Food and cooking is a huge part of our culture, and it’s also something that we often bring with us even when we are away from the Mariana Islands. In part 1 of this blog series, we will be learning 20 key words for food preparation. This includes washing and chopping food, and other common preparation steps such as peeling, grating or removing seeds. We will also use these words in simple phrases, many of which were found in the Revised and Updated Chamorro-English Dictionary from the CNMI. This post includes terms, definitions, example phrases, and audio pronunciations voiced by Jay Che’le. Happy studying!

Contents
Washing and Soaking Chopping, Cutting and Slicing Other Food Preparation Steps

Washing and Soaking

In this section, we’ll cover some key Chamorro words related to washing and soaking food.

fa’gåsi	(Trans. Vb.) To wash
sumai	(Trans. Vb.) To soak.
hotyat / hopyat	(Trans. Vb.) To scrub, to wash by scrubbing.
kula	(Trans. Vb.) To filter, strain, sift.
chuda’	(Trans. Vb.) To spill out

Now we will use these words in some example sentences.

Fa’gåsi i pigas asta ki gof klåru i hanom.	Wash the uncooked rice until the water is very clear.
Sumai nåya i lante’as åntis di un na’lågu.	Soak the lentils for a while before you cook them.
Hotyat i batåtas åntis di un hotnu.	Scrub the potatoes before baking them.
Kula i pipitas lemón.	Strain the lemon seeds.
Chuda’ i hanom ya un leche niyok.	Spill out the water and add the coconut milk.

Chopping, Cutting and Slicing

Now we will cover key Chamorro words for chopping, cutting and slicing food.

pika	(Trans. Vb.) to chop, to mince
ipi’ / ipe’	(Trans. Vb.) to split, to cut open
tasåhus / tasåhos	(Trans. Vb.) to chop, cut or slice meat
dibåna	(Trans. Vb.) to slice (bread, cake, etc.)
famikåyan	(Noun) cutting board, chopping block

Now we will use these words in example sentences.

Hu pika i pipinu.	I chopped the cucumber.
Ipi’ i niyuk.	Split the coconut.
Ipi’ talu’ i niyuk.	Split the coconut in half.
Bai hu tasåhus i katni.	I will slice the meat.
Tasåhus i katni.	Cut the meat.
Dibåna i pån.	Slice the bread.
Dibåna potput i pån.	Slice the bread thickly.
Mamåhan yu’ famikåyan pi’ao.	I bought a bamboo cutting board.

Other Food Preparation Steps

Finally, we will learn Chamorro words for other food preparation steps, which includes peeling, grating, crushing, etc.

na’suha	(Trans. Vb.) To remove
låssas	(Trans. Vb.) To peel
etsis	(Trans. Vb.) To grate
kula	(Trans. Vb.) To filter, strain, sift
na’sahnge / na’sahngi	(Trans. Vb.) To separate
figis	(Trans. Vb.) To crush, to smash
mulinu	(Trans. Vb.) To grind
yamak	(Trans. Vb.) To break into pieces
lommok / lommuk	(Trans. Vb.) To pound, pulverize, to make into a pulp by beating. Also: a pestle used for pounding
faisensini	(Trans. Vb.) To debone, to cut or remove meat from the bone
enhågua	(Trans. Vb.) To rinse something.

Now let’s use these words in example sentences:

Na’suha todu i pipitås-ña.	Remove all of its seeds.
Låssas i lemón.	Peel the lemon.
Etsis i mendioka.	Grate the tapioca root.
Etsis finu i mango’.	Finely grate the ginger.
Kula i lechin niyuk åntis di un nå’yi i kaddu.	Strain the coconut cream before you add it to the soup.
Hu kula i harina.	I sifted the flour.
Na’sahnge i båba yan i maolek.	Separate the good from the bad.
Figis i denne’.	Crush the pepper.
Mulinu i mai’es.	Grind the corn.
Yamak i kamuti ni tenidót.	Break the sweet potato into pieces with a fork.
Lommuk esti siha na hågon para i amut.	Pound these leaves for the medicine.
Faisensini i mannuk.	Debone the chicken.
Enhågua i hagon suni.	Rinse the taro leaves.