Mealtime in Jordan

The video “Mealtime in Jordan” in our “Speak Like a Native” section on our platform discusses how to say "to have" breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Arabic, using the verbs بيفطر (biftar), بيتغدّى (betgadda), and بيتعشّى (betasha).

Breakfast/ فطور (ftoor)

In Jordan, فطور (ftoor) is the first meal of the day. For people who work in the morning, it can be a light snack on the way to work or a falafel sandwich from a nearby hummus restaurant.

On Fridays, فطور is a sit-down meal that usually consists of small plates of various types of food, such as za'atar w zeit, labneh, jebneh (cheese), beid (eggs), zeitun (olives), mrabba (jam), hummus, ful (fava beans), falafel, fatteh, and khubez (bread). The most important component is khubez.

Everyone sits down together to have breakfast on Fridays or on holidays between 10am and 12pm. The drink with this meal is usually hot tea with mint (shai bna3na3) or other herbs.

Every neighborhood has its own hummus restaurant, which is usually a take-out only place that sells hummus, ful, falafel, and other dishes made of chickpeas and fava beans. These small restaurants are packed on late Friday mornings, and restaurants that have a seating area would have a waitlist.

Lunch/ غدا (ghada)

The second meal of the day in Jordan is called غدا, which translates to "lunch" in English. However, it is often the largest meal of the day. When someone says "تعال/تعالي تغدّي عنا’, they are usually inviting you to a feast.

On Fridays and other holidays, غدا is eaten around 5pm. Many families in Jordan eat Mansaf for غدا on Fridays. Mansaf is considered the national dish of Jordan and consists of rice, meat, and a hot yogurt sauce. Other famous dishes for this meal are: Maqlubeh, (dawali) grape leaves, sayadiyeh, and mjaddara.

Some households drink soda or juice with this meal, while others prefer to drink another cup of tea after food.

Dinner/ العشا (el 3asha)

For many people, a heavy lunch, or الغدا, is the final meal of the day. It is sometimes followed by a dessert such as knafeh, kullaaj, baklava, and a small cup of Turkish coffee.

For many families, a late-evening meal, or العشا, is a small snack before bed or leftover breakfast food. Because the word translates to "dinner" in English, some people have adopted the English connotation of the word and use العشا to refer to the largest meal of the day.