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Module 3 · Food and cafés

Lesson 28 · Beginner · 4 min

At the pastry shop

Buying pastries for guests: choosing, weighing, wrapping.

  • Unreviewed: this lesson’s Darija and translations have not yet been checked by a native speaker.

In this lesson

  • Ask what there is and what’s most popular
  • Order by weight (half a kilo, a quarter)
  • Say it’s a gift

When visiting someone, people often bring pastries. At the “7alwani” (pastry shop), everything is sold by weight.

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

  1. StallholderMr7ba, ach bghiti?Welcome, what would you like?
  2. CustomerBghit chi 7lwa l dyaf. Chno 3ndkom?I’d like some pastries for guests. What do you have?
  3. Stallholder3ndna ghriba, fekkas w briwat b llouz.We have ghriba, fekkas and almond briouats.
  4. CustomerChno kay3jeb nnas ktar?What do people like most?
  5. StallholderLbriwat. Sakhnin daba.The briouats. They’re still warm.
  6. CustomerWakha, 3tini nss kilo mn lbriwat w rbe3 kilo d lghriba.Okay, give me half a kilo of briouats and a quarter of a kilo of ghriba.
  7. StallholderNdirhom lik f l3elba?Shall I put them in a box for you?
  8. CustomerIyyeh, 3afak, rah hdiya.Yes, please, it’s a gift.
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

l7lwaالحلوة
pastries, sweets
dyafالضياف
guests
ghribaغريبة
ghriba (crumbly cookie)
fekkasفقاص
fekkas (crunchy biscotti)
briwatبريوات
briouats (filo parcels)
ktarكتر
more, most
sakhninسخونين
warm, hot (plural)
nss kiloنص كيلو
half a kilo
rbe3 kiloربع كيلو
a quarter of a kilo
l3elbaالعلبة
the box
hdiyaهدية
a gift

Repeat after me

Read each phrase out loud, then cover it and say it from memory.

  • Bghit chi 7lwa l dyaf. Chno 3ndkom?

    بغيت شي حلوة للضياف. شنو عندكم؟

    I’d like some pastries for guests. What do you have?

  • Chno kay3jeb nnas ktar?

    شنو كيعجب الناس كتر؟

    What do people like most?

  • Wakha, 3tini nss kilo mn lbriwat w rbe3 kilo d lghriba.

    واخا، عطيني نص كيلو من البريوات وربع كيلو د الغريبة.

    Okay, give me half a kilo of briouats and a quarter of a kilo of ghriba.

  • Iyyeh, 3afak, rah hdiya.

    إيه، عافاك، راه هدية.

    Yes, please, it’s a gift.

Quiz

  1. Question 1 of 7Why does the customer want a box?
  2. Question 2 of 7Fill in the blank3tini kilo mn lbriwat.Give me half a kilo of briouats.
  3. Question 3 of 7What do people often do when visiting someone?
  4. Question 4 of 7Match each expression with its meaning.
  5. Question 5 of 7What does “l3elba” mean?
  6. Question 6 of 7How do you say “guests” in Darija?
  7. Question 7 of 7 · Review from lesson 23Review (lesson 23): what does “msemmen” mean?

Your turn

Buy half a kilo of pastries for guests and ask for a gift box.

Show an example answer

3tini nss kilo d lghriba, 3afak. Dirha f l3elba, rah hdiya.

عطيني نص كيلو د الغريبة، عافاك. ديرها فالعلبة، راه هدية.

Half a kilo of ghriba, please. Put it in a box, it’s a gift.

Summary

Ghriba, fekkas, briwat; “nss kilo”, “rbe3 kilo”; “f l3elba” and “rah hdiya”.

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