Ways to say it
| Uzbek | Pronunciation | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mazali | ma-za-LI | Tasty, delicious | |
| Juda mazali! | ju-DA ma-za-LI | Very tasty! | The standard compliment. |
| Mazali boʻlibdi | ma-za-LI boʻ-lib-DI | It has turned out delicious | What you say about a dish someone cooked. |
| Shirin | shi-RIN | Sweet; tasty | Used for sweet things, and warmly for food in general. |
Capital letters mark the stressed syllable. Uzbek stress usually falls on the last syllable.
What it literally means
Having taste.
In a real exchange
- Host: Palov yoqdimi?
Did you like the plov? - You: Juda mazali boʻlibdi! Qoʻlingiz dard koʻrmasin.
It's delicious! May your hands never know pain. - Host: Osh boʻlsin!
May it nourish you!
Good to know
- Maza is “taste”; -li makes an adjective: “with taste”. Bemaza, “without taste”, is the opposite.
- Qoʻlingiz dard koʻrmasin is the traditional thanks to a cook. It always lands well.
Common mistakes
- Confusing mazali (tasty) with shirin (sweet). Plov is mazali, a melon is shirin.
This phrase is part of Uzbek phrases for the bazaar in the free phrasebook, with the grammar behind it.