German food vocabulary: articles, plurals and examples

The idea

The table gives common food words and their everyday plural forms. Some plurals change the vowel: Apfel becomes Äpfel. Milk and water are usually treated as uncountable in basic shopping contexts, so practise ein Liter Milch or eine Flasche Wasser. Special meanings can have plurals, but they are not the focus here. Use möchten for a polite request.

Patterns to compare

Singular	Plural	Meaning
das Brot	die Brote	bread; a loaf
der Apfel	die Äpfel	apple
das Ei	die Eier	egg
die Kartoffel	die Kartoffeln	potato
die Tomate	die Tomaten	tomato
die Suppe	die Suppen	soup
die Milch	—	milk; usually uncountable
das Wasser	—	water; usually uncountable

Use these words to order a drink politely: How to Order Coffee in German: Phrases & Examples

To understand einen Apfel but ein Brot, compare the object articles: German accusative case: den, einen and direct objects

Count items, measure ingredients

Ein Brot usually means a whole loaf. For a slice, say eine Scheibe Brot. Compare zwei Äpfel (two individual apples), zwei Kilo Äpfel (two kilos of apples) and zwei Flaschen Wasser (two bottles of water). The plural depends on what you are counting: apples or containers. In zwei Kilo, Kilo keeps its usual measure form.

Examples

• Ich kaufe ein Brot.I am buying a loaf of bread.
• Wir brauchen zwei Äpfel.We need two apples.
• Sie trinkt Wasser.She is drinking water.
• Ich esse gern Käse.I like eating cheese.
• Haben Sie Milch?Do you have milk?
• Die Suppe ist warm.The soup is warm.

Watch out

Do not assume every food takes the same plural ending, or that a dash means a plural can never exist in any specialized use.

Try it yourself

1. ein Apfel → zwei ___

   Show answer or example answer

   Äpfel

   Apfel changes to Äpfel in the plural.

2. Ich möchte ___ Brot. (ein)

   Show answer or example answer

   ein

   Brot is neuter, so the accusative indefinite article is ein.

3. ___ Suppe ist warm. (bestimmter Artikel)

   Show answer or example answer

   Die

   Suppe is feminine, so use die; at the start of a sentence, capitalize Die.

Use it today

Make a short shopping list with articles. Turn three entries into complete requests and use a quantity for milk or water.