How to Order Multiple Items From a Menu

Learn how to order multiple items from a menu

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do German by GermanPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order two or more of something at a restaurant in German.

For example, "Two of these, please." is

Zwei davon, bitte.

Aylin Ahrens is at the restaurant with her husband.

The server is ready to take their order, and approaches them.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

davon

"of these"

davon

zwei

"two"

zwei

Was darf es sein?

Zwei davon, bitte.

Once more with the English translation.

Was darf es sein?

"What will it be?"

Zwei davon, bitte.

"Two of these, please."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how the server says,

"What will it be?"

Was darf es sein?

Let's start with was, "what." Was. Was.

Next is darf es, translating as "will it." Darf es.

Darf, literally "may," but translates as "will," in this context. Darf. Darf.

Darf is from the verb dürfen, "may." Dürfen.

Next is es, "it." Es. Es.

Next is sein, "be." Sein. Sein.

Altogether it's Was darf es sein? Literally "What may it be," but translates as "What will it be?

Was darf es sein?

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Aylin says,

"Two of these, please?"

Zwei davon, bitte.

First is zwei, "two." Zwei. Zwei.

Next is davon, translating as "of these," in this context. Davon. Davon.

Note: zwei davon can also translate as "two of those," if the items are not nearby.

Last is bitte, "please." Bitte. Bitte.

All together, Zwei davon, bitte. "Two of these, please."

Zwei davon, bitte.

The pattern is:

QUANTITY davon, bitte.

"QUANTITY of these, please."

QUANTITY davon, bitte.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {QUANTITY} placeholder with the number of the item you're requesting.

Note: this pattern requires a number.

Imagine you’d like three of a thing for which you don’t know the German word.

Drei, "three." Drei. Drei.

Say

"Three of these, please."

Ready?

Drei davon, bitte.

"Three of these, please."

Drei davon, bitte.

Again, the key pattern is

QUANTITY davon, bitte.

"QUANTITY of these, please."

QUANTITY davon, bitte.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Zwei davon, bitte.

"Two of these, please."

Zwei davon, bitte.

Drei davon, bitte.

"Three of these, please."

Drei davon, bitte.

Vier davon, bitte.

"Four of these, please."

Vier davon, bitte.

Eins davon, bitte.

"One of these, please."

Eins davon, bitte.

Zwei davon und eins davon.

"Two of these and one of these."

Zwei davon und eins davon.

Did you notice how the last speaker used a different pattern?

Zwei davon und eins davon.

"Two of these and one of these."

When pointing out multiple items, you can join them with the conjunction und, "and." Und. Und.

This starts with Zwei davon, "two of these." Zwei davon.

First is zwei, "two." Zwei.

Next is davon, "of these." Davon.

Together, zwei davon, "two of these." Zwei davon.

Next is und, "and." Und.

After this is eins davon, "one of these." Eins davon.

Note: bitte, "please," is omitted. In colloquial German, it’s common to omit bitte, "please," at the end of requests.

For example, Zwei davon und eins davon, "Two of these and one of these." Zwei davon und eins davon.

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

vier

"four"

vier

drei

"three"

drei

und

"and"

und

eins

"one"

eins

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "please?"

bitte

And how to say "two?"

zwei

And do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says,

"Two of these, please."

Zwei davon, bitte.

Do you remember how to say "be?"

sein

And how to say "what?"

was

Do you remember how the waiter says,

"What will it be?"

Was darf es sein?

Do you remember how to say "three?"

drei

And how to say "four?"

vier

Do you remember how to say "one?"

eins

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Aron Ahrens , and you're at a coffee shop with two friends.

Order "three of this," or drei davon.

Ready?

Was darf es sein?

Drei davon, bitte.

Listen again and repeat.

Drei davon, bitte.

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Anouk Ahrens , and you’re at the coffee shop with three friends. Order "four of these," or vier davon.

Ready?

Was darf es sein?

Vier davon, bitte.

Listen again and repeat.

Vier davon, bitte.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Arnold Ahrens , and you’re by yourself.

Order "one of these," or eins davon.

Ready?

Was darf es sein?

Eins davon, bitte.

Listen again and repeat.

Eins davon, bitte.

In this lesson, you learned how to order two or more of something at a restaurant. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of dining at the restaurant. Let’s review.

Do you remember the polite expression meaning "Excuse me?"

Entschuldigung.

And how to say, "water?"

Wasser.

Do you remember how to say, "bottle?"

Flasche.

And how to say "a bottle?"

Eine Flasche.

Do you remember how to say, "a bottle of water?"

Eine Flasche Wasser.

And do you remember how to say,

"Excuse me, a bottle of water, please."

Entschuldigung, eine Flasche Wasser, bitte.

Do you remember how to say,

"Yes, coming right away."

Ja, kommt sofort.

Imagine you're Jack Jones and you're at a restaurant with your friends, and you'd like to ask for the menu.

Do you remember how to say "the menu" in German?

die Speisekarte.

Now ask for the menu.

Ready?

Entschuldigung, die Speisekarte, bitte.

Ja, kommt sofort.

Listen again and repeat.

Entschuldigung, die Speisekarte, bitte.

You're ready to make your order. You'd like to order three of one item.

Do you remember how to say "three" in German?

Drei

Respond to the server's approach.

Was darf es sein?

Drei davon, bitte.

Listen again and repeat.

Drei davon, bitte.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can order at a restaurant unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next series!

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