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.
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".
