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Lesson 6 of 10
Cafe and restaurant in Somali
A table, the menu, what you cannot eat, and a compliment to the kitchen. Play the ten Somali words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Somali phrases in this lesson
- Miis labo qofMEES LA-bo kof
- A table for two
- Menu-ga, fadlanMEH-nu-ga, FAD-lan
- The menu, please
- Maxaad igula talinaysaa?ma-KHAAD i-gu-la ta-li-nai-SAA
- What do you recommend?
- Ma cuno...ma CU-no
- I don't eat...
- Waxaan xasaasiyad ku leeyahay...wa-KHAAN kha-saa-SI-yad ku LEH-ya-hai
- I'm allergic to...
- HilibHI-lib
- Meat
- Digaagdi-GAAG
- Chicken
- Kalluunkal-LOON
- Fish
- Waa macaan yahaywaa ma-CAAN ya-HAI
- It's delicious
- CheersCHEERZ
- Cheers
Miis (table) labo (two) qof (people). In Mogadishu and Nairobi there are modern restaurants; in smaller towns, seating is often informal. You may sit where you want or ask the proprietor.
Camel and goat meat are favorites, often served with rice.
Literally "it is sweet".
Somalia is a Muslim-majority culture without an alcohol toast tradition, so there is no native clinking phrase. In diaspora bars or with soft drinks, people simply use the English word, or skip the ritual entirely. Tea, not toasting, is the social glue.