Ordering in German: Ich hätte gern, Was kostet das?, Zahlen, bitte

Order with Ich hätte gern... and the thing you want: Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee. Ask the price with Was kostet das?, and pay with Zahlen, bitte! Three phrases, and every café, bakery and till in the German-speaking world is open to you.

The whole exchange on one screen

Ich hätte gern: the polite way to ask

German has four common ways to ask for something, and they are not interchangeable.

Ich hätte gern is literally "I would have gladly". Learn it as one chunk: nobody stops to parse it at a counter. Bitte at the end makes any of the polite forms warmer: Ich möchte einen Tee, bitte.

The thing you order is accusative

What you ask for is the object of the sentence, so a masculine noun takes einen. Feminine, neuter and plural do not change.

• Ich hätte gern einen Tee. - I'd like a tea.
• Ich hätte gern ein Brot. - I'd like a loaf.

A cup or glass of something needs no "of": eine Tasse Kaffee (a cup of coffee), ein Glas Wasser (a glass of water), ein Stück Kuchen (a piece of cake).

Asking for more

• Die Speisekarte, bitte. - The menu, please.
• Haben Sie Tee? - Do you have tea?
• Noch einen Kaffee, bitte. - Another coffee, please.
• Noch ein Wasser, bitte. - Another water, please.

Noch ein is "one more". English "another" can also mean a different one; for that, German says ein anderer: Ich möchte einen anderen Tisch. - I'd like a different table.

At the Bäckerei

The bakery is where most visitors first use German, and it runs on the same three phrases. The assistant speaks first.

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1. 1Ich hätte gern zwei Brötchen.
2. 2Was darf es sein?
3. 3das Brot
4. 4der Kaffee
5. 5die Kasse

The baker asks Was darf es sein? (what can I get you?), the customer answers Ich hätte gern zwei Brötchen (I'd like two rolls), and the bread (das Brot), the coffee (der Kaffee) and the till (die Kasse) wait on the counter.

Das Brötchen is the German breakfast roll, and many regions have their own name for it. The word above is understood everywhere. A Brezel (a pretzel) is the other bakery classic in the south.

Food and drink to start with

Learn each word with its article: the colour is the gender.

Die Kartoffel (potato) and die Banane (banana) are feminine too, so eine Kartoffel, eine Banane.

Was kostet das? Prices

Two questions, both everyday:

• Was kostet das? - How much is that?
• Wie viel kostet der Kaffee? - How much is the coffee?

For two things or more, the verb goes plural: Was kosten die Äpfel? - How much are the apples? The answer is Das kostet... or, for a total, Das macht...: Das macht zehn Euro. - That comes to ten euros.

Euro and Cent

Germany writes a comma where English writes a decimal point, and the euro sign usually goes after the number. Teuer is expensive and billig cheap:

• Das ist zu teuer. - That's too expensive.
• Der Kaffee ist billig. - The coffee is cheap.

Paying: Zahlen, bitte!

In a German café or restaurant the waiter does not bring the bill until you ask. Catch their eye and say Zahlen, bitte! or Ich möchte bitte zahlen. (Bezahlen means the same: Ich möchte bezahlen.) Then comes the question English speakers are not ready for.

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1. 1Zahlen, bitte!
2. 2Getrennt, bitte.
3. 3Zusammen oder getrennt?

She asks for the bill (Zahlen, bitte!), the waiter asks Zusammen oder getrennt? (together or separately?), and he answers Getrennt, bitte (separately, please).

• Zusammen oder getrennt? - Together or separately?
• Zusammen, bitte. - One bill, please.
• Getrennt, bitte. - Separately, please.

Splitting the bill to the cent is completely normal in Germany. Getrennt means each person pays for exactly what they had, at the table.

Card or cash

Cash is still more common in Germany than in Britain, and smaller cafés and bakeries may not take cards. Ask first:

• Kann ich mit Karte zahlen? - Can I pay by card?
• Ich zahle bar. - I'll pay cash.

The tip: Stimmt so

Germans tip by rounding up, usually five to ten per cent, and they say the total as they pay. Leaving coins on the table is much less usual.

Stimmt so means "that's right as it is": keep the change. With a big note, say the total you want to pay, and the waiter gives you the rest back.

At the Kasse

In shops, supermarkets and the Apotheke (the chemist's) you pay at the Kasse, the till. The cashier says the total and may offer the receipt:

• Das macht elf Euro zwanzig. - That's eleven euros twenty.
• Möchten Sie den Bon? - Do you want the receipt?
• Nein, danke. - No, thank you.

A café exchange, start to finish

Two friends, one bill:

Common mistakes English speakers make

What to do next

1. Order your next coffee in your head in German: Ich hätte gern...
2. Read three prices aloud from a receipt, with Euro in the middle.
3. Do the drill below, then try the café exchange aloud.