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This is a light-hearted question. I've had two teenage exchange students, one from Berlin and one from Mönchengladbach, and they both insist that the German word "toast" means both a slice of bread and toast (in the English sense meaning "toasted bread").

They further say that if you want to specify that you want soft bread you have to specify "ungetoastetes Toast", and that "toast" normally means toasted bread, not soft bread.

I speak German at the A2/B1 level and enjoyed constantly asking for "ungetoastetes Toast" -- it was a fun running joke.

My question is, were they pulling my leg or is this use of "Toast" accurate?

Aeroradish
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  • http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Toast#b2-Bedeutung-1c http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Toastbrot#Bedeutunga – Carsten S Aug 07 '16 at 17:45
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    How about "Weißbrot"? Plain and simple. – tofro Aug 07 '16 at 18:00
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    Most Germans would never consider eating the kind of white tasteless cotton-wool stuff that passes for bread in England unless it was toasted. Therefore it's reasonable to refer to such bread as toast-bread, or simply toast for short. – Michael Kay Aug 07 '16 at 20:04
  • @MichaelKay: actually, I think many Germans (myself included) are quite fond of that same cotton-wool stuff when they eat it in the Netherlands... but then more as a treat than a serious meal, with some nice Hagelslag on it. – leftaroundabout Aug 07 '16 at 23:37
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    By the way, wouldn't it be "ungetoastetes toast" instead of "ungetoastet toast"? – Zaibis Aug 08 '16 at 06:38
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    No @Zaibis. It is either ""ungetoasteter Toast" or "ungetoastetes Toastbrot" – Josef Aug 08 '16 at 09:21
  • None the less it isn't "ungetoastet toast" Where saying "no" is not correct. – Zaibis Aug 08 '16 at 09:24
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    @Josef: There are enough regions in Germany where people would say "das Toast", not "der Toast". So "ungetoastates Toast" is perfectly fine... – Gerhard Aug 08 '16 at 10:15
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    There are also regions in Germany where people would say "Gib mich mal das Toast rüber hier!". This doesn't make it correct. – Josef Aug 08 '16 at 10:46
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    The Mönchengladbach Mädchen says that, to her, "Toast" is neuter. As she is the one that that taught me the phrase, I am changing it to "ungetoastetes Toast". I appreciate (and am rather amused by) the debate over the gender and subsequent spelling. The gender of words has always been a problem area for me as a native English speaker, so to see disagreement about gender among native speakers is heartening.

    If it is still wrong -- well, we'll have to live with my mistake.

     – Aeroradish Aug 08 '16 at 22:48
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    This is similar to Bratwurst (grilled sausage). It is called Bratwurst, even when it is not grilled (gebraten), yet. – Björn Friedrich May 20 '18 at 12:45

5 Answers5

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Indeed we refer to the sliced white bread that is sold in supermarkets as Toastbrot or short Toast, even before it has been toasted. That is what it is for, after all. If you did not want to toast it, you would buy proper bread. So if you want to point out that it has not yet been toasted, you would have to call it untoasted, ungetoastet. (Note that to toast has long enough been in the German language as toasten that we do not have a problem with inflecting it in a German way.)

Of course there are many other types of bread in Germany (including Weißbrot, even though that is more typical of our neighbours in the west), and none of them are referred to as Toast. It may just be that all of the soft bread at your house looked like Toast to your German guests.

Carsten S
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  • If somebody said "Toastbrot" rather than "Toast", would there be a suggestion that they meant "toasting bread" rather than "toast (i.e., toasted toasting bread")? Or would it still be just as ambiguous but more formal-sounding? – David Richerby Aug 08 '16 at 13:09
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    If you did not want to toast it, you would buy proper bread — I think many people buy sliced bread and not toast it. Do Germans think this is not proper? – Neurotransmitter Aug 08 '16 at 14:53
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    @TranslucentCloud you would buy different sliced bread in that case; if you Toastbrot you make it with different recipe so it's better for toasting but inferior for other uses. – Peteris Aug 08 '16 at 14:55
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    @TranslucentCloud, what Peteria says. I buy sliced bread, even though I think that's lazy, but (except for my morning toast, of course) that would be darker bread. Btw, many Germans find it difficult to find bread that they like when they are in the US. I have a friend who in the US started to bake his own bread. – Carsten S Aug 08 '16 at 16:53
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    Weißbrot gibt es auch bei den östlichen Nachbarn, und zwar in Brotform, nicht in der Kastenform von Toastbrot, der Baguette- oder Fluteform und auch nicht in der flachen Pideform, obwohl es das auch geben mag. Btw.: Wenn man sagt "Bring vom Supermarkt noch ein Toastbrot mit" erwartet auch jeder, dass das ungetoastet ist, ohne dass es dazugesagt werden muss. Essen kann man es ungetoastet gar nicht, weil es beim Versuch es mit Butter zu betreichen zerreißt. Vielleicht essen die Amis die Butter 5° wärmer? – user unknown Aug 09 '16 at 04:00
  • I actually enjoy untoasted toast as a bread every now and again, especially if it has been pressed flat. That happened because it was in my school bag which I sat on waiting for the bus. My friends kept saying ‘you should really stop sitting on your sandwiches …’ — #randomfacts – Jan Aug 18 '16 at 22:15
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    It is important to stress, that "Toastbrot" is selled in a packaged form in supermarkets and not in bakeries, this makes it "inferior". Nevertheless the general term is Weißbrot, of course this can be toasted too. This is possible to get in bakeries, but it's slices are most times too large to put two in a toaster. And instead of bread, "white" is more common in the form of Brötchen/Schrippen/Semmeln/Wecken (all the same, different regions in Germany) or French baquettes or similar. – Philm Mar 31 '17 at 01:48
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    Moreover, it is absolutely correct to say (at the table): "Ich esse den Toast heute ungetoastet." (while nearly impossible to put butter on it), but nobody would order "ungetoasteten Toast" in a shop of course (because this is clear- they sell no "toasted toast" :-) ) – Philm Mar 31 '17 at 01:57
  • There is also proper bread which is sliced and white bread which is not sliced and you can cut a slice of any proper bread and toast it in the toaster or the grill. And in Korea they sell pre-sliced pre-toasted white bread. I didn't think to ask any Germans I met there what they would call that. Next time! – hippietrail Feb 19 '23 at 02:27
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Since "This is a light-hearted question", I need to warn you:

If you're asking for an "ungetoasteter Toast" you need to be careful about the proper pronounciation of the German "u". If you pronounce it like the "u" in English "untoasted", you'll still get a lightly toasted toast, because your German host will make you an "angetoasteten toast", which was started to be toasted but not quite finished. A German host producing a properly "angetoasteten" toast will make sure, there's still lots of white and just some yellow-golden tan about the rim of the toast. The proper technique is to toast mere seconds and rather ask, if that's enough than to risk any brown spots.

Alternative asking

Otherwise you might ask for "eine Scheibe Toastbrot". The perceptive host will ask you, if you want it toasted. Only the toasted toast is commonly referred to as "Toast", e.g. "Toast Hawaii" is a dish prepared with toasted toast, ham, ananas and cheese. Asking for "Toastbrot" specifically should be uncommon enough to make most people wonder and thus ask.
However very well-meaning (and/or care-free) hosts might want to please you and toast it without asking.

Asking for Weißbrot might get you sweetened bread possibly with raisins. It would definitely not be toasted though.

Finally asking for "Sandwichbrot" should be safe except for the most insistent toasting hosts.

NoAnswer
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  • IIRC, at least in Britain, "toasted" bread is always very nearly charcoal. So every toast you get in Germany will always be only "angetoastet"... – I'm with Monica Aug 08 '16 at 10:44
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    Well, yes and no. You (if you're British) will think of a German finished toast as "angetoastet". A German host producing a properly "angetoasteten" toast will make sure, there's still lots of white and just some yellow-golden tan about the rim of the toast. The proper technique is to toast mere seconds and rather ask, if that's enough than to risk any brown spots. – NoAnswer Aug 08 '16 at 11:16
  • Added proper toasting technique for "antoasten" and description of its result. – NoAnswer Aug 08 '16 at 11:19
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    Ananas -- better known in English as pineapple :) – jogloran Aug 09 '16 at 06:34
  • @jogloran And don't forget that awful maraschino cherry in the center. – PerlDuck Aug 09 '16 at 10:49
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    "Sandwichbrot"- I doubt there is something to introduce an even more multi-cultural discussion than with sandwiches and which kind of bread you take for them in Europe generally :-) This treat is about toasts is nothing compared to that :-) At least me, I would have had no idea which kind of bread is meant with "Sandw(h)ichbread ;-) Only after some thinking of American customs, I would have asked, if they mean "untoasted toast" :-) Not sure, what kind of bread is used for sandwiches in England- in France and Germany definitely something else. – Philm Mar 31 '17 at 02:10
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Germany -- the Breadlands.

I'm pretty sure you already had a look at this. A "Toast" in Germany is usually a White bread, square, with an edge length of about 8-9 cm (~3½ inches). If you order a Toast (without further details) you'll get it toasted. If you prefer it as it is, then, yes, you should order "einen ungetoasteten Toast" or "eine ungetoastete Scheibe Toast".

BUT we also have "Weißbrot" (White bread). I don't know the difference when it comes to their ingredients as it looks similar, but if you ask for "eine Scheibe Weißbrot" then you usually get a slice of untoasted White bread (as shown here (from Wiki)). It has a slightly different shape but (to me) doesn't taste any different.

We also have "Sandwich" or "Sandwich-Brot". They look like Toasts (square) but are a bit larger than Toast. Again, I don't know the difference (ingredients). They are usually not toasted.

PerlDuck
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    Weißbrot can be all kinds of different bread made from refined wheat flour. It actually includes (non-wholegrain) Toastbrot, but can also refer to baguette. The main distinction of Toast is not just shape (in which it overlaps with Kastenbrot) but that 1) it's sold so limp that most people are expected to actually want it toasted, and 2) it generally comes pre-sliced, so a pop-up toaster is the tool you'll use (as opposed to a toaster oven, which is not called anything with Toast- in German but Brötchenofen). – leftaroundabout Aug 07 '16 at 23:29
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    I disagree that Sandwich-Brot is not toasted. Prepared sandwiches are often sold non-toasted in the British style, but most people who buy Sandwich-Toast will toast or roast it before eating. – KWeiss Aug 08 '16 at 08:40
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    Toast is maskulin, so it has to be "einen ungetoasteten Toast" or "ein ungetoastetes Toastbrot" (because Toastbrot is a Neutrum) or "eine ungetoastete Scheibe Toast" (because Scheibe is feminin). But "ein ungetoastetes Toast" is wrong! – Josef Aug 08 '16 at 09:23
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In addition to the other answers: According to Duden, it's "der Toast", not "das Toast":

Toast, der
Wortart: Substantiv, maskulin

1. a. geröstetes Weißbrot in Scheiben
   b. einzelne Scheibe geröstetes Weißbrot
   c. zum Toasten geeignetes, dafür vorgesehenes Weißbrot [in Scheiben]; Toastbrot
2. Trinkspruch

So you'd say "ein ungetoasteter Toast" or "ein ungetoastetes Toastbrot". Usally, "Toast" is toasted, but when people start asking for "ungetoasteten Toast", you might need to specify that you want yours "getoastet"...

There seem to be regional preferences, though. A poll reports that 65% of Germans use "der Toast", 31% "das Toast", and 2% "die Toast". Austrians use "das".

user24582
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    Welcome to German Language SE. Please note that (like on any other SE site) answers should attempt to answer the actual question, which was about the meaning of toast and not about its grammatical gender. – Wrzlprmft Aug 08 '16 at 09:13
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The way I and anyone I know uses it,

Toast = roasted white bread, usually square

This is roasted unless specified otherwise

is different from

Toastbrot = special bread used for toast

This is not roasted unless specified otherwise

However, since you cannot unroast a roasted toast and misunderstandings can happen, some will make sure to explicitly ask for it unroasted even if they use the word "Toastbrot". Going only by the definition though, it should not be necessary.

Estharon
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