Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
ArabicPod101.com presents Arabic Survival Phrases. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Arabic speaking countries, with particular focus on Morocco. So join us for Arabic Survival phrases. You will be surprised at how far a little Arabic will go.
Now before we jump in, remember to stop by ArabicPod101.com, there you’ll find an accompanying PDF, additional learning tools in the premium learning center, and other great Arabic language learning materials. In addition, you’ll find more information in the post. And if you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.

Lesson focus

In Morocco, there are many delicious dishes! We've already covered how to order them, but now how to eat them! That, however, is not always so straight forward. So in today's lesson we'll learn how to ask "How do you eat this?"
In Arabic, "how do you eat this?" is kifāš katklū hadā? (كفاش كتكلو هدا؟)
kifāš katklū hadā?
Let’s break it down by syllable: kifāš katklū hadā?
Now let's hear it once again: kifāš katklū hadā?
The first word, kifāš (كفاش), means "how."
kifāš
kifāš
This is followed by katklū (كتكلو), which is a conjugated for of “to eat” that means "you eat"
katklū
katklū
So to recap here, we have: kifāš katklū
And literally, this means “how you eat”
Now let’s take a look at the next: hadā (هدا), which means "this."
hadā
hadā
So altogether, we have: kifāš katklū hadā?
And literally, this means “how you eat this” or "How do you eat this?"
Hopefully, they don't answer with a smart remark such as "With your mouth", which by the way is, b fammak. if you hear this, you're in for a long night!
There are other instances when you may want to add some sauce, etc. to your dish. In this case, you can ask "Do you add something to this?", which in Arabic is, ḫaās tizīd šiī ḥāǧah lhadā? (خاس تزيد شي حاجة لهدا؟)
Let’s break it down by syllable: ḫaās tizīd šiī ḥāǧah lhadā?
ḫaās tizīd šiī ḥāǧah lhadā?
The first word, ḫaās (خاس), means something like "should" in this phrase.
Let's break it down and hear it one more time: ḫaās
ḫaās
This is followed by tizīd (تزيد), which in Arabic is, "you add."
tizīd
tizīd
So to recap here, we have: ḫaās tizīd
And literally, this means “should you add”
Let’s take a look at the next: šiī ḥāǧah (شي حاجة), which means "something"
šiī ḥāǧah
And, šiī ḥāǧah
This is followed by l, which means “to”
l
l
And finally, we have hadā, which means “this”
hadā
hadā
So altogether, we have: ḫaās tizīd šiī ḥāǧah lhadā?
Literally, it means "Should you add something to this?" or "Do you add something to this?"
Finally, something that may come in handy for everyone out there adverse to hot things. An important question is, "Is this hot?" Hot as in spicy!
In Arabic, "Is this hot?" is hadā ḥār? (هدا حار؟)
hadā ḥār?
Let’s break it down: hadā ḥār?
Now let's hear it once again: hadā ḥār?
The first word, hadā, means "this"
hadā
hadā
And this is followed by ḥār, which in Arabic is "hot" and “spicy.”
ḥār
ḥār
So altogether, we have: hadā ḥār?
Literally, it means “this hot?” or "Is this hot?"
Cultural Insights
The phrase "how do you eat this?" can be very handy when you’re about to eat couscous.
These days, most Moroccans eat couscous from a common platter using spoons, but can you imagine eating it with your hand? In North African countries where couscous is the national food, eating with your hand is still common in traditional settings, so it won’t come as a surprise really if you don't know how to eat it. In this case, use kifāš katklū hadā? meaning “How do you eat this?”
Your host will be thrilled to show you.
Talking about spices, Moroccan food is rich in flavor and spices but is usually not hot. The most common spice used in Moroccan cuisine is saffron. Food cooked in Saffron turns golden yellow. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world because it comes from the dried stigmas of a crocus flower. Each crocus flower produces only 3 stigmas and it takes more than 14,000 stigmas to produce one ounce of saffron spice. That's a lot of hand picking right there!

Outro

Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for saying it aloud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so حظ سعيد, that means "good luck" in Arabic.
Ok, here we go!
"How do you eat this?" - kifāš katklū hadā?
kifāš katklū hadā?
kifāš katklū hadā?
"Do you add something to this?" - ḫaās tizīd šiī ḥāǧah lhadā?
ḫaās tizīd šiī ḥāǧah lhadā?
ḫaās tizīd šiī ḥāǧah lhadā?
"Is this hot?" - hadā ḥār?
hadā ḥār?
hadā ḥār?
All right. This is going to do it for this lesson of Arabic Survival Phrases. Remember to stop by ArabicPod101.com. There you’ll find an accompanying PDF, additional learning tools in the premium learning center, and other great Arabic language learning materials. See you soon, which in Arabic is - ilā al-liqāʾ.

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