Dinner in the kitchen in Arabic
The kitchen of the rented flat, two people cooking dinner in Arabic. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «ماذا نطبخ اليوم؟» — What are we cooking today?; «عندي بطاطس وبصل وجزر.» — I have potatoes, an onion and carrots. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the kitchen of the rented flat, two people cooking dinner. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- ماذا نطبخ اليوم؟мааза натбух аль-йаум؟What are we cooking today?
- عندي بطاطس وبصل وجزر.ʿанди батаатис ва-басаль ва-джазра.I have potatoes, an onion and carrots.
- أنا أقطع البصل, وأنت تغلي البطاطس.ана актаʿ аль-басаль, ва-анта тагли аль-батаатис.I will cut the onion, and you boil the potatoes.
- أين المقلاة والقدر؟айна аль-микляа ва-ль-кидр؟Where is the pan and the pot?
- في الخزانة. تفضل, الطعام على الطاولة.фи аль-хизаана. тафаддаль, ат-таʿаам аля ат-таавила.In the cupboard. Here, the food is on the table.
- شكرا! لذيذ جدا!шукран! лазиз джиддан!Thank you! Very tasty!
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ماذا نطبخ اليوم؟ | мааза натбух аль-йаум؟ | What are we cooking today? |
| عندي بطاطس وبصل وجزر. | ʿанди батаатис ва-басаль ва-джазра. | I have potatoes, an onion and carrots. |
| أنا أقطع البصل, وأنت تغلي البطاطس. | ана актаʿ аль-басаль, ва-анта тагли аль-батаатис. | I will cut the onion, and you boil the potatoes. |
| أين المقلاة والقدر؟ | айна аль-микляа ва-ль-кидр؟ | Where is the pan and the pot? |
| في الخزانة. تفضل, الطعام على الطاولة. | фи аль-хизаана. тафаддаль, ат-таʿаам аля ат-таавила. | In the cupboard. Here, the food is on the table. |
| شكرا! لذيذ جدا! | шукран! лазиз джиддан! | Thank you! Very tasty! |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Arabic in this situation?
“ماذا نطبخ اليوم؟” (мааза натбух аль-йаум؟) — What are we cooking today? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.