An appetizer is the first dish served before the main course, designed to stimulate the appetite and introduce the flavors of a meal.
If you’re traveling, learning a new language, exploring international cuisines, or translating restaurant menus, knowing how to say appetizer in different languages can be incredibly useful.
In this guide, you’ll discover appetizer translations in 70 different languages, along with easy pronunciations, example sentences, and English meanings.
This comprehensive resource is perfect for travelers, food lovers, language learners, and anyone curious about appetizer in all languages.
If you’ve ever wondered how to say appetizer in different languages or wanted to learn how people refer to appetizers around the world, this table has everything you need.
Appetizer in Different Languages (70 Languages)
| # | Language | Native Phrase | Easy Pronunciation | Example Sentence | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Appetizer | AP-uh-tie-zer | We ordered an appetizer before dinner. | We ordered an appetizer before dinner. |
| 2 | Spanish | Aperitivo | Ah-peh-ree-TEE-vo | Pedimos un aperitivo antes de cenar. | We ordered an appetizer before dinner. |
| 3 | French | Entrée | Ahn-TRAY | Nous avons pris une entrée. | We had an appetizer. |
| 4 | German | Vorspeise | FOR-shpy-zuh | Ich nehme eine Vorspeise. | I’ll have an appetizer. |
| 5 | Italian | Antipasto | An-tee-PAH-sto | Abbiamo ordinato un antipasto. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 6 | Portuguese | Aperitivo | Ah-peh-ree-CHEE-vo | Pedimos um aperitivo. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 7 | Dutch | Voorgerecht | FOR-khe-rekht | Ik wil een voorgerecht. | I want an appetizer. |
| 8 | Russian | Закуска | Za-KOOS-ka | Мы заказали закуску. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 9 | Ukrainian | Закуска | Za-KOOS-ka | Ми замовили закуску. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 10 | Polish | Przystawka | Pshee-STAV-ka | Zamówiliśmy przystawkę. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 11 | Czech | Předkrm | PRED-krm | Dal jsem si předkrm. | I had an appetizer. |
| 12 | Slovak | Predjedlo | Pred-YED-lo | Dal som si predjedlo. | I had an appetizer. |
| 13 | Hungarian | Előétel | EH-lo-ay-tel | Rendeltem előételt. | I ordered an appetizer. |
| 14 | Romanian | Aperitiv | Ah-peh-ree-TEEV | Am comandat un aperitiv. | I ordered an appetizer. |
| 15 | Bulgarian | Предястие | Pred-YAS-tee-ye | Поръчах предястие. | I ordered an appetizer. |
| 16 | Greek | Ορεκτικό | O-rek-ti-KO | Παρήγγειλα ορεκτικό. | I ordered an appetizer. |
| 17 | Turkish | Meze | Meh-ZEH | Meze sipariş ettik. | We ordered appetizers. |
| 18 | Arabic | مقبلات | Moo-kab-bi-LAT | طلبنا مقبلات. | We ordered appetizers. |
| 19 | Persian | پیش غذا | PISH Ghe-zah | پیش غذا سفارش دادیم. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 20 | Hebrew | מתאבן | Me-ta-AV-en | הזמנו מתאבן. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 21 | Hindi | स्टार्टर | STAR-ter | हमने स्टार्टर मंगाया। | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 22 | Urdu | بھوک بڑھانے والی ڈش | Bhook Barhane Wali Dish | ہم نے بھوک بڑھانے والی ڈش منگوائی۔ | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 23 | Punjabi | ਸਟਾਰਟਰ | Star-ter | ਅਸੀਂ ਸਟਾਰਟਰ ਮੰਗਵਾਇਆ। | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 24 | Bengali | স্টার্টার | STAR-ter | আমরা স্টার্টার অর্ডার করেছি। | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 25 | Gujarati | સ્ટાર્ટર | STAR-ter | અમે સ્ટાર્ટર મંગાવ્યો. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 26 | Marathi | स्टार्टर | STAR-ter | आम्ही स्टार्टर मागवला. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 27 | Tamil | தொடக்க உணவு | Tho-dak-ka Unavu | நாங்கள் தொடக்க உணவு ஆர்டர் செய்தோம். | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 28 | Telugu | స్టార్టర్ | STAR-ter | మేము స్టార్టర్ ఆర్డర్ చేసాము. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 29 | Kannada | ಸ್ಟಾರ್ಟರ್ | STAR-ter | ನಾವು ಸ್ಟಾರ್ಟರ್ ಆರ್ಡರ್ ಮಾಡಿದೆವು. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 30 | Malayalam | സ്റ്റാർട്ടർ | STAR-ter | ഞങ്ങൾ സ്റ്റാർട്ടർ ഓർഡർ ചെയ്തു. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 31 | Sinhala | ආරම්භක ආහාර | A-ram-ba-ka A-ha-ra | අපි ආරම්භක ආහාර ඇණවුම් කළා. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 32 | Nepali | स्टार्टर | STAR-ter | हामीले स्टार्टर मगायौं। | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 33 | Chinese (Simplified) | 开胃菜 | Kai-way-tsai | 我们点了开胃菜。 | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 34 | Chinese (Traditional) | 開胃菜 | Kai-way-tsai | 我們點了開胃菜。 | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 35 | Japanese | 前菜 | Zen-sai | 前菜を注文しました。 | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 36 | Korean | 전채 요리 | Jeon-chae Yo-ri | 전채 요리를 주문했어요. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 37 | Vietnamese | Món khai vị | Mon Khai Vee | Chúng tôi gọi món khai vị. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 38 | Thai | อาหารเรียกน้ำย่อย | A-han Riak Nam-yoi | เราสั่งอาหารเรียกน้ำย่อย | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 39 | Indonesian | Hidangan pembuka | Hi-da-ngan Pem-boo-ka | Kami memesan hidangan pembuka. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 40 | Malay | Pembuka selera | Pem-boo-ka Se-le-ra | Kami memesan pembuka selera. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 41 | Filipino | Pampagana | Pam-pa-ga-na | Umorder kami ng pampagana. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 42 | Swahili | Kitafunio | Ki-ta-foo-nee-o | Tuliagiza kitafunio. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 43 | Afrikaans | Voorgereg | FOR-khe-rekh | Ons het ‘n voorgereg bestel. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 44 | Zulu | Isiqalo | Ee-see-KA-lo | Si-ode isiqalo. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 45 | Xhosa | Isiqalo | Ee-see-KA-lo | Siodole isiqalo. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 46 | Yoruba | Ounjẹ ìbẹ̀rẹ̀ | Oon-je Ee-be-re | A pa ounjẹ ìbẹ̀rẹ̀. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 47 | Igbo | Nri mbido | Nree Mbee-do | Anyị nyere nri mbido. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 48 | Hausa | Abincin farko | A-bin-chin Far-ko | Mun yi odar abincin farko. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 49 | Danish | Forret | FOR-ret | Vi bestilte en forret. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 50 | Swedish | Förrätt | FUR-ret | Vi beställde en förrätt. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 51 | Norwegian | Forrett | FOR-rett | Vi bestilte en forrett. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 52 | Finnish | Alkuruoka | Al-ku-roo-ka | Tilasimme alkuruoan. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 53 | Icelandic | Forréttur | FOR-rye-tur | Við pöntuðum forrétt. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 54 | Estonian | Eelroog | Ail-rohg | Tellisime eelroa. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 55 | Latvian | Uzkoda | Ooz-ko-da | Mēs pasūtījām uzkodu. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 56 | Lithuanian | Užkandis | Ooz-kan-dis | Užsisakėme užkandį. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 57 | Irish | Réamhchúrsa | Ray-av-KHOOR-sa | D’ordaíomar réamhchúrsa. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 58 | Welsh | Cwrs cyntaf | Koors Kun-thai | Fe archebwyd cwrs cyntaf. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 59 | Scottish Gaelic | Toiseach-bìdh | TOY-shekh Bee | Dh’òrdaich sinn toiseach-bìdh. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 60 | Croatian | Predjelo | Pred-YE-lo | Naručili smo predjelo. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 61 | Serbian | Предјело | Pred-YE-lo | Наручили смо предјело. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 62 | Bosnian | Predjelo | Pred-YE-lo | Naručili smo predjelo. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 63 | Slovenian | Predjed | Pred-YED | Naročili smo predjed. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 64 | Albanian | Meze | Meh-ZEH | Porositëm meze. | We ordered appetizers. |
| 65 | Macedonian | Предјадење | Pred-ya-DE-nye | Нарачавме предјадење. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 66 | Armenian | Նախուտեստ | Na-khu-test | Մենք պատվիրեցինք նախուտեստ։ | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 67 | Georgian | აპეტაიზერი | A-pe-ta-i-ze-ri | ჩვენ შევუკვეთეთ აპეტაიზერი. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 68 | Azerbaijani | Qəlyanaltı | Gya-lya-nal-ty | Biz qəlyanaltı sifariş etdik. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 69 | Kazakh | Тіскебасар | Tis-ke-ba-sar | Біз тіскебасарға тапсырыс бердік. | We ordered an appetizer. |
| 70 | Mongolian | Амттан | Amt-tan | Бид амттан захиалсан. | We ordered an appetizer. |
What Does “Appetizer” Mean?
An appetizer is a small dish served before the main meal. Its purpose is to prepare your appetite and introduce the flavors of the upcoming course. Around the world, appetizers include soups, salads, finger foods, dips, breads, seafood, and regional specialties.
Although the name varies from language to language, the idea remains the same—a delicious beginning to a meal.
Why Learn Appetizer in Different Languages?
Learning appetizer in different languages offers several benefits:
- Read international restaurant menus with confidence.
- Communicate easily while traveling abroad.
- Improve your vocabulary in multiple languages.
- Understand food culture around the world.
- Make ordering meals easier in foreign countries.
Appetizer Translations Around the World
Many countries use unique words for appetizers based on their culinary traditions. For example:
- Italian uses Antipasto, famous for cured meats and cheeses.
- Turkish commonly uses Meze for small shared dishes.
- Japanese restaurants often serve Zensai (前菜) before the main meal.
- Chinese restaurants refer to appetizers as 开胃菜, meaning “appetite-opening dish.”
These appetizer translations reflect the rich diversity of global cuisine.
Common Situations to Use the Word “Appetizer”
You may use this word when:
- Ordering food in a restaurant.
- Reading multilingual menus.
- Traveling internationally.
- Studying foreign languages.
- Cooking recipes from different countries.
Conclusion
Learning appetizer in different languages is a fun and practical way to improve both your language skills and your understanding of international food culture.
If you’re traveling, dining abroad, or simply expanding your vocabulary, these 70 translations help you recognize and use the word confidently. Keep this guide handy whenever you want to explore appetizer around the world or discover new culinary traditions.
FAQs:
1. How do you say appetizer in different languages?
Different languages use different words, such as Antipasto in Italian, Aperitivo in Spanish, Vorspeise in German, and 前菜 in Japanese.
2. What is the meaning of an appetizer?
An appetizer is a small dish served before the main course to stimulate the appetite.
3. Why are appetizer translations useful?
They help travelers, language learners, and food enthusiasts understand menus and communicate more effectively in restaurants.
4. Is appetizer the same as a starter?
Yes. In many English-speaking countries, “starter” and “appetizer” have the same meaning.
5. Which countries are famous for appetizers?
Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Greece, Japan, China, and many Mediterranean countries are especially known for their traditional appetizer dishes.

Anthony Dylan is a language enthusiast and content writer at LingoMean, where he helps readers understand what to say in different situations. He creates clear, practical, and engaging guides that improve communication, confidence, and everyday conversations.