Speaking: Vocabulary for Speaking A2 - Lesson 2
Food & Drinks
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use a variety of words to describe different types of food and drink and to express your preferences.
Ordering at a Restaurant in Siem Reap
Let's imagine you are at a restaurant. You need vocabulary to understand the menu and order what you like. Here are some thoughts someone might have while looking at a menu.
"Okay, let's see. For a drink, I'd like a fresh1 coconut10. For my main course, I think I'll have the fried pork7 with rice. My friend wants something spicy4, so she is ordering the beef8 with chili. For dessert6, we will share a plate of sweet2 mango9 and sticky rice. It all sounds so delicious5!"
Key Vocabulary: Food & Drinks
Types of Food (ប្រភេទអាហារ)
- Fruit | ផ្លែឈើ
- Vegetable | បន្លែ
- Dessert | បង្អែម ↩
- Meat | សាច់ (e.g., pork7 - សាច់ជ្រូក, beef8 - សាច់គោ, chicken - សាច់មាន់)
Describing Food (Adjectives)
- delicious | ឆ្ងាញ់ ↩
- sweet | ផ្អែម ↩
- sour | ជូរ
- spicy | ហឹរ ↩
- fresh | ស្រស់ ↩
- healthy | ល្អចំពោះសុខភាព
Example Foods
Pronunciation Focus: Word Stress
Pay attention to the stress in these multi-syllable words. Stressed syllables are in CAPITALS.
- de-LI-cious
- vege-TA-ble (often sounds like 'VEJ-tə-bəl')
- co-co-NUT
- ba-NA-na
- po-TA-to
Expressing Preferences
Here are some useful phrases for talking about what food you like or don't like.
- I like / I don't like...
Example: "I like spicy food, but I don't like sour food." - My favorite... is...
Example: "My favorite fruit is mango." - I prefer A to B. (This is a great A2 phrase to say you like A more than B).
Example: "I prefer tea to coffee."
Practice Your Vocabulary
Activity 1: Category Sort
Put these food items in the correct category: chicken, apple, carrot, ice cream, beef, banana
- Fruit: apple, banana
- Vegetable: carrot
- Meat: chicken, beef
- Dessert: ice cream
Activity 2: Describe the Dish
Think about a famous Khmer dish, like "Amok" or "Lok Lak". Describe it using at least two adjectives from this lesson.
Example: "Amok is delicious and not too spicy."
Activity 3: What's Your Favorite?
Work with a partner. Ask each other "What's your favorite...?" for the following categories: Fruit, Drink, and Meat. Answer in a full sentence.
Your Vocabulary Mission
This week in Siem Reap, your mission is to use your food vocabulary.
When you eat your next meal, think about how to describe it in English. For example, if you eat some soup, think to yourself, "This soup is a little spicy, but very delicious."