essen

Essen (to eat) is a strong verb with a stem vowel change in the present tense. The du and er forms shift e to i and both come out as isst: ich esse, du isst, er isst, wir essen, ihr esst, sie essen. The simple past is aß, written with the sharp s, and the past participle is gegessen, which is unusual because it looks like it has the ge- prefix twice. The perfect takes haben: ich habe gegessen (I have eaten).

German uses a different verb for animals eating. Fressen is what animals do, and essen is what people do. Applying fressen to a person is an insult, suggesting they eat like an animal, so the distinction is not just stylistic. Der Hund frisst is normal; mein Bruder frisst is rude.

The infinitive doubles as a noun. Das Essen means food or a meal, and like all German nouns it is capitalized: das Essen ist fertig (the food is ready). Meals have their own names built on it: das Frühstück (breakfast), das Mittagessen (lunch), and das Abendessen (dinner).

Guten Appetit is what Germans say before a meal, roughly the equivalent of "enjoy your meal". There is no direct English translation and skipping it can feel abrupt at a German table.

Separable forms include aufessen (to eat up, to finish) and mitessen (to eat along with others).