When you go to a restaurant to have some food, the waitress always comes to you and says, “ምን ልታዘዝ?” which means:

1. What would you like to order?
2. What can I get for you?
3. May I take your order?
4. Can I get your order, please?

• ምግብ አለ (Mgb ale?) Do you have food?
• ቁርስ አለ? (Qurs ale?) Do you serve breakfast?
• ምሳ አለ? (Msa ale?) Do you serve lunch? or
• እራት አለ? (Erat ale?) Do you serve dinner?

It depends on the time. Or you can specifically mention the food’s name you want. For example,

• ጥብስ አለ? / Tbs ale? (Do you have fried meat?)
• ሽሮ አለ? Shro ale? (Do you serve fried shiro?)
• ስጋ ፍርፍር አለ? Sga frfr ale? (Do you have firfr? (Frfr is made up of a shredded injera or meat.)
• ጨጨብሳ አለ? Chechebsa ale? (Do you have Chechebsa ?) (Chechebsa is made up of shredded bread or flat bread.)

• Servant: ምን ልታዘዝ? Hi, can I get your order, please?
• Customer: ምን ምን አለ? What do you have for lunch?
• Servant: ሁሉም አለ፣ በየ አይነት፣ ፍርፍር፣ እንቁላል፣ ጥብስ፣ ቀይ ወጥ፣ ዶሮ ወጥ፣  ሽሮ፣ ጁስ ወዘተ There is everything: Beye aynet (every kind,), frfr, , egg,  fried meat, qey wet (meat stew), chicken stew, shiro, juice, etc.
• Customer: እስኪ ሜኑውን አምጣልኝ። Please bring me the menu.

• Servant: እሽ፣ ይሄው። Sure, here you go. 
• Customer: እሽ፣ ቀይ ወጡ እንዴት ነው፣ ጥሩ ነው? Ok, how is the qey wet (meat stew), is it good?
• Servant: አዎ፣ አሪፍ ነው። Yeah, it was good.
• Customer: እሽ ቀይ ወጥ ይሁንልኝ። Alright, I would like Qey wet, please.
• Servant: የሚጠጣስ ምን ይሁንልህ? What about drinks? What would it be to you?
• Customer: ወተት አለ? Do you have milk?
• Servant: አወ፣ አለ። Yes, we do.
• Customer: እሽ ወተት ይሁንልኝ። Okay, I will have milk, please.
• Servant: እሽ ይሄው። Okay, here you go.
• Customer: ና ሂሳብ ተቀበለኝ። Please come and collect the payment.
• Servant: አቤት? Yes?
• Customer: ዋጋው ስንት ነው? How much is it?
• Servant: አጠቃላይ 350 ብር ነው። It is 350 birr in total.
• Customer: እሽ እንካ። Okay, here you are.
• Servant: እንደት ነው ምግቡን ወደኸዋል? ምን ቅር ያለህ ነገር አለ? Did you enjoy the meal? Is there something you didn’t like?
• Customer: አይ ጥሩ ነው። በዚሁ ቀጥሉበት። No, it’s good. Keep it up.
• Servant: እሽ እናመሰግናለን። We will. Thank you.
• Customer: እሽ፣ እኔም አመሰግናለሁ። Me too.

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Phrases and Vocabularies:

1. ሁሉም አለ – Every thing is available
2. አቤት? Yes? = It’s a response when they call us.
3. የሚጠጣስ? = What about drinking?
4. የሚበላ = Something to eat.
5. እሽ = Ok / sure
6. ይሄው = Here you go.
7. እንካ = Here you go.
8. ወደኸዋል? Did you enjoy it?
9. አይ ጥሩ ነው። = No, it’s goo.
10. አወ፣ አለ። = Yes, we do.
11. አምጣልኝ። – Bring for me.

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Some commonly used phrases:

• ሌላስ? = What else?
• ይሁንልኝ  = I would like… 
• እንብላ = Let’s eat. (When inviting others to eat some food with us.)
• ብሉ ብሉ = No problem, have eat, 
• የተባረከ ይሁን = May it be blessed.
• እንትን ይሁን = Let’s go with… (Let it be…)
• መልካም ምግብ = Enjoy your meal! 

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How do we invite someone in Amharic?

አንድን ሰው የሆነ ቦታ ለመጋበዝ የምንጠቀማቸው ሐረጎች፦ Inviting Someone Somewhere in Amharic: ✔ እራት እንብላ? → Let’s have dinner Together ✔ ምሳ ልጋብዝህ/ልጋብዝሽ? → May I invite you to lunch? ✔ ቅዳሜ ማታ ላይ ነፃ ነህ? → Are you free on Saturday night? ✔ ከእኔ ጋር እራት መብላት ትፈልጋለህ? → Would you like to have dinner with me? ✔ ወጥተን እንብላ። → Let’s go out and eat. ✔ … ትፈልጋለህ/ትፈልጋለሽ? → Do you want to…?  Deciding on What to Eat ✔ ምን እንብላ? → What should we eat? ✔ ምን እንዘዝ? → What should we order? Offering to Pay ✔ ሂሳቡን እኔ እከፍላለሁ። → I’ll pay the bill. ✔ ችግር የለም፣ ለእኔ ተወው! → No problem, leave it to me! ✔ ሂሳቡ በእኔ ነው። → The bill is on me. ✔ እንዳትከፍል! / አትክፈል! → Don’t pay! ✔ ወጭ አታብዛ። → Don’t spend too much. ✔ ገንዘብ አታባክን። → Don’t waste money.

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ስለመመገብ ስናወራ የምንጠቀማቸው ሐረጎች፦ Common phrases for food:

• በጣም እርቦኛል! → I’m starving!
• እየራበኝ ነው። → I’m very hungry.
• የሆነ ነገር እንብላ። → Let’s grab a bite to eat.
• ዛሬ ማታ ወጣ ብለን ብንበላስ? → How about eating out tonight?
• ለእኔ … ይሁንልኝ → I’ll have…
• እኔ አቮካዶ በቪንቶ ይሁንልኝ። → I’ll have an avocado juice with vinto, please.
• አቮካዶ በቪንቶ ይኖራል? → Can I get some avocado juice and add some vinto to it?
• እኔ የምፈልገው ወተት ነው። → I’ll have milk.

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Taking about price

• በጣም ውድ ነው። = It cost a fortune.
• እጅግ በጣም ውድ ነው። = It cost an arm and a leg.
• ይሄ ዝርፊያ ነው። = That’s a rip-off.
• ትንሽ ተወደደ። = That’s a bit pricey.
• ይሄ ዋጋው ተመጣጣኝ ነው  = That’s quite reasonable.
• ይሄ ጥሩ ዋጋ ነው። (= a good value for the amount of money)That’s a good deal.
• ይሄ ጥሩ ግዥ ነው። = It was a real bargain.
• ይሄ በጣም ርካሽ ነው። = It was dirt cheap.