NumbersPaying for food

Did you know?

When paying for food and drink in a café or restaurant, it's customary to round up to the nearest whole euro or add on a little more as a tip for the waiter – Kellner, or waitress – Kellnerin. Most people round up to approximately 10 per cent if the service has been good.

Germans call this Trinkgeld (literally: drinking money). Often, instead of leaving the tip on the table, you are expected to tell the waiter there and then how much you'd like to give them. In other words, you have to do maths and German all at once.

For example, if a bill came to 27,45 € you may want to round up the whole bill to 30,00 € to include a tip. Luckily in speech, when quoting your bill, waiters are unlikely to use the word Komma.

To ask for the bill, you say bezahlen bitte in a less formal setting like a café, or die Rechnung bitte in a formal restaurant. If you're in a group, a waiter may ask if you want to pay zusammen oder getrennt?, which means "together or separately?". This gives you the option to pay in full and treat the whole table, or split the bill with others and pay separately .

Listen to how a conversation would sound in a café.