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Lesson 20 of 240

New here? This is lesson 20 of a free 240-lesson German course.

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One coffee, one roll in German

Priya is at the counter at Bäckerei Krause. Renate holds the tongs, and the shelf is full of pretzels, rolls, and jam doughnuts.

Anton already has a jam doughnut. He looks ready to ask for another one.

You will order a coffee, a pretzel, a roll, and a jam doughnut, and you will ask for another.

Einen, eine, and ein come with the food. Learn each order as one piece.

By the end of this lesson

Order a coffee, a pretzel, a roll, or a jam doughnut, and ask for another.

  • einen Kaffeea coffee
  • eine Brezela pretzel
  • ein Brötchena bread roll
  • einen Pfannkuchena jam doughnut
  • noch einenanother one
  • noch eineanother one (feminine)

Scene — the bakery counter

Priya stands at the counter on Fliederstraße. Renate holds the tongs over the pretzels and rolls.

Anton sits at the corner table with a jam doughnut already on his plate, and a Milchkaffee he has not touched.

Priya stands at the bakery counter as Renate holds tongs over the pretzels and rolls, while Anton sits at a corner table with a jam doughnut and untouched Milchkaffee.

Learn — one coffee, one roll

Six short lines cover a coffee, a pretzel, a roll, and a jam doughnut.

Two more lines let you ask for another of the same thing.

  1. Priya gestures toward a steaming Milchkaffee on the counter while Renate attends to her from behind the counter.

    einen Kaffee

    a coffee

    When to use it: Say this at the bakery counter when you want coffee.

    Learn it as one piece for a coffee order.

  2. Priya points to a pretzel as Renate holds the tongs just above the pretzel tray.

    eine Brezel

    a pretzel

    When to use it: Say this at the bakery when you want a pretzel.

    Learn it as one piece for a pretzel order.

    Say it: Brezel puts the stress on the first syllable.

  3. From behind Priya, Renate reaches with the tongs toward a basket of bread rolls.

    ein Brötchen

    a bread roll

    When to use it: Say this at the bakery when you want a bread roll.

    Learn it as one piece for a roll order.

    Say it: Brötchen has ö: round your lips for that vowel.

  4. Priya looks toward jam doughnuts displayed behind the glass pastry case.

    einen Pfannkuchen

    a jam doughnut

    When to use it: Say this at the bakery when you want a jam doughnut.

    Learn it as one piece for a jam doughnut.

    Say it: The ch in Pfannkuchen sounds like ach, not like ich.

  5. Anton taps the plate with his jam doughnut and raises an arm toward the counter, while his Milchkaffee remains untouched.

    noch einen

    another one

    When to use it: Say this when you want another coffee or doughnut.

    Learn it as one piece for another of the same.

  6. Priya holds her palms open toward the pretzels as Renate listens from behind the counter.

    noch eine

    another one (feminine)

    When to use it: Say this when you want another pretzel.

    Learn it as one piece for another pretzel.

Story — he wants another

Watch Priya order at the counter. She hesitates, and Anton already wants another jam doughnut.

The highlighted words are the lines you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Renate holds the tongs over the shelf.
  2. RenateGuten Morgen.Good morning.
  3. Priyaeinen KaffeeA coffee.
  4. Priya looks at the pretzels, then stops.
  5. Priyaeine BrezelA pretzel.
  6. She looks at the rolls.
  7. Priyaein BrötchenA bread roll.
  8. Anton already has a jam doughnut on his plate.
  9. Antoneinen PfannkuchenA jam doughnut.
  10. He taps the plate. The doughnut is still there.
  11. Antonnoch einenAnother one.
  12. Priyanoch eineAnother one.
  13. RenateBitte schön.Here you go.
  14. PriyaDanke.Thank you.

Practice — einen, eine, ein

Ten quick exercises wait here. You will listen, match, fill a gap, and build a line.

They stay short, so you can check einen, eine, and ein.

0 of 10 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    German

    eine BrezelDrop the English here
    ein BrötchenDrop the English here
    einen PfannkuchenDrop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its German, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    You already have a coffee. You want another coffee.

  4. Fill the gap

    a pretzel

    eine ____

  5. What does it mean?

    einen Pfannkuchen

  6. Swap the word

    You already have a pretzel. You want another pretzel.

    noch ____

  7. Build the line

    a bread roll

    Tap the words in order.

  8. Pick the reply

    Renate says:

    Bitte schön.

    Here you go

    And you reply with:

  9. What does it mean?

    Guten Morgen.

  10. True or false?

    This means thank you.

Say it — place your order

Now you're Priya at the bakery counter. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak the line.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. RenateGuten Morgen.Good morning.
  2. Priya (you)Order a coffee.

    einen Kaffee

    a coffee

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

GermanEnglish
einen Kaffeea coffee
eine Brezela pretzel
ein Brötchena bread roll
einen Pfannkuchena jam doughnut
noch einenanother one
noch eineanother one (feminine)
Next: lesson 21Tickets, books, people, pets

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want to keep these orders handy? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A quick round with the Yak Cards each day keeps einen, eine, and ein ready at the counter.

Open Yak Cards