In Indonesia it's "selamat makan" which pretty much means Happy Eating, but on more informal occasions we tend to just say "makan", the eating part

"Oi! Lakas tah makan! Lapar ku ni!"

Which means.....Oi! Let's eat! I'm starving!
*cough...in Malay language...Brunei Dialect.




Hello fellow Malay-speaking Indonesian!
It's actually rare for bruneians to say "Selamat makan".
instead, we formally say "Jemput Makan"



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The Hidden Agenda=Gol.D.Ace

This Week's favourite:
DoLL (Okado Tatsuya)
Xp

Hee. Interesting.
I'd say all three can be used.. But..
"Hyvää ruokahalua" [good appetite (for you)/~bon appetit], the polite way to start a meal with people -- normally you'd only hear kindergarten-kids saying it (like someone mentioned) as grown-ups would only use it on a formal occasion (or on those awful family occasions with all your aunts and uncles around when you have to be very polite >_<). Moreover, it's usually said by a waiter to a customer when bringing the food to table, so its meaning is different from "itadakkimasu"..
"Kiitos ruuasta" [thank you for the food].. Well, you wouldn't necessarily say it before the meal, more like after.. Saying it before sounds very religious to me.. Like thanking the God, because you always (if you are the tiniest bit polite >.<) thank the cook after you've finished eating. And you wouldn't say it if you were by yourself.

So we Finns would probably be categorized as the same kind of (shy) brutes as the English-speaking, although we do always thank for the food afterwards.

Personally, I say Itadakkimasu. x]

Last edited by Jadezki at 12:03 pm, Jan 28 2009

People in America do say things before they eat.

Usually it goes "I am starving or it is when the hell is it going to be dinner time"

Just Kidding. Thats just me

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Sun Tzu

Jal Muk Gae Sum Yee Dah (Korean)

Well, I'm American. Everyone I know says "Thank you (or thanks) for the food (or meal)." Sometimes I hear "Let's dig in." Or "This looks great, can I start?"

I read some of the other American posts, and I have to say -- where are you guys living? Must be a rough place.

in my language we usually say, "kainan na" but sometimes i preferably say," pusang gala wag nyo kong ubusan mga patay gutom kayo!!!" or sometimes even, "tae, ano ba yan di ka ba makaintindi kakain na tayo!!!" or something like that...

fufufufufufu...too bad some people wouldnt understand this...

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The sweeter the apple, the higher the branch. The quieter the fart, the nastier the smell.
GUESS WHO??

"Thanks for the food" is about as close as my family gets, generally.

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Well it's "smacznego" in Polish )

There's nothing that you have to say, bu we usually go "Ok! Let's eat!" Ummmm, we pray tho

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Lalala~

in norwegian we say "værsågod" before we eat, which means something like "you are welcome" or "here you are". thats what we say in my home atleast

잘 먹갰음니다 or something like that.

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（ﾉﾟ-ﾟ）ﾉ☆ どぞ。
Have a star.

On special occasions us americans say (well at least our family does) something like, "Let's eat!" or "Dig in!". At the end of the meal I always thank my parents for making/buying it for me. My brothers however... don't (I just think it's rude not to say thank you after your parents took time to make it for you). -_-;

Same here!

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"I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy."

In germany nobody says something if they are eating alone but they say "Guten Apetit" if they eat with other people