Bier

See also: bier and Bie̩r

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

• Biär, Pier

Etymology

From Middle High German bier, from Old High German bior, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰews- (“dross, sediment, brewer's yeast”).

Cognate with German Bier, Dutch bier, English beer, Icelandic bjór. More at beer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biər/

Noun

Bier n (plural Bier)

1. beer

Central Franconian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biə̯/
• Homophone: Bir (may be distinguished by tone)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German bier, from Old High German bior, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą.

Noun

Bier n or m (plural Bier)

1. (many dialects) beer (drink)

Usage notes

• Masculine in southern Moselle Franconian, otherwise neuter.

Alternative forms

• Beer (western Moselle Franconian)

Etymology 2

From Middle High German bēr, from Old High German bēr, from Proto-West Germanic *bair.

Noun

Bier m (plural Biere)

1. (most dialects) a male uncastrated pig; a boar

   Buur, Bär un Bier sinn drei kodde Dier.

   Farmer, bear and boar are three evil animals. (Old Colognian proverb expressing city-dwellers’ snobbery)

See also

• Bärch, Barch (castrated)

German

Etymology

From Middle High German bier, from Old High German bior, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰews-, *bheus- (“dross, sediment, brewer's yeast”).

Akin to Dutch bier, Low German Beer, bêr, English beer, Icelandic bjór. More at beer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biːɐ̯/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːɐ̯

Noun

Bier n (strong, genitive Bieres or Biers, plural Biere or Bier, diminutive Bierchen n)

1. (beverage) beer (alcoholic beverage fermented from starch material; a serving of this beverage)
2. (figurative, informal) business, beeswax (personal affairs)

   Das ist nicht mein Bier! ― That's none of my business!

Usage notes

• As is common with beverages in German, the unchanged plural Bier can be used after numerals in the sense of “quantities of beer” (glasses, bottles, cans). One may order:

  Zwei Bier, bitte!

  Two beers, please!

  (Nota bene: In many places of the German language area, this is not a common order; instead one often specifies Pils, Weißbier, Kölsch, etc.)

• The marked plural Biere is used to mean different kinds of beer.

  Pils und Kölsch sind beliebte deutsche Biere.

  Pils and Kölsch are popular German beers.

Declension

Declension of Bier [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Bier	die	Biere, Bier
genitive	eines	des	Bieres, Biers	der	Biere, Bier
dative	einem	dem	Bier, Biere1	den	Bieren, Biern
accusative	ein	das	Bier	die	Biere, Bier

¹Now rare, see notes.

Hyponyms

• Altbier
• Dunkelbier
• Fassbier
• Flaschenbier
• Hellbier
• Konterbier
• Malzbier
• Rauchbier
• Roggenbier
• Schwarzbier
• Wegbier
• Weißbier
• Weizenbier

Derived terms

• bierartig

Related terms

• Bierabend
• Bierausschank
• Bierbaß
• Bierbecher
• Bierbrauer
• Bierdeckel
• Biergarten
• Bierglas
• Bierhefe
• Bierjunge
• Bierkeller
• Bierleiche
• Bierschaum
• Bierschorle
• Biersuppe
• Biertheke
• Bierwürze

Descendants

• → Italian: birra (see there for further descendants)
• → Romanian: bere
• → Swedish: bir

Further reading

• “Bier” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Bier” in Duden online
• “Bier” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Bier”, in PONS (in German), Stuttgart: PONS GmbH, 2001–2025