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Comment by ThePadawan | Hacker News Reader

I can only agree with the other responses.

In my personal usage, I would say Abendessen and Snack.

Abendbrot sounds like something a 60+ year old would call it.

I haven't heard it called Brotzeit since I was in elementary school in Bavaria, so that overlaps with the sibling responses.

Personally, when I hear "Imbiss", a kiosk that sells food is the primary thing that comes to mind. As in, you can get a hot dog with fries there.

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Regarding Imbiss, it could be that my teacher learned it incorrectly, or it could be that I'm remembering incorrectly. Or, of course, it could be technically correct, but not actually used in daily speech. :)

It's a 100% reasonable to teach it. The German Wikipedia result right now is a disambiguation page between the snack and the place to buy the snack ("Imbiss" always being short for Imbissbude, Imbissstand etc.).

I wouldn't say Abendbrot is something only old folks use. It simply implies that your Abendessen involves bread and butter with a topping. When you say you're having Abendbrot you literally mean that you are eating bread, otherwise you say Abendessen.

It's not unusual for some German families to eat their main meal late in the afternoon or evening, when everyone is home. So they might prefer to call it Abendessen since they're not just having bread and toppings but a proper hot meal.

Agreed, an Imbiss is the kiosk where you get food, not the food itself; at least I never heard the word used for the food in my 40+ years as a German ;)

I'm only 45 and use Abendbrot, so does my daughter.

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