When you were a kid, you probably heard that fuToor  “فطور” (breakfast) is the most important wajbah  “وجبة” (meal) of the day. Maybe back then you started breakfast with a bowl of Huboob al-fuToor “حبوب الإفطار” (breakfast cereal). Now that you’re older you might start your day with just a cup of qahwah “قهوة” (coffee) with a little Haleeb “حليب” (milk) and some sukkar“سُكر” (sugar) and maybe some mu’ajjanaat  “معجنات”(pastries). Maybe you’re not a coffee person and prefer to have shay “شاي” (tea) or just a simple glass of ‘aSeer “عصير” (juice) for breakfast.

While some people may feel that getting up early and having fuToor fii al-manzil “فطور في المنزل” (breakfast at home) is a great way to start the day, others may prefer a quick stop at the qahwah “قهوة” (coffee shop) in the SabaaH  “صباح” (morning). (Yes, you see that correctly, the word qahwah can mean both the beverage and the coffee shop, which is a good thing to know if your brain is not quite awake before you’ve had your first cup of coffee in the morning, and we mention how to order and drink Arabic coffee.

Whether you prefer to have breakfast at home, on the go, or even out at an Arabic restaurant with some friends, here are some things you are sure to find on the Arabic breakfast table:


Arabic vocabulary for breakfast

English Transliteration Arabic
honey ‘asal عسل
coffee with milk qahwah bi Haliib قهوة بالحليب
coffee with sugar qahwah bi sukkar قهوة بالسكر
coffee with milk and sugar qahwah bi Haliib wassukkar قهوة بالحليب والسكر
tea with honey shay bi ‘asal شاي بالعسل
toasted bread khubz muHammar خبز محمر
bread with butter khubz bi zabdah خبز بالزبدة
bread with butter and honey khubz bi zabdah wa ‘asal خبز بالزبدة والعسل
eggs bayd بيض
juice ‘aSeer عصير
orange juice ‘aSeer alburtuqaal عصير البرتقال
apple juice ‘aSeer attuffaaH عصير التفاح
orange burtuqaal برتقال
apple tufaaH تفاح
banana mawz موز
milk Haleeb حليب
hummusHummuSحمص
olive oil and zaatarzait w zatarزيت و زعتر
falafelfalaafelفلافل
labaneh (thicker yogurt)labanehلبنة
fava beans foolفول



Since people differ on how they like their eggs cooked almost as much as they differ on how they prefer their coffee for breakfast, here is a list of different ways to order your eggs in Arabic:

How do you like your eggs?

English Transliteration Arabic
hard-boiled eggs albayd almaslooq البيض المسلوق  
fried egg albayd almaqalee البيض المقلي  
scrambled eggs bayd makhfooq بيض مخفوق  
omelet ‘ejat albayd عجة البيض  


We’re pretty sure that you are jawaan “جوعان”(hungry) after reading about all of these delicious breakfast words, so falanathhab lla’kl! “فلنذهب للأكل” (Let’s go eat!). Once your belly is full, come back here and visit us at Kaleela.com for more exciting Arabic lessons online that will not only feed your belly, but also feed your mind!
Until then, sahtayn! “صحتين”(literally, meaning “double health”, sahtayn is the Arabic equivalent to bon appétit!)


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