What does “Nachschlag” mean in German, and how do you ask for seconds?

Nachschlag is a second helping of food — seconds. At the table you ask Hätte ich gerne einen Nachschlag? (“Could I have a second helping?”) or simply Ich hätte gerne einen Nachschlag, bitte. It’s the word to reach for the moment the first plate is empty and you want more of exactly what you just ate.

Nachschlag literally means “after-strike” (nach + Schlag), the same root behind soldiers' slang for extra mess-hall rations and, in music, the ornamental note tacked on after a trill. If a second plate finishes you off, the word for that is pappsatt — colloquially “completely stuffed,” from Pappe, an old German word for a filling porridge.