WORDS WE EAT

WHEN WE EAT, we experience more than just the food on our plate. We experience, every word we've heard from positive to derogatory to cautionary to encouraging. WHEN WE EAT, we lose our appetite over a passing comment, and we gain it back over a hearfelt compliment. WHEN WE EAT, we hear the sage words of our ancestors, we embrace pop-culture trends, we form life long bonds.

The words we eat are as important as the food we eat.

Read through, and take in the proverbs and learn what they mean, some may even surprise you.

لقمة هنية تكفي مية
A meal shared in kindness feeds more than a hundred.
A little food, if shared with goodwill & love, can go a long way.

بعد ما شبع وارتوى قال ما فيش على الطعمية دوا
After he ate and drank his fill, he said there's nothing like falafel.
People often praise something after they've benefited from it.

اللي ما يعرفش يقول عدس
He who knows not will say “lentils”.
People often comment ignorantly when they don't know the facts.

إن كان حبيبك عسل ما تلحسوش كله
If your loved one is made of honey, don’t lick it all up.
Don’t overexploit someone just because they’re kind to you.

اللي ما يتعشى يتغدى مرتين
He who skips dinner, eats lunch twice.
Skipping one opportunity may lead to others—or that what you miss, you might make up for later.

الطباخ الشاطر يقطع من الحصى فطير
A clever cook can make pie out of stones.
A resourceful person can make something out of nothing.

كل واشكر
Eat and be thankful.

Always show gratitude for what you’re given.

ادي العيش لخبازه ولو أكل نصه
Give the bread to the baker, even if he eats half of it.
Trust the expert, even if it costs more.

عايش على الفتافيت
Living on crumbs.

Barely surviving; living in poverty or off scraps.

اللي اتلسع من الشوربة ينفخ في الزبادي
He who got burned by soup blows on yogurt.

Once bitten, twice shy.

الجوع كافر
Hunger is faithless.
Hunger can drive people to do desperate things.

طنجرة ولقت غطاها
The pot found its lid.
Everyone finds their match.

أكلة حبيب ولا وليمة غريب
A meal with a loved one is better than a feast with a stranger.
The company matters more than the food.

الطبق بيشبع من ريحة صاحبه
A palte can feel fulfilling just from the scent of its owner.

Love and warmth make even the simplest food satisfying.

كل لقمة بلقمتها
Each bite comes with its own fate.
Everything happens in its own time; be patient.

المعدة ملهاش ودان
The stomach has no ears.
When you're hungry, no words can replace food.

ناكل ونداري على الطبق
We eat and cover the dish.
Enjoy but don’t boast or show off what you have.

سفرة دايمة
May the table always be full.
A blessing for abundance and continual hospitality.

لقّيني ولا تغدّيني
"Teach me (how to feed myself), rather than give me lunch."
Just like "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"..

مافيش حلاوة من غير نار
There’s no sweetness without fire.
You can’t achieve good things without going through hardship.

ياداخل بين البصلة وقشرتها ما ينوبك غير ريحتها
If you get between the onion and its skin, you'll get nothing but its stinky smell.
Don’t interfere in things that don’t concern you.

لا تبكي على اللبن المسكوب
Don’t cry over spilled milk.
What’s done is done—move on.

اللي ياكل على ضرسه ينفع نفسه
He who eats on his own tooth helps himself.
Be self-reliant.

كل فولة ولها كيال
Every bean has its measurer.
Everyone gets what they deserve or what is destined.

ضرب الحبيب زي اكل الزبيب
A lover’s blow is like eating raisins.
This is a unique expression in Arabic culture, which suggests that a small conflict or a reprimand from a loved one is not something to be taken seriously. It implies that conflict or discipline within close relationships is not damaging or destructive—like eating raisins, it's just part of the experience.

اطبخي يا هانم كلف يا سيدي
Cook my lady, pay up, dear sir.
When the person holding up the action asks why it is being held up

كله بالبخت الا القلقاس مياه و فحت
Everything is about luck—except taro, it's all water and effort.
Most things depend on luck, but some just require sheer hard work.

الجعان يحلم بسوق العيش
A hungry man will dream of a bakery.
We dream of what we need, or lack, the most.

بصلة المحب خروف
A lover’s onion is like a lamb.
When you love someone, even the simplest gift feels like a feast.

اللي يشوف الفول ولا ياكلش زي اللي حب ولا طالش
He who sees the fava beans and doesn’t eat is like one who loved and never reached.
It’s painful to be close to something and not get it.

اللي يسرق البيضة يسرق الفرخة
He who steals an egg will steal a chicken.
Small wrongs can lead to bigger crimes.

خليكي يا كنكة على نارك، لا سكر ولا بن حطالك.
Stay on your fire, pot — even though no sugar and no coffee have been put.
effort without substance is useless.

آكل الفول وأخرج وأنا عرض وطول، ولا أكل الكباب ووقفة الديانة ورا الباب
I’d rather eat fava beans and walk tall than eat kebab with debt collectors knocking.
Better a modest life with dignity than luxury with burdens.

زرعتها مانجا طلعت فجل
You planted a mango but got radishes instead.
when someone puts in effort or has high hopes for something, only to be let down by the actual result