Punjabi Food and Hospitality Phrases ਰੋਟੀ-ਪਾਣੀ

Refusing food once is expected; refusing it three times is a negotiation. This is the language of being fed in a Punjabi house, and of feeding someone else.

What to know before you use these

"Khaanaa khaadha?" is a greeting — Asking whether you've eaten is how care is expressed, not a literal enquiry about your schedule. Answer it warmly even if you have.
Refusing once is expected — "Hor lao" — have some more — will come at least twice. A single no is heard as politeness rather than as a decision.
"Roti" means both bread and the meal — "Roti kha lai" is "eat your food", not "eat a chapati". Context decides which one is meant.

All 12 phrases

Cover:

Have you eaten?

ਖਾਣਾ ਖਾਧਾ?

Khaanaa khaadha?

💡 One of the most common phrases in Punjabi households - asking if someone has eaten is a form of love

They say

ਮੇਰਾ ਢਿੱਡ ਭਰ ਗਿਆ

Mera dhidd bhar giya — I am full

Come eat with us

ਆਓ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਓ

Aao roti khao

💡 Refusing food in a Punjabi home is seen as refusing hospitality

Please sit down

ਬੈਠੋ ਜੀ

Baitho ji

They say

ਧੰਨਵਾਦ

Dhannvaad — Thank you

Have some tea

ਚਾਹ ਪੀਓ

Chaah peo

They say

ਬਹੁਤ ਸੁਆਦ ਹੈ

Bahut suaad hai — It is delicious

Have some more

ਹੋਰ ਲਓ

Hor lao

💡 You will hear this many times - a host insists you eat more

They say

ਮੇਰਾ ਢਿੱਡ ਭਰ ਗਿਆ

Mera dhidd bhar giya — I am full

It is delicious

ਬਹੁਤ ਸੁਆਦ ਹੈ

Bahut suaad hai

I am full

ਮੇਰਾ ਢਿੱਡ ਭਰ ਗਿਆ

Mera dhidd bhar giya

I am hungry

ਮੈਨੂੰ ਭੁੱਖ ਲੱਗੀ ਹੈ

Mainu bhukh lagi hai

I am thirsty

ਮੈਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਸ ਲੱਗੀ ਹੈ

Mainu pyaas lagi hai

Please give me some water

ਮੈਨੂੰ ਪਾਣੀ ਦਿਓ

Mainu paani dio

What would you like to eat?

ਕੀ ਖਾਣਾ ਹੈ?

Ki khaanaa hai?

The food is ready

ਖਾਣਾ ਤਿਆਰ ਹੈ

Khaanaa tayaar hai

Other situations

Smaller topics — meeting someone new, the weather, shopping, work, family — live in the full phrasebook, alongside every phrase on this page. See the phrasebook index for the whole set, or the dialogues for these phrases inside whole conversations.