Lina plans a meal for two friends, but an important ingredient is missing. She checks what she has and finds a different way to finish dinner.
01Read the Arabic story
عَشَاءٌ لِلضُّيُوفِ
دَعَتْ لِينَا صَدِيقَتَيْنِ إِلَى الْعَشَاءِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ. كَانَتْ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تُعِدَّ حَسَاءَ الطَّمَاطِمِ وَالْأَرُزَّ. فِي السَّاعَةِ الْخَامِسَةِ، دَخَلَتِ الْمَطْبَخَ وَفَتَحَتِ الثَّلَّاجَةَ. وَجَدَتْ جَزَرًا وَكُوسَا، وَلَكِنَّهَا لَمْ تَجِدْ طَمَاطِمَ. نَظَرَتْ إِلَى السَّاعَةِ، فَالضَّيْفَتَانِ سَتَصِلَانِ فِي السَّادِسَةِ.
قَالَ أَخُوهَا: «هَلْ أَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْمَتْجَرِ؟» أَجَابَتْ: «شُكْرًا، وَلَكِنَّ الْوَقْتَ قَصِيرٌ. سَأُعِدُّ حَسَاءَ الْخُضْرَوَاتِ بَدَلًا مِنْ حَسَاءِ الطَّمَاطِمِ». غَسَلَتِ الْجَزَرَ وَالْكُوسَا، ثُمَّ قَطَّعَتْهُمَا. وَضَعَتِ الْخُضْرَوَاتِ فِي قِدْرٍ مَعَ الْمَاءِ وَقَلِيلٍ مِنَ الْمِلْحِ، وَبَدَأَتْ تَطْبُخُ الْأَرُزَّ أَيْضًا.
طَلَبَتْ لِينَا مِنْ أَخِيهَا أَنْ يُجَهِّزَ الطَّاوِلَةَ. وَضَعَ الْأَطْبَاقَ وَالْمَلَاعِقَ وَالْأَكْوَابَ، ثُمَّ أَحْضَرَ خُبْزًا. بَيْنَمَا كَانَ الْحَسَاءُ عَلَى النَّارِ، غَسَلَتْ لِينَا الْفَاكِهَةَ لِتُقَدِّمَهَا بَعْدَ الْعَشَاءِ. وَصَلَتِ الصَّدِيقَتَانِ فِي السَّاعَةِ السَّادِسَةِ، وَكَانَ الطَّعَامُ جَاهِزًا عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ.
جَلَسَ الْجَمِيعُ وَتَنَاوَلُوا الْعَشَاءَ. قَالَتْ إِحْدَى الضَّيْفَتَيْنِ: «هَذَا الْحَسَاءُ لَذِيذٌ! كَيْفَ أَعْدَدْتِهِ؟» ضَحِكَتْ لِينَا وَشَرَحَتْ لَهَا مَا حَدَثَ. بَعْدَ خُرُوجِ الضَّيْفَتَيْنِ، شَكَرَتْ أَخَاهَا عَلَى مُسَاعَدَتِهِ. ثُمَّ كَتَبَتْ قَائِمَةً صَغِيرَةً لِلْمُشْتَرَيَاتِ، وَكَانَتِ الطَّمَاطِمُ أَوَّلَ شَيْءٍ فِيهَا.
Show English translationHide English translation
Lina invited two female friends to dinner on Friday. She wanted to prepare tomato soup and rice. At five o’clock, she went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She found carrots and courgettes, but she did not find any tomatoes. She looked at the clock: the two guests would arrive at six.
Her brother said, “Shall I go to the shop?” She answered, “Thank you, but there is little time. I will make vegetable soup instead of tomato soup.” She washed the carrots and courgettes, then chopped them. She put the vegetables in a pot with water and a little salt, and she started cooking the rice too.
Lina asked her brother to set the table. He put out the plates, spoons and glasses, then brought some bread. While the soup was on the stove, Lina washed the fruit to serve it after dinner. The two friends arrived at six o’clock, and the food was ready on the table.
Everyone sat down and had dinner. One of the two guests said, “This soup is delicious! How did you prepare it?” Lina laughed and explained what had happened. After the two guests left, she thanked her brother for his help. Then she wrote a short shopping list, and tomatoes were the first thing on it.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| دَعَتْ | invited |
| الثَّلَّاجَةَ | the fridge |
| جَزَرًا | carrots |
| حَسَاءَ الْخُضْرَوَاتِ | vegetable soup |
| بَدَلًا مِنْ | instead of |
| قِدْرٍ | a cooking pot |
| الْمَلَاعِقَ | the spoons |
| لَذِيذٌ | delicious |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Look back at the Arabic story when you need a clue. Open the English support if you need help understanding a question.
What to remember
- Lina uses the vegetables she already has to prepare a different soup before her guests arrive.
- Notice بَدَلًا مِنْ for a replacement and ثُمَّ for the next step in preparing the meal.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Food and Drinks in Arabic: 15 Words for Everyday Meals
حَسَاءَ الْخُضْرَوَاتِ
Recognise the ingredients and dishes Lina uses for dinner.
Fa and Thumma: Two Ways to Say “Then” in Arabic
ثُمَّ قَطَّعَتْهُمَا
Follow the order of washing, chopping and cooking.
What I Did Yesterday in Arabic: 6 Simple Past-Tense Sentences
دَعَتْ لِينَا صَدِيقَتَيْنِ
Read completed actions with feminine verb endings as Lina prepares the meal.
