2.6.1 Ordering food

Eating Out in Urdu: Ordering Food

In this chapter you learn how to order food and drinks in simple Urdu when you are in a restaurant, café, or street stall. You already know basic greetings and polite expressions, so now you will combine them with food vocabulary and some useful patterns.

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Typical Restaurant Situation in Urdu

In many Urdu speaking places, the interaction in a small restaurant or café is simple and friendly. You will usually talk to:

• ویٹر waiter (waiter, server, male)
• ویٹریس waitress (waitress, female)
• مالک / مینیجر owner / manager (in small places, often the same person)

A very common first line from the waiter is:

• جی، کیا دیں؟
  Jī, kyā dēñ?
  “Yes, what shall I give you?” (meaning: What would you like to order?)

Or a slightly more formal version:

• جی، آپ کیا لیں گے؟ (to a man)
  Jī, āp kyā lēñ gē?
• جی، آپ کیا لیں گی؟ (to a woman)
  Jī, āp kyā lēñ gī?

Both mean: “What will you take?” or “What would you like?”

Your job is then to say what you want, how many, and maybe how spicy etc.

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Key Ordering Pattern: “I want …”

For beginners, one very useful pattern is:

• مجھے [item] چاہیے۔
  Mujhē [item] chāhiye.
  “I want / I would like [item].”

This is polite in a restaurant context. You can add ایک ēk “one” or other numbers before the item.

Examples:

• مجھے ایک چائے چاہیے۔
  Mujhē ēk chāy chāhiye.
  “I would like one tea.”
• مجھے دو نان چاہیے۔
  Mujhē do nān chāhiye.
  “I would like two naan breads.”
• مجھے ایک پلاو چاہیے۔
  Mujhē ēk pulāo chāhiye.
  “I would like one pulao.”

You can omit the number if you do not need it:

• مجھے پانی چاہیے۔
  Mujhē pānī chāhiye.
  “I would like water.”

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Polite Requests: “Please give me …”

Another very common pattern is to use the verb دینا dēnā “to give”. In restaurants people usually say:

• [item] دیجیے۔
  [item] dījiē.
  “Please give (me) [item].”

You can put the number first:

• ایک چائے دیجیے۔
  Ēk chāy dījiē.
  “One tea, please.”
• تین روٹیاں دیجیے۔
  Tīn roṭiyā̃ dījiē.
  “Three rotis, please.”

This is short, polite, and very useful.

You can also add براہِ کرم barāhē karam or مہربانی کر کے mehrbānī karkē for “please”, but in daily restaurant speech they are often not needed when you already use دیجیے.

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Using “I will take …” for ordering

You can also use the verb لینا lēnā “to take” for ordering, especially when you are deciding from a menu.

Pattern:

• میں [number] [item] لوں گا۔ (male speaker)
  Mẽ [number] [item] lū̃ gā.
• میں [number] [item] لوں گی۔ (female speaker)
  Mẽ [number] [item] lū̃ gī.

Meaning: “I will take [number] [item].”

Examples:

• میں ایک چکن کڑاہی لوں گا۔ (man speaking)
  Mẽ ēk chikan kaṛāhī lū̃ gā.
  “I will take one chicken karahi.”
• میں دو سموسے لوں گی۔ (woman speaking)
  Mẽ do samōsē lū̃ gī.
  “I will take two samosas.”

This sounds natural when you are ordering directly from a menu.

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Asking for the Menu

In some places there is no written menu, but if there is, you can ask:

• می뉴 ہے؟
  Mēnyū hai?
  “Do you have a menu?”

More politely:

• کیا مینیو مل سکتا ہے؟
  Kyā mēnyū mil saktā hai?
  “Can I get a menu?”

Or:

• براہِ کرم مینیو دیجیے۔
  Barāhē karam mēnyū dījiē.
  “Please give the menu.”

When there is no menu, you can ask what is available.

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Asking “What do you have?”

A simple pattern to ask what is available:

• آپ کے پاس کیا ہے؟
  Āp kē pās kyā hai?
  “What do you have?”

In restaurants you will mostly ask “What is there to eat?” or “What is there to drink?”

Common questions:

• کھانے میں کیا ہے؟
  Khānē mē̃ kyā hai?
  “What is there to eat?”
• پینے کے لیے کیا ہے؟
  Pīnē kē liē kyā hai?
  “What is there to drink?”

Possible answers from the waiter:

• کھانے میں دال، چکن، پلاو اور کباب ہیں۔
  Khānē mē̃ dāl, chikan, pulāo aur kabāb haĩ.
  “To eat, there is lentil curry, chicken, pulao, and kebab.”
• پینے کے لیے چائے، کافی اور لسی ہے۔
  Pīnē kē liē chāy, kāfī aur lassī hai.
  “To drink, there is tea, coffee, and lassi.”

You can then choose and order using the patterns from above.

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Useful Food and Drink Items for Ordering

Here are some very common items you might see or want to say.

Drinks

Example sentences:

• مجھے ایک لسی چاہیے۔
  Mujhē ēk lassī chāhiye.
  “I would like a lassi.”
• دو منرل واٹر دیجیے۔
  Do minral vāṭar dījiē.
  “Two mineral waters, please.”

Basic Foods

Example orders:

• مجھے ایک دال اور دو نان چاہیے۔
  Mujhē ēk dāl aur do nān chāhiye.
  “I would like one lentil curry and two naan.”
• ایک بریانی اور ایک سبزی دیجیے۔
  Ēk biryānī aur ēk sabzī dījiē.
  “One biryani and one vegetable dish, please.”

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Saying “And”, “With”, and “Without”

You often need to add side items or say “with” or “without” something.

“And”

To connect items use:

• اور aur “and”

Examples:

• مجھے چائے اور بسکٹ چاہیے۔
  Mujhē chāy aur biskit chāhiye.
  “I would like tea and biscuits.”
• ایک پلاو اور دو کباب دیجیے۔
  Ēk pulāo aur do kabāb dījiē.
  “One pulao and two kebabs, please.”

“With”

For simple restaurant phrases, you can use:

• کے ساتھ kē sāth “with”

Examples:

• مجھے چائے دودھ کے ساتھ چاہیے۔
  Mujhē chāy dūdh kē sāth chāhiye.
  “I would like tea with milk.”
• چکن سوپ نان کے ساتھ دیجیے۔
  Chikan sūp nān kē sāth dījiē.
  “Chicken soup with naan, please.”

“Without”

To say “without” use:

• بغیر baghair “without”

Examples:

• مجھے چائے بغیر چینی کے چاہیے۔
  Mujhē chāy baghair chīnī kē chāhiye.
  “I would like tea without sugar.”
• سلاد بغیر پیاز کے دیجیے۔
  Salād baghair piyāz kē dījiē.
  “Salad without onion, please.”

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Choosing Spiciness and Taste

In Urdu speaking regions many dishes are spicy. You can ask for less spice or tell your preference.

Useful words:

Patterns:

• کم مرچ رکھیں۔
  Kam mirch rakhẽ.
  “Make it less spicy.” (literally “keep less chili”)
• زیادہ تیز نہ بنائیں۔
  Ziyādā tēj na banāẽ.
  “Do not make it very spicy.”
• نمک تھوڑا کم رکھیں۔
  Namak thoṛā kam rakhẽ.
  “Keep the salt a little less.”

Example dialogues:

Customer: چکن کم مرچ کے ساتھ بنائیں۔
Chikan kam mirch kē sāth banāẽ.
“Make the chicken with less chili.”

Waiter: جی، کم مرچ رکھیں گے۔
Jī, kam mirch rakhẽ gē.
“Yes, we will keep it less spicy.”

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Asking for Recommendations

You can let the waiter suggest something.

Common questions:

• آپ کیا ریکمنڈ کریں گے؟
  Āp kyā rikmand karẽ gē?
  “What will you recommend?”
• آج کیا خاص ہے؟
  Āj kyā khās hai?
  “What is special today?”
• سب سے اچھا کھانا کون سا ہے؟
  Sab sē achchā khānā kaun sā hai?
  “Which is the best dish?”

Possible answers:

• آج پلاو بہت اچھا ہے۔
  Āj pulāo bahut achchā hai.
  “Today the pulao is very good.”
• آپ بریانی لیں، بہت مشہور ہے۔
  Āp biryānī lẽ, bahut mashhūr hai.
  “Take the biryani, it is very famous.”

You can then answer:

• ٹھیک ہے، پھر میں بریانی لوں گا۔ (man)
  Ṭhīk hai, phir mẽ biryānī lū̃ gā.
• ٹھیک ہے، پھر میں بریانی لوں گی۔ (woman)
  Ṭhīk hai, phir mẽ biryānī lū̃ gī.

“Okay, then I will take biryani.”

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Ordering Quantities and Portions

Often you need to say how many pieces or how much of something you want.

Numbers with Items

You already know basic numbers, so here are examples with food:

• ایک نان ēk nān “one naan”
• دو نان do nān “two naan”
• تین روٹیاں tīn roṭiyā̃ “three rotis”
• چار کباب chār kabāb “four kebabs”

Pattern with دیجیے:

• [number] + [item] + دیجیے۔

Examples:

• دو چائے دیجیے۔
  Do chāy dījiē.
  “Two teas, please.”
• چار سموسے دیجیے۔
  Chār samōsē dījiē.
  “Four samosas, please.”

Saying “Some” and “A little”

Sometimes you do not need an exact number.

Useful words:

Examples:

• مجھے تھوڑا پانی دیجیے۔
  Mujhē thoṛā pānī dījiē.
  “Give me a little water, please.”
• کچھ سلاد چاہیے۔
  Kuchch salād chāhiye.
  “I would like some salad.”

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Checking and Repeating the Order

To avoid confusion, the waiter may repeat your order. You can also ask the waiter to repeat.

Useful expressions:

• ذرا دوبارہ بتائیں۔
  Zarā do bārā batāẽ.
  “Please say it again.”
• آرڈر دہرائیں، براہِ کرم۔
  Ārḍar duhrāẽ, barāhē karam.
  “Repeat the order, please.”

Waiter might say:

• آپ نے ایک دال، دو نان اور ایک چائے آرڈر کی ہے، ٹھیک؟
  Āp nē ēk dāl, do nān aur ēk chāy ārḍar kī hai, ṭhīk?
  “You ordered one lentil curry, two naan, and one tea, right?”

You can answer:

• جی، ٹھیک ہے۔
  Jī, ṭhīk hai.
  “Yes, that is correct.”

If there is a mistake:

• نہیں، تین نان، دو نہیں۔
  Nahī̃, tīn nān, do nahī̃.
  “No, three naan, not two.”

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Getting the Bill and Paying

After you finish eating, you will usually ask for the bill.

Useful phrases:

• بل دیجیے۔
  Bil dījiē.
  “The bill, please.”
• حساب دیجیے۔
  Ḥisāb dījiē.
  “Give the bill, please.” (literally “account”)

If you want to ask how much it is:

• کتنے پیسے ہوئے؟
  Kitnē paisē huē?
  “How much is it?”
• کل کتنے بنے؟
  Kal kitnē banē?
  “How much is the total?”

The waiter might say:

• کل پانچ سو روپے ہوئے۔
  Kal pāñch sō rupē huē.
  “The total is 500 rupees.”

You can respond:

• یہ لیجیے۔
  Yē lījiē.
  “Here you are.”
• باقی رکھ لیجیے۔
  Bāqī rakh lījiē.
  “Keep the change.” (if there is extra)

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Mini Dialogues for Practice

Dialogue 1: Simple Tea Order

Waiter:
جی، کیا لیں گے؟
Jī, kyā lẽ gē?
“What will you take?”

Customer (man):
مجھے ایک چائے چاہیے۔
Mujhē ēk chāy chāhiye.
“I would like one tea.”

Waiter:
چینی کے ساتھ یا بغیر چینی کے؟
Chīnī kē sāth yā baghair chīnī kē?
“With sugar or without sugar?”

Customer:
کم چینی کے ساتھ۔
Kam chīnī kē sāth.
“With little sugar.”

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Dialogue 2: Lunch Order with Questions

Waiter:
جی، کھانے میں کیا لیں گے؟
Jī, khānē mē̃ kyā lẽ gē?
“What will you have to eat?”

Customer (woman):
کھانے میں کیا ہے؟
Khānē mē̃ kyā hai?
“What is there to eat?”

Waiter:
دال، چکن، پلاو اور سبزی ہے۔
Dāl, chikan, pulāo aur sabzī hai.
“There is lentil curry, chicken, pulao, and vegetables.”

Customer:
آپ کیا ریکمنڈ کریں گے؟
Āp kyā rikmand karẽ gē?
“What will you recommend?”

Waiter:
آج پلاو بہت اچھا ہے۔
Āj pulāo bahut achchā hai.
“Today the pulao is very good.”

Customer:
ٹھیک ہے، مجھے ایک پلاو اور دو نان چاہیے۔
Ṭhīk hai, mujhē ēk pulāo aur do nān chāhiye.
“Okay, I would like one pulao and two naan.”

Waiter:
چائے بھی لیں گی؟
Chāy bhī lẽ gī?
“Will you also take tea?”

Customer:
ہاں، ایک چائے دو۔
Hā̃, ēk chāy do.
“Yes, give one tea.”

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Dialogue 3: Asking for the Bill

Customer:
ویٹر صاحب، بل دیجیے۔
Vēṭar sāḥib, bil dījiē.
“Waiter, the bill please.”

Waiter:
جی، ابھی لاتا ہوں۔
Jī, ab hī lātā hū̃.
“Yes, I will bring it right now.”

(After a moment)

Waiter:
کل تین سو روپے ہوئے۔
Kal tīn sō rupē huē.
“The total is 300 rupees.”

Customer:
یہ لیجیے، چار سو۔ باقی رکھ لیجیے۔
Yē lījiē, chār sō. Bāqī rakh lījiē.
“Here you are, 400. Keep the change.”

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New Vocabulary from this Chapter

Use these patterns and words to practice your own restaurant dialogues, and try to say your usual order in Urdu using the structures from this chapter.