We in Holland (The Dutch) say : Eet Smakelijk
it simply means enjoy ur meal

In Serbia we say "Prijatno"

In finnish it would be "Hyvää ruokahalua".

In my circles here in Sweden we usually don't say anything before the food (if not "Maten är klar"). Usually, though, we only say the equivalent to Gochisousama: "Tack för maten". My family and friends are a rude bunch

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You don't really have one in Maori that I can think of, but you might say a karakia(prayer) before eating. From my experience thats pretty common in primary schools or when your on the Marae

Ack...aku mau makan..lapar ku..

which means.. "I'm starving..I want to eat".
Actually, I really am starving now, I havent eaten anything today except for a couple of salted pretzels ;____;

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While there's no one word or phrase that every English speaker says before a meal, it's pretty common for my family and friends to thank the person who cooked the meal before we eat. And during or after the meal to compliment the food.

It might be more common if you are eating at someone else's house (non-family member) to thank them for inviting you to dinner.

And if you're religious, then you would say a prayer before the meal to thank God. So I don't really agree that English speakers are ungrateful. Maybe it's just some haven't been taught proper manners.

잘먹겟슴니다

I don't really say it but for me it Bon appétit.

My native language is English, but at home when I'm with Koreans I say "잘 먹겠습니다" Jal mokkesseumnida before I eat and after I eat I say "잘 먹었습니다" Jal mokkosseumnida

Basically "I'll eat well" and "I ate well."

By myself or with English-speakers I just pray.

A buen tiempo,its spanish btw.

It was already said but "Smacznego" in polish and in lithuanian it would be "skanaus" ( there are so many polish guys and girls it's a really plesant surprise )

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My family and I pray before every meal, if that counts.

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congrats on being the first korean in this thread to spell 잘 먹겠습니다 right -.-

Last edited by ilovebhong at 1:48 pm, Sep 23 2013

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