Breakdown of Die Schokolade schmeckt bitter.
schmecken
to taste
die Schokolade
the chocolate
bitter
bitter
Questions & Answers about Die Schokolade schmeckt bitter.
Why doesn't bitter have an adjective ending here, like bittere?
In German, adjectives only get endings (like -e or -en) when they come directly before a noun, such as in die bittere Schokolade (the bitter chocolate). When they come after verbs like schmecken (to taste) or sein (to be), they act as predicate adjectives and stay in their basic, unchanged form.
Can I use schmecken to say that I am actively tasting the chocolate?
No, schmecken is only used to describe the flavor a food has. If you want to say that you are actively tasting or trying a piece of food to see if you like it, you need to use the verb probieren, as in Ich probiere die Schokolade.
Is there a reliable way to remember that Schokolade is feminine and uses die?
Yes! As a very helpful rule of thumb for German learners, the vast majority of nouns that end in -e (like Schokolade, Banane, or Blume) are feminine and therefore take die.
Is bitter a false friend, or does it mean the exact same thing as in English?
It is a true cognate that means the exact same thing! You can use it to describe sharp flavors, and just like in English, you can also use it figuratively to describe a harsh or disappointing situation, such as eine bittere Enttäuschung (a bitter disappointment).
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