cafeteria

See also: Cafeteria, cafetería, caféteria, and cafétéria

English

Alternative forms

• caféteria
• cafétéria (rare)
• cafeterie

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish cafetería (“coffeehouse”), from cafetera (“coffee maker”), from French cafetière, from café, from Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve) (Turkish kahve), from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa, “coffee”). Doublet of cafetière.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkafəˈtɪə̯.ɹi.ə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkæfəˈtɪ(ə)ɹi.ə/
• Rhymes: -ɪɹiə, -ɪəɹiə

Noun

cafeteria (plural cafeterias)

1. (chiefly US, Canada) A restaurant in which customers select their food at a counter then carry it on a tray to a table to eat.
2. (chiefly US, Canada) A dining area in an institution where meals may be purchased (as above), provided, or brought in from elsewhere.

Synonyms

• lunchroom
• (dining area in an institution): canteen

Derived terms

• booketeria
• buffeteria
• cafeteria bowling
• cafeteria Catholic
• cafeteria Catholicism
• cafeteria Christian
• cafeteria Christianity
• cafeterial
• cafeteria plan
• cafeteria-style
• luncheteria

 

Related terms

• caf, caff
• café, cafe
• cafetorium
• drugeteria
• washeteria

Translations

restaurant

• Albanian: mensë (sq) f, menxë f
• Arabic: مَقْصَف (ar) m (maqṣaf), كَافِتِيرِيَا f (kāfetēriyā)
• Armenian: ճաշարան (hy) (čašaran)
• Azerbaijani: yeməkxana (az), bufet (az), kafeteriya, aşxana
• Bashkir: ашхана (aşxana)
• Basque: kantina (eu), jantegi (eu)
• Belarusian: стра́ўня f (stráŭnja), кафэтэ́рый m (kafetéryj)
• Bulgarian: столо́ва (bg) f (stolóva)
• Catalan: cafeteria f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 餐廳／餐厅 (caan¹ teng¹), 飯堂／饭堂 (faan⁶ tong⁴)

  Mandarin: 食堂 (zh) (shítáng), 餐廳／餐厅 (zh) (cāntīng)

• Chuvash: столовӑй (stolovăj)
• Czech: jídelna (cs) f, bufet (cs), menza (cs) (at university)
• Danish: cafeteria (da) n
• Dutch: kantine (nl) f, cafetaria (nl) m or f
• Estonian: söökla (et), kantiin, kafeteeria
• Finnish: kahvio (fi) (usually as part of a larger entity such as a large retail store); kafeteria (fi)
• French: cafétéria (fr) f, cafèt’ (fr) f , cantine (fr) f
• Georgian: სასადილო (sasadilo)
• German: Cafeteria (de) f, Kantine (de) f
• Greek: καφετέρια (el) f (kafetéria), καντίνα (el) f (kantína), τραπεζαρία (el) f (trapezaría)

  Ancient Greek: φιδίτιον n (phidítion)

• Hebrew: מִזְנוֹן (he) m (miznon), קָפִיטֶרְיָה (he) f (kafitéria), קַנטִינָה (he) f (kantina)
• Hindi: कैंटीन (hi) m (kaiṇṭīn), कैफ़ेटेरिया m (kaifeṭeriyā), काफ़ीघर m (kāfīghar)
• Hungarian: kantin (hu), menza (hu), bisztró (hu), önkiszolgáló étterem/étkezde, étkezde (hu)
• Ido: kantino (io)
• Italian: caffetteria (it) f, mensa (it) f
• Japanese: 食堂 (ja) (しょくどう, shokudō), カフェテリア (ja) (kafeteria)
• Kazakh: асхана (asxana)
• Korean: 식당(食堂) (ko) (sikdang), 카페테리아 (kapeteria)
• Kyrgyz: ашкана (ky) (aşkana), столовая (ky) (stolovaya)
• Lao: ໂຮງອາຫານ (hōng ʼā hān)
• Latin: cafeteria
• Latvian: ēdnīca f, kafetērija f
• Lithuanian: valgykla f
• Macedonian: кантина f (kantina), кафетерија f (kafeterija)
• Malay: kafeteria
• Maori: kāmuri
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: цайны газар (cajny gazar)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kafeteria (no) m

  Nynorsk: kafeteria m

• Persian: کافه‌تریا (kâfe-teriyâ)
• Polish: kafeteria (pl) f, stołówka (pl) f
• Portuguese: cafeteria (pt) f, cantina (pt) f
• Romanian: cofetărie (ro) f, cantină (ro) f
• Russian: кафете́рий (ru) m (kafetɛ́rij), столо́вая (ru) f (stolóvaja), заку́сочная (ru) f (zakúsočnaja), буфе́т (ru) m (bufét)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: канти́на f, кафетѐрија f

  Roman: kantína (sh) f, kafetèrija (sh) f

• Slovak: kantína f, jedáleň f
• Slovene: menza (sl) f
• Spanish: cafetería (es) f, cantina (es) f
• Swahili: mikahawa (sw)
• Swedish: cafeteria (sv) c, fik (sv) n, lunchrestaurang (sv) c, kafé (sv) n, lunchservering c, servering (sv) c
• Tajik: ошхона (tg) (ošxona)
• Thai: โรงอาหาร (roong-aa-hǎan)
• Tongan: fale kai
• Turkish: kantin (tr), kafeterya (tr)
• Turkmen: mytara
• Ukrainian: їда́льня (uk) f (jidálʹnja), кафете́рій m (kafetérij)
• Uyghur: ئاشخانا (ashxana)
• Uzbek: oshxona (uz), ovqatxona (uz), yemakxona (uz), kafeterya (uz)
• Yiddish: קאַפֿעטעריע f (kafeterye), קאַנטינע f (kantine), סטאָלאָווע f (stolove), סטאָלאָווקע f (stolovke)

dining area

• Armenian: ճաշարան (hy) (čašaran)
• Azerbaijani: yeməkxana (az), kafeteriya, aşxana
• Belarusian: стра́ўня f (stráŭnja), стало́вая f (stalóvaja), яда́льня f (jadálʹnja), стало́ўка f (stalóŭka), стало́ўня f (stalóŭnja), кафетэ́рый m (kafjetéryj), кафэтэ́рый m (kafetéryj)
• Bulgarian: столо́ва (bg) f (stolóva)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 食堂 (zh) (shítáng), 餐廳／餐厅 (zh) (cāntīng), 館子／馆子 (zh) (guǎnzi)

• Czech: kantýna (cs) f, jídelna (cs) f
• Danish: cafeteria (da) n (meals can be purchased), kantine (da) c (meals can be purchased), spisesal c (schools), frokoststue (da) c (companies, no sale of food)
• Dutch: cafetaria (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: manĝejo
• Estonian: kafeteeria, söökla (et)
• Finnish: ruokala (fi), kanttiini (fi), kafeteria (fi)
• French: caféteria f, cantine (fr) f, réfectoire (fr) m
• German: Kantine (de) f, Mensa (de) f (at university)
• Greek: καφετέρια (el) f (kafetéria)
• Hebrew: חדר אוכל m (khéder ókhel), קָפִיטֶרְיָה (he) f (kafitéria)
• Hungarian: étkező (hu), büfé (hu)
• Italian: mensa (it)
• Japanese: 食堂 (ja) (しょくどう, shokudō), カフェテリア (ja) (kafeteria), 学食 (ja) (がくしょく, gakushoku) (school cafeteria)
• Kazakh: асхана (asxana), дәмхана (dämxana)
• Khmer: អាហារដ្ឋាន (ʼaahaaratthaan)
• Korean: 식당(食堂) (ko) (sikdang), 구내식당(構內食堂) (gunaesikdang), 카페테리아 (kapeteria)
• Kyrgyz: ашкана (ky) (aşkana), столовая (ky) (stolovaya), кафетерий (ky) (kafeteriy)
• Latvian: ēdnīca f, kafetērija f
• Lithuanian: valgykla f
• Macedonian: кантина f (kantina), менза f (menza)
• Malay: kafeteria
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: гуанз (mn) (guanz)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kafeteria (no) m

  Nynorsk: kafeteria m

• Persian: کافه‌تریا (kâfe-teriyâ)
• Polish: stołówka (pl) f
• Portuguese: refeitório (pt), cantina (pt)
• Russian: столо́вая (ru) f (stolóvaja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: канти́на f, ме̏нза f

  Roman: kantína (sh) f, mȅnza (sh) f

• Slovak: kantína f, jedáleň f
• Slovene: menza (sl) f
• Spanish: comedor (es) m, cantina (es) f, casino (es) m
• Swahili: mikahawa (sw)
• Swedish: matsal (sv) c, lunchrum (sv) n, fik (sv) n, matbespisning c, kantin (sv) c
• Tajik: ошхона (tg) (ošxona)
• Thai: โรงอาหาร (roong-aa-hǎan)
• Turkish: kantin (tr), kafeterya (tr), aşhane (tr)
• Turkmen: aşhana (tk), mytara
• Ukrainian: їда́льня (uk) f (jidálʹnja), кафете́рій m (kafetérij)
• Uzbek: oshxona (uz), ovqatxona (uz), yemakxona (uz), kafeteriy
• Vietnamese: nhà ăn (vi), căng tin (vi), căn tin

Catalan

Etymology

From cafeter ‎ -ia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [kə.fə.təˈɾi.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ka.fe.teˈɾi.a]
• Rhymes: -ia

Noun

cafeteria f (plural cafeteries)

1. coffeehouse, cafe

Further reading

• “cafeteria”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑfeteriɑ/, [ˈkɑ̝fe̞ˌt̪e̞riɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -eriɑ

Noun

cafeteria

1. Alternative form of kafeteria.

Declension

Inflection of cafeteria (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)
nominative		cafeteria	cafeteriat
genitive		cafeterian	cafeterioiden cafeterioitten
partitive		cafeteriaa	cafeterioita
illative		cafeteriaan	cafeterioihin
		singular	plural
nominative		cafeteria	cafeteriat
accusative	nom.	cafeteria	cafeteriat
	gen.	cafeterian
genitive		cafeterian	cafeterioiden cafeterioitten cafeteriain rare
partitive		cafeteriaa	cafeterioita
inessive		cafeteriassa	cafeterioissa
elative		cafeteriasta	cafeterioista
illative		cafeteriaan	cafeterioihin
adessive		cafeterialla	cafeterioilla
ablative		cafeterialta	cafeterioilta
allative		cafeterialle	cafeterioille
essive		cafeteriana	cafeterioina
translative		cafeteriaksi	cafeterioiksi
abessive		cafeteriatta	cafeterioitta
instructive		—	cafeterioin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of cafeteria (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cafeteriani cafeteriani accusative nom. cafeteriani cafeteriani gen. cafeteriani genitive cafeteriani cafeterioideni cafeterioitteni cafeteriaini rare partitive cafeteriaani cafeterioitani inessive cafeteriassani cafeterioissani elative cafeteriastani cafeterioistani illative cafeteriaani cafeterioihini adessive cafeteriallani cafeterioillani ablative cafeterialtani cafeterioiltani allative cafeterialleni cafeterioilleni essive cafeterianani cafeterioinani translative cafeteriakseni cafeterioikseni abessive cafeteriattani cafeterioittani instructive — — comitative — cafeterioineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cafeteriasi cafeteriasi accusative nom. cafeteriasi cafeteriasi gen. cafeteriasi genitive cafeteriasi cafeterioidesi cafeterioittesi cafeteriaisi rare partitive cafeteriaasi cafeterioitasi inessive cafeteriassasi cafeterioissasi elative cafeteriastasi cafeterioistasi illative cafeteriaasi cafeterioihisi adessive cafeteriallasi cafeterioillasi ablative cafeterialtasi cafeterioiltasi allative cafeteriallesi cafeterioillesi essive cafeterianasi cafeterioinasi translative cafeteriaksesi cafeterioiksesi abessive cafeteriattasi cafeterioittasi instructive — — comitative — cafeterioinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cafeteriamme cafeteriamme accusative nom. cafeteriamme cafeteriamme gen. cafeteriamme genitive cafeteriamme cafeterioidemme cafeterioittemme cafeteriaimme rare partitive cafeteriaamme cafeterioitamme inessive cafeteriassamme cafeterioissamme elative cafeteriastamme cafeterioistamme illative cafeteriaamme cafeterioihimme adessive cafeteriallamme cafeterioillamme ablative cafeterialtamme cafeterioiltamme allative cafeteriallemme cafeterioillemme essive cafeterianamme cafeterioinamme translative cafeteriaksemme cafeterioiksemme abessive cafeteriattamme cafeterioittamme instructive — — comitative — cafeterioinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cafeterianne cafeterianne accusative nom. cafeterianne cafeterianne gen. cafeterianne genitive cafeterianne cafeterioidenne cafeterioittenne cafeteriainne rare partitive cafeteriaanne cafeterioitanne inessive cafeteriassanne cafeterioissanne elative cafeteriastanne cafeterioistanne illative cafeteriaanne cafeterioihinne adessive cafeteriallanne cafeterioillanne ablative cafeterialtanne cafeterioiltanne allative cafeteriallenne cafeterioillenne essive cafeteriananne cafeterioinanne translative cafeteriaksenne cafeterioiksenne abessive cafeteriattanne cafeterioittanne instructive — — comitative — cafeterioinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative cafeteriansa cafeteriansa accusative nom. cafeteriansa cafeteriansa gen. cafeteriansa genitive cafeteriansa cafeterioidensa cafeterioittensa cafeteriainsa rare partitive cafeteriaansa cafeterioitaan cafeterioitansa inessive cafeteriassaan cafeteriassansa cafeterioissaan cafeterioissansa elative cafeteriastaan cafeteriastansa cafeterioistaan cafeterioistansa illative cafeteriaansa cafeterioihinsa adessive cafeteriallaan cafeteriallansa cafeterioillaan cafeterioillansa ablative cafeterialtaan cafeterialtansa cafeterioiltaan cafeterioiltansa allative cafeterialleen cafeteriallensa cafeterioilleen cafeterioillensa essive cafeterianaan cafeterianansa cafeterioinaan cafeterioinansa translative cafeteriakseen cafeteriaksensa cafeterioikseen cafeterioiksensa abessive cafeteriattaan cafeteriattansa cafeterioittaan cafeterioittansa instructive — — comitative — cafeterioineen cafeterioinensa

Further reading

• “cafeteria”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish cafetería.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ka.fe.teˈɾi.ɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ka.fe.teˈɾi.ɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ka.fe.teˈɾi.a/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ.fɨ.tɨˈɾi.ɐ/

• Hyphenation: ca‧fe‧te‧ri‧a

Noun

cafeteria f (plural cafeterias)

1. cafeteria (type of restaurant)

Related terms

• café
• cafeteira

Swedish

Noun

cafeteria c

1. cafeteria

Declension

Declension of cafeteria

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	cafeteria	cafeterias
	definite	cafeterian	cafeterians
plural	indefinite	cafeterior	cafeteriors
	definite	cafeteriorna	cafeteriornas

Alternative forms

• kafeteria