[Vocabulary] after eating

[Narkises]

Hi,
What would you say after someone eats something?
For example, you have a party and you hand around tea. One of the guests says: "no thanks, I've just drunk a cup of tea." At this moment, what would you say to him/her?
I need a phrase to show respect towards your guests.

 

[Rover_KE]

'Let me know if you change your mind.'

 

[Narkises]

No, I don't mean that.

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, then what do you mean? We're not mind readers!

 

[Narkises]

Hahaha...
OK. Generally speaking, what would you say when someone eats something? We say "noosh Jan" which means.... Thank you for eating that; you did the right thing; I hope the food makes you happy; and I hope it turns to energy for your body. All these positive words show a kind of respect to the eater. Moreover, it shows you're happy because the eater ate something.

 

[emsr2d2]

The only thing I might say to someone after they had eaten something I prepared is "Did you enjoy it?" We don't thank people for eating our food. They thank us for preparing and serving it.
In some restaurants, a waiter might say "Bon appetit" which effectively means "[I hope you] enjoy your food".

 

[Narkises]

A: "where is my popcorn? I put it somewhere."
B: "Oh, sorry. I ate that. I didn't know that was yours."
A: " No problem. You're my best friend. (???) = noosh jan"

 

[emsr2d2]

A: "Where is my popcorn? I put it somewhere."
B: "Oh, sorry. I ate [strike]that[/strike] it. I didn't know [strike]that[/strike] it was yours."
A: "No problem. You're my best friend. (???) = noosh jan"

We wouldn't say anything in place of your "noosh jan". Lots of people wouldn't be so understanding about someone else eating their food. A's final line might be "OK. I'll have to buy some more then". A less polite person might say "OK. I hope you're going to buy me some more popcorn to replace it".

A sarcastic person might end with "I hope you enjoyed it" but they probably wouldn't mean it!

(I think you were typing while I was typing post #6 so please read my other reply there.)

 

[GoesStation]

I can't think of a similar expression in English.

 

[Narkises]

OK. Look:

A: "Did you enjoy it?"
B: "Yes. Thank you so much."
A: " You're welcome." And what??? What would you say after that? Nothing?

 

[emsr2d2]

"You're welcome" would be perfectly sufficient.

 

[Narkises]

We don't thank people for eating our food.

Really? But we thank the eater. We enjoy when our guests eat our food and we say noosh Jan. Don't you like it when your guests come and eat? I think it's a kind of pleasure. Even more enjoyable than when you yourself eat something.

 

[emsr2d2]

I understand that that's what you do in your culture but we simply don't say anything of the sort. At the end of the evening, I might say "Thanks for coming. I'm glad you enjoyed the food" but we don't thank people for eating.
In answer to your last point, I can certainly say that I don't enjoy other people eating more than I enjoy eating food myself. Of course, it's always nice when people appreciate something you've cooked for them but, I will say it again, we don't thank them for eating it!

 

[GoesStation]

Customs around dining vary a lot in different cultures. Years ago my family welcomed a cousin and her family as they immigrated from Soviet Russia to California. My mother had been so busy getting everything ready for them that she had no time to cook; instead, she bought a giant bucket of fried chicken from the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain. She piled the chicken pieces on a serving platter and passed it around the table.

My mother was a great cook and was embarrassed to offer nothing more than fast food, but she was still a little surprised that the Russians all exclaimed that they really weren't hungry after their very long journey. Each one reluctantly took the smallest piece on the platter after much cajoling.

They were not at all reluctant to take seconds, though. Once they'd taken the first piece, they accepted seconds and more until the mound of fried chicken was gone. We later learned that it at that time in Russia, it was very impolite to accept food without giving the host every possible chance to withdraw the offer of it. Food shortages and famine were still very recent memories in 1970s Russia, so etiquette had evolved to make it possible for a host to offer food without necessarily having to give it to a guest.

 

[Narkises]

I think people in the East are more hospitable. We show a great respect towards our guests. We believe guests bring happiness and a lot of gifts from God. Moreover, inviting gusts and serving them prolong our lives. So, our houses are always open to people. And we appreciate anyone who accepts our invitation.

 

[Raymott]

That's not a customary way to think or feel in any English society that I know of, so the accompanying words would be wrong.
An appropriate response to your original question about a guest declining a cup of tea would be, "Fine", or "OK", then you move on to the next person and offer them tea.