminine in German. It is "das Coke" however! |
| die Limonade |
lemonade |
| der Wein |
"wine". Most alcoholic drinks turn out to be masculine. |
| ein Kännchen Tee |
"A pot of tea". As with the glass of wine, the word for "of" is omitted in German after a noun of quantity. |
| die Milch |
milk |
| die Zitrone |
This means "lemon". Tea is usually drunk in German-speaking countries with lemon - and from a glass. If you want milk rather than lemon you will need to ask for "Tee mit Milch". |
| gleich |
immediately |
| und ich nehme.... |
and I'll have... |
| das Glas |
glass |
| ein Glas Wein |
This means "a glass of wine". Here too there is no word for "of" in German after the noun of quantity. |
| das Bier |
The German for "beer" is one of the few words for alcoholic beverages which is neuter, not masculine. |
| ein großes oder ein kleines? |
"a large (beer) or a small (beer)". As in the earlier section, the noun does not need to be repeated. We will discuss adjective endings in a later section. |
| Möchten Sie auch...? |
Would you also like...? |
| die Speisekarte |
"The menu". Literally: "The food card". You might also hear it reduced to "die Karte". |
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 Chapter 4.9: Im Restaurant (2)
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