How to Say Drinks in German: Water, Coffee, Tea, Juice, Milk and Soda
Learn German words for six common drinks and use the pattern 'Ich trinke ___' to say what you drink, with pronunciation and polite ordering phrases.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
In this lesson you will learn the German nouns for six everyday drinks and the simple sentence pattern 'Ich trinke ___' ('I drink ___'). You will also learn how to order a drink politely with 'Ich möchte' and 'Bitte'. German nouns have grammatical gender, so each drink word comes with its definite article: der, die or das. Learn the article together with the noun from the start, because it affects later grammar. All examples use standard contemporary German; regional differences are labelled where they matter.
By the end, you can…
- name six common drinks in German with the correct definite article.
- say what I drink using 'Ich trinke ___'.
- order a drink politely using 'Ich möchte ___' and 'Bitte'.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
das Wasser
the water
dahs VAH-ser
Neuter noun. In a restaurant, 'Wasser' alone often means bottled water; say 'mit Kohlensäure' for sparkling and 'ohne Kohlensäure' for still.
der Kaffee
the coffee
dair KAH-fay
Masculine noun. Standard in Germany, Austria and Switzerland; in Austria 'ein kleiner Brauner' is a small coffee with milk.
der Tee
the tea
dair TAY
Masculine noun. Usually hot tea; for iced tea say 'Eistee'.
der Saft
the juice
dair zahft
Masculine noun. Often used for fruit juice; 'Orangensaft' is orange juice.
die Milch
the milk
dee milsh
Feminine noun. The final sound is like English 'sh', not 'ch' as in 'church'.
die Limonade
the soda / lemonade
dee lee-moh-NAH-duh
Feminine noun. In Germany this often means a sweet carbonated soft drink; 'Cola' and 'Limonade' are both common.
Ich trinke Wasser.
I drink water.
ish TRIN-kuh VAH-ser
Simple present tense. Use it for habits and for what you are drinking now.
Ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte.
I would like a coffee, please.
ish MERKH-tuh EYE-nen KAH-fay BIT-tuh
Polite ordering phrase. 'Einen' is the masculine accusative form of 'ein'.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is 'Ich trinke' plus the drink noun. 'Ich trinke Tee.' means 'I drink tea.' German does not need an article here when you talk about drinks in general. If you want to be specific, add the definite article: 'Ich trinke den Kaffee.' ('I am drinking the coffee.'). To order politely, use 'Ich möchte' plus the accusative form: 'Ich möchte einen Tee.' (masculine), 'Ich möchte eine Limonade.' (feminine), 'Ich möchte ein Wasser.' (neuter). The word 'bitte' makes any request more polite.
When to use it
Use 'Ich trinke ___' for habits and simple statements: 'Ich trinke jeden Morgen Kaffee.' ('I drink coffee every morning.'). Use 'Ich möchte ___ , bitte' in cafés, restaurants and shops. For a quick, neutral order you can also say 'Einen Kaffee, bitte.' without a verb. 'Ich möchte einen Kaffee' is standard and polite throughout the German-speaking area; 'Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee' ('I would gladly have a coffee') is equally polite and common everywhere.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Guten Tag! Was möchten Sie trinken?
Good day! What would you like to drink?GOO-ten tahk! vahs MERKH-ten zee TRIN-kenIch möchte einen Kaffee, bitte.
I would like a coffee, please.ish MERKH-tuh EYE-nen KAH-fay BIT-tuhMit Milch und Zucker?
With milk and sugar?mit milsh unt TSOO-kerJa, bitte. Und ein Wasser, bitte.
Yes, please. And a water, please.yah BIT-tuh. unt ine VAH-ser BIT-tuhA little context goes a long way
In German-speaking countries, ordering 'ein Wasser' in a café usually means bottled water, often sparkling unless you specify 'ohne Kohlensäure' (without carbonation). Tap water is not automatically served and may be called 'Leitungswasser'; asking for it is acceptable but less common in restaurants. Coffee culture varies: in Vienna, 'ein kleiner Brauner' is a small coffee with milk, while in Germany 'ein Kaffee' is usually a standard cup.
One thing to watch for
Saying 'Ich trinke ein Wasser' when you mean water in general, or using 'Ich will' for polite ordering.
Try this instead: For general statements, drop the article: 'Ich trinke Wasser.' For ordering, use 'Ich möchte' or 'Ich hätte gern', not 'Ich will', which can sound blunt. Example: 'Ich möchte ein Wasser, bitte.'
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'I drink milk' in German?
Show a sample answer
Ich trinke Milch.
'Ich trinke' means 'I drink', and 'Milch' is the noun for milk. No article is needed for a general statement. 'Ich trinke die Milch' would mean a specific milk.
2You want to order a tea politely. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
Ich möchte einen Tee, bitte.
'Ich möchte' is polite, and 'Tee' is masculine, so it takes 'einen' in the accusative. 'Einen Tee, bitte' is also correct and common.
3Which article goes with 'Limonade', and why?
Show a sample answer
die Limonade
'Limonade' is a feminine noun, so its definite article is 'die'. In the accusative, it stays 'die': 'Ich möchte die Limonade.' The indefinite article is 'eine'.
Learn each drink word with its article, use 'Ich trinke ___' for general statements, and 'Ich möchte ___ , bitte' for polite orders.
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