{"id":93952,"date":"2023-08-01T20:34:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T00:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/how-to-order-a-beer-in-german\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T11:08:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T15:08:45","slug":"how-to-order-a-beer-in-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/how-to-order-a-beer-in-german\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Order a Beer in German"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re trying to order a beer in German, saying “Bier, bitte!”<\/em> isn’t gonna cut it. There are so many details you’d be missing, like the kind of beer you want and the size.<\/p>\n

If you really want to show off your ordering expertise<\/a>, there are\u00a0many beer options and many grammatical possibilities<\/a> to ask for one. <\/strong>This post walks you through everything you need in four easy steps.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

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1. Saying “I’d like…” in German<\/h2>\n

It’s entirely\u00a0possible<\/em> to order a beer just by saying “Bier!”<\/em>\u00a0to your bartender or server, but you’d come off like a barbarian. You’ll want to build a real sentence out of your request.<\/p>\n

Just like in English, there’s more than one way you could do this. Here are three of them.<\/p>\n

Ich m\u00f6chte…<\/em> (I’d like…)<\/h3>\n

This is the first way many German textbooks<\/a> will teach you how to express a wish or place an order. It’s short, it’s easy to remember and it’s a good way to introduce German modal verbs<\/a> early in the learning process.<\/p>\n

The only thing that might trip you up is the pronunciation of \u00f6<\/em> and ch<\/em>, but the good news is that we’ve got\u00a0an in-depth pronunciation guide<\/a>\u00a0that can help you with that.<\/p>\n

Ich h\u00e4tte gerne… <\/em>(I’d like to have…)<\/h3>\n

This one’s a wee bit longer, but it’s easier to pronounce.<\/p>\n

For many learners, this is also a typical first encounter with the subjunctive form<\/a> of haben<\/em>\u00a0(to have), which is a very common way that German speakers express desires or wishes.<\/p>\n

For maximum street cred, feel free to drop either or both of those Es, which would result in Ich h\u00e4tt’ gern…<\/em><\/p>\n

F\u00fcr mich ein\/eine\/einen… <\/em>(For me, a…)<\/h3>\n

This is less frequently used, but equally valid.<\/p>\n

It’s also a good opportunity to remind you that you should always pay attention to the gender of the German words you learn<\/a>. This determines which article (ein\/eine\/einen)<\/em> to use when placing your order. Since it’s neuter, ein Bier<\/em>\u00a0(a beer) would be the most generic option. We’ll get into specifics in a minute.<\/p>\n

Remember:<\/strong> no matter which version you go with, it’s always nice to throw in a bitte<\/em> (please).\u00a0We’ll have you going from “Bier, bitte”<\/em> to “Ich h\u00e4tt’ gern einen halben Liter Hefeweizen, bitte”<\/em>\u00a0(I’d like a half liter of Hefeweizen, please) by the end of this post, but you’ll want to add a\u00a0bitte<\/em> no matter where you fall between those two.<\/p>\n

2. Picking Your German Beer<\/h2>\n

I should say up front that I’m not a beer connoisseur. I know and love a lot of beer snobs\u2014and I asked for some of their input when writing this post\u2014but to me, beer’s just beer. That’s sacrilege in Germany, I know.<\/p>\n

Because in Germany, beer’s\u00a0not<\/em> just beer.<\/strong> There are dozens of different kinds and every part of Germany has its local brews. What you’ll find on tap in Hamburg isn’t necessarily what you’d find in a\u00a0village in Bavaria.<\/p>\n

The one consensus among my beer-loving friends is that brands bought out by AB InBev<\/a>\u00a0are looked down upon. Beck’s might like to tell you that it’s “the world’s number one German beer,”<\/a>\u00a0and while it’s certainly\u00a0available\u00a0<\/em>in Germany, no one seems to love<\/em> it.<\/p>\n

I’ve even heard the argument that since Beck’s sold out to AB InBev (a multinational entity with its HQ in Belgium), Beck’s isn’t truly German anymore, anyway. I won’t wade into that argument, but suffice it to say there are Germans who feel strongly about this.<\/p>\n

That’s just one example of how even seemingly simple tasks like ordering a drink can open up a whole new set of German cultural knowledge. Sometimes watching how others order can be beneficial to learning new vocabulary and when to use it.<\/p>\n

If you happen to be in a German-speaking location, this might mean literally going out one night and just people-watching. Listen to how the people around you order their beer (and what other vocab they use when chatting with the staff).<\/p>\n

But if you have no German speakers near you, you can watch videos made by and for native Germans on FluentU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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