EFE learning modules / Food Preferences & Healthy Eating

Food Preferences & Healthy Eating

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Have a sweet tooth

/ሐቭ ኤ ስዊት ቱዝ/

ጣፋጭ ነገር መውደድ

Liking sugary foods very much

ጣፋጭ ምግቦችን በጣም መውደድ።

In Practice

"I have a real sweet tooth; I can't resist chocolate."
"My sister has a sweet tooth, so she always orders dessert."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe someone who loves candy, cakes, and other sugary treats.

Eat like a bird

/ኢት ላይክ ኤ በርድ/

ጥቂት መመገብ

To eat very small portions of food

በጣም ትንሽ ምግብ መመገብ።

In Practice

"She's on a diet and eats like a bird."
"Don't worry about the buffet; he eats like a bird anyway."
Fluent Tip

Used when describing someone who has a very small appetite.

Eat like a horse

/ኢት ላይክ ኤ ሆርስ/

ብዙ መመገብ

To eat large amounts of food

በጣም ብዙ ምግብ መመገብ።

In Practice

"Even though he's thin, he eats like a horse."
"After the marathon, I could eat like a horse."
Fluent Tip

Used for someone with a very large appetite.

Not my cup of tea

/ኖት ማይ ካፕ ኦፍ ቲ/

ምርጫዬ አይደለም

Not something one likes or is interested in

እኔ የምወደው ወይም የምፈልገው ዓይነት ነገር አይደለም።

In Practice

"Spicy food is just not my cup of tea."
"I tried kale smoothies, but they aren't my cup of tea."
Fluent Tip

A polite way to say you don't like a specific type of food or activity.

Full of beans

/ፉል ኦፍ ቢንስ/

በጣም ንቁ መሆን

Having a lot of energy and enthusiasm

ከፍተኛ ጉልበት እና መነቃቃት መኖር።

In Practice

"The healthy breakfast left me full of beans all morning."
"He's always full of beans after his morning workout."
Fluent Tip

Often used to describe the energetic feeling after healthy habits.

Piece of cake

/ፒስ ኦፍ ኬክ/

በጣም ቀላል

Something that is very easy to do

ለማድረግ በጣም ቀላል የሆነ ነገር።

In Practice

"Switching to a vegan diet was a piece of cake for her."
"Cooking this healthy meal is a piece of cake."
Fluent Tip

Describes an easy task, often used in the context of following a recipe or diet.

Spill the beans

/ስፒል ዘ ቢንስ/

ሚስጥር ማውጣት

To reveal a secret

ምስጢር ማውጣት ወይም መናገር።

In Practice

"Come on, spill the beans! What's in the secret sauce?"
"She spilled the beans about the surprise dinner party."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to ask someone to share hidden information.

Bread and butter

/ብሬድ ኤንድ ባተር/

መሰረታዊ ፍላጎት

Main source of income or a basic necessity

ዋና የገቢ ምንጭ ወይም መሰረታዊ ፍላጎት።

In Practice

"Vegetables are the bread and butter of a healthy diet."
"Teaching is my bread and butter."
Fluent Tip

Refers to the most fundamental or essential parts of something.

In a nutshell

/ኢን ኤ ናትሼል/

ባጭሩ

In a few words; concisely

በጥቂት ቃላት፤ ባጭሩ።

In Practice

"In a nutshell, processed food is bad for your heart."
"That is the healthy eating plan in a nutshell."
Fluent Tip

Used when summarizing a complex topic quickly.

Take it with a grain of salt

/ቴክ ኢት ዊዝ ኤ ግሬይን ኦፍ ሶልት/

በጥንቃቄ መቀበል

To not completely believe something

አንድን ነገር ሙሉ በሙሉ አምኖ አለመቀበል።

In Practice

"Take those miracle diet claims with a grain of salt."
"I take his cooking advice with a grain of salt."
Fluent Tip

Advice to be skeptical about information, especially health claims.

Bring home the bacon

/ብሪንግ ሆም ዘ ቤከን/

ገቢ ማምጣት

To earn money for a family to live on

ለቤተሰብ መተዳደሪያ የሚሆን ገንዘብ ማግኘት።

In Practice

"She works hard to bring home the bacon and buy organic food."
"Who brings home the bacon in your house?"
Fluent Tip

Refers to being the primary breadwinner.

Butter someone up

/ባተር ሳምዋን አፕ/

ለጥቅም መለማመጥ

To be extra nice to someone to get a favor

ለራስ ጥቅም ሲባል አንድን ሰው በንግግር መለማመጥ።

In Practice

"He tried to butter up the chef to get the secret recipe."
"Don't try to butter me up; you still have to eat your greens!"
Fluent Tip

Often used when someone is being insincerely flattering.