Food and drink in Romani: word list
All 20 words of unit 5, “Food and drink”, of the Čiriklo course, from A to Z, with English translations.
| Romani | English |
|---|---|
| bokhalo | hungry |
| ciral | cheese |
| gruľa | potato |
| haluški | halušky (small potato dumplings) |
| chav | I eat |
| jandro | egg |
| kamav | I want |
| kames | you want |
| kaveja | coffee |
| lon | salt |
| maro | bread |
| mas | meat |
| paňi | water |
| pijav | I drink |
| phabaj | apple |
| tavav | I cook |
| taves | you cook |
| trušalo | thirsty |
| thud | milk |
| zumin | soup |
Grammar and culture tips
Present tense
Verbs take endings according to the person: kerav (I do), keres (you do), kerel (he/she does), keras (we do), keren (you do – plural; they do). In the same way chav, chas, chal (I eat, you eat, he/she eats) and pijav, pijes, pijel (I drink, you drink, he/she drinks).
I am hungry
As in English, Romani says “I am hungry” with an adjective, and it changes with the speaker: a man says Som bokhalo, a woman Som bokhaľi. Likewise trušalo / trušaľi – thirsty (man / woman).
Want + verb
Kamav means both I want and I like. It is linked to another verb with the word te: Kamav te chal. – I want to eat.
Halušky
Haluški are a traditional Romani dish of small dumplings – most often served with curd cheese (ciral) or with cabbage.
Hospitality
It is customary to offer visitors something to eat. As a guest, though, showing that you are hungry is usually not considered polite.
Learn it with Čiriklo
This word is taught in unit 5, “Food and drink”, of the free app Čiriklo, where you hear it – also slowed down – and practise it in short lessons. The app’s explanations are in Czech.
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