How to Say ‘May I buy you a drink?’ in German
Darf ich dir einen Drink ausgeben?
darf ikh deer EYE-nen dringk OWS-gay-ben
[darf ikh deer EYE-nen dringk OWS-gay-ben]
💬 Usage Tip: [ausgeben] splits in a normal sentence: [Ich gebe dir einen Drink aus.]. After [darf ich], it stays together at the end: [Darf ich dir einen Drink ausgeben?]
🇩🇪 In Germany: This is a polite way to ask first instead of just ordering for someone. In Germany that usually lands better than assuming, especially with someone you've only just met.
Phrase Breakdown
Darf ich dir
darf ikh deer
May I to you / May I (for you)
This is the polite start of an offer; "dir" is the informal dative form of "you."
Darf ich dir helfen?
May I help you?
Words in this phrase
Darf
[darf]
may
Used to ask permission politely before doing something.
Darf ich dir einen Drink ausgeben?
May I buy you a drink?
ich
[ikh]
I
First-person singular pronoun.
Darf ich dir einen Drink ausgeben?
May I buy you a drink?
dir
[deer]
you
Informal dative form, meaning 'for you' in this sentence.
Darf ich dir einen Drink ausgeben?
May I buy you a drink?
Einen Drink ausgeben?
EYE-nen dringk OWS-gay-ben
buy you a drink?
"jemandem etwas ausgeben" means to pay for something for someone else.
Ich gebe dir einen Kaffee aus.
I'll buy you a coffee.
Words in this phrase
einen
[EYE-nen]
a
Masculine accusative article used before 'Drink.'
Darf ich dir einen Drink ausgeben?
May I buy you a drink?
Drink
[dringk]
drink
A common bar word in German, borrowed from English.
Darf ich dir einen Drink ausgeben?
May I buy you a drink?
ausgeben
[OWS-gay-ben]
buy someone a drink
Means to pay for someone as a friendly or flirtatious gesture.
Darf ich dir einen Drink ausgeben?
May I buy you a drink?
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