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A115 words5 phrases

Food and drink

Before you can order or cook anything you need the raw material, and these are the words that come up daily in kitchens, menus and market stalls.

Quick answer

¿Me pone un poco de queso?

Could you give me a bit of cheese? At a counter, ¿me pone…? is the normal polite request.

The words

SpanishEnglish
el panthe bread
el quesothe cheese
el jamónthe ham
el huevothe egg
el pollothe chicken
el pescadothe fish
el arrozthe rice
la verdurathe vegetables
la frutathe fruit
el aceitethe oil
la salthe salt
el azúcarthe sugar
el aguathe water
el vinothe wine
la cervezathe beer

The phrases you will actually say

¿Me pone un poco de queso, por favor?Could you give me a bit of cheese, please?
No como carne, soy vegetariana.I do not eat meat, I am vegetarian.
El pescado está muy fresco hoy.The fish is very fresh today.
Una caña y una tapa, por favor.A small beer and a tapa, please.
¿Lleva frutos secos este plato?Does this dish contain nuts?

Worth knowing

El agua looks masculine but is feminine: the article switches to el only because the word starts with a stressed a, which is why you say el agua fría and las aguas. Drinks vocabulary is very local. In Spain a caña is a small draught beer, a cerveza ordered without qualification usually gets you a bottle, and in Madrid or León it may still arrive with a free tapa, while in Barcelona or Seville you normally pay for tapas. For allergies the verb to know is llevar, since ¿lleva leche? asks whether the dish contains milk; frutos secos covers nuts, but be aware that cacahuete, the peanut, is often listed separately.

Practice

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How do you ask whether a dish contains milk?

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