Lesson 23 · Beginner · 4 min
A traditional breakfast
Discovering msemmen, baghrir and amlou, and asking for more.
- Unreviewed: this lesson’s Darija and translations have not yet been checked by a native speaker.
In this lesson
- Name breakfast specialities
- Ask “what is this?”
- Say it’s delicious and ask for more
In a riad, a “beldi” (traditional) breakfast is a feast: pancakes, flatbreads, olive oil, honey and amlou.
No audio for this lesson yet
This lesson hasn’t been recorded yet, and we won’t fake it with a made-up voice. Read the dialogue out loud with the help of the transliteration key.
Dialogue
- KhadijaSba7 lkhir! Wajd lftour.Good morning! Breakfast is ready.
- PaulSba7 nnour! Chno hada?Good morning! What’s this?
- KhadijaHada msemmen, w hadak baghrir.This is msemmen, and that’s baghrir.
- PaulW chno kayn f zlafa?And what’s in the bowl?
- KhadijaHada amlou: llouz, zit argan w l3sel.That’s amlou: almonds, argan oil and honey.
- PaulBnin bzzaf! Wach kayna l9ahwa?Delicious! Is there any coffee?
- KhadijaKayna, w kayn atay. Chno bghiti?There is, and there’s tea. What would you like?
- PaulAtay, 3afak. W zidini chwiya d lbaghrir!Tea, please. And give me a bit more baghrir!
How to read the transliteration
Darija is written here in Latin letters, the way many Moroccans text. A few symbols stand for sounds English, French and Swedish don't have:
- 3
- a tight sound from the throat (Arabic ع)
- 7
- a breathy h, stronger than English h (ح)
- 9
- a k made deep in the throat (ق)
- gh
- like a French r (غ)
- kh
- like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach (خ)
- ch
- like English sh (ش)
Vocabulary
- wajd / wajdaواجد / واجدة
- ready (m. / f.)
- chno hada?شنو هادا؟
- what’s this?
- msemmenمسمن
- msemmen (square layered flatbread)
- baghrirبغرير
- baghrir (“thousand-hole” pancake)
- zlafaزلافة
- the bowl
- amlouأملو
- amlou (almond, argan and honey spread)
- llouzاللوز
- almonds
- zit arganزيت أرگان
- argan oil
- l3selالعسل
- honey
- bninبنين
- delicious
- zidiniزيديني
- give me more
Repeat after me
Read each phrase out loud, then cover it and say it from memory.
Sba7 nnour! Chno hada?
صباح النور! شنو هادا؟
Good morning! What’s this?
W chno kayn f zlafa?
وشنو كاين فالزلافة؟
And what’s in the bowl?
Bnin bzzaf! Wach kayna l9ahwa?
بنين بزاف! واش كاينة القهوة؟
Delicious! Is there any coffee?
Atay, 3afak. W zidini chwiya d lbaghrir!
أتاي، عافاك. وزيديني شوية د البغرير!
Tea, please. And give me a bit more baghrir!
Quiz
Your turn
Ask what a dish is, say it’s delicious and ask for more.
Show an example answer
Chno hada? … Bnin bzzaf! Zidini chwiya, 3afak.
شنو هادا؟ … بنين بزاف! زيديني شوية، عافاك.
What’s this? … Delicious! Give me a bit more, please.
Summary
Msemmen, baghrir, amlou, l3sel; “chno hada?”, “bnin bzzaf!” and “zidini chwiya”.
Finished?
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