Cooking & Markets

1. うちなー ほーちゅー ぬ ちゅくいかたー ならーち くぃみそーれー

   U-chi-naa hoo-chuu nu chu-ku-i-ka-taa na-raa-chi kwi-mi-soo-ree

   Please teach me how to make Okinawan cuisine.

   Usage

   Used to request instructions on cooking Okinawan food

   Grammar Note

   Hoocuu is "cuisine" and ?ucinaa is Okinawa. Cukuikata is "way of making, method of manufacture", i.e. chukuikata. Okinawan has no /tsu/ syllable. "Naraachi" is the te-form of "to teach" (naraasuN), i.e. "teach me". "Kumisoree" adds high honorific.

2. ちゃんぷるー ぬ ちゅくいかたー わかいびーが？

   Chan-pu-ruu nu chu-ku-i-ka-taa wa-kai-bii-ga?

   Do you know how to make Champuru (Okinawan stir-fry)?

   Usage

   Used to ask about how to make Champuru, the iconic Okinawan stir-fry

   Grammar Note

   Cukuikata is "way of making, method of manufacture", i.e. chukuikata. Okinawan has no /tsu/ syllable. "Wakaibiga" is the polite question form of "wakaru" (to understand). "Chanpuruu" is caNpuruu.

3. ごーやーや いっぺー んじゃさん

   Goo-yaa ya ip-pee n-ja-san

   Bitter melon (Goya) is very bitter.

   Usage

   Used to describe the bitter taste of Goya (bitter melon)

   Grammar Note

   'NzasaN is "bitter" and ?iQpee "very, exceedingly" is the intensifier; the example ?iQpee curasaN "very beautiful" shows this word order. The topic marker is ya, not nu.

4. ぞうすい んかい とうふ いれてぃ くぃみそーれー

   Zoo-su-i n-kai too-fu i-re-ti kwi-mi-soo-ree

   Please add tofu to the porridge.

   Usage

   Used when giving cooking instructions

   Grammar Note

   "Ireti" is the Ryukyuan form of "irete" (put in). "Nkai" is the locative particle.

5. んす ぬ しょっぱさー ちょうせい さびら

   N-su nu shop-pa-saa choo-sei sa-bi-ra

   Let's adjust the saltiness of the miso.

   Usage

   Used when adjusting seasoning while cooking

   Grammar Note

   'Nsu "miso", i.e. nsu; misu is a variant, but Okinawan has no short /o/, so miso is not a possible form. "Shoppasaa" is the nominalized form of "shoppai" (salty).

6. いくち ぬ ふん いりーびーが？

   I-ku-chi nu fun i-rii-bii-ga?

   How many minutes do you cook it?

   Usage

   Used to ask about cooking time

   Grammar Note

   "Ikuchi" is the Ryukyuan form of "ikutsu" (how many), asking about quantity.

7. うちなーすば ぬ しる まーさいびーたん

   U-chi-naa-su-ba nu shi-ru maa-sa-i-bii-tan

   The Okinawa soba broth was delicious.

   Usage

   Used to compliment a dish after eating

   Grammar Note

   Broth is siru and delicious is maasaN; maasaibiitan is its polite past and directly states that it was delicious. Kwacchiisabitan means "thank you for the meal", not "was delicious".

8. ぬーがな まーさむん ちゅくやびら

   Nuu-ga-na maa-sa-mun chu-ku-ya-bi-ra

   Let's make something delicious.

   Usage

   Used to suggest making something delicious together

   Grammar Note

   Maasamun is maasamuN, "tasty food; something delicious". Nuugana is nuugana, "something; anything". Chukuyabira is Cuku=juN [transitive, =raN/=ti] "to make, to prepare" plus the polite hortative -abira, formed like katajabira "let us talk" and ?agijabira "let me give you this". Nuugutu is "what matter/what business", the kutu of maasankutu is the abstract noun "thing, matter" and never attaches to food, and ashibira comes from ?aSi=buN "to play", not "to make".

9. ほうちょう まーんかい あいびーが？

   Hoo-choo maa-n-kai a-i-bii-ga?

   Where is the kitchen knife?

   Usage

   Used to ask where the kitchen knife is

   Grammar Note

   Existence uses aibiin, the polite form of an "there is" (?aN), with the question form aibiimi. The copula yaibiin / yaibiimi means "it is / is it?" and cannot stand in for an existential. "Maa" means "where" in Ryukyuan. "Yaibiiga" is a polite question about location.

10. いりぐ あいびーみ？

    I-ri-gu a-i-bii-mi?

    Do we have ingredients?

    Usage

    Used before cooking to check if ingredients are available

    Grammar Note

    Existence uses aibiin, the polite form of an "there is" (?aN), with the question form aibiimi. The copula yaibiin / yaibiimi means "it is / is it?" and cannot stand in for an existential. The word for ingredients is irigu. The similar-sounding teegee means "roughly, easygoing", not "ingredients".

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