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📕 Lesson 16: Sport und Ernährung — Sports & Nutrition

A healthy mind in a healthy body! Learn how to talk about sports and healthy eating, and write your own recipes in German.

🎬 Lesson Video

1. 🗣️ Sport und Ernährung — Sports and Nutrition

Deutsch Pronunciation English
Sport treiben [ʃpɔʁt ˈtʁaɪbən] to do sports / exercise
sich fit halten [zɪç fɪt ˈhaltən] to stay fit
gesund essen [ɡəˈzʊnt ˈɛsən] to eat healthy
abnehmen [ˈapneːmən] to lose weight
zunehmen [ˈtsuːneːmən] to gain weight
trainieren [tʁaˈniːʁən] to train
schwimmen [ˈʃvɪmən] to swim
joggen [ˈdʒɔɡən] to jog
Rad fahren [ʁaːt ˈfaːʁən] to cycle
Fußball spielen [ˈfuːsbal ˈʃpiːlən] to play football/soccer
Yoga machen [ˈjoːɡa ˈmaxən] to do yoga
wandern [ˈvandɐn] to hike
klettern [ˈklɛtɐn] to climb
der Verein [deːɐ fɛɐˈʔaɪn] club / sports association
das Training [daːs ˈtʁɛːnɪŋ] training / practice
die Fitness [diː ˈfɪtnɛs] fitness

2. 📖 Vocabulary: Food and Drink

Deutsch Pronunciation English
das Obst [daːs oːpst] fruit
das Gemüse [daːs ɡəˈmyːzə] vegetables
das Vollkornbrot [daːs ˈfɔlkɔʁnˌbʁoːt] whole-grain bread
der Joghurt [deːɐ ˈjoːɡʊʁt] yogurt
der Quark [deːɐ kvaʁk] cottage cheese / quark
das Hähnchen [daːs ˈhɛːnçən] chicken
der Fisch [deːɐ fɪʃ] fish
das Olivenöl [daːs oˈliːvənˌʔøːl] olive oil
die Vitamine [diː vitaˈmiːnə] vitamins
die Kalorien [diː kaloˈʁiːən] calories
das Rezept [daːs ʁeˈt͡sɛpt] recipe
die Zutat [diː ˈtsuːtaːt] ingredient
kochen [ˈkɔxən] to cook
braten [ˈbʁaːtən] to fry / roast
backen [ˈbakən] to bake
schneiden [ˈʃnaɪdən] to cut
mischen [ˈmɪʃən] to mix
würzen [ˈvʏʁtsən] to season / spice

💡 Tip: The word "das Obst" (fruit) is singular in German and has no plural form — it's always used in the singular.

3. 📝 Grammar: Imperative and Writing a Recipe

The Imperative

Person Rule Example
du (informal singular) Verb stem + (e) (remove -st) Schneide die Zwiebeln! — Cut the onions!
ihr (informal plural) Verb stem + t Schneidet die Zwiebeln! — Cut the onions! (you all)
Sie (formal) Verb stem + en (after Sie) Schneiden Sie die Zwiebeln! — Cut the onions! (formal)
wir (invitation) Verb stem + en (after wir) Lass uns kochen! — Let's cook!

Strong Verbs in the Imperative

Verb du-Imperative (vowel change)
essen — to eat Iss more fruit!
geben — to give Gib me the recipe!
lesen — to read Lies the instructions!
nehmen — to take Nimm a spoon!
sehen — to see Sieh dir das an! — Look at this!
laufen — to run Lauf faster!

⚠️ Attention: Strong verbs that change vowel for du (get Umlaut) — do NOT take Umlaut in the imperative! Example: laufen → Lauf! (not Läuf!)

Writing a Recipe — Structure

Element Example
Title Vollkornpfannkuchen — Whole-grain pancakes
Ingredients 200 g flour, 2 eggs, 300 ml milk
Instructions (Imperative) 1. Mix the flour with the eggs.
2. Add the milk.
3. Fry the batter in a pan.
4. Serve the pancakes with fruit.

4. 💬 Dialogue: Talking About Sports

Anna: Hi Tom! You look fit! Do you train a lot?

Tom: Yes, I go to the gym three times a week and do yoga.

Anna: Great! I jog every morning. But I also want to lose weight.

Tom: Then eat more vegetables and less sugar! I can give you a recipe.

Anna: Sure! Is the recipe simple?

Tom: Yes, very simple. Take 200 g of whole-wheat flour, two eggs, and some milk. Mix everything and fry it in a pan. Done!

Anna: Sounds delicious! I'll try it tonight.

Tom: Super! Good luck!

5. ✏️ Exercises

Exercise 1: Imperative Forms

Form the imperative!

Sentence du-Imperative Sie-Imperative
cut the vegetables _____ das Gemüse! _____ Sie das Gemüse!
drink more water _____ mehr Wasser! _____ Sie mehr Wasser!
jog every day _____ jeden Tag! _____ Sie jeden Tag!
read the recipe _____ das Rezept! _____ Sie das Rezept!
eat less sugar _____ weniger Zucker! _____ Sie weniger Zucker!

Exercise 2: Vocabulary

Match!

Sports Food
1. schwimmen — ____ a. der Fisch — ____
2. joggen — ____ b. das Gemüse — ____
3. Yoga — ____ c. der Joghurt — ____
4. Rad fahren — ____ d. das Vollkornbrot — ____

Exercise 3: Write a Recipe

Write a recipe for your favorite dish! (5 steps in imperative)

6. 📝 Grammar: trotzdem and damit — Despite That & So That

trotzdem — despite that / nevertheless

trotzdem expresses contrast: there is an obstacle, but the result is the opposite of what you would expect. It takes position 1 in its sentence, and the verb follows directly in position 2.

  • Ich esse gesund. Trotzdem fühle ich mich müde. — I eat healthily, but still I feel tired.
  • Es regnet. Trotzdem joggt Anna im Park. — It's raining, but still Anna jogs in the park.
  • Das Training ist schwer. Trotzdem macht es Spaß. — The training is hard, but still it's fun.
deshalb trotzdem
Meaning therefore despite that
Logic cause → expected result obstacle → opposite result
Example Es regnet, deshalb bleibe ich zu Hause. Es regnet, trotzdem gehe ich joggen.

damit — so that (quick reminder)

You learned damit in Lesson 14 as part of purpose clauses (alongside um…zu). Here is an example from the world of sports:

  • Ich trinke viel Wasser, damit ich fit bleibe. — I drink a lot of water so that I stay fit.

💡 Tip: After both deshalb and trotzdem the verb comes immediately in position 2 — because they occupy position 1.

7. 📝 Grammar: The Verb "lassen" — Leaving & Having Something Done

lassen means "to leave" or "to have (someone else) do something".

Present Tense Conjugation

ich lasse — du lässt — er/sie/es lässt — wir lassen — ihr lasst — sie/Sie lassen

The Two Uses

1) Leaving something somewhere:

  • Ich lasse die Sporttasche zu Hause. — I leave my sports bag at home.

2) Having something done: (sich) etwas machen lassen — you ask a professional to do it for you:

  • Ich lasse mir die Haare schneiden. — I have my hair cut at the hairdresser's.
  • Wir lassen das Auto in der Werkstatt reparieren. — We have our car repaired at the workshop.

Structure: Subject + lassen + Object + Infinitive at the end

💡 Tip: Compare: "Ich schneide mir die Haare." (I cut them myself!) — "Ich lasse mir die Haare schneiden." (I have the hairdresser do it).

📖 Full reference: The Verb "lassen"

Übungen / Additional Interactive Exercises

Exercise 4: Imperative with Strong Verbs — Choose the Correct Form 🎯

Choose the correct du-Imperative form of each strong verb:

# Sentence a) b) c)
1 ______ mehr Obst und Gemüse! (essen) Iss Esse Isst
2 ______ mir das Rezept! (geben) Geb Gib Gibst
3 ______ schneller! (laufen) Läuf Läuft Lauf
4 ______ 200 g Vollkornmehl! (nehmen) Nehm Nimm Nimmst
5 ______ dir das Training an! (sehen) Siehst Seh Sieh

✅ Solution:

Sentence Correct Answer
1 a) Iss mehr Obst und Gemüse! (from essen — no -st ending, no Umlaut)
2 b) Gib mir das Rezept! (from geben — vowel change e→i)
3 c) Lauf schneller! (from laufen — NO Umlaut in the imperative!)
4 b) Nimm 200 g Vollkornmehl! (from nehmen — vowel change e→i)
5 c) Sieh dir das Training an! (from sehen — vowel change e→ie)

Exercise 5: Fill in the Healthy Food Vocabulary 🖊️

Complete the sentences with the correct word from the lesson:

# Sentence Answer
1 ______ wie Äpfel und Birnen ist gesund. __
2 Karotten und Spinat sind ______. __
3 Zum Frühstück esse ich ______ mit Honig. __
4 Am Abend braten wir den ______ in der Pfanne. __
5 Für die Pfannkuchen brauchen wir Mehl, Eier und ______. __

✅ Solution:

Sentence Answer
1 Obst (fruit)
2 Gemüse (vegetables)
3 Joghurt or Quark (yogurt / cottage cheese)
4 Fisch (fish)
5 Milch (milk)

Exercise 6: Match the Sport Verb to Its Meaning 🔗

Match each sport verb to its correct meaning:

Deutsch Meaning Match
1. klettern a. to jog
2. joggen b. to climb
3. trainieren c. to hike
4. wandern d. to train
5. schwimmen e. to swim

✅ Solution:

Word Meaning
1 b (to climb)
2 a (to jog)
3 d (to train)
4 c (to hike)
5 e (to swim)
🔤 The Imperative in German 🔤 Partikeln (doch, mal, ja, eben) 🔤 Partizip 1 as Adjective

💡 Homework: Write a short paragraph (30-40 words) about your exercise routine using the new vocabulary.