01
die Kellnerin
waitress
A woman whose job is to serve guests in a restaurant, café, or bar, take orders, and serve food and drinks.
example
Die Kellnerin empfahl uns den Wein des Hauses.
The waitress recommended the house wine to us.
die Kellnerin
waitress
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word formation
The word is the feminine form of 'der Kellner' (waiter). The ending '-in' is often used in German to form the feminine version of job titles and other terms for people.
EXAMPLE
Der Kellner und die Kellnerin arbeiten im selben Restaurant.
The waiter and the waitress work in the same restaurant.
Typical actions
In everyday restaurant situations, certain verbs are typical: you can 'die Kellnerin rufen' (call the waitress), 'bei der Kellnerin bestellen' (order from the waitress), or 'die Kellnerin um die Rechnung bitten' (ask the waitress for the bill).
EXAMPLE
Wir sollten bei der Kellnerin noch zwei Gläser Wasser bestellen.
We should order two more glasses of water from the waitress.
Correct form of address
To get a waitress's attention, you politely say 'Entschuldigung!' (Excuse me!). The direct form of address 'Frau Kellnerin' is no longer used in modern German and sounds unnatural.
EXAMPLE
Entschuldigung, wir würden gern bezahlen!
Excuse me, we'd like to pay!
Compare with
Kellnerin vs Kellner
waiter
'der Kellner' and 'die Kellnerin' both refer to a person who serves guests in a restaurant, café, or bar. The difference is the gender of the person: 'der Kellner' means a man, and 'die Kellnerin' means a woman. Learners may confuse the words because the job is the same and only the article and ending are different. If the gender is unknown or not important, you also often hear general forms like 'Bedienung' (server / service staff) in everyday language.
Kellnerin
Die Kellnerin hat Ida heute freundlich einen Platz am Fenster gezeigt.
The waitress kindly showed Ida to a table by the window today.
Kellner
Der Kellner bringt uns nach der Bestellung zwei Gläser Wasser.
After we order, the waiter brings us two glasses of water.
In real life
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