Nana's Kitchen

Hrana i piće: Food & Drink

Goal: Name everyday foods and drinks.

Bread with every meal is non-negotiable in a Bosnian household. If there's no hljeb on the table, the meal hasn't officially started.

Za stolom: At the Table

'Dosta, hvala' (enough, thank you) is understood by Bosnian hosts as 'please refill my plate while I'm not looking.' You'll be offered food a minimum of three times. Declining all three is considered a personality flaw.

Za sofrom: At the Table: the Little Things

Goal: I can name what's set on Nana's sofra and ask for what I need at the table.

In a Bosnian home you don't sit at a table, you sit za sofru: the whole laid spread, the good stolnjak, and everyone leaning in.

Pita i specijaliteti: Pita & Specialties

Goal: Order and talk about the iconic dishes.

Calling a cheese pita 'burek' will get you gently but firmly corrected by every Bosnian within earshot. This lesson may save your reputation in Sarajevo.

Kahva: Coffee Ritual

Goal: Navigate the Bosnian coffee ritual, the social heart of every visit.

Bosnian kahva isn't a caffeine delivery system, it's a two-hour institution. Rushing your fildžan is like leaving a wedding after the appetizer. When nana says 'polako', she means the coffee, the conversation, and life in general.

Nanina kuhinja: Nana's Kitchen: Where Things Are

Goal: I can name the things in Nana's kitchen: the fridge, the stove, the pot the pita bakes in.

Unit 2 is Nanina kuhinja, and this is where the džezva lives, the pita bakes, and the whole family drifts back all day. Now you can name every corner of it: the frižider that's always full and the tepsija the pita coils into.

Doručak: Breakfast

Goal: Name the three meals and say what you eat and drink for breakfast.

Breakfast at nana's is not optional and it is not small. Hljeb, sir, jaja, kahva, and she has decided you are too thin.

Nema više!: It's All Gone (Genitive)

Goal: Say when something has run out, using the genitive after 'nema'.

In Nana’s kitchen you’ll hear “nema više!” constantly. No more of it, it’s gone. After “nema”, the word changes its ending: kahva → nema kahve, hljeb → nema hljeba.

Next unit: Numbers & Time.