Mealtime Expressions
Talk about food preferences, ask for something, and thank your host.
Before and after a meal
| English | Darija | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| In the name of God. | bismillah. | بسم الله. |
| Thanks be to God. | l-7amdullah. | الحمد لله. |
The source places bismillah before beginning an activity, including a meal. L-7amdullah is used after a meal and when expressing that things are well.
Food preferences
| English | Darija | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| I do not eat meat. | ma-kan-akul-sh l-l7m. | ما كناكلش اللحم. |
| I do not eat eggs. | ma-kan-akul-sh l-biḍ. | ما كناكلش البيض. |
| I do not eat fish. | ma-kan-akul-sh l-7ut. | ما كناكلش الحوت. |
| I do not eat chicken. | ma-kan-akul-sh d-djaj. | ما كناكلش الدجاج. |
| I drink tea without sugar. | kan-shrb atay bla skkar. | كنشرب أتاي بلا سكر. |
| I drink coffee without sugar. | kan-shrb l-qhwa bla skkar. | كنشرب القهوة بلا سكر. |
| I eat everything. | kan-akul kulshi. | كناكل كلشي. |
| I eat only vegetables. | kan-akul ghir l-khoḍra. | كناكل غير الخضرة. |
| I do not feel like eating. | ma-fiya ma-y-akul. | ما فيا ما ياكل. |
| I want just / only… | bghit ghir… | بغيت غير… |
| I do not want to have breakfast. | ma-bghit-sh n-fṭr. | ما بغيتش نفطر. |
At the table
| English | Darija | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| The food is delicious. | l-makla bnina. | الماكلة بنينة. |
| I am full. | shb3t. | شبعت. |
| I want to learn how to cook. | bghit n-t3llm n-ṭiyb. | بغيت نتعلم نطيب. |
| May God reward you. (to thank a host after a meal) | lla y-khlf. | الله يخلف. |
| To your health. | bṣṣ77a. | بالصحة. |
| May God grant you health, too. | lla y-3tik ṣṣ77a. | الله يعطيك الصحة. |
The source uses bṣṣ77a after eating or drinking and also after a hammam visit, a haircut, or wearing new clothes. Lla y-3tik ṣṣ77a is its response.
Practice
Choose two food-preference sentences that are useful to you. Practice saying the food is delicious, then read the final health wish and its response as a two-person exchange.
Reading guide
Transliteration key: 3 = ع, 7 = ح, sh = ش, kh = خ, gh = غ. A dot under a consonant marks an emphatic consonant. Latin spellings are reading aids; they do not fully capture pronunciation.
Source and audio
Adapted from Peace Corps/Morocco, Basic Introduction to Arabic, lesson 9 (PDF page 10). Formatting, English dialogue glosses where present, and practice prompts are LearnLahja adaptations.
Audio is not currently available for this lesson.