Kitchen commands: the imperative
The command here is a short form of the present: yusakhkhin — he heats → sakhkhin — heat. In the kitchen the commands are short as the knock of a knife: qallib — stir, mallih — salt, barrid — cool. For example: “غل الماء ثم أضف الملح” — Boil the water, then add the salt. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The command here is a short form of the present: yusakhkhin — he heats → sakhkhin — heat. In the kitchen the commands are short as the knock of a knife: qallib — stir, mallih — salt, barrid — cool.
The one spoken to gets the tail "-ii": mallihii — salt (to a woman). The group or the polite "you" — mallihuu. And the prohibition lives apart: laa + the present verb — laa talmis — do not touch: a ban is always longer than a request, in any language.
The command on its own is sharp, so it is softened by the particle fadlan — please — even in a recipe: "sakhkhin fadlan". The voice matters more in this kitchen than grammar: there is no place here for a meek word.
Table
| to whom | shape | example | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| to a man | the bare stem | qallib | stir |
| to a woman | -ii | mallihii | salt (to her) |
| polite you | -uu | barriiduu | cool (to them) |
| to two | -aa | qallibaa | stir, you two |
| a ban | laa + present | laa talmis | do not touch |
| softer | + fadlan | sakhkhin fadlan | heat, please |
By example
- غل الماء ثم أضف الملحгали аль-мааʾ сумма идаф аль-мильхBoil the water, then add the salt
- قلّب جيدا ولا تترك الطعامкаллиб джейдан ва-ля татрук ат-таʿаамStir well and do not leave the food
- برّد الكيك قبل التقطيعбаррид аль-кейк кябля ат-тактиʿCool the cake before cutting
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Imperatives in the kitchen in Arabic?
The command here is a short form of the present: yusakhkhin — he heats → sakhkhin — heat. In the kitchen the commands are short as the knock of a knife: qallib — stir, mallih — salt, barrid — cool.
How to say stir and salt in Arabic?
The one spoken to gets the tail "-ii": mallihii — salt (to a woman). The group or the polite "you" — mallihuu. And the prohibition lives apart: laa + the present verb — laa talmis — do not touch: a ban is always longer than a request, in any language.
The feminine imperative in Arabic?
The command here is a short form of the present: yusakhkhin — he heats → sakhkhin — heat. In the kitchen the commands are short as the knock of a knife: qallib — stir, mallih — salt, barrid — cool.
How to say do not smoke in Arabic?
The one spoken to gets the tail "-ii": mallihii — salt (to a woman). The group or the polite "you" — mallihuu. And the prohibition lives apart: laa + the present verb — laa talmis — do not touch: a ban is always longer than a request, in any language.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“غل الماء ثم أضف الملح” (гали аль-мааʾ сумма идаф аль-мильх) — Boil the water, then add the salt. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.