Fruits and Vegetables in German

Just looking at the juicy, fresh fruits and vegetables with foreign language labels on them in the German-speaking crowd? Don’t you think that could be bonkers?

Don’t feel helpless and just keep roaming like in an alien land! This can happen to you when you don’t know the language and have recently landed in a German-speaking country. 

No, you won’t starve. We will make sure you won’t miss a thing from the local markets. So, let’s get yourself acclimatized and get you to buy some healthy vitamins and satiate your cravings by conversing in German.

 Buy a world for yourself!

15 Common Fruits and Vegetables in German

• der Apfel – apple
• die Birne – pear
• die Zitrone – lemon
• die Banane – banana
• die Erdbeere – strawberry 
• der Pfirsich – peach
• die Traube – grape
• der(die) Ananas – pineapple
• die Orange – orange
• die Kirsche – cherry
• die Zwiebel – onion
• die Tomate – tomato
• der Salat – lettuce
• die Karotte – carrot

Shopping for Fruits and Vegetables in German – Useful Phrases

I am already hungry! Aren’t you? I would have gulped all the delicious fruits and garden-fresh vegetables. 

You need to know how you would buy those, though and then hit the target! Come, let’s see the basic conversational part a bit to get you going.

Obviously, you need to ask, and they will tell you that those can be bought by weight or just by a piece just as you want it!

Wo kann ich frisches Obst und Gemüse kaufen?
Where can I buy fresh fruits and vegetables?

Ein halbes Kilo Kirschen, bitte.
Half a kilogram of cherries. 

Ich hätte gerne ein Kilo Orangen, bitte.
I want a kilogram of oranges, please.

Ich nehme ein Stück Kohl.
I will take one piece of cabbage.

Wie viel kostet ein Kilo Kartoffeln?
How much does a kilogram of potatoes cost?

Wie viel kosten die Karotten?
How much are carrots?

Verkaufen Sie die Bananen pro Stück oder pro Kilo?
Do you sell bananas by the kilogram or by unit?

Wie viel wiegen diese Trauben?
How much does this bunch of grapes weigh?

Haben Sie Salat?
Do you have lettuce?

Kann ich mit einer (Kredit- oder Debit-) Karte bezahlen?
Can I pay with a (credit or debit) card?

I will also instruct you about the most common expressions used while shopping in another article.

How to Describe Fruits and Vegetables in German

Arghh! I don’t like sour grapes. And please, just sweet apples for me. How about you? Want to be confident while buying your choices in a German-speaking environment?

With these German adjectives, you can exactly describe your inclinations, absolutely the way you like your fruits and vegetables:

• süß – sweet
• sauer – sour
• weich – soft
• hart – hard
• reif – ripe
• verfault – rotten
• frisch – fresh
• alt – old
• geschmacklos – tasteless
• lecker – delicious
• saftig – juicy
• groß – big
• klein – small

We have just quoted a few examples of how you can use these in practical scenarios. Let’s have a look at these tempting and yummy usages:

Probiere diese Kirschen! Sie sind lecker!
Try these cherries! They are delicious!

Die Erdbeeren, die ich gestern gekauft habe, sind geschmacklos.
The strawberries I bought yesterday are tasteless.

Könnten Sie mir bitte einen anderen Salat geben? Der ist fast verfault.
Can you change this lettuce to a different one? It’s almost rotten.

Geben Sie mir bitte fünf kleine Tomaten.
Give me five small tomatoes. 

Dieser Pfirsich ist so saftig, dass er im Mund zergeht.
This peach is so juicy it melts in your mouth.

TIP: Whenever you use adjectives in German, you must remember to adjust their endings according to the gender of the noun, the case in which it is used and the article used before the noun.

40 Fruits and Vegetables in German to Enhance your Buying Experiences

Do you want to tantalize your taste buds further? Then go hunt the exotic fruits. But first, have a look at the list below to have a lip-smacking affair.

Fruits:

• die Wassermelone – water melon
• die Aprikose – apricot
• die Mango – mango
• die Papaya – papaya
• der Granatapfel – pomegranate
• die Feige – fig
• die Guave – guava
• die Cherimoya – cherimoya
• die Passionsfrucht / die Maracuja – passion fruit
• der Feigenkaktus / die Kaktusfeige – prickly pear
• süße Gurke – sweet cucumber
• die Heidelbeere / die Blaubeere – blueberry
• die Brombeere – blackberry
• die Himbeere – raspberry
• die Kokosnuss – coconut
• die Grapefruit – grapefruit
• die Mandarine – mandarine
• die Limone – lime
• die Drachenfrucht – dragon fruit

Vegetables:

• die Avocado – avocado
• ein Bund Frühlingszwiebel – a bunch of scallion
• der Koriander – coriander
• der Kohl – cabbage
• der Brokkoli – broccoli
• der Blumenkohl – cauliflower
• grüne Erbsen – green peas
• die Bohne – bean
• die Gurke – cucumber
• der Rettich – radish
• der Kürbis – pumpkin, squash
• die Zucchini – zucchini
• die Aubergine – eggplant / aubergine
• die Bete – beet
• der Spinat – spinach
• die/der Rucola – arugula / rocket
• der Sellerie – celery
• der/die grüne Paprika, der/die rote Paprika – green / red pepper 
• der Pilz – mushroom
• die Waldpilze – wild mushroom

An interesting fact about arugula and pepper is that two articles are used for these vegetables. It really depends on which one you can remember. More thought-provoking is that there are quite a few nouns in German which take two articles.

I will take you through that as well at a later point.

When you start learning German, you will wish there were more of such cases!

As of now, I will take you through the sentences with the words we just learned. This should assist you with your language learning more in detail, which will also come in handy during your routine, may it be your mouth-watering breakfast, a flavourful order at a restaurant or having an appetizing conversation at parties.

Ich esse immer manche Blaubeeren zum Frühstück. Sie sind sehr gesund.
I always have a handful of blueberries for breakfast. They are very healthy.

Ich liebe Aprikosenmarmelade.
I love apricot jam.

Möchtest du ein Avocado-Sandwich?
Do you want an avocado sandwich?

Ich mache einen Kohl-Spinat-Salat.
I’m making a cabbage and spinach salad.

Mango ist meine Lieblingsfrucht.
Mango is my favorite fruit.

Ich hasse Sellerie.
I hate celery.

Bevorzugen Sie rohen oder gekochten Brokkoli?
Do you prefer raw or cooked broccoli?

Hacken Sie bitte etwas frischen Koriander klein für die Suppe.
Chop a little fresh coriander for the soup.

Haben Sie schon einmal eine Cherimoya gegessen?
Have you ever eaten a cherimoya?

Wie schmeckt Passionsfrucht?
What does passion fruit taste like?

Zum Nachtisch esse ich ein Stück Himbeer-Käsekuchen.
I’ll have a slice of raspberry cheesecake for dessert.

So, that’s in the box for you all today. I think we have discussed a lot about such delectable stuff that I am already hungry.

Let’s catch up tomorrow for another interesting read to enrich the knowledge on the language part and make your life easier.

Image Source