These are phrases used to at the beginning or end of meals and mean something like "have a good meal" / "enjoy your meal". There is no exact English equivalent of this, though some people say bon appetit, particularly in restaurants.
Many people say grace, a short prayer recited before or after a meal to invoke a blessing upon the food or to give thanks for it.
See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.
| Language | Bon appetit / Have a nice meal |
|---|---|
| Adyghe | Гухахъо ошх! |
| Afrikaans | Smaaklike ete! Lekker eet! |
| Albanian (Gheg) | T'bãft mir |
| Albanian (Tosk) | T'bëftë mirë! |
| Alsatian | e Güeter! e Bessere (reply to the above) |
| Amharic | ብላ (bəla) - eat! >m ብዪ (biy) - eat! >f ብሉ (bəlu) - eat! - pl መልካም ምግብ (mälkam məgəb) - good feasting |
| Arabic (Egyptian) |
بالهنا و الشفاء! (bil hana wish shifa'!) الله يهنّيك rsp m - (allah yihanneek) الله يهنّيك rsp mf - (allah yihanneeki) |
| Arabic (Lebanese) |
Sa7tayn Bil hana |
| Arabic (Modern Standard) |
(bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā') بالهناء والشفاء /
بالهنا والشفا may you have your meal with gladness and health |
| Arabic (Moroccan) |
(besseha) بالصحة |
| Aragonese | Qué aprofeite |
| Aramaic | Hanyoutho |
| Armenian (Eastern) |
Բարի' ախորժակ: (Bari akhorzhak) |
| Armenian (Western) |
Բարի ախորժակ: (Paree akhorzhag) |
| Aromanian | Oraxi bunã! S-vã facã ghini! |
| Assamese | খোৱাৰ আমেজ লওঁক! (khuwar amez lôûk) - frm খোৱাৰ আমেজ লোৱা! (khuwar amez lûwa) - inf (please enjoy your meal) |
| Asturian | Qu'aproveche |
| Atikamekw | Miro mitciso! |
| Azerbaijani | Nuş olsun |
| Balinese | Rarisang ngajeng |
| Bambara | K'i ni hɛrɛ bɛn Ka su maya aw kono |
| Basque | On egin! |
| Bavarian | Låsd's aih šmegga (pl) An guadn |
| Belarusian | Смачна есьці! (Smačna jeści!) |
| Bengali | খাবারটি উপভোগ করুন (Khabarṭi upôbhog kôrun) |
| Bhojpuri | मज़े से खा (maze se khaa) |
| Bikol | Magpakabasog ka |
| Bosnian | Prijatno! |
| Breton | Kalon digor! Debrit ervat! Debrit a galon! |
| Bulgarian | Добър апетит! (Dobãr apetit!) Приятен апетит! (Prijaten apetit!) Бон апети (Bon apeti) Приятно хапване! (Prijatno hapvane!) vinf |
| Catalan | Bon profit! Que vagi de gust! |
| Cebuano | Manga-on ta! Manga-on ta ninyo! |
| Chabacano de Cavite | Cumi Ya |
| Chabacano de Zamboanga | Buen apetito Buen aprovecho Come ya |
| Chamorro (Guam dialect) |
Ta fañocho (let's eat) |
| Chamorro (North Marianas dialect) |
Buen prubechu |
| Chechen | ГIоза яийла ахь! (Ġoza yaiyla aẋ!) |
| Chinese (Cantonese) |
食飯! (sihk faahn) - eat |
| Chinese (Hakka) |
慢慢吃 (mang-mang sik) |
| Chinese (Mandarin) |
慢慢吃 (mànman chī) - eat slowly (not often used) |
| Chinese (Shanghainese) |
吃的开心 (Chin la ke xin ye) |
| Chinese (Taiwanese) |
食福 (chia̍h hok) - Eat well, enjoy good food 食卡飽 (chia̍h kah pá) - Eat till satisfied 食氣 (chia̍h khì) - Eat up |
| Cornish | Omlowenha dha voes! (sg) Omlowenhewgh agas boes! (pl) |
| Corsican | Bon appetitu |
| Croatian | Dobar tek! |
| Cuyonon | Amos! Makaen kita! |
| Czech | Dobrou chuť! Nech si chutnat! (inf) Nechte si chutnat! (pl/frm) Dobré chutnání! |
| Danish | Vær så god! (sometimes said at the start of meals) Velbekomme! (said at the end of meals) |
| Dutch | Smakelijk! Smakelijk eten! Eet Smakelijk! |
| Efik | Dia! |
| English (British) | Enjoy your meal! Enjoy! Bon appetit! |
| Estonian | Jätku leiba! Head isu! |
| Extremaduran | Que assienti bien! |
| Faroese | Vælgagnist |
| Fijian | Da kana! |
| Finnish | Hyvää ruokahalua! |
| Flemish (West) | Smakelijk |
| French | Bon appétit ! |
| Frisian (North - Mooring) | Mäljtid |
| Frisian (West) | Lekker ite! |
| Friulian | Bon pitic |
| Galician | Bo proveito! Que aproveite! |
| Gallo | Manje ben ! Manjéz ben ! Noune apetit ! Sognéz vous ! A la soupe Berton, le diâbl ét qhë |
| Gascon | Bon apétit |
| Genoese | Bon pro'! |
| Georgian | გაამოთ! (gaamot!) - frm გაამოს! (gaamos!) - inf გემრიელად მიირთვით! (gemrielad miirtvit!) - frm გემრიელად მიირთვი! (gemrielad miirtvi!) - inf |
| German | Guten Appetit! Mahlzeit! |
| Greek (Ancient) | Τὸ δεῖπνον ἐστ’ ἐπεσκευασμένον (Tó deípnon est' epeskeuasménon) |
| Greek (Modern) | Καλή όρεξη! (Kalí óreksi!) |
| Greenlandic | Nerilluarisi |
| Guaraní | Pekaruporãnte |
| Guernésiais | Bouan appétit! |
| Haitian Creole | Bon apeti |
| Hausa | A ci abinci lafiya |
| Hawaiian | E ʻai kāua (dl) (Let's eat!) E ʻai kākou (pl) (Let's eat!) |
| Hebrew | (be'te-avon) בתיאבון |
| Hindi | कृपया भोजन शुरू कीजियै! (kripyā bhojan shuru kijīyai) - please start eating कृपया भोजन का आनंद लीजिये! (kripyā bhojan kā ānnaṅd lijīyai) - please enjoy your meal |
| Hmong (White) | Noj zoo Noj qab noj zoo Noj qab nyob zoo |
| Hungarian | Jó étvágyat! |
| Iban | Nyamai nya' empa/lauk dimakai nuan? (Is it good?) Makai 'agi! (Eat more!) Makai am! (Let's go eat!) |
| Icelandic | Verði þér að góðu |
| Igbo | Rie nke ọma Nri abịagọ Oriri adaa |
| Iloko | Manganen |
| Indonesian | Selamat makan |
| Inuktitut | ᐊᑏ ᓂᕆᓕᖅᑕ (Atii niriliqta) |
| Italian | Buon appetito! |
| Japanese | どうぞめしあがれ
(douzo meshiagare) = 'enjoy your meal' - said by the cook/chef いただきます (itadakimasu) - said before a meal by those eating it ご馳走さまでした (gochisōsama deshita) - said after a meal by those who have eaten it |
| Javanese | ꦱꦸꦒꦼꦁꦣꦲꦂ (Sugeng dhahar) (Kromo Inggil) ꦲꦪꦺꦴꦢꦶꦥꦔꦤ꧀ (Ayo dipangan) (Ngoko) |
| Jenesch | Han voscha |
| Jèrriais | Bouan appétit! |
| Kalmyk | Аршан болтха (Aršan boltxa) |
| Kannada | ಊಟ ಸವಿಯಿರಿ (ūṭa saviyiri) ಊಟ ಆನಂದಿಸಿ (ūṭa ānandisi) ಊಟ ಭೋಜನ ಸವಿಯಿರಿ (ūṭa bhōjana saviyiri) ಊಟ ಭೋಜನ ಆನಂದಿಸಿ (ūṭa bhōjana ānandisi) |
| Kashubian | Bòże przeżegnéj |
| Kazakh | Ас болсын! (As bolsın!) - inf Асыңыз дәмді болсын! (Asıñız dämdi bolsın!) - frm Ас дәмді болсын! (As dämdi bolsın!) - gen |
| Khmer | អញ្ជើញពិសាឲ្យបានឆ្ងាញ់ (’ânhcheunh pĭsaa ôyy ban chhngéanh) |
| Khoekhoe (Nama) | !Gâi ǂûs |
| Kinyarwanda | Muryoherwe |
| Kiribati | Bon kangae ko raoi (sg) Bon kangae ngkami raoi (pl) |
| Korean | 잘 먹겠습니다 (jal meokkesseumnida) - before a meal 잘 먹었습니다 (jal meogeosseumnida) - after a meal 맛있게 드세요 (masitkke deuseyo) |
| Kurdish (Kurmanji) | Noshî can be! |
| Kurdish (Sorani) | Noşigyan |
| Kyrgyz | Тамагыңыз даамдуу болсун! (Tamagyngyz daamduu bolson!) - sg/frm Тамагыңыз таттуу болсун! (Tamagyngyz tattuu bolsun!) - sg/frm |
| Lao | ເຊີນແຊບ (soen saeb) |
| Latin | Bene sapiat! Bona appetitionem! Bone appetition! |
| Latvian | Labu apetīti |
| Lingala | Kolia mboté Kolia malamu |
| Lithuanian | Gero apetito! Skanaus! |
| Livvi-Karelian | Hyviä syöndyhimuo! |
| Low Saxon | Laat di dat lecker smecken! (sg) Laat jo dat lecker smecken! (pl) |
| Luxembourgish | Gudden Appetit! (frm) Bon appetit (inf) |
| Macedonian | Пријатно јадење (Priyatno yadenye) |
| Magahi | बढियाँ से खा /bəɽʱɪjãː se kʰa/ |
| Malagasy | Mazotoa homana! |
| Malay | Selamat menjamu selera! (Please treat your appetite) Jemput makan! (Please eat!) Makan makan! (Eat eat!) |
| Malayalam | രുചിയോടെ ഭക്ഷണം ആസ്വദിക്കാന് കഴിയട്ടേ (ruchiyode bhakshanam aaswadikkan kazhiyatte) |
| Maldivian | (Meerukon' kaalacchey) މީރުކޮން ކާލަޗޗޭ |
| Maltese | L-ikla t-tajba |
| Manx (Gaelic) | Gow dty vee dy fondagh! |
| Māori | Kia mākona |
| Marathi | जेवणाचा आनंद घ्या! (jevanacha anand ghya!) वदनी कवळ घेता (vadani kawal gheta) |
| Mongolian | Сайхан хооллоорой (Saihan hoollooroi) |
| Mossi | Wend na yiki laafi |
| Muscogee (Creek / Seminole) | Hompvks ce |
| Nahuatl | Xitlacua cualli |
| Navajo | Nizhónígo adííyį́į́ł |
| Nepali | राम्ररी खानुहोला (rāmrarī khānuholā) |
| Nogai | Асынъыз таьтли болсын! |
| Ndebele (Northern - Zimbabwe) | Udle kuhle |
| Northern Sotho | Ipshine ka dijo |
| Norwegian | Vær så god! Vel bekomme! |
| Occitan | Bon apetís! |
| Okinawan | うさがいみそーれー (usagaimisooree) said by the cook/chef - frm くゎっちーさびれえ (kwatchiisabiree) - frm うさがいみしぇーびり (usagaimisheebiri) - frm くゎっち一さびら (kwatchiisabira) said before a meal by those eating it くゎっち一さび一たん (kwatchiisabiitan) said after a meal by those who have eaten it |
| Oriya | ସୁଭ ତ୍ରୁପ୍ତି (Subha trupti) |
| Papiamento | Bon apetit |
| Pashto | (kha ishtya walare) ښه اشتیا ولری |
| Pennsylvania German / Dutch | Ich saag dank am disch (I offer thanks at the table) |
| Persian (Farsi) | (befarma'id) بفرماييد (nooshe jan) نوش جان |
| Polish | Smacznego! |
| Portuguese | Bom apetite! |
| Portuguese (Brazilian) | Bom apetite! |
| Punjabi | (no equivalent) |
| Romanian | Poftă bună! |
| Russian | Приятного аппетита! (Priyatnovo appetita!) |
| Rusyn | Няй вам смакує (Hjaj vam smakuê) |
| Sakha | Минньигэстик аһааҥ (minnigestik ahaaŋ) |
| Samoan | Ia manuia le tausamiga |
| Samogitian | Skanē panjiestė! |
| Sanskrit | भोजनं स्वादिष्टमस्तु (bhojanaṃ svādiṣṭamastu) |
| Sardinian (Logudorese) | Bon'appetitu! |
| Scottish Gaelic | Ith gu leòir! Ith do shàth! Làmh fhada is cead a sìneadh! |
| Serbian | Пријатно! (Prijatno!) |
| Shona | Mudye kunaka Mafidyongo |
| Sinhala | විනොදෙන් කන්න (vinoden kanna) |
| Slovak | Dobrú chuť! |
| Slovenian | Dober tek! |
| Somali | Ha kuu macaanaato |
| Sorbian (Lower) | Dajśo se słoźeś! (frm) Daj se słoźeś! (inf) Daj se zesłoźeś! (inf) |
| Sorbian (Upper) | Dajće sej słodźeć! (frm) Daj sej słodźeć! (inf) |
| Spanish | ¡Buen provecho! ¡Buen apetito! ¡Que aproveche! |
| Sundanese | Ditampi (said before eating) Alhamdulillah (said after eating) |
| Swahili | Ufurahie chakula chako (sg) Furahieni chakula chenu (pl) Chakula chema |
| Swedish | Smaklig måltid! |
| Swiss German | En Guete! |
| Tabassaran | Баракат ибшри (Barakat ibšri) |
| Tagalog | Tayo'y magsikain (frm) Kainan na! (inf) - Let's eat! |
| Tahitian | Tama'a Tama'a maita'i |
| Tajik | Нуши чон! (Nuši čon!) - enjoy! |
| Tamil (formal) | மகிழ்ந்து உண்ணுங்கள் (magizhnthu unnungal) [ml] [fm] |
| Tamil (informal) | சந்தோஷமா சாப்பிடுங்க (sandhoshamaa saappidunga) [fm] |
| Tatar | Tämle bulsın |
| Tetum | Serbida Han ho gostu |
| Thai | กินให้อร่อย (gin hâi a-ròi) ทานให้อร่อย (taan hâi a-ròi) |
| Tibetan | ཞལ་ལག་ཉེས་པོ་གནང་རོགས། (shelak nyebo nang-rok) |
| Tigrinya | ቡሩኽ መግቢ (Buruk Megbi) |
| Tokelauan | Kai fiafia! |
| Tok Pisin | Hamamas! |
| Tsotsil | Yalchox Lek ve'el |
| Tswana | Itumelele dijo |
| Turkish | Afiyet olsun! |
| Tuvaluan | Kai mālosi! (sg) 'Kai mālosi! (du/pl) |
| Ukrainian | Смачного! (Smačnoho) |
| Urdu | (maze karein) مزےکریں |
| Uyghur | (ishtihayingiz yahshi bolsun) ئىشتىھايىڭىز ياخشى بولسۇن |
| Uzbek | Yoqimli ishtaha! |
| Venetian | Bon apetito! |
| Veps | Hüväd sömtahtod Hüväd litud |
| Vietnamese | Ăn ngon nhé Chúc ngon miệng |
| Võro | Hüvvä iso! |
| Walloon | Bon apètit |
| Welsh | Mwynhewch eich bwyd! |
| Wolof | Naci jàam bari |
| Wymsorys | Göt gyzant jüh! |
| Xhosa | Ukonwabele ukutya kwakho (sg) Nikonwabele ukutya kwenu (pl) |
| Yiddish | (Es gezunterheyt!) עס געזונטערהײט |
| Yolngu | Nyaŋ'thun buḻaŋgitj |
| Yoruba | Ounjẹ ajẹye o Yoo gba ibi re |
| Yucatec Maya | Ku méejtech uutsil |
| Zazaki | Afiyet bo |
| Zulu | Thokoleza ukudla! |
| Auxiliary and constructed languages | |
|---|---|
| Esperanto | Bonan apetiton! |
| Interlingua | Bon appetito! |
| Klingon | yISop! (sg) peSop! (pl) |
| Lojban | .a'o pluka citka (Hope for pleasant kind-of eating) |
| Sabethir | (Endiaré'hysil) |
| Üqoi | Kaj'ëëj'ëëvoghjaeti akavigo! U'uz'öghjaeti abzoohä! |
| Volapük | Labolös fidädi gudik! |
People who have contributed to this section
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
http://www.nypl.org/branch/central/dlc/df/expressions/bonappetit.html
http://recipes.chef2chef.net/cool/data/appetit.htm
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