2.6 Food and Eating

Eating in Urdu Speaking Culture

In this chapter you will learn how to talk about food and eating in simple, practical Urdu. You will see how people in Urdu speaking cultures typically talk at the table, in homes, and in restaurants. Grammar such as tense, adjectives, and questions will be explained in other chapters, so here we focus on useful words, patterns, and set phrases that you can start using immediately.

Basic Food and Meal Words

First, some core nouns that appear again and again when you talk about food.

Example sentences:

• یہ میرا ناشتہ ہے۔
  Ye mera naashta hai.
  This is my breakfast.
• مجھے چاول اور سالن پسند ہیں۔
  Mujhe chaawal aur saalan pasand hain.
  I like rice and curry.
• پانی ٹھنڈا ہے۔
  Paani thanda hai.
  The water is cold.

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Common Foods and Drinks

Here are names of common items you may see at home or in restaurants.

Staples and Main Items

Examples:

• آج دال اور سبزی ہے۔
  Aaj daal aur sabzi hai.
  Today there is lentils and vegetables.
• مجھے بریانی بہت پسند ہے۔
  Mujhe biryaani bohat pasand hai.
  I like biryani very much.

Fruits

Example:

• یہ آم بہت میٹھا ہے۔
  Ye aam bohat meetha hai.
  This mango is very sweet.

Vegetables

Example:

• سبزی میں آلو اور مٹر ہیں۔
  Sabzi mein aaloo aur matar hain.
  There are potatoes and peas in the vegetable dish.

Drinks

Examples:

• آپ چائے لیں گے؟
  Aap chaay lein ge?
  Will you have tea?
• مجھے جوس نہیں چاہیے۔
  Mujhe juice nahi chahiye.
  I do not want juice.

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At Home: Eating and Offering Food

In Urdu speaking homes, offering food and insisting politely is very common. You need verbs connected with eating and drinking, and some fixed polite patterns.

Useful Verbs for Eating and Drinking

Here are some very common verbs related to food. Their detailed conjugation appears in other chapters, so notice only the basic meaning and how they combine with food words.

Examples:

• میں روٹی کھاتا ہوں۔ (masc)
  Main roti khaata hoon.
  I eat roti.
• میں چائے پیتی ہوں۔ (fem)
  Main chaay peeti hoon.
  I drink tea.
• امّی کھانا پکا رہی ہیں۔
  Ammi khaana paka rahi hain.
  Mother is cooking food.

Saying You Are Hungry or Thirsty

The natural Urdu pattern is different from English. Literally it says, “Hunger is attaching to me.”

Examples:

• مجھے بھوک لگی ہے۔
  Mujhe bhook lagi hai.
  I am hungry.
• کیا تمہیں پیاس لگی ہے؟
  Kya tumhein pyaas lagi hai?
  Are you thirsty?
• ہمیں بھوک نہیں لگی۔
  Hamein bhook nahi lagi.
  We are not hungry.

Offering Food and Drinks

These are very typical home expressions when you offer something to someone.

Examples in context:

• میز پر آئیں، کھانا کھائیں۔
  Maiz par aayen, khaana khaayen.
  Come to the table, have food.
• چائے لیجیے، بہت اچھی ہے۔
  Chaay lijiye, bohat achhi hai.
  Please have tea, it is very good.
• نہیں شکریہ, میں نے کھانا کھا لیا ہے۔
  Nahi shukriya, main ne khaana kha liya hai.
  No thank you, I have eaten.

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In a Restaurant or Café

When you eat outside, you need phrases for calling staff, reading menus, ordering, and paying.

People and Places

Example:

• ویٹر, مینو دیجیے۔
  Waiter, menu dijiye.
  Waiter, give (me) the menu.

Asking for a Table and Menu

Short dialogues:

• A: دو لوگوں کے لیے میز چاہیے۔
  Do logon ke liye maiz chahiye.
  We need a table for two.

B: آئیے, ادھر آئیں۔
Aaiye, idhar aayen.
Come, this way.

Ordering Food and Drinks

Here are some very common patterns to order. The exact grammar of future and politeness is handled in other chapters, so focus on the shapes.

Examples with this pattern:

• مجھے ایک روٹی دیجیے۔
  Mujhe aik roti dijiye.
  Please give me one roti.
• مجھے چکن بریانی دیجیے۔
  Mujhe chicken biryaani dijiye.
  Please give me chicken biryani.
• ایک چائے اور ایک کافی لے آئیے۔
  Aik chaay aur aik coffee le aaiye.
  Bring one tea and one coffee.
• سبزی کے ساتھ چاول دیجیے۔
  Sabzi ke saath chaawal dijiye.
  Give rice with vegetables.

Other useful ordering sentences:

Example mini dialogue:

• A: آپ کیا لیں گے؟
  Aap kya lein ge?
  What will you have?

B: میں چکن کڑاہی اور دو نان لوں گا۔
Main chicken karahi aur do naan loon ga.
I will have chicken karahi and two naan.

During the Meal: Taste and Temperature

You often talk about how the food tastes, if it is hot, cold, spicy, sweet, and so on.

Basic Taste Words

Examples:

• کھانا بہت مزے دار ہے۔
  Khaana bohat mazedaar hai.
  The food is very tasty.
• سالن تھوڑا تیز ہے۔
  Saalan thora teiz hai.
  The curry is a little spicy.
• چائے بہت میٹھی ہے۔
  Chaay bohat meethi hai.
  The tea is very sweet.

Hot and Cold

Examples:

• پانی ٹھنڈا ہے؟
  Paani thanda hai?
  Is the water cold?
• سوپ بہت گرم ہے۔
  Soup bohat garam hai.
  The soup is very hot.

You can combine taste and temperature:

• یہ چائے گرم اور میٹھی ہے۔
  Ye chaay garam aur meethi hai.
  This tea is hot and sweet.

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Asking and Talking About Preferences

You often need to say what you like to eat or drink, and ask others.

Saying “I like X”

Urdu usually uses the structure “To me X is liked.”

Examples:

• مجھے بریانی پسند ہے۔
  Mujhe biryaani pasand hai.
  I like biryani.
• مجھے مچھلی پسند نہیں ہے۔
  Mujhe machhli pasand nahi hai.
  I do not like fish.
• ہمیں چائے بہت پسند ہے۔
  Hamein chaay bohat pasand hai.
  We like tea very much.

Asking What Someone Likes

Short Q&A:

• A: آپ کو کون سا پھل پسند ہے؟
  Aap ko kaun sa phal pasand hai?
  Which fruit do you like?

B: مجھے آم پسند ہیں۔
Mujhe aam pasand hain.
I like mangoes.

• A: آپ کو کیا پینا پسند ہے؟
  Aap ko kya peena pasand hai?
  What do you like to drink?

B: مجھے چائے اور کافی دونوں پسند ہیں۔
Mujhe chaay aur coffee dono pasand hain.
I like both tea and coffee.

Quantities and Portions

When you order or serve food, you often say how much you want. Detailed numbers and measures are in another chapter, so we use only simple, practical words here.

Basic Quantity Words

Examples:

• تھوڑا سا چاول دیجیے۔
  Thora sa chaawal dijiye.
  Give a little rice.
• مجھے اور چائے نہیں چاہیے۔
  Mujhe aur chaay nahi chahiye.
  I do not want more tea.
• کھانا کافی ہے، شکریہ۔
  Khaana kaafi hai, shukriya.
  The food is enough, thank you.

Portions and Pieces

Examples:

• مجھے ایک پلیٹ چاول دیجیے۔
  Mujhe aik plate chaawal dijiye.
  Please give me one plate of rice.
• دو کپ چائے لے آئیے۔
  Do cup chaay le aaiye.
  Bring two cups of tea.
• ایک گلاس پانی, براہِ کرم۔
  Aik glass paani, barah e karam.
  One glass of water, please.

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Finishing the Meal and Paying

At the end of the meal you need to say you are full, that you enjoyed the food, and ask for the bill.

Saying You Are Full

Common simple ways:

Example:

• میرا پیٹ بھر گیا ہے، بہت اچھا کھانا تھا۔
  Mera pait bhar gaya hai, bohat achha khaana tha.
  I am full, it was very good food.

Saying the Food Was Good

Polite compliments are important.

Example:

• کھانا بہت لذیذ تھا, کھانے کا شکریہ۔
  Khaana bohat lazeez tha, khaane ka shukriya.
  The food was very delicious, thank you for the meal.

Asking for the Bill

At a restaurant:

Other related sentences:

Mini dialogue:

• A: بل لے آئیے، براہِ کرم۔
  Bill le aaiye, barah e karam.
  Bring the bill please.

B: جی, ابھی لاتا ہوں۔
Ji, abhi laata hoon.
Yes, I will bring it now.

Cultural Notes: Politeness at the Table

You do not need to memorize rules of culture, but a few typical habits will help you understand language use:

1. Insisting politely: Hosts often insist that guests eat more.
• اور لیجیے۔
  Aur lijiye.
  Take more.
• تھوڑا سا اور کھائیں۔
  Thora sa aur khaayen.
  Eat a little more.
2. Guests respond politely:
• شکریہ, بس کافی ہے۔
  Shukriya, bas kaafi hai.
  Thank you, that is enough.
• میں پیٹ بھر گیا / گئی ہوں۔
  Main pait bhar gaya / gayi hoon.
  I am full.
3. Offering tea and water is very common:
• چائے پیئیں گے؟
  Chaay peeyen ge?
  Will you have tea?
• پانی لیجیے۔
  Paani lijiye.
  Have some water.

These cultural habits explain why you hear certain phrases again and again around food.

New Vocabulary from this Chapter

Below is a list of important new words and expressions that appeared in this chapter.