Dining in Different Languages
Discover 'Dining' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Dining is more than just eating; it's an experience that transcends borders and cultures. This simple word encapsulates the act of sharing food, stories, and traditions with others. From fine dining restaurants to family kitchens, dining holds a significant place in our daily lives and cultural celebrations.
Historically, dining has been a symbol of community and social status. In ancient Rome, lavish banquets were held to display wealth and power. Today, dining continues to be an essential part of our social fabric, bringing people together to celebrate special occasions or simply enjoy a meal.
Given its significance, it's no surprise that the word 'dining' has been translated into various languages around the world. For instance, in Spanish, dining is 'cenar', while in French, it's 'dîner'. In German, the word is 'essen', and in Japanese, it's '食事' (pronounced 'shokuji').
Understanding the translation of dining in different languages can enhance your travel experiences, deepen your cultural knowledge, and even help you connect with people from diverse backgrounds.
Dining
Dining in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | eetkamer | ||
| The word “eetkamer” originates from the Dutch language, and its literal translation is “room to eat”. | |||
| Amharic | መመገቢያ | ||
| The Amharic word "መመገቢያ" can also refer to a meal or food. | |||
| Hausa | cin abinci | ||
| Cin abinci may have originated from 'cin' (eat) and 'afin' (palace), indicating a special meal reserved for the nobility. | |||
| Igbo | na-eri nri | ||
| The Igbo word "na-eri nri" ("dining") is derived from the verb "ri," meaning "to eat". | |||
| Malagasy | fisakafoana | ||
| "Fisakafoana" is derived from the Sanskrit word "bhojana" meaning "meal". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chodyera | ||
| Chodyera, meaning 'dining', can also refer to a 'feast' or 'banquet' in Nyanja (Chichewa). | |||
| Shona | kunodya | ||
| The Shona word 'kunodya' can also be used to mean 'to cook' and 'to serve food'. | |||
| Somali | cuntada | ||
| Somali "cuntada" is also used in the context of food portions, sharing, and feeding young children, as well as a form of charity or alms. | |||
| Sesotho | ho jela | ||
| The word "ho jela" is literally means "to eat" but is more commonly used to refer to the evening meal. | |||
| Swahili | kula | ||
| Kula in Swahili can also refer to "to eat" or "to have a meal." | |||
| Xhosa | yokutyela | ||
| "Yokutyela" can also mean a place to eat, such as a restaurant or canteen | |||
| Yoruba | ile ijeun | ||
| The term "Ile ijeun" is etymologically linked to the Yoruba phrase "i wo e je un", meaning "come and eat your food". | |||
| Zulu | yokudlela | ||
| The word 'yokudlela' is also sometimes colloquially used to refer to a particular meal of the day, especially breakfast or dinner. | |||
| Bambara | dumunikɛyɔrɔ | ||
| Ewe | nuɖuɖu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kurya | ||
| Lingala | kolya | ||
| Luganda | okuliira | ||
| Sepedi | go jela | ||
| Twi (Akan) | adidibea | ||
Dining in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تناول الطعام | ||
| The word 'تناول الطعام' can also refer to the process of consuming information, such as reading a book or watching a film. | |||
| Hebrew | אוכל | ||
| אוכל (okhel) is a Hebrew word that can also mean 'food' and is related to the Arabic word 'akl ('consumption'). | |||
| Pashto | خواړه | ||
| In Pashto, "خواړه" (khwāra) also refers to a "meal" or "food" in general. | |||
| Arabic | تناول الطعام | ||
| The word 'تناول الطعام' can also refer to the process of consuming information, such as reading a book or watching a film. | |||
Dining in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ngrënie | ||
| The word 'ngrënie' is also used to refer to the place where people eat. | |||
| Basque | jantokia | ||
| The etymology of 'jantokia' is unclear, it could derive from 'egin' ('do') and '-gokia' ('place') | |||
| Catalan | menjador | ||
| The Catalan word ‘menjador’ derives from Vulgar Latin *mandicātōrium, a derivative of *manducāre, ‘to eat’. | |||
| Croatian | blagovaonica | ||
| Blagovaonica can also mean "dining saloon", "refectory" or "canteen" in Croatian. | |||
| Danish | spisning | ||
| "Spisning", meaning "dining" in English, originates from the Proto-Germanic "*spisô", also meaning "feeding". | |||
| Dutch | dineren | ||
| The word "dineren" in Dutch has the same root as the English word "dinner" and derives from the Latin word "dīcēre" meaning "to say". | |||
| English | dining | ||
| The word "dining" originates from the Old English word "digen", meaning "to dine" or "to eat a meal." | |||
| French | à manger | ||
| 'À manger' not only means 'dining', but also means 'food' or 'something to eat'. | |||
| Frisian | ite | ||
| Frisian "ite" also means "to eat" or "to consume," from the Proto-Germanic "*etan". | |||
| Galician | comedor | ||
| "Comedor" is the common word for the room in Galician, but it can also be used to refer to the group of persons eating together or to the time of the day they do so. | |||
| German | essen | ||
| The German word "Essen" can also refer to the city of Essen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. | |||
| Icelandic | borðstofa | ||
| Derived from the Old Norse word “borðstofa,” which referred to both the room where people ate and the table itself. | |||
| Irish | bia | ||
| In Irish, the word "bia" can also refer to sustenance or nourishment, and historically referred to food prepared for livestock. | |||
| Italian | cenare | ||
| "Cenare" derives from the Latin word "cena," meaning "dinner," and originally referred to the evening meal. | |||
| Luxembourgish | iessen | ||
| The verb 'iessen' is derived from the Old High German word 'ezzan', meaning 'to eat', and is related to the English word 'eat' and the German word 'essen'. | |||
| Maltese | ikla | ||
| The word "ikla" is also used in Maltese to refer to the table at which one dines. | |||
| Norwegian | servering | ||
| Servering is a Norwegian word derived from Old Norse which also means 'to serve' | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | jantar | ||
| The word "jantar" comes from the Latin word "iantare", which means "to break the fast". In modern Portuguese, "jantar" refers to the main evening meal. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dìnnear | ||
| In Gaelic, the word "dìnnear" can also mean "supper" or "dinnertime." | |||
| Spanish | comida | ||
| The word "comida" in Spanish can also mean "food". | |||
| Swedish | matsal | ||
| Matsal, meaning 'dining' in Swedish, is derived from the Old Norse word 'mat' meaning 'food' and 'sal' meaning 'hall'. In modern Swedish, it also refers to a meal, food, or eating arrangement. | |||
| Welsh | bwyta | ||
| The Welsh word "bwyta" can also mean "to eat" or "to feed". | |||
Dining in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сталовая | ||
| The word “сталовая” (dining room) comes from the Old Belarusian word “стол” (table) and originally meant “a place where people gather around a table to eat.” | |||
| Bosnian | blagovaonica | ||
| The term "blagovaonica" is derived from the Slavic word "blago" meaning "good" or "well," and "vaonica" meaning "room," so it can also signify "a well-lit room" or "a room for guests." | |||
| Bulgarian | трапезария | ||
| The term "трапезария" comes from the Greek word "τράπεζα" and also denotes "table, banker". | |||
| Czech | stolování | ||
| The word "stolování" derives from the Czech word "stůl", meaning "table", and originally referred to the act of setting the table or eating at a table. | |||
| Estonian | söömine | ||
| "Söömine" is related to "sööma" ("to eat"), originating from Proto-Uralic *śöge- or *śöga- | |||
| Finnish | ruokailu | ||
| Etymology of "ruokailu" is "ruoka" (food) + "-ilu" (suffix expressing action, state or result), but it can also refer specifically to a dining service offered by an institution (e.g., a hospital). | |||
| Hungarian | étkezés | ||
| The word "étkezés" is derived from the verb "enni" (to eat) and the suffix "-és" (action or process), and can also mean "meal" or "feeding". | |||
| Latvian | pusdienas | ||
| Pusdienas, derived from "pusdien" ("half day") | |||
| Lithuanian | pietauti | ||
| The word "pietauti" also means "to treat" or "to feed" in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | јадење | ||
| The word "јадење" comes from Old Church Slavonic "ѧдение" and is related to the word "jelo", meaning meal or course (from Proto-Balto-Slavic "*ed-lo"). | |||
| Polish | jadalnia | ||
| The word "jadalnia" comes from the Proto-Slavic root "*jad" meaning "food" and was originally synonymous with "kitchen", as in Old Church Slavonic "*jadъ" and Czech "jídelna" | |||
| Romanian | masa | ||
| In Romanian, "masa" also has the following meanings: * Dough * Mass | |||
| Russian | обедать | ||
| The word "обедать" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "обѣдъ", meaning "midday meal" or "lunch". | |||
| Serbian | трпезарија | ||
| The word 'трпезарија' (dining) is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word 'трпеза' (table), which is cognate with the Latin word 'tripes' (tripod). | |||
| Slovak | stolovanie | ||
| In Slovak, the verb 'stolovat' (to dine) derives from 'stol' (table), highlighting the communal aspect of dining. | |||
| Slovenian | jedilnico | ||
| "jedilnico" also means "a room for dining" in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | їдальня | ||
| The word "їдальня" (dining) in Ukrainian is related to the word "їсти" (to eat) and also has connotations of a communal or public eating space. | |||
Dining in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ভোজন | ||
| "ভোজন" can also refer to the act of offering food to a deity or a guest. | |||
| Gujarati | જમવું | ||
| In addition to meaning "dining," "જમવું" can also mean "to eat." | |||
| Hindi | भोजन | ||
| The word "भोजन" also refers to food offered to Hindu deities and consumed afterwards as "prasad" | |||
| Kannada | .ಟ | ||
| The word ".ಟ" in Kannada comes from the Sanskrit word "" which means "to serve". Hence, ".ಟ" also means "serving of food" and "feast". | |||
| Malayalam | ഡൈനിംഗ് | ||
| The Malayalam word "ഡൈനിംഗ്" (dining) comes from the English word "dining" meaning "relating to meals". | |||
| Marathi | जेवणाचे | ||
| "जेवणाचे" (dining) is derived from the Sanskrit word "जीवन" (life), indicating the nourishment that sustains life. | |||
| Nepali | भोजन | ||
| The word "भोजन" (dining) is derived from the root "भुज" (to eat) and also means any food eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. | |||
| Punjabi | ਡਾਇਨਿੰਗ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කෑම | ||
| The Sinhala word "කෑම" ("dining") is sometimes used to refer to food in general, rather than the act of eating. | |||
| Tamil | சாப்பாட்டு | ||
| Telugu | భోజన | ||
| The word 'bhojana' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'bhuj', meaning 'to eat'. It can also refer to a meal or a feast. | |||
| Urdu | کھانے | ||
| The word "کھانے" (khane) in Urdu can also refer to a "meal" or "food". | |||
Dining in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 用餐 | ||
| "用餐"，除了指吃饭，还可以指参加宴会。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 用餐 | ||
| 用餐 in Chinese (Traditional) can also refer to a formal dinner or banquet. | |||
| Japanese | ダイニング | ||
| ダイニング comes from Latin "discipulus", "student" | |||
| Korean | 식사 | ||
| 먹고 사는 것이라 하여 식사를 뜻하게 되었다. | |||
| Mongolian | хооллох | ||
| The Mongolian word "хооллох" directly translates to "to eat", "to feed", "to graze" and "to have food; to be fed" in English. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ထမင်းစားခန်း | ||
Dining in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | makan | ||
| Makan can also mean 'to eat' or 'food' in Indonesian, related to similar words in Polynesian languages and possibly deriving from an Austronesian root. | |||
| Javanese | mangan | ||
| The word "mangan" also means "to eat" or "to swallow" in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | បរិភោគអាហារ | ||
| បរិភោគអាហារ is derived from the Sanskrit words "para" (around) and "bhojana" (food), meaning "eating around" or "eating together". | |||
| Lao | ກິນເຂົ້າ | ||
| The Lao phrase "ກິນເຂົ້າ" (gin khao) literally means "to eat rice" and is commonly used to refer to the act of dining or eating a meal. | |||
| Malay | makan | ||
| The Malay word "makan" shares the same etymological root with its Indonesian and Hawaiian cognates, suggesting a shared Austronesian language heritage. | |||
| Thai | รับประทานอาหาร | ||
| The Thai word "รับประทานอาหาร" (dining) literally means "to receive and consume food". | |||
| Vietnamese | ăn uống | ||
| In Vietnamese, "ăn uống" can also be used to mean "eating out". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kainan | ||
Dining in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yemək | ||
| In Azerbaijani, 'yemək' literally translates to 'to eat' and is the primary verb used to refer to the act of consuming food. | |||
| Kazakh | асхана | ||
| "Асхана" is also used as an alternate term for "cuisine" or "gastronomy" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | ашкана | ||
| The word "ашкана" may also refer to a kitchen or a canteen. | |||
| Tajik | ошхона | ||
| The word "ошхона" ("dining") is a combination of the Tajik words "osh" ("food") and "khona" ("room"). | |||
| Turkmen | nahar | ||
| Uzbek | ovqatlanish | ||
| The Uzbek word "ovqatlanish" literally translates to "feeding", suggesting that dining is considered an act of nourishment in Uzbek culture. | |||
| Uyghur | تاماق | ||
Dining in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻainaʻaina | ||
| 'Aina'aina' can also mean 'to eat', 'meal', or 'food' in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | kai | ||
| Kai also refers to food in Maori, and is cognate with the Hawaiian word 'ai' meaning 'to eat'. | |||
| Samoan | 'aiga | ||
| The word "aiga" in Samoan also means "family" or "group of people", signifying the communal aspect of dining. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kainan | ||
| The word "kainan" in Tagalog can also refer to a place where people eat, such as a restaurant or canteen. | |||
Dining in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | manq’añanaka | ||
| Guarani | okaru haguã | ||
Dining in International Languages
| Esperanto | manĝado | ||
| In Esperanto, the word 'manĝado' can also refer to a group of people eating together or a type of food that is served at a particular time of day. | |||
| Latin | triclinium | ||
| The word 'triclinium' comes from the Latin word 'tres' (three), as it originally referred to a dining room with three couches. | |||
Dining in Others Languages
| Greek | φαγητό | ||
| Φαγητό (dining) is derived from the verb τρώγω (to eat) and has the alternate meaning of 'food' or 'meal'. | |||
| Hmong | noj mov | ||
| The word 'noj mov' has multiple meanings in Hmong, including 'to eat' and 'to gather for a meal'. | |||
| Kurdish | nanxwarin | ||
| The Kurdish word "nanxwarin" may also refer to hospitality and having guests over for meals in Kurdish culture. | |||
| Turkish | yemek | ||
| Yemek derives from the Persian word 'yamak', meaning 'to eat' or 'to consume'. | |||
| Xhosa | yokutyela | ||
| "Yokutyela" can also mean a place to eat, such as a restaurant or canteen | |||
| Yiddish | דיינינג | ||
| Yiddish "דיינינג" also refers to hiring workers or servants, a usage dating back to the Middle Ages. | |||
| Zulu | yokudlela | ||
| The word 'yokudlela' is also sometimes colloquially used to refer to a particular meal of the day, especially breakfast or dinner. | |||
| Assamese | ডাইনিং | ||
| Aymara | manq’añanaka | ||
| Bhojpuri | भोजन करे के बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ކެއުމެވެ | ||
| Dogri | खाने दा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kainan | ||
| Guarani | okaru haguã | ||
| Ilocano | panganan | ||
| Krio | we dɛn kin it | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نانخواردن | ||
| Maithili | भोजन करब | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯥꯛ ꯆꯥꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | chaw ei a ni | ||
| Oromo | nyaata nyaachuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଭୋଜନ | ||
| Quechua | mikhuy | ||
| Sanskrit | भोजनम् | ||
| Tatar | ашау | ||
| Tigrinya | መመገቢ ቦታ | ||
| Tsonga | ku dya | ||