Session 14 — Food, Restaurants & Everyday Requests¶

Second 20-hour cycle: 4 / 10
Total training: 24 / 40 hours
Duration: ~2 hours

Today is highly practical. By the end, you should be able to handle a basic restaurant or café interaction:

“I'd like a coffee and some water.”
“I don't want meat.”
“How much is it?”
“Can I have some more?”
“Do you have chicken?”
“I like this.”
“I don't like that.”

The main grammar of today is:

بدي — baddi — I want

and:

بحب — b7ebb — I like

and:

في — fi — there is / there are / do you have?

0:00–0:15 — Warm-up¶

No notes.

Answer aloud:

1¶

shu bta3mel halla2?

What are you doing now?

2¶

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

5¶

wein bteshtaghil?

Where do you work?

Now:

shu baddak ta3mel halla2?

What do you want to do now?

This introduces today's main structure.

0:15–0:35 — بدي — baddi¶

بدي — baddi¶

The most useful Levantine expression for:

I want

It is extremely common.

Think of it as one complete chunk:

baddi

Don't try to translate it word-by-word.

Examples¶

baddi ahwe.

I want coffee.

baddi mayy.

I want water.

baddi akol.

I want to eat.

baddi eshrob.

I want to drink.

baddi rou7.

I want to go.

baddi nim.

I want to sleep.

Notice something important:

After baddi, you can put a noun:

baddi ahwe.

I want coffee.

or a verb:

baddi rou7.

I want to go.

0:35–0:50 — بدي with people¶

The pattern becomes even more useful when you learn the whole family.

Person	Levantine	English
أنا	baddi	I want
إنتَ	baddak	you want M
إنتِ	baddik	you want F
هو	baddo	he wants
هي	badda	she wants
نحنا	baddna	we want
إنتو	baddkon	you want plural
هنّي	baddon	they want

This is very similar to:

3andi / 3andak / 3ando...

Learn them as a family.

Compare¶

I want coffee.¶

baddi ahwe.

You want coffee — male.¶

baddak ahwe.

You want coffee — female.¶

baddik ahwe.

He wants coffee.¶

baddo ahwe.

She wants coffee.¶

badda ahwe.

We want coffee.¶

baddna ahwe.

They want coffee.¶

baddon ahwe.

0:50–1:05 — Negating “want”¶

This is very useful.

ma baddi.

I don't want.

ma baddak.

You don't want.

ma baddo.

He doesn't want.

ma badda.

She doesn't want.

Examples:

ma baddi ahwe.

I don't want coffee.

ma baddi la7me.

I don't want meat.

ma baddi akol.

I don't want to eat.

ma baddi rou7.

I don't want to go.

Important pronunciation¶

You will hear:

baddi

with a relatively strong double d.

Don't pronounce it like:

badi

At your stage, make the double consonant clear:

bad-di

Similarly:

baddak

baddik

baddo

1:05–1:20 — Food vocabulary¶

Let's keep this practical.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
أكل	akl	food
مي	mayy	water
قهوة	ahwe	coffee
شاي	shāy	tea
خبز	khobez	bread
لحمة	la7me	meat
دجاج	djāj	chicken
سمك	samak	fish
رز	rozz	rice
بطاطا	baṭāṭa	potatoes
سلطة	salṭa	salad
جبنة	jibne	cheese
بيض	bayḍ	eggs
فلافل	falāfel	falafel
حمص	7ommos	hummus
شاورما	shāwerma	shawarma

Prioritize:

mayy

ahwe

la7me

djāj

samak

salṭa

jibne

bayḍ

7ommos

1:20–1:35 — “I want…”¶

Now combine baddi with food.

Say each aloud:

baddi ahwe.

baddi mayy.

baddi shāy.

baddi salṭa.

baddi djāj.

baddi samak.

baddi bayḍ.

baddi 7ommos.

Now make negative sentences:

ma baddi la7me.

ma baddi djāj.

ma baddi jibne.

1:35–1:50 — بدي + verb¶

This is more important than the food vocabulary.

You already know:

rou7 — go

So:

baddi rou7.

I want to go.

baddak trou7?

Do you want to go?

baddo yrou7.

He wants to go.

badda trou7.

She wants to go.

Notice that the following verb changes according to the subject.

Don't worry about fully understanding the grammar yet.

Learn these chunks.

Very useful examples¶

baddi akol.

I want to eat.

baddi eshrob.

I want to drink.

baddi rou7.

I want to go.

baddi eshteri.

I want to buy.

baddi shouf.

I want to see.

baddi nām.

I want to sleep.

baddi eshtaghil.

I want to work.

1:50–2:00 — Quick production drill¶

I'll give you the English.

You say the Levantine.

I want to eat.¶

baddi akol.

I want to drink.¶

baddi eshrob.

I want coffee.¶

baddi ahwe.

I don't want coffee.¶

ma baddi ahwe.

I want to go home.¶

baddi rou7 3al-bēt.

I don't want to go.¶

ma baddi rou7.

Part 2 — بحب — b7ebb¶

Now we introduce:

بحب — b7ebb

I like / I love.

This is an extremely important verb.

b7ebb ahwe.

I like coffee.

b7ebb el-akl.

I like food.

b7ebb es-samak.

I like fish.

b7ebb el-baṭāṭa.

I like potatoes.

b7ebb 7ommos.

I like hummus.

The family¶

Person	Levantine	English
أنا	b7ebb	I like
إنتَ	bte7ebb	you like M
إنتِ	bte7ebbi	you like F
هو	bye7ebb	he likes
هي	bte7ebb	she likes
نحنا	mn7ebb	we like
إنتو	bte7ebbo	you plural like
هنّي	bye7ebbo	they like

Again, don't try to derive every form from theory yet.

Learn:

b7ebb

bte7ebb

bye7ebb

mn7ebb

bye7ebbo

These will become increasingly familiar.

Part 3 — Don't confuse بدي and بحب¶

This distinction is essential.

بدي¶

baddi

I want.

A desire/request.

baddi ahwe.

I want coffee.

بحب¶

b7ebb

I like.

A preference.

b7ebb ahwe.

I like coffee.

So:

baddi ahwe

means:

I want coffee.

while:

b7ebb ahwe

means:

I like coffee.

Part 4 — Negating likes¶

ma b7ebb.

I don't like.

Examples:

ma b7ebb la7me.

I don't like meat.

ma b7ebb es-samak.

I don't like fish.

ma b7ebb el-jibne.

I don't like cheese.

You can also say:

ma b7ebb hal-akl.

I don't like this food.

Part 5 — “This”¶

You've already learned:

hayda — this M

hayde — this F

Now add:

hal-

This/this particular...

You'll hear it constantly:

hal-akl

this food

hal-ahwe

this coffee

hal-mat3am

this restaurant

hal-bēt

this house

For now, recognize hal- as a very useful demonstrative form.

Part 6 — “There is / there are”¶

في — fi¶

This is one of the most important words in Levantine Arabic.

It can mean:

there is

there are

and, depending on context:

do you have?

Examples:

fi mayy?

Is there water?

fi ahwe?

Is there coffee?

fi djāj?

Is there chicken?

fi 7ommos?

Is there hummus?

Negative¶

ما في — ma fi¶

There isn't / there aren't.

ma fi mayy.

There isn't any water.

ma fi ahwe.

There isn't any coffee.

ma fi djāj.

There isn't any chicken.

Part 7 — Restaurant vocabulary¶

Arabic	Transliteration	English
مطعم	mat3am	restaurant
كافيه	kāfi	café
منيو	menu	menu
حساب	7sāb	bill
طاولة	ṭāwle	table
كرسي	kursi	chair
نادل	nādel	waiter
أكل	akl	food
فاتورة	fātūra	bill/check
سعر	se3er	price

You don't need all of these.

Priority:

mat3am

menu

7sāb

ṭāwle

se3er

Part 8 — “How much?”¶

قديش — 2addeish¶

How much?

Examples:

2addeish hayda?

How much is this?

2addeish hal-akl?

How much is this food?

2addeish el-7sāb?

How much is the bill?

2addeish se3ro?

How much does it cost?

For now, prioritize:

2addeish?

Part 9 — Restaurant interaction¶

Imagine you walk into a café.

You:¶

mar7aba.

Hello.

Waiter:¶

ahlein.

Hello / welcome.

You:¶

baddi ahwe w-mayy.

I'd like a coffee and water.

Waiter:¶

2addeish?

Depending on context, this could mean “how much?” but a waiter might instead ask what size/quantity. Don't rely on this exact exchange; the important language is your request.

You:

wa7de ahwe, law sama7et.

One coffee, please.

w-kabeyet mayy.

And a glass of water.

Part 10 — Please¶

لو سمحت — law sama7et¶

Please / if you please.

To a man:

law sama7et

To a woman:

law sama7ti

Very useful.

Examples:

baddi ahwe, law sama7et.

I'd like a coffee, please.

el-7sāb, law sama7et.

The bill, please.

mayy, law sama7et.

Water, please.

Part 11 — “I would like…”¶

At beginner level, don't worry about finding an elaborate equivalent of English:

“I would like...”

In everyday Levantine, baddi is perfectly useful:

baddi ahwe.

baddi salṭa.

baddi mayy.

The politeness comes from:

law sama7et

and the situation.

Part 12 — “More / another”¶

كمان — kamān¶

More / also / another.

Extremely useful.

baddi kamān mayy.

I want more water.

baddi kamān wa7de.

I want another one.

fi kamān?

Is there more?

baddi kamān salṭa.

I want more salad.

Part 13 — “Enough”¶

خلص — khalaṣ¶

Finished / enough / that's all.

This is a very useful Levantine word.

At a restaurant:

khalaṣ, shukran.

That's all, thank you.

You will hear khalaṣ constantly in everyday conversation.

Part 14 — Thank you¶

شكراً — shukran¶

Thank you.

Response:

3afwan

You're welcome.

So your restaurant toolkit is now:

baddi...

I want...

law sama7et

please

kamān

more/another

khalaṣ

that's all

shukran

thank you

Part 15 — Ordering drill¶

Construct the following.

1. Coffee, please.¶

baddi ahwe, law sama7et.

2. Water, please.¶

baddi mayy, law sama7et.

3. I want chicken.¶

baddi djāj.

4. I don't want meat.¶

ma baddi la7me.

5. I want salad too.¶

baddi salṭa kamān.

6. More water, please.¶

baddi kamān mayy, law sama7et.

7. That's all, thank you.¶

khalaṣ, shukran.

Part 16 — Asking what is available¶

Use:

fi...?

Examples:

fi djāj?

Do you have chicken?

fi samak?

Do you have fish?

fi salṭa?

Do you have salad?

fi bayḍ?

Do you have eggs?

fi 7ommos?

Do you have hummus?

If yes:

ee, fi.

If no:

la2, ma fi.

Part 17 — Restaurant mini-dialogue¶

Read this aloud several times.

Customer¶

mar7aba.

baddi menu, law sama7et.

fi djāj?

fi salṭa?

baddi djāj w-salṭa.

w-baddi mayy kamān.

khalaṣ, shukran.

Waiter¶

ee, fi.

ṭayyeb.

shi tāni?

Anything else?

Customer¶

la2, khalaṣ. shukran.

Part 18 — “Anything else?”¶

شي تاني؟ — shi tāni?¶

Literally:

something else?

Very useful in shops and restaurants.

Answer:

la2, khalaṣ.

No, that's all.

or:

ee, baddi kamān...

Yes, I also want...

Part 19 — Likes and dislikes¶

Now imagine someone asks:

shu bte7ebb tekol?

What do you like to eat?

You can answer:

b7ebb es-samak.

I like fish.

b7ebb salṭa.

I like salad.

ma b7ebb la7me.

I don't like meat.

b7ebb djāj.

I like chicken.

Part 20 — A very useful distinction¶

You now have three structures:

I have¶

3andi

I want¶

baddi

I like¶

b7ebb

Compare:

3andi ahwe.

I have coffee.

baddi ahwe.

I want coffee.

b7ebb ahwe.

I like coffee.

This three-way distinction is worth drilling until automatic.

Part 21 — Food conversation¶

I'll ask.

Answer aloud.

1¶

shu bte7ebb tekol?

What do you like to eat?

5¶

shu baddak tekol?

What do you want to eat?

6¶

shu baddak teshrob?

What do you want to drink?

Part 22 — “What do you want to eat?”¶

Notice:

shu

what

baddak

you want

tekol

to eat

Therefore:

shu baddak tekol?

What do you want to eat?

To a woman:

shu baddik teklī?

What do you want to eat?

Don't obsess over the verb forms yet. Learn the sentence as a useful chunk.

Part 23 — “I want to eat…”¶

Now produce:

baddi akol...

and complete it.

Examples:

baddi akol djāj.

baddi akol samak.

baddi akol salṭa.

baddi akol 7ommos.

baddi akol bayḍ.

Part 24 — Reading practice¶

Read these without transliteration:

بدي قهوة.

بدي مي.

ما بدي لحمة.

بحب السمك.

ما بحب الجبنة.

في دجاج؟

ما في حمص.

بدي كمان سلطة.

الحساب لو سمحت.

خلص، شكراً.

Try to understand all ten without translating word-by-word.

Part 25 — Arabic script: today's patterns¶

Pay particular attention to:

بدي¶

بدي

بحب¶

بحب

في¶

في

ما في¶

ما في

كمان¶

كمان

خلص¶

خلص

These are excellent words to start recognizing visually because you'll encounter them constantly.

Part 26 — Real-life restaurant simulation¶

Now do this without looking at the model.

You enter a restaurant.

You want:

chicken
salad
water

You don't want:

meat

You want:

more water

Then you want the bill.

Try to say the entire interaction.

A possible structure:

mar7aba.

baddi djāj w-salṭa.

baddi mayy kamān.

ma baddi la7me.

baddi kamān mayy, law sama7et.

el-7sāb, law sama7et.

shukran.

Part 27 — Challenge: café¶

You're at a café.

You want:

one coffee

one water

You like coffee.

You don't want tea.

You want another coffee.

Finally:

that's all.

Try to say it without reading.

Part 28 — Challenge: supermarket¶

Now you're in a supermarket.

You ask:

Do you have chicken?

Do you have fish?

Do you have eggs?

Do you have salad?

You decide:

I want chicken and eggs.

You don't want fish.

You ask:

How much?

Your key vocabulary:

fi...?

baddi...

ma baddi...

2addeish?

Part 29 — Today's grammar summary¶

You have learned four extremely useful structures.

1. Have¶

3andi

I have.

2. Want¶

baddi

I want.

3. Like¶

b7ebb

I like.

4. There is / available¶

fi

There is / there are / do you have?

And their negatives:

ma 3andi

I don't have.

ma baddi

I don't want.

ma b7ebb

I don't like.

ma fi

There isn't / there aren't.

This gives you a surprisingly large amount of conversational power.

Part 30 — The four-way drill¶

Say these four sentences aloud:

3andi ahwe.

I have coffee.

baddi ahwe.

I want coffee.

b7ebb ahwe.

I like coffee.

fi ahwe.

There is coffee / Do you have coffee?

Now negative:

ma 3andi ahwe.

ma baddi ahwe.

ma b7ebb ahwe.

ma fi ahwe.

Do this with:

mayy

then:

samak

then:

djāj

Part 31 — Final test¶

Don't look at the answers.

Translate:¶

I want coffee.
I don't want tea.
I like fish.
I don't like meat.
I have a daughter.
I don't have a car.
Do you have water?
Do you have chicken?
I want more salad.
How much is it?
The bill, please.
That's all, thank you.
What do you want to eat?
What do you want to drink?
Do you like coffee?

Part 32 — Speaking test¶

You are at a restaurant.

Speak for 60–90 seconds.

You must include:

mar7aba
baddi
ma baddi
b7ebb
fi
ma fi
kamān
law sama7et
2addeish
7sāb
shukran

Don't try to make a perfect dialogue.

The objective is to retrieve the structures under pressure.

Homework — 30 minutes¶

1. Vocabulary — 5 minutes¶

Memorize:

ahwe
mayy
shāy
djāj
samak
la7me
salṭa
jibne
bayḍ
7ommos

2. Three structures — 10 minutes¶

Take five nouns and make:

3andi...

baddi...

b7ebb...

Example:

3andi sayyāra.

baddi sayyāra.

b7ebb sayyārti.

Then negate them.

3. Restaurant role-play — 15 minutes¶

Do the complete restaurant scenario alone.

Round 1¶

Read the model.

Round 2¶

Hide it.

Round 3¶

Do it completely from memory.

Round 4¶

Change the food.

This last round is important: it forces you to generate language rather than memorize a dialogue.

Session 14 checkpoint¶

You should now have these four extremely high-value chunks:

3andi — I have

baddi — I want

b7ebb — I like

fi — there is / there are / available

And:

ma 3andi — I don't have

ma baddi — I don't want

ma b7ebb — I don't like

ma fi — there isn't / there aren't

Your practical restaurant toolkit is:

baddi ..., law sama7et.

I'd like ..., please.

fi ...?

Do you have ...?

baddi kamān ...

I'd like more/another ...

shi tāni?

Anything else?

khalaṣ.

That's all.

2addeish?

How much?

el-7sāb, law sama7et.

The bill, please.

The key thing to retain¶

Don't memorize today's lesson as 50 unrelated expressions.

Think in reusable sentence engines:

3andi + NOUN
I have...

baddi + NOUN
I want...

baddi + VERB
I want to...

b7ebb + NOUN
I like...

ma b7ebb + NOUN
I don't like...

fi + NOUN
There is / Do you have...

ma fi + NOUN
There isn't / You don't have...

You can now substitute hundreds of words into these structures.

Session 15 should build on this by introducing descriptions and adjectives in much more depth: colors, size, appearance, this/that, masculine/feminine agreement, and how to describe objects and people in complete sentences.