EFE learning modules / Drinks & Beverages

Drinks & Beverages @ Identifying types of water, coffee, tea, and juice, and practicing the etiquette for ordering various drinks in social settings.

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Select a specific social context to practice.

A storm in a teacup

/ኤ ስቶርም ኢን ኤ ቲካፕ/

በትንሽ ነገር መጨነቅ

A lot of fuss about something trivial.

በትንሽ ነገር ላይ ብዙ ረብሻ መፍጠር።

In Practice

"The argument about the juice brand was just a storm in a teacup."
"Don't worry, it's just a storm in a teacup."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe an overreaction to a small problem.

Not my cup of tea

/ኖት ማይ ካፕ ኦፍ ቲ/

ምርጫዬ አይደለም

Something that one does not like or is not interested in.

አንድ ሰው የማይወደው ወይም የማይፈልገው ነገር።

In Practice

"Strong black coffee is not my cup of tea."
"I realized that iced tea is not my cup of tea."
Fluent Tip

Polite way to say you don't like something.

Wake up and smell the coffee

/ዌክ አፕ ኤንድ ስሜል ዘ ኮፊ/

እውነታውን እወቅ

Become aware of the reality of a situation.

የሁኔታውን እውነታ ማወቅ ወይም መረዳት።

In Practice

"You need to wake up and smell the coffee; they don't serve free refills."
"Wake up and smell the coffee, the cafe is closed."
Fluent Tip

Often used as a command to face reality.

In hot water

/ኢን ሆት ዋተር/

ችግር ውስጥ መሆን

In trouble or in a difficult situation.

በችግር ወይም በአስቸጋሪ ሁኔታ ውስጥ መሆን።

In Practice

"He's in hot water for forgetting to pay the drink tab."
"I'll be in hot water if I spill this red juice on the rug."
Fluent Tip

Informal expression for being in trouble.

Pour cold water on something

/ፖር ኮልድ ዋተር ኦን ሰምቲንግ/

ተስፋ ማስቆረጥ

To discourage or criticize an idea.

አንድን ሃሳብ ማጣጣል ወይም ተስፋ ማስቆረጥ።

In Practice

"She poured cold water on my plan to order expensive bottled water."
"Don't pour cold water on his enthusiasm for the tea ceremony."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone is being negative about a plan.

Read the tea leaves

/ሪድ ዘ ቲ ሊቭስ/

የወደፊቱን መገመት

To predict the future from small signs.

በትናንሽ ምልክቶች የወደፊቱን መገመት።

In Practice

"Economists are trying to read the tea leaves of the coffee market."
"I'm reading the tea leaves to see if we'll get a table."
Fluent Tip

Metaphorical use for making predictions.

Cry over spilled milk

/ክራይ ኦቨር ስፒልድ ሚልክ/

ባለፈ ነገር መቆጨት

To worry about something that has already happened and cannot be changed.

ቀድሞ በሆነና ሊቀየር በማይችል ነገር መጨነቅ።

In Practice

"I dropped my juice, but there's no use crying over spilled milk."
"It's spilled milk now, just order another coffee."
Fluent Tip

Common advice for moving on from mistakes.

Water under the bridge

/ዋተር አንደር ዘ ብሪጅ/

ያለፈ ነገር

Events that are in the past and no longer important.

ያለፉና አሁን አስፈላጊ ያልሆኑ ክስተቶች።

In Practice

"Our argument about the bill is water under the bridge now."
"Don't worry about the spilled tea; it's water under the bridge."
Fluent Tip

Used to indicate forgiveness or letting go of the past.

Bottoms up

/ቦተምስ አፕ/

ለጤናችን (መጠጥ ሲጠጣ)

An expression said before drinking to encourage everyone to finish their drink.

ከመጠጣቱ በፊት መጠጡን ለመጨረስ የሚባል ቃል (ለጤናችን)።

In Practice

"The coffee is served, bottoms up!"
"We raised our juice glasses and said bottoms up."
Fluent Tip

Used as a toast in social settings.

Land of milk and honey

/ላንድ ኦፍ ሚልክ ኤንድ ሀኒ/

የተትረፈረፈ ምድር

A place where there is plenty of food and opportunity.

የተትረፈረፈ ምግብና እድል ያለበት ቦታ።

In Practice

"To a thirsty traveler, this juice bar is a land of milk and honey."
"The cafe menu looked like a land of milk and honey."
Fluent Tip

Describing a place of abundance.

Like a fish out of water

/ላይክ ኤ ፊሽ አውት ኦፍ ዋተር/

ያልለመደው ቦታ መሆን

Feeling uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation.

ባልለመዱት ሁኔታ ውስጥ ምቾት ማጣት።

In Practice

"I felt like a fish out of water at the formal tea ceremony."
"Ordering a complex coffee made him feel like a fish out of water."
Fluent Tip

Describing social awkwardness.

Keep your head above water

/ኪፕ ዩር ሄድ አባቭ ዋተር/

ራስን መቻል (ችግር ውስጥ)

To manage to survive a difficult situation, especially financially.

አስቸጋሪ ሁኔታን (በተለይ የገንዘብ) ተቋቁሞ መቆየት።

In Practice

"The small coffee shop is struggling to keep its head above water."
"With high prices, I can barely keep my head above water."
Fluent Tip

Used when dealing with survival or struggle.