Coffee during a break | Learn German in English

German lesson set in a contemporary Berlin everyday setting: During a classroom break, two adults talk about coffee, sugar, and milk when milk is not available..

EN → DE / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Coffee during a break to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Möchtest du Kaffee?

MUR-hy-tuhst doo kah-FAY? Do you want coffee?
B

Ja, bitte. Nur eine kleine Tasse.

yah, BIT-tuh. noor EYE-nuh KLY-nuh TAH-suh. Yes, please. Just a small cup.
A

Bitte schön.

BIT-tuh SHURN. Here you are.
B

Es riecht gut.

ess REE-hyt goot. It smells nice.
A

Brauchst du Zucker?

BROWKHST doo TSOOK-uh? Do you need sugar?
B

Nein, nur Milch, bitte.

nine, noor MIL-hy, BIT-tuh. No, just milk, please.
A

Tut mir leid, es gibt keine Milch.

TOOT meer LITE, ess gipt KINE-uh MIL-hy. Sorry, there is no milk.
B

Das ist in Ordnung.

dahs ist in ORD-noong. That is okay.

Word by Word

Möchtest “Möchtest” asks whether someone would like or want something here. It is the form of “möchten” used with “du”; reuse the polite question pattern “Möchtest du ...?” when offering something.
du “du” means “you” when speaking to one person informally. It is the person being asked in “Möchtest du Kaffee?” and commonly follows a question word such as “Möchtest” in this pattern.
Kaffee “Kaffee” means coffee, the drink being offered here. It is used directly after “Möchtest du” in “Möchtest du Kaffee?”; you can reuse that pattern with another offered item.
Ja “Ja” means “yes” and accepts the offer in “Ja, bitte.” It is commonly used at the beginning of a polite positive reply.
bitte “bitte” means “please” in “Ja, bitte” and makes the acceptance polite. It can also follow a request, as in “Nur eine kleine Tasse” followed by “bitte” in this dialogue.
Nur “Nur” means “just” or “only” and limits the request to a small cup here. It comes before the requested item or quantity, as in “Nur eine kleine Tasse.”
eine “eine” introduces one cup in “eine kleine Tasse,” meaning “a” or “one” here. It is used before the noun phrase and combines with the following description “kleine.”
kleine “kleine” means “small” and describes the cup in “eine kleine Tasse.” It comes directly before the noun it describes, as in “eine kleine Tasse.”
Tasse “Tasse” means cup, the container requested here. In “eine kleine Tasse,” it follows the article and adjective; this is a useful pattern for describing one cup.
Bitte schön “Bitte schön” is a polite phrase used when handing something to someone, meaning “here you are” in this dialogue. “Bitte” contributes the polite offering phrase, while “schön” is part of the friendly fixed expression rather than a separate literal description here. Use “Bitte schön” when giving someone an item.
Es “Es” in “Es riecht gut” is the subject-like “it” in the statement about the smell. The lowercase “es” in “es gibt keine Milch” belongs to the whole expression “es gibt” and does not independently mean “there” here. Reuse “Es riecht ...” for describing how something smells.
riecht “riecht” means “smells” in “Es riecht gut.” It is the form used with “Es” here, and the reusable pattern is “Es riecht + description.”
gut “gut” means “good” or “nice” and describes the smell in “Es riecht gut.” It follows “riecht” in this pattern and gives a positive evaluation.
Brauchst “Brauchst” means “need” in the question “Brauchst du Zucker?” It is the form used with “du”; reuse the question pattern “Brauchst du ...?” when asking whether someone needs something.
Zucker “Zucker” means sugar, which is offered as something to add to the coffee here. It follows “Brauchst du” in “Brauchst du Zucker?” and can fill the object position in that question pattern.
Nein “Nein” means “no” and rejects the offer of sugar here. It commonly begins a negative reply, as in “Nein, nur Milch, bitte.”
Milch “Milch” means milk, the item requested instead of sugar here. It follows “nur” in “nur Milch” and is also the item mentioned in “keine Milch.”
Tut mir leid “Tut mir leid” is the fixed expression for apologizing, meaning “I’m sorry” here. “Tut” is the verb element, “mir” refers to the person experiencing the feeling, and “leid” completes the apology; together they form one expression. Reuse “Tut mir leid” when apologizing or regretting a situation.
es gibt “es gibt” means “there is” or “there are” in the sentence “es gibt keine Milch,” stating that milk is unavailable. “es” is part of this construction, and “gibt” is its verb element; do not interpret the two words separately here. Reuse “es gibt + item” to say that something exists or is available.
keine “keine” means “no” or “not any” and states that there is no milk in “es gibt keine Milch.” It comes before the noun being negated, as in “keine Milch.”
Das “Das” means “that” and refers to the situation just mentioned in “Das ist in Ordnung.” It can begin a short evaluation when pointing back to something already discussed.
ist “ist” means “is” and connects “Das” with the evaluation “in Ordnung” in “Das ist in Ordnung.” It is the form used with “Das”; reuse “Das ist ...” to describe or evaluate a situation.
in Ordnung “in Ordnung” means “okay” or “all right” in “Das ist in Ordnung.” “in” and “Ordnung” form a fixed expression here, so the meaning is not a literal physical location in order. Use “Das ist in Ordnung” to accept a situation or say that it is acceptable.

Grammar Points

Möchtest du ...?

Möchtest du eine kleine Tasse Kaffee?

MUR-hy-tuhst doo EYE-nuh KLY-nuh TAH-suh kah-FAY?

Would you like a small cup of coffee?

In a yes/no question, the conjugated verb comes first. Möchtest is the du form of möchten.

Es gibt keine ...

Es gibt keine Milch.

ess gipt KINE-uh MIL-hy.

There is no milk.

Es gibt means “there is/are.” Use kein or keine before a noun to express “no” or “not any.”

German Vocabulary

Bitte schön phrase
BIT-tuh SHURN Here you are; you're welcome

Bitte schön.

brauchen verb
BROW-khun need Brauchst

Brauchst du Zucker?

du pron
doo you

Möchtest du Kaffee?

eine det
EYE-nuh a; one

Nur eine kleine Tasse.

gut adj
GOOT good; nice

Es riecht gut.

ja intj
yah yes

Ja, bitte.

Kaffee noun
kah-FAY coffee

Möchtest du Kaffee?

klein adj
KLINE small kleine

Nur eine kleine Tasse.

möchten verb
MUR-hy-tun want; would like Möchtest

Möchtest du Kaffee?

nur adv
noor just; only

Nur eine kleine Tasse.

riechen verb
REE-hyun smell riecht

Es riecht gut.

Tasse noun
TAH-suh cup

Nur eine kleine Tasse.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Do you want coffee?

Show AnswerMöchtest du Kaffee?

Yes, please. Just a small cup.

Show AnswerJa, bitte. Nur eine kleine Tasse.

Here you are.

Show AnswerBitte schön.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

small

Show Answerkleine

coffee

Show AnswerKaffee

want; would like

Show AnswerMöchtest

a; one

Show Answereine