German · Real conversations
How to say “Can I have tap water?” in German
Ask whether tap water can be provided.
Könnte ich Leitungswasser bekommen?
Can I have tap water?
The expression specifies tap water rather than bottled or sparkling water.
Use it in three situations
At a café
Könnte ich Leitungswasser bekommen?
Can I have tap water?
With a restaurant meal
Könnten wir bitte Leitungswasser bekommen?
Could we have some tap water, please?
Checking a water option
Kann ich ein Glas Leitungswasser haben?
Can I have a glass of tap water?
What to watch for
Availability and suitability vary; asking does not imply the venue can provide drinking tap water.
Read the whole expression before replacing a detail. The natural wording may use a different order or construction from the English sentence.
Your turn
Imagine cafés. Say this in German: Could we have some tap water, please?
Reveal a sample reply
Könnten wir bitte Leitungswasser bekommen?
Could we have some tap water, please?
Build a useful exchange
Order a drink and clarify a small detail.
This expression in other languages
A note on speaking German
Use Sie for formal address and du with people you address informally. Könnten Sie …? is a useful polite request. Keep noun capitals and the verb position shown in each complete sentence.
The examples preserve German accents and ß. Read a full sentence before replacing a detail: a subordinate clause can move the verb to the end, and case can change an article or pronoun.
