KalamHow to Say Coffee in Arabic
Coffee in Arabic is قهوة (qahwa). The spelling never changes, but the pronunciation does: Egyptians say 'ahwa, Levantines say 'ahwe, Gulf Arabs say gahwa, and Moroccans say qahwa. In the Gulf, gahwa usually means Arabic coffee, a light, cardamom-spiced brew poured into tiny cups and served with dates.
Literally: “coffee”
Coffee across the Arab world
Arabic changes from country to country. Here's what you'll actually hear.
Formal pronunciation. A café is مقهى (maqhā).
Also means a traditional coffeehouse: رايح القهوة (rāyiḥ il-'ahwa), "I'm going to the café."
Levantineقهوة'ahweUsually strong, Turkish-style coffee boiled in a small pot called a ركوة (rakwe).
GulfقهوةgahwaUsually Arabic coffee: lightly roasted, spiced with cardamom (هيل, hēl) and poured from a دلة (dalla).
DarijaقهوةqahwaMoroccans often order نص نص (nuṣṣ nuṣṣ), half coffee, half milk.
Other ways to say coffee
How to respond
Enjoy / to your health (said when someone drinks or eats)
On your heart (the usual reply to ṣaḥtēn; to a woman: ʿala 'albik)
May it always be so (said by a guest after finishing coffee, common in Jordan, Palestine and Syria)
May your days last (the host's reply to dāyme)
How to say it right
The sounds English speakers find tricky, and how to get them right.
Practise with feedbackThe h in the middle is a real, breathy h: qah-wa. Don't let it disappear into "kawa."
The first sound depends on where you are: a deep q in MSA and Morocco, a glottal stop (the catch in "uh-oh") in Cairo and Beirut, and a hard g in the Gulf.
Levantine 'ahwe ends in a short e sound instead of a. It's the same word, just the Levantine ending.
Example sentences
One medium-sweet coffee, please.
EgyptianWould you like coffee? I'll make you a pot.
LevantinePlease, have some coffee and dates.
GulfI'll have a half-and-half (coffee with milk).
DarijaUsing it like a local
In the Gulf, serving gahwa is a ritual of welcome. The host holds the dalla in the left hand and offers the small cup with the right, filling it only part way. Take it with your right hand. Your cup will keep being refilled until you gently shake it side to side to say you've had enough. Arabic coffee was added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2015.
In Egypt and the Levant, coffee usually means thick Turkish-style coffee, and you order the sweetness up front: sāda, ʿala r-rīḥa, maẓbūṭ or ziyāda. The Egyptian 'ahwa is also the neighborhood coffeehouse, where people play backgammon and watch football for hours. In Levantine homes, offering coffee to a guest is almost automatic, and bitter, unsweetened coffee is traditionally served at funerals.
English took its word from Arabic. "Coffee" came through Turkish kahve and Italian caffè from qahwa, and "mocha" is named after al-Mukhā, the Yemeni port that once shipped coffee to the world.
Coffee: common questions
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How do you say coffee in Arabic?
Coffee is قهوة (qahwa). You'll hear it as 'ahwa in Egypt, 'ahwe in Lebanon and Syria, gahwa in the Gulf and qahwa in Morocco. The written word is the same everywhere.
What is Arabic coffee?
Arabic coffee, قهوة عربية (qahwa ʿarabiyya), is lightly roasted coffee boiled with cardamom and sometimes saffron or cloves. It's pale gold, unsweetened and served in tiny handleless cups with dates, especially in the Gulf.
How do you order coffee in Egyptian Arabic?
Say واحد قهوة (wāḥid 'ahwa) and add the sweetness: sāda (no sugar), ʿala r-rīḥa (a hint), maẓbūṭ (medium) or ziyāda (extra sweet). Finish with law samaḥt, "please."
Does the word coffee come from Arabic?
Yes. The English word traces back to Arabic قهوة (qahwa), which passed into Turkish as kahve and then into European languages. Yemen was the first big center of the coffee trade.
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