Language/Tunisian-arabic/Vocabulary/Ordering-Food-and-Drinks
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As a tourist in Tunisia, trying local food is a must! In this lesson, you will learn how to order food and drinks in Tunisian Arabic.
Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Animal & Counting Objects and People.
Basic Phrases
Before diving into ordering specific dishes, here are some basic phrases you need to know:
- Marhaba: Hello
- Shukran: Thank you
- Min fadlak: Please (used when asking for something)
- La: No
- Naam: Yes
When entering a restaurant, you may say "Marhaba" to greet the staff or waiter. When you need something, you can say "Min fadlak" as a polite way to ask for it. When you are satisfied, you can say "Shukran."
Ordering Food
When it comes to ordering food, it’s essential to be able to ask for specific dishes and customize your order. Here are some useful Tunisian Arabic phrases:
Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Aji ya khoya. | Ah-jee ya khoya | Come here, brother. (used to call a waiter) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ana uridu... | Ah-nah oo-ree-doo... | I’d like… | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Al-m’tamad, min fadlak. | Alm-ta-mad meen fad-lak | The menu, please. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shorba bel harissa | Shor-ba bel ha-rissa | Soup with harissa pepper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Salade mechouia | Sa-laad me-shwi-ya | Grilled pepper salad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brique à l'oeuf | Bra-yeek a l’oof | Pastry filled with egg, cheese and parsley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Couscous bil-hout | Koose-koos b’il-hoot | Couscous with fish | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tajine maadnous | Ta-jeen maad-noos | Spicy lamb stew | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lablabi | Lab-la-bee | Chickpea soup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boga'cha | Bo-ga-cha | Stuffed vegetable with minced meat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Makroudh | M'k-rood | Pastry stuffed with dates
Remember to use "min fadlak" when you ask for the menu. If you don't know what to order or have difficulty pronouncing some of the dishes, you can ask for recommendations by saying "Maa tybee?" (What is good?). You may come across various types of dishes in Tunisian restaurants, such as "couscous." If you want to add meat to the dish, say "with meat" (bil-lah-meh). If you are a vegetarian, you can say "without meat" (ba'ed lah-ma). Ordering DrinksTunisia has a variety of tasty beverages, such as "qalb ellouz," a sweet almond drink or "merguez," a spicy orange drink. Here are some phrases related to ordering drinks:
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