Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Finally, you’ve got a seat at a table. Now it’s time to order!
In this lesson, we'll cover how to ask for a menu and then order your food and drinks.
GRAMMAR POINT
Normally you have to catch the waiter’s attention, perhaps by raising your right hand up a bit. Then you’ll ask for a menu -
el meniu law samaḥt.
Let’s break it down:
(slow) el meniu law samaḥt.
Once more:
el meniu law samaḥt.
المنيو لو سمحت
el meniu means “the menu”.
(slow) el meniu.
el meniu.
And of course, law samaḥt means “please.”
(slow) law samaḥt.
law samaḥt.
Here’s the whole expression again:
el meniu law samaḥt.
・
In most cases, the waiter or waitress will begin by asking what you’d like to drink:
teshrab eh?
Let’s break it down:
(slow) teshrab eh?
Once more:
teshrab eh?
تشرب إية؟
teshrab is the second person form of the verb yashrab, which in English means “to drink.”
(slow) teshrab.
teshrab.
eh means “what”.
(slow) eh.
eh
Again, the whole question is
teshrab eh?
・
Now let’s take a look at some typical beverages Egypt’s cafes and restaurants might have:
mayya (“water”)
(slow) may-ya.
mayya.
lamonata (“Lemonade”)
(slow) lamonata.
lamonata.
Pepsi (“cola”)
(slow) Pepsi.
Pepsi.
・
Once you have looked at the menu, you can finally call the waiter over for the order.
・
Now let’s take a look at some good dishes you can find on a typical Egyptian menu. They are very common and you shouldn’t miss out on them if you come to Egypt.
maḥshi (“stuffed vegetables”)
(slow) maḥshi.
maḥshi.
mesaʾaʿa (“eggplant tagine”)
(slow) mesaʾaʿa.
mesaʾaʿa.
waraʾ ʿenab (“Dolma”)
(slow) waraʾ ʿenab.
waraʾ ʿenab.
In Egypt when you order, you can just say the name of the dish you want and add law samaḥt, which means “please.”
・
Let’s say you want to order Pepsi and mesaʾaʿa. You should say to the waiter:
Pepsi w mesaʾaʿa law samaḥt.
(slow) Pepsi w mesaʾaʿa law samaḥt.
Pepsi w mesaʾaʿa law samaḥt.
بيبسي و مسقعة لو سمحت
In this sentence the word w means “and.”

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