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In a coffee shop, you can say, for example, "einen Kaffee zum Mitnehmen, bitte" to say that you want your coffee "to go".

What is an idiomatic way to instead ask for your coffee "for here", meaning that you plan to sit in the coffee shop to drink it?

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    Sit down and wait for the server? But seriously, just order a coffee: if you're asked "zum Mitnehmen?" just say "nein, für hier".
    – Ingmar
    Commented Aug 14, 2014 at 12:34
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    In most situations in German-speaking countries, coffee "for here" would be the norm rather than the exception.
    – 200_success
    Commented Aug 14, 2014 at 19:24
  • Eine Indoorlatte. Späsken! Einen Kaffee am Tisch. Einen Kaffee im Porzellan. Aber draußen nur Kännchen.
    – user unknown
    Commented Aug 15, 2014 at 3:50
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    einen Kaffee to sit ;)
    – Crissov
    Commented Aug 16, 2014 at 12:56
  • Somebody who had to solve the related problem of how to offer a coffee "for here" opted for Stehkaffee. Just for fun - I wouldn't recommend using it for asking.
    – Matthias
    Commented Sep 28, 2014 at 23:54

5 Answers 5

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"Einen Kaffe zum hier Trinken". They also sometimes ask "Für hier oder zum mitnehmen?", then you can just answer "für hier".

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I would say "zum hier Trinken bitte".

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The previous answers are not incorrect. However they miss an important cultural point: In Germany, drinking coffee at the place is the default.

So, if you are asked explicitly, the correct answer should be "für hier".

The most appropriate way is not saying anything at all, since "für hier" is implied when not saying "zum Mitnehmen".

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I agree to the previous answer: Saying something like "zum Hier-Trinken" is probably the most common and most precise answer. One additional remark, because I am a little bit of a "grammar nazi" (and proud of it ;-) -- Such constructions are rather colloquial speech, one should not use them it elaborate written text. The problem is that the construction "zum Trinken" is grammatically something like a gerund, and in German language (unlike Latin, where it originally came from) such gerund constructions better do not have too many adverbs (or even objects, etc.) by themselves. It just feels awkward if one tries to turn such a gerund form into a full independent sentence, and even the single additonal word "hier" disturbs a little bit. So, as a result, the "zum Hier-Trinken" is o.k., because it has become common speech, but be careful with generalising this to similar constructions. Because of this, I, personally, often use an answer like "[Nein,] ich bleibe hier.", which is not comparably precise, but avoids this awkward feeling ;-)

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Eine Tasse Kaffee, bitte! or Ein Kännchen Kaffee, bitte! both mean you want a proper cup (and sit down), whereas Einen Kaffee, bitte! and Einen Becher Kaffee, bitte! are ambiguous, i.e. you could mean you want a paper cup to take away.

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  • Do you really order eine Tasse Kaffee at the counter? I was only half joking when I suggested to sit down and wait for the server. I can imagine some ambiguity at, say, McDonalds, but in most cases coffer for here and self-service are mutually exclusive.
    – Ingmar
    Commented Aug 15, 2014 at 9:23
  • You often can fetch the cup yourself, but don’t have to – it may be quicker. But you’re right, in most cases the context of the situation should disambiguate the kind of container you get.
    – Crissov
    Commented Aug 16, 2014 at 12:55

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