Falafel 101: Your Guide to Ordering Falafel in Hebrew

Ordering falafel in Israel may seem simple. But when learning Hebrew, the many different options and the barrage of short and direct questions from the seller could make the whole experience a bit stressful.

On this episode, Guy explains how to keep calm through the mayhem of an Israeli falafel stand at lunch time.

 

Listen to the All-Hebrew Version of this Episode

 

New Words and Expressions:

Mana falafel – A portion of falafel (in a pita) – מנה פלאפל

Hatsi mana – Half a portion – חצי מנה

Ten li mana falafel vaksha – Please give me a portion of falafel please – תן לי מנה פלאפל (ב)בקשה

Falafel be-tsalahat – Falafel on a plate – פלאפל בצלחת

Ten li mana falafel lakachat vaksha – Please give me a portion of falafel to go – תן לי מנה פלאפל לקחת (ב)בקשה

Ta’aroz/ta’arzi li vaksha – Please pack it for me – תארוז/תארזי לי (ב)בקשה

La’aroz lecha? – Shall I pack it for you? – ?לארוז לך

Lasim – To put – לשים

Ma lasim lecha/lach? – What shall I put in the pita, for you? – ?מה לשים לך

Ma limro’ach? – What to spread? – ?מה למרוח

T’china – Tahini – טחינה

Kruv adom – Red cabbage – כרוב אדום

Salat – Salad – סלט

Tasim li ktsat – Please put some for me – תשים לי קצת

Hummus – lasim lecha/lach? – Hummus – should I put for you in the pita? – ?חומוס לשים לך

Hummus – lasim? – Hummus, to put? – ?חומוס לשים

Shum, lasim – Garlic, to put? – ?שום לשים

Sim/simi li ktsat petrozilia – Put some parsley for me – שים/שימי לי קצת פטרוזיליה

Lo harbe, zehu – Not much, that’s it – לא הרבה, זהו

Al tasim/tasimi li batsal – Don’t put onions – אל תשים/תשימי לי בצל

Harif? – Spicy? – ?חריף

Kadurei falafel (falafelim) – Falafel balls – כדורי פלאפל

Rak be-zehirut ki ze ta’im me’od – Be careful because this is delicious! – רק בזהירות כי זה טעים מאוד

Salatim – Salads – סלטים

S’hug – A spicy yemenite sauce – סחוג

Salatim? – How about salads – ?סלטים

“be-mehir shel falafel – tisot le-eropa be-hatsi hinam” – For the price of falafel, flights to europe really cheap – במחיר של פלאפל, טיסות לאירופה בחצי חינם

 

Playlist and Clips:

Lahakat Ayalon – Shir Ha-falafel (lyrics)

Manat ha-falafel ha-tova ba-aretz

Rak be-zehirut ki ze ta’im me’od

Low cost flights be-mechir shel falafel

Nissim Garame – Shir Ha-falafel (lyrics)

 

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