noun
lunch, midday meal
A2
Mittagessen (das) means lunch or midday meal. It denotes the main meal around noon. The noun is neuter with an invariable plural: Mittagessen. For the action people usually say 'zu Mittag essen' or use the verb 'mittagessen'. Common in schedules and menus.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Was gibt es zum Mittagessen?
What's for lunch?
Als die Kantine das Mittagessen vorbereitete, begannen die Kollegen, die Tische zu decken, damit die Pause pünktlich starten konnte.
When the cafeteria prepared the lunch, the colleagues began to set the tables so that the break could start on time.
Wir essen um zwölf Uhr Mittagessen.
We eat lunch at twelve o'clock.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
Picture a plate with a sandwich and the sun at its highest point to remember lunch.
Mittagessen → 'mid-day essen' (essen = to eat) => midday meal.
das Mittagessen — like 'das Essen' (the meal) it's neuter.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
Often used as an uncountable noun meaning 'lunch'; can also be used as a verb phrase 'zu Mittag essen'.