How to Say Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snack Times in German
Learn the German names for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack, and say when you eat each meal with simple time phrases.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
This lesson teaches you to name the four main eating occasions in German and say when they happen. You will learn das Frühstück, das Mittagessen, das Abendessen and der Snack, plus simple time phrases such as um sieben Uhr, mittags and abends. The focus is on timing, not on listing foods. You will also learn the verb frühstücken and the useful verb phrase zu Abend essen.
By the end, you can…
- name breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack in German.
- say at what time I eat each meal using simple time phrases.
- ask another person when they eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Ich frühstücke um sieben Uhr.
I eat breakfast at seven o'clock.
ikh FRUE-shtue-keh oom ZEE-ben oo-ah
Use frühstücken as a verb for eating breakfast. The noun is das Frühstück.
Ich esse zu Mittag.
I eat lunch.
ikh ES-seh tsoo MIT-tahk
Standard German uses zu Mittag essen for lunch. The noun is das Mittagessen.
Wir essen um halb sieben zu Abend.
We eat dinner at half past six.
veer ES-sen oom halp ZEE-ben tsoo AH-bent
German halb sieben means half an hour before seven, so 6:30, not 7:30.
Ich esse einen Snack am Nachmittag.
I have a snack in the afternoon.
ikh ES-seh EYE-nen snek am NAHKH-mit-tahk
Snack is common in everyday German. A more traditional word is der Imbiss.
Wann isst du normalerweise zu Mittag?
When do you usually eat lunch?
van ist doo nor-MAH-ler-vye-zeh tsoo MIT-tahk
Wann asks for a time. Normalerweise means usually and softens the question.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To say when you eat a meal, use a time expression plus a verb. With a clock time, use um: Ich frühstücke um sieben Uhr. With a general part of the day, use mittags, nachmittags or abends: Ich esse mittags zu Mittag. You can also put the time first: Um sieben Uhr frühstücke ich. The verb stays in second position in a statement, so if the time comes first, the verb comes next. Note that um is used with clock times, while general parts of the day use the adverbial forms mittags, nachmittags and abends without a preposition.
When to use it
Use das Frühstück for the morning meal, das Mittagessen for the midday meal and das Abendessen for the evening meal. Use zu Mittag essen and zu Abend essen as verb phrases. Use frühstücken for eating breakfast. Use einen Snack essen or simply snacken for a small extra bite. In Austria and southern Germany, das Jause or die Marende can refer to a snack, while in Switzerland das Znüni is a mid-morning snack and das Zvieri a mid-afternoon snack. These regional terms are not universal across all German-speaking areas.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Wann frühstückst du?
When do you eat breakfast?van FRUE-shtuekst dooIch frühstücke um halb acht. Und du?
I eat breakfast at half past seven. And you?ikh FRUE-shtue-keh oom halp akht. oont dooIch frühstücke um acht Uhr. Ich esse zu Mittag um eins.
I eat breakfast at eight o'clock. I eat lunch at one.ikh FRUE-shtue-keh oom akht oo-ah. ikh ES-seh tsoo MIT-tahk oom eyensWir essen um sieben Uhr zu Abend. Danach essen wir manchmal einen Snack.
We eat dinner at seven o'clock. Afterwards we sometimes have a snack.veer ES-sen oom ZEE-ben oo-ah tsoo AH-bent. dah-NAKH ES-sen veer MANKH-mahl EYE-nen snekA little context goes a long way
Meal times vary by region, work schedule and family. In many German-speaking households the warm main meal is at midday, while others eat it in the evening. Abendbrot is a common evening meal of bread and cold items, especially in northern Germany. Use um for exact clock times and mittags, nachmittags or abends for general parts of the day. These are general tendencies, not fixed rules for all households.
One thing to watch for
Using halb sieben to mean 7:30 because English half past seven adds thirty minutes.
Try this instead: German halb sieben means 6:30, halfway to seven. For 7:30 say halb acht. Example: Wir essen um halb acht zu Abend means we eat dinner at 7:30.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say I eat breakfast at seven o'clock in German?
Show a sample answer
Ich frühstücke um sieben Uhr.
This uses the verb frühstücken, the time phrase um sieben Uhr and the verb in second position. Ich esse um sieben Uhr Frühstück is also possible but less idiomatic.
2What does halb acht mean in a sentence about dinner?
Show a sample answer
It means 6:30, half an hour before eight.
German halb plus the next hour counts back from that hour. So halb acht is 7:30 in English terms, not 8:30.
3How do you ask a friend when they usually eat lunch?
Show a sample answer
Wann isst du normalerweise zu Mittag?
Wann asks when, isst du is the informal you form, and zu Mittag is the standard lunch phrase. Wann essen Sie normalerweise zu Mittag? is the polite form.
Name the meal with das Frühstück, das Mittagessen, das Abendessen or der Snack, then add a time phrase with um or mittags, nachmittags and abends. Remember that halb sieben means 6:30.
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