{"id":13284,"date":"2021-09-01T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13284"},"modified":"2021-08-30T12:43:33","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T12:43:33","slug":"a-sample-of-german-das-kostehappchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/a-sample-of-german-das-kostehappchen\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sample Of German: Das Kosteh\u00e4ppchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! Today we\u2019re going to look at a quirky German word, das Kosteh\u00e4ppchen<\/strong>. We will look at its meaning, how to use it, the breakdown of the word itself, and some alternative\/related words you may also find useful!<\/p>\n

What is das Kosteh\u00e4ppchen?<\/h2>\n

Simply put, a Kosteh\u00e4ppchen<\/em><\/strong> is a small sample of food you get to try a product before you buy the whole thing. Due to Covid-19, this obviously hasn’t been happening lately! I\u2019m unsure if it\u2019s been reintroduced anywhere yet – personally, I haven\u2019t seen any Kosteh\u00e4ppchen being given out in my local supermarkets, or on any food stalls in the market -, but we\u2019ll learn the word anyway, because it\u2019s an interesting one.<\/p>\n

\"

Photo by Shane Rounce<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

How does the word look in a sentence?<\/h2>\n

Someone offering you a sample might say,<\/p>\n

\u201cM\u00f6chten Sie ein Kosteh\u00e4ppchen?\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
\n\u201cWould you like a sample\/would you like to try a piece?\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, they may just use the verb kosten<\/strong>, instead:<\/p>\n

\u201cM\u00f6chten Sie etwas kosten?\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
\n\u201cWould you like to try something?\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is where the word starts to become interesting; in the above example, it would be very understandable to think you were being asked to pay for something, or being asked its cost, when you\u2019re actually being asked to taste<\/em> something. So let\u2019s explore the breakdown of the word now, and I\u2019ll try to clear up any confusion!<\/p>\n

\"Kosteh\u00e4ppchen\"

Photo by Jem Sahagun<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The breakdown of Kosteh\u00e4ppchen<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s take the first part of the word: Kost(e)<\/strong>. Die Kost<\/em><\/strong> is a German noun meaning \u2018food\u2019,<\/strong> usually indicating a type of food\/diet eg. die Rohkost<\/em> \u2013 raw food; die Krankenkost<\/em> \u2013 a specific diet for an ill person.<\/p>\n

Die Kosten<\/strong> is a different German noun. This one means \u2018costs\u2019 or \u2018expenses<\/strong>\u2019, and is unrelated to the meaning of Kosteh\u00e4ppchen.<\/p>\n

The verb kosten<\/strong> reflects these two meanings above:<\/p>\n

kosten:<\/strong> to try (food)
\nkosten:<\/strong> to cost (money)<\/p>\n

\u201cM\u00f6chten Sie etwas kosten?\u201d<\/strong> – Would you like to try something?<\/em>
\n\u201cWieviel kostet das?\u201d<\/strong> – How much does that cost?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, in the case of a Kosteh\u00e4ppchen,<\/strong><\/em> we are talking about the first meaning: to taste<\/strong>. This is something worth bearing in mind, as so often we only hear kosten<\/em> used when talking about price. Now you know its second meaning!<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s move onto the second part of the word: h\u00e4ppchen.<\/strong> This stems from the noun der Happen,<\/strong> <\/em>which means \u2018small bite\u2019 or ‘appetiser’<\/strong>\u00a0in German. The word H\u00e4ppchen<\/strong><\/em> is simply a diminutive of der Happen<\/strong>, used because it\u2019s talking about something smaller than the original (which was already small, because der Happen means \u2018small bite\u2019\u2026 Anyway, you can read all about how diminutives work in German, by clicking here!<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Kosteh\u00e4ppchen\"

Woman giving out Kosteh\u00e4ppchen in the street (2017). Photo by Ryan Plomp<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Alternative words<\/h2>\n

Here are a few words related to Kosteh\u00e4ppchen, which you may also find useful!<\/p>\n

probieren \u2013 to try<\/p>\n

essen \u2013 to eat<\/p>\n

ein kleines St\u00fcck \u2013 a little piece<\/p>\n

ein Bissen \u2013 a piece<\/p>\n

eine Kleinigkeit \u2013 a little something<\/p>\n

die Kostprobe \u2013 sample (alternative word for Kosteh\u00e4ppchen)<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

I hope you found this post helpful!<\/p>\n

If you did,\u00a0 you might also like this one: 11 foodstuffs of the GDR you can still find in German supermarkets <\/a><\/p>\n

Bis bald<\/strong> (see you soon)
\nConstanze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Kosteh\u00e4ppchen\"

Guten Tag! Today we\u2019re going to look at a quirky German word, das Kosteh\u00e4ppchen. We will look at its meaning, how to use it, the breakdown of the word itself, and some alternative\/related words you may also find useful! What is das Kosteh\u00e4ppchen? Simply put, a Kosteh\u00e4ppchen is a small sample of food you get…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":13287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[503854,376024,431116,95131,457016,376023,13],"class_list":["post-13284","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-curious-words","tag-food","tag-food-and-drink","tag-german-language","tag-german-vocabulary","tag-language","tag-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t