# Urdu: What do you want (for breakfast)?



## ihsaan

Hi,
As far as I know, if one wants to ask "what do you want/what would you like", you could say: "Aap ko kya chahie?", but how would I go about saying: "What do you want _for breakfast/lunch/dinner_?" in a polite way to a woman/man?


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## linguist786

What do you want for breakfast? = Aapko nashtaa ke liye kyaa chaahie?
What do you want for lunch? = Aapko dopehr ko kyaa khaanaa chaahie?
What do you want for dinner? = Aapko raat (or: shaam) ko kyaa khaanaa chaahie?

I think they would be the simplest way of saying it. Wait for others to comment.


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## Cilquiestsuens

linguist786 said:


> What do you want for breakfast? = Aapko nashtaa ke liye kyaa chaahie?
> What do you want for lunch? = Aapko dopehr ko kyaa khaanaa chaahie?
> What do you want for dinner? = Aapko raat (or: shaam) ko kyaa khaanaa chaahie?
> 
> I think they would be the simplest way of saying it. Wait for others to comment.


 
Yep... I may add other suggestions just making little changes to linguist's suggestions:

Aap naashte ke liey kyaa khaanaa chaahenge or more simply...

*Aap naashte me.N kyaa khaae.Nge* ? (This is the way I would say spontaneously, but I'm not a native speaker having just a few years of immersion)...


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## ihsaan

Is it "kya khaana" or "kaunsa khana"?


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## linguist786

Cilquiestsuens said:


> *Aap naashte me.N kyaa khaae.Nge* ? (This is the way I would say spontaneously, but I'm not a native speaker having just a few years of immersion)...


I agree with this suggestion. Sounds more natural.


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## Illuminatus

_Lena_ (to take) is often used in this scenario. I would say, _Aap naashte mein kya lenge/lena chahenge?_


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## lcfatima

I would say _aap naashte mein kya lenge?_ or _naashte mein kya khaana hai aapko?_.

I think _lunch_ and _dinner_, the English words would be just fine to use, or one could say dopahar ka khana/raat ka khaana. There is also a formal sounding way to say dinner;  ishaaiyya (sorry, I don't have Urdu font, if you want to look this up in the dictionary, it is an Arabic origin word starting with "ain"). This sounds very proper but might impress whomever you are cooking for.

I have a question: I noticed some of the above suggestions say ..._naasht*a* mein/ke liye_ instead of _naasht*e* mein/ke liye_. Is naashta one of those words for which inflecting before a preposition is optional/dialectical, or was this an oversight or mistake?


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## Illuminatus

naasht_a_ is wrong. It has to be naasht_e_.


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## ihsaan

ihsaan said:


> Is it "kya khaana" or "kaunsa khana"?


 
Just wanted to add: The reason I asked this is because I talked to someone shortly after posting this thread who said that I could only use "kaunsa" in this sentence. Comments?


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## Illuminatus

I find _kaunsa khaana _highly unidiomatic here. It smells a bit of Urdu; probably, that's the way people in Pakistan or other Urdu dominated regions would speak it. From the Hindi point of view, it is odd.


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## ihsaan

Ah, okay, because I am mainly looking for sentences the way they are spoken in Pakistan. So you are saying that kaunsa would be more used in Pakistan by Urdu speakers, while kya would be more used in India by Hindi speakers??


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## Cilquiestsuens

Illuminatus said:


> I find _kaunsa khaana _highly unidiomatic here. It smell a bit of Urdu; probably, that's the way people in Pakistan or other Urdu dominated regions would speak it. From the Hindi point of view, it is odd.


 
I don't think Urdu and Hindi are different in this matter.... kaunsa khaanaa... give the impression that you're asking someone to chose from a list


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## Illuminatus

I have a problem with using _kaunsa_ with _khana_, which is rarely done. If I have to ask somebody to choose from a list, I would say, "Aap ismein se kya lena pasand karenge"

_Kaunsa khana_ conveys the image that there are various types of food, whereas food is a singular concept (I don't mean Chinese/Spanish etc.  I mean the generic term food). It's tough to explain, but I would still affirm that _kaunsa khana _is very unidiomatic.


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## ihsaan

Ah, okay. I am getting somewhat confused here, because the person I asked about this (fluent speaker) thought it was very strange to use "kya"... This person is originally from a place close to Faisalabad (Toba Teik Singh). Is it possible that this way of saying it would be something special for this region? (I personally have no clue, I'm just curious to know.)

So, do you mean that by using "kya" one would ask what food (in general) you would like for breakfast, while if you use "kaunsa" it would be more like "which (of those foods) would you like to eat?"? Is my understanding correct?

Thank you for all the help! 
It seems you all agree on "kya", so that's what I will be using.

Illuminatus: Yes, I see what you mean about food being a singular concept. It makes sense.


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## Illuminatus

It may be a result of some Punjabi influence, I am not sure. I would use _Kya_ in both situations.


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## ihsaan

Ok, thank you for clarifying.


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## huhmzah

ihsaan said:


> Hi,
> As far as I know, if one wants to ask "what do you want/what would you like", you could say: "Aap ko kya chahie?", but how would I go about saying: "What do you want _for breakfast/lunch/dinner_?" in a polite way to a woman/man?


 
Hey! -- They all seem like good suggestions -- Just thought I'd throw in my two cents:

In polite/formal conversation some people might not use the word "chahna" (to want) as it sounds a bit too direct (aap kya chahte hain? = what do you want?). Some common polite ways to ask what someone would like for breakfast (lunch, dinner) are:

آپ ناشتے میں کیا پسند کریں گے/ گی ؟
Ap nâshte meN kya pasand kareN ge / gi ?
(What would you like for breakfast?) 

آپ ناشتے میں کیا کھایں گے / گی ؟
Ap nâshte meN kya khâeN ge / gi ?
(What will eat for breakfast?)

 آپ ناشتے کے لیئے آپ کیا کھانا پسند کریں گے / گی ؟
Ap nâshte mein kya khânâ pasand kareN ge / gi ?
(What would you like to eat for breakfast?)

And I also hear a lot of people use the verb "Lena" (to take) in polite conversation when talking about eating instead of using the verb "khânâ":

آپ ناشتے میں کیا لیں گے / گی ؟
Ap nâshte meN kya leN ge / gi ?
(What will you have/take for breakfast?)


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## BP.

linguist786 said:


> I agree with this suggestion. Sounds more natural.



You never say 'kha'eN gay' unless its your little kids. 'LaiN gay' is better.

Also, 'aap kya chahaiN gay' is much more polite than 'aapko kya chahiyay'.

as huhmzah said, the preferred way is '....kya laina pasand karaN gay?', which translates to 'what would you like to have?'


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## Faylasoof

OK! Everybody has had an interesting input. But the really polite and Luckhnawi way of saying this is: Aap naashte maiN kya noosh / pasand farmaiN gi / ge [female/male adressee]آپ ناشتے میں كیا نوش \ پسند فرماینگی \ فرماینگے   I prefer the use of the verb نوش فرمانا but  پسند فرمانا is also good.


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## huhmzah

Ahh yes! Good one.
"Nosh farmana" (نوش فرمانا) is a great "polite" verb for "to eat".


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## BP.

<aap kya nosh-e-jaan karna pasaNd farmaayay gaa>...just heard that from mum. Somehow, it doesn't seem the same thing as <bol, tu kya khhayga>.


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## panjabigator

What does <nosh> mean here exactly?

Humzah, what would you say the same thing in Panjabi?
My suggestion:
<tusii.n kii khaaNaa chaahoge>

<tusii.n naste vich kii lavoge>


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## huhmzah

<Nosh> I think strictly speaking it means "to drink" (from Farsi), but in Urdu it means to consume (or a polite way of saying "to eat--> "Nosh farmaana / karna") It is also used in the form of a suffix:
Tambakonoshi = Cigarette smoking (Tobacco-consumption)
Bilaanosh = Omnivore (something that eats / consumes everything)
Maenoshi = Alcohol consumption

And yep, the punjabi looks good. You could also say:
"Tusii.n khaaN vaaste kii pasand karoge?" --> ਤੁਸੀਂ ਖਾਣ ਵਾਸ੍ਤੇ ਕੀ ਪਸੰਦ ਕਰੋਗੇ


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## BP.

You could use _tanaawal_ in lieu of _nosh_, and it would still be perfect.


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## panjabigator

Is there a difference in register between "tanaawal" and "nosh" here? Does "tanaawal farmaanaa" work well?


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## huhmzah

BelligerentPacifist said:


> You could use tanaawal in lieu of nosh, and it would still be perfect.




(Just a correction: the word is "tanaaw*u*l", not "tanaawal" -- it's the same wazn as _tanaasukh_ or _tanaafus_ etc.) 




panjabigator said:


> Is there a difference in register between "tanaawal" and "nosh" here? Does "tanaawal farmaanaa" work well?




They're the same register but "nosh" has a slightly wider semantic range. It means "to consume" so it could mean to eat / to drink / to smoke / to take in e.g. tambaku-noshi (cigarette smoking), mai-noshi / bada-noshi (carousal / drinking), "balaa-nosh" (omnivore) etc. ("Nosh-e jaan karna" however I've only heard used in reference to eating food.)


On a wholly subjective note, "nosh farmaana" is more polite and elegant to my ears than "tanaawul farmaana /karna," which kind of rings of the sort of Urdu you read in pedantic religious literature


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## Qureshpor

huhmzah said:


> ...mai-noshi / bada-noshi (carousal / drinking), "bila-nosh" (omnivore) etc.
> 
> I am not sure if "mai-noshii" and "baadah-noshii" on their own imply any excessive drinking to warrant the term "carousal" as their equivalent.
> 
> Is n't it "balaa-nosh" for a "glutton"?


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## huhmzah

Haha, well... I suppose carousal's a bit extreme. In my circle (and I imagine, in other "polite" Urdu circles) if someone is said to be "baada-nosh" it's the same as saying in English "he drinks" i.e. doesn't simply mean he sits at his dining table and sips champagne but rather drinks to excess.

As for balaa-nosh, you're right, it does mean "glutton" especially when used for a human being. I wrote omnivore since in my mind balaa-nosh is a synonym of hame-khor i.e. someone / something that eats everything indiscriminately, vegetation or meat, food or garbage, not an inherently positive or negative quality -- I just looked it up in فيروز اللغات to double check and it explains "جو ملے کھا جانے والا" so I guess it could go either way, depends if you're talking about a bear or a human being


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## Sheikh_14

Indeed it's balaa-nosh and I would understand it to mean he/she who is willing to eat any buraa-bhalaa, gand-balaa. More on that has been provided here Meaning of bala-nosh in English | Rekhta Dictionary.
Bilaa-nosh on the other hand would mean without drink, dry and potentially thirsty. In other words suukhe muNh. Bilaa-nosh khaanaa maNgwaanaa could potentially mean to order food without anything to drink. Bi-laa being derived from Arabic to mean without.

Nosh e jaan is such a lovely Persian term, would it be correct to see it to mean food for the soul? Anything that pleases the senses is deemed to be nosh e jaan which includes music, poetry, beauty and revelry alongside food and drink. When you say yeh nosh e jaan hai or elide the izaafat and say yeh nosh jaan hai I would take that to mean this is either delicious or a means to please one's soul/existence/life. If someone loves sport that could be their nosh e jaan i.e. anything that sparks joy.

However, nosh e jaan farmaanaa is more often than not reserved for savoring food and drink. I am yet to hear it for other things like dance, music, sport and other forms of enjoyment, but its most certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

Illuminatus said:


> naasht_a_ is wrong. It has to be naasht_e_.


Isn't it optional, inflecting the oblique in words ending with _a + chhoTii he_? _naashta(h)_
ناشتَہ ​
Isn't it true than even Hindi speakers unfamiliar with the Urdu script have a notion of many such words not following the normal -_aa_ pattern?

Or all of the above doesn't apply for the words having an alternative/preferred spelling in Urdu with -aa?  _naashtaa_
ناشتا​


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## MonsieurGonzalito

I see a few phrases in the line of "_naasht*aa kaa* chhoR denaa_", "_naasht*aa kaa* sevan karnaa_" in Hindi websites on the Internet.
 I interpret that as some Hindi speakers having a residual notion of _naashtaa _having a_ naashta(h) _origin or alternative.


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## Qureshpor

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> I see a few phrases in the line of "_naasht*aa kaa* chhoR denaa_", "_naasht*aa kaa* sevan karnaa_" in Hindi websites on the Internet.
> I interpret that as some Hindi speakers having a residual notion of _naashtaa _having a_ naashta(h) _origin or alternative.


The thread is Urdu only it seems.


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## Qureshpor

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> Isn't it optional, inflecting the oblique in words ending with _a + chhoTii he_? _naashta(h)_
> ناشتَہ​


No, -ah ending words are usually declined to "-e" and ناشتہ is no exception. There is sometimes a tendency to write such words preceding a post position without the declention but despite this, these words should be read/pronounced in the declined form, e.g ناشتہ میں = naashte meN



MonsieurGonzalito said:


> Or all of the above doesn't apply for the words having an alternative/preferred spelling in Urdu with -aa? _naashtaa_
> ناشتا​


Actually the usual spelling is ناشتہ but the correct form is ناشتا. Hyper correct pronunciation is ناشِتا naashitaa, but I don't think anyone uses this pronunciatiuon in Urdu anymore.


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