Speaking Tunisian Arabic at a restaurant

By IBL Editorial On Jun 24, 2023

In Tunisian Arabic a restaurant is commonly called restaurant / راستوران (plural is restauranet / ريستورون) which is based on French or Mat3am / مطعم (plural is mata3em / مطاعم) which is based on Standard Arabic (fos7a / فصحى). Likewise, a cafe is commonly called café / كافي or salon de thé / صالون دو تاي which, as you can imagine, is also based on French or 9ahwa / كافي (plural is 9hawi / قهاوي) which is based on fos7a.

In this article we’ll cover the essentials of how to visit a restaurant and enjoy speaking more Tunisian Arabic with your companions and the restaurant’s staff. This article is broken down into the following sections:

Reservations
Arrival & seating
Reading the menu
Ordering drinks
Ordering food
Eating
Ordering more
Finishing the meal
Paying for the bill
Leaving the restaurant

Reservations

To eat at a restaurant it’s important to know if it’s open or not. Open, as an adjective, in Tunisian Arabic is (m) Ma7loul / محلول & (f) Ma7loula / محلولة. Closed, as an adjective, is (m) Msakar / مسكر & (f) Msakra / مسكرة. This leads to the common question that a customer asks a restaurant associate when first interacting with the establishment:

Are you open?

In Tunisian Arabic there are different ways to express this question—a common way is Ma7loulin? / محلولين؟. (Another is 7allin? / حالّين؟) Ma7loulin comes from the root word Ma7loul / محلول (which means Open, as noted above) and the suffix -in / ين which, in Tunisian Arabic, commonly frames a word in a plural setting.

Listen to IBL contributor Samar H. pronounce the question, Ma7loulin? / محلولين؟ (“Are you open?”):

In Tunisia, if a restaurant has a process for reserving, it will usually be considered more upscale in ambiance and offerings. As such, a cultural norm that has been cited by several Tunisians, is that speaking French is more frequently done in these settings.

A common way amongst Tunisian Arabic speakers to reserve

N7eb nreservi tawla pour deux personnes? / نحب نرزرفي طاولة بور دو بارسون؟

Although many Tunisians know French, not all speak it, or choose to do so at a restaurant. To

Nejem nreservi tawla lzouz mennes? / نجم نريسيرفي طاولة لزوز مالناس؟

You may be wondering why, above, the number 7 is used in the word N7eb. To understand this linguistic practice amongst many Tunisian Arabic speakers read the IBL article: Numbers as letters in Tunisian Arabic.

Arrival & seating

When you arrive at a restaurant, be prepared to greet the host or a server. (For more information on how to say Hello (including what’s most popular given the time of day) read the IBL article, How to say Hello in Tunisian Arabic and here is the IBL page that explains how to say How are you?)

The simplest and most conventional ways to do this is either: (the top statement has some words derived from French; the bottom one does not)

Fama tawla pour deux personnes? / فمة طاولة بور دو بارسون؟

Fama tawla lzouz mennes? / فما طاولة لزوز مالناس؟

In English, the above two statements translate as, “Is there a table for two people?”

Table, in Tunisian Arabic, is Tawla / طاولة. Like most visits to a restaurant, you probably only need to request a table for one to eight people but here is a list so that you can learn how to count to 100 in Tunisian Arabic. (Including learning the numbers, 1-8)

Below Samar H. pronounces Fama tawla pour deux personnes? (“Is there a table for 2 people?”):

Reading the menu

In Tunisian Arabic the word menu is menu / المنيو. You can ask for the menu by saying Ta3tini l menu 3aychek? / تعطيني المينو يعيشك؟. Don’t be surprised if the menu is written in French. If you know enough Tunisian Arabic though, you can always get by by asking the server some questions about the menu. Here is the IBL platform list on how to say and write a variety of food and drinks in Tunisian Arabic: Tunisian Arabic — Food & drinks.

Listen below as Samar pronounces Ta3tini l menu 3aychek? (“Can I see a menu, please?”):

Ordering drinks

The most conventional way to order drinks in Tunisian Arabic is by prefacing the statement with Tnajem ta3tini…? / تنجم تعطيني…؟ or by simply saying Ta3tini…? / تعطيني…؟. Tnajem means “Can you” and Ta3tini means “Give me”. Either expression—Tnajem ta3tini…? or Ta3tini…? is conventional and works perfectly fine when speaking Tunisian Arabic.

If you are ordering waters for the table you may say Ta3tini ma 3aychek? / تعطيني ماء يعيشك؟. If you’re ordering coffee it’s 9ahwa / قهوة (and 9hawi / قهاوي in the plural). And when ordering tea it’s tey / تاي.

Samar speaks Ta3tini…?:

Samar speaks Tnajem ta3tini…?:

Ordering food

While looking at the menu, you and your companions may need a little bit more time before ordering. To express that your table needs more time you can say La7dha barka ltaw ma e5tarna / لحظة بركة لتو ما اخترنا (And in the singular, La7dha barka ltaw ma e5tart / لحظة بركة لتو ما اخترت). In English the former would translate closely to, “Just a moment, we haven’t decided yet.”

Samar pronounces La7dha barka ltaw ma e5tarna:

Samar pronounces La7dha barka ltaw ma e5tart:

In Tunisian Arabic, and in Tunisian culture, there isn’t a common expression for the common English phrase, “We’re ready to order.” A server may say C’est bon? (which in this context is akin to, “All good?”) or customers may state C’est bon., which is based on French, and in this context is a general way of asking or saying that one, or a group, is ready to order.

Ordering food is very similar to ordering drinks. Here are the most common prefaces to ordering food:

Tnajem ta3tini…? / تنجم تعطيني…؟ (Mentioned above)

Ta3tini…? / تعطيني…؟ (Mentioned above)

N7eb ne5ou…? / نحب ناخو…؟ (New) (And in the We form, N7ebou ne5dhou…? / نحبو ناخذو…؟)

Below Samar speaks N7eb ne5ou…? and N7ebou ne5dhou…?:

Eating

You’ll want to make sure you have cutlery at the table. Cutlery is Couvert / كوفار. A plate and bowl are S7an / صحن and Sa7fa / صحفة, respectively. And here is how you write the individual pieces of cutlery:

Knife = Sekina / سكينة

Knives = Skeken / سكاكن

Fork = Forchita / فرشيطة

Forks = Frachet / فرشيطة

Spoon = M8arfa / مغرفة

Spoons = M8aref / مغارف

(Links for the above words on the IBL platform are available in the Glossary section at the bottom of this article)

Are you enjoying the malfouf with tuna and omelette, brik with egg, pasta with seafood (known as Ma9rouna fruit de mer / مقرونة فروي دو مار, or Bambalouni (an indigenous sweet pastry that many love) as examples of Tunisian dishes? The simplest way to express that you like your food or drink is to say Bnin / بنين (if the food is a masculine-based word) or Bnina / بنينة (if it’s a feminine-based word). To learn more about how this concept works in Tunisian Arabic read the IBL article, How nouns function in Tunisian Arabic.

If you’re speaking or writing Bnin and Bnina you’re effecting expressing the English word Tasty! in Tunisian Arabic. If you want to expand this expression further, and say This tastes good!, you would say, Hedha mata3mou bnin! / !هذا مطعمو بنين. And This meal tastes good! is said as El wajba hethi bnina! / !الوجبه هذي بنينه.

Below Samar H. pronounces the translations discussed in this section:

Bnin / بنين which means “Tasty” (masculine-based food):

Bnina / بنينة which means “Tasty” (feminine-based food):

Hedha mata3mou bnin! / !هذا مطعمو بنين which means, “This tastes good!:

And below is El wajba hethi bnina! which means, “This meal tastes good!”:

Ordering more

Especially when your first 9ahwa walla té kammalt (“Coffee or tea is complete”) it may be time to order another. If you’re ordering another drink it’s most common to say (m) Wa7ed e5er/ واحد آخر or (f) Wa7da o5ra / وحدة أخرى, both meaning, in English, Another one. Again, which phrase to use depends on the gender-designation of the noun. The IBL article How nouns function in Tunisian Arabic explains.

To assist you with immediately, here is a short-list of the gender-designation of popular drinks in Tunisian Arabic:

Tea (Tey) — M

Coffee (9ahwa) — F

Pop / Soda (Canette) — F

Water (Ma) — M

So if you want another tea, you can say Kes tey ekher / كاس تاي اخر, and if you want another coffee you can say 9ahwa okhra / قهوة أخرى.

If you wish for more food, such as a Samsa صمصة (a delicious sweet pastry indigenous to Tunisia), it’s most conventional to say Ka3ba o5ra / كعبة أخرى. Ka3ba most directly is translated in English as 1 unit. So Ka3ba = 1 unit. When Ka3ba and o5ra are said together, the speaker has essentially expressed the that they wish for “Another one”.

In all this talk about asking for a table, ordering food, eating and drinking, you’ll want to include Please and Thank you as you normally would. Here are the IBL pages on how to say Please and Thank you in Tunisian Arabic.

Below IBL contributor Nada A. pronounces Wa7ed e5er/ واحد آخر:

Below Samar H. says Wa7da o5ra / وحدة أخرى:

And below Samar H. speaks Ka3ba o5ra / كعبة أخرى which also means “Another one” (but more conventionally in the context of a slice or portion of food):

Finishing the meal

If you enjoyed the meal make sure you tell the server. Above you learned El wajba hedhi bnina! / !الوجبه هذي بنينه (“This meal tastes good!”) If you want to say it in the past tense, you can say, Lmekla kenet bnina! / !الماكلة كانت بنينة

The most common way to express that you have finished your meal is to say Kammalt / كملت. (And in the We form, Kamalna / كملنا) If you’d like the bill you can request to the server, Ta3tni l’addition 3aychek / تعطيني الأديسيون يعيشك.

Paying for the bill

Like restaurants in most parts of the world, in Tunisia, a bill will typically come out with the total amount listed that is required to pay for the meal or meals that were just consumed. In Tunisian Arabic, the Bill (notice to pay after a meal) is most commonly l’addition / الاديسيون. The receipt that one can receive after payment is most commonly Reçu / روسي. In determining the method of payment Cash is most commonly Espèces / آسباس or Cash / كاش (A note that the translation for money in Tunisian Arabic is Flous / فلوس) and a bank card (like a credit card) is Carte bancaire / كارت انكار, or simply Carte, for short. In handling Change, it’s Sarf / صرف. And if you were provided a good service and wish for the server to keep the change, you can say 5ali el be9i 3andek / خلي الباقي عندك. Although unlike North America, but like many parts of Europe, there isn’t an expectation in most restaurants in Tunisia that a tip is left. But if you wish to do so, knowing the word can come in handy—It’s pourboir / بوربوار.

Below Samar H. says Bch n5allas espèces / باش نخلص آسباس which means, “I will pay with cash.”:

Below IBL contributor Aroua F. says Bech nkhalles bel carte / باش نخلص بالكارت which means, “I will pay with credit card.”:

And below IBL contributor Amine B. says 5ali el be9i 3andek / خلي الباقي عندك which means, “Keep the change”:

Leaving the restaurant

You can express Thanks to your server, barista, or any restaurant staff members for a wonderful dinner, you can say 3ayechkom 3al 3cha el heyel! / !عيشكم العشاء هايل (Thanks for the excellent dinner!)

And this is likely a great time to use one of the most proverbial Tunisian Arabic words, 3aychek / عيشك, which means Thank you.

In parting a restaurant or cafe during the day it is common to say the English equivalent of “Have a good day.” which is Nharek zin / نهارك زين or if it’s at night, you may wish to say Liltek zina / ليلتك زينة which means “Good night”.

When it’s time to say Goodbye, Bislema / بالسلامة is also a favourite amongst many Tunisian Arabic speakers.

To understand and hear all of the common and conventional ways to say Goodbye in Tunisian Arabic, access the IBL article, How to say Goodbye in Tunisian Arabic.

Below Samar H. some of the phrases in this section:

3ayechkom 3al 3cha el heyel! / !عيشكم العشاء هايل which means, “Thanks for the excellent dinner!”

Nharek zin / نهارك زين which means, “Have a good day.”:

Liltek zina / ليلتك زينة which means, “Good night”:

Closing notes

Amongst all the speaking in Tunisian Arabic, we trust you and your companions enjoyed your meals, and your experience, overall, at a Tunisian restaurant.

If you want to study and learn more about this topic, we recommend you access the Ithaca Bound Languages platform list of common words & phrases at a restaurant: Tunisian Arabic — At a restaurant (Approximately 70 principal words (with recordings) and 300 sentences and statements have been translated and are available for you)

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