Local Drinks

1. Shaah

   Tea (sweet, often spiced)

   Usage

   An everyday drink in Somalia, sweetened with sugar and often spiced or made with milk.

   Grammar Note

   The dictionary lists a sense of a red drink made from tea leaves, sugar and other plants. The heading uses the dictionary spelling shaah, not the Wikipedia title Shaax.

2. Shaah qorfe leh

   Tea with cinnamon bark

   Usage

   Tea flavoured with fragrant bark such as cinnamon. When ordering, it helps to add how much sugar you want.

   Grammar Note

   The dictionary defines qorfe as fragrant bark added to tea. "With" is built by placing leh (having) after the noun.

3. Qaxwo

   Coffee

   Usage

   A drink that is taken at breakfast alongside tea. The coffee bean itself is called bun.

   Grammar Note

   The dictionary gives qaxwe as a synonym. Qaxwo is feminine, with the definite form qaxwada.

4. Caano

   Milk

   Usage

   The word for the milk of goats, sheep, cows and camels alike, and close to a staple drink in pastoral life.

   Grammar Note

   Caano is treated as a plural-type noun, with the definite form caanaha.

5. Caano geel

   Camel milk

   Usage

   A traditional drink of herding communities; camel milk and meat are considered a traditional meal.

   Grammar Note

   Caano (milk) and geel (camel) side by side make camel milk.

6. Biyo

   Water

   Usage

   Drinking water. While travelling it is safer to choose sealed bottled water.

   Grammar Note

   Biyo behaves like a plural noun, with the definite form biyaha.

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