German · Real conversations
How to say “Is this ripe?” in German
Ask whether fruit is ready to eat.
Ist das reif?
Is this ripe?
Name the fruit when the item is not obvious.
Use it in three situations
Choosing an avocado
Ist das reif?
Is this ripe?
Checking a melon
Sind diese Tomaten reif?
Are these tomatoes ripe?
Buying fruit for today
Ist diese Avocado morgen reif?
Will this avocado be ripe tomorrow?
What to watch for
Ripe describes maturity; it is different from a cooked or baked food.
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 markets and groceries. Say this in German: Are these tomatoes ripe?
Reveal a sample reply
Sind diese Tomaten reif?
Are these tomatoes ripe?
Build a useful exchange
Buy a quantity and ask about a product.
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.
