مرحبا — Marhaba
[mar-ha-ba]Hello.
Friendly and universal.Speak at the table · Lebanon
Lebanese Arabic
Lebanese hospitality is expressive and informal. These phrases are conversational rather than textbook Modern Standard Arabic.
Restaurant survival kit
Eight phrases that do the work
يعطيك العافية — Ya‘tik el-‘afye
[ya-teek el-aa-fyeh]Hello / may God give you strength.
A warm greeting to someone working.طاولة لشخصين، لو سمحت — Tawle la shakhsayn, law samaht
[taw-leh la shakh-sayn, law sa-maht]A table for two, please.
On arrival.بدي… — Baddé…
[bad-deh]I would like…
The essential Lebanese ordering phrase.شو بتنصحني؟ — Shu btinsahni?
[shoo b-tin-sah-nee]What do you recommend for me?
Ask for a personal recommendation.بلا… — Bala…
[ba-la]Without…
To remove an ingredient.الحساب لو سمحت — El-hseb law samaht
[el-hseb law sa-maht]The bill, please.
At the end of the meal.كتير طيب — Ktir tayyeb!
[kteer tie-yeb]Very delicious!
A genuine compliment.Frequent culinary words
Read the menu with confidence
مقبلات — mou‘abbalāt
appetizers / mezze
Local word
حمص — hummus
chickpea and tahini dip
Local word
متبل — moutabbal
smoky eggplant and tahini dip
مشاوي — mashawi
mixed grills
دجاج — djej
chicken
لحمة — lahme
meat
سمك — samak
fish
خبز — khobez
bread
حار — harr
spicy / hot
Watch out
حلو — helou
sweet / dessert
ماء — may
water
قهوة — ahwe
coffee
Local word
عرق — arak
anise spirit
لبن — laban
yogurt drink / yogurt
طازة — taze
fresh
Local word
صحتين — sahtein
enjoy your meal / twice good health
The one rule