Lesson 55: Dietary Needs and Allergies
Eating out safely means being able to explain what you can and can’t eat. This lesson gives you the words for dietary needs and allergies — useful, and sometimes essential.
Ordering with a restriction
מָה תִּרְצוּ לְהַזְמִין?
ma tirtsu lehazmin?
What would you like to order?
אֲנִי צִמְחוֹנִי. יֵשׁ מָנָה בְּלִי בָּשָׂר?
ani tsimchoni. yesh mana bli basar?
I’m vegetarian. Is there a dish without meat?
בְּוַדַּאי, הַסָּלָט מְצֻיָּן.
bevadai, hasalat metsuyan.
Of course, the salad is excellent.
וַאֲנִי אָלֶרְגִי לֶאֱגוֹזִים.
va’ani alergi le’egozim.
And I’m allergic to nuts.
אֲצַיֵּן זֹאת לַמִּטְבָּח.
atsayen zot lamitbach.
I’ll note that for the kitchen.
Grammar: “without”, “allergic to”, and diets
Three patterns cover almost everything:
- בְּלִי (bli, “without”) + a food: בְּלִי בָּשָׂר (“without meat”)
- אָלֶרְגִי לְ־ (alergi le-, “allergic to”) + a food: אָלֶרְגִי לֶאֱגוֹזִים (“allergic to nuts”)
- the diet adjectives צִמְחוֹנִי (tsimchoni, “vegetarian”) and טִבְעוֹנִי (tivoni, “vegan”)
All agree with you in gender: a woman says צִמְחוֹנִית (tsimchonit), אָלֶרְגִית (alergit).
Tip: כָּשֵׁר (kasher, “kosher”) and לְלֹא גְּלוּטֵן (lelo gluten, “gluten-free”) are two more labels you’ll see on menus everywhere in Israel.
Vocabulary
Diets
| צִמְחוֹנִי | tsimchoni | vegetarian |
| טִבְעוֹנִי | tivoni | vegan |
| כָּשֵׁר | kasher | kosher |
Allergies & restrictions
| אָלֶרְגִי לְ | alergi le | allergic to |
| אֱגוֹזִים | egozim | nuts |
| גְּלוּטֵן | gluten | gluten |
| בָּשָׂר | basar | meat |