Cheese is кхъуей in Kabardian and къуае in Adyghe; bread is щIакхъуэ and хьалыгъу; tea is шей and щай.
These are the words of the Circassian app’s “Food” and “Drinks” units in Kabardian (East Circassian) and Adyghe (West Circassian), the ones you need to ask for tea at a Circassian table. The app also has a Recipes section; its dishes are on the Circassian recipes page.
Every word here is a word the app teaches, checked against a second source: the Kabardian–Russian dictionary (Apazhev and Kokov, 2008), the app’s Adyghe dictionary, the app’s audio course (its scripts were reviewed by a native speaker of each dialect) or the Kabardian and Adyghe Wikipedias. A word that could not be checked this way is not on the page.
Food and drinks in Kabardian and Adyghe
Kabardian (East Circassian) is on the left, Adyghe (West Circassian) on the right. Tap the speaker button to hear a word: the audio is the app’s own, the same as in its lessons. The Latin line under each word is the app’s spelling.
Food
| In English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| food | шхынshkhyn | шхыныshkhənə |
| bread | щIакхъуэshch'akkhwe | хьалыгъуhaləghu |
| cheese | кхъуейqkhwey | къуаеqwae |
| meat | лыly | лыlə |
| salt | шыгъуshyghu | щыгъуshchəghu |
| honey | фоfo | шъоуshow |
Drinks
| In English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| water | псыpsy | псыpsə |
| tea | шейshey | щайshchay |
| milk | шэshe | щэshche |
| yogurt, sour milk | шхуshkhwu | щхыуshchkhəw |
The words on this page are from the “Food” and “Drinks” units (Section 2, My World) in the Circassian app’s Kabardian and Adyghe courses. The lessons teach them with audio and short quizzes, and bring back the ones you miss sooner.
In a sentence
These sentences are from the app’s audio course, with the course’s own translation. Its scripts were reviewed by a native speaker of each dialect.
Tea or water?
I want meat
I want yogurt
Good to know
Cheese. In the Kabardian–Russian dictionary, кхъуей is cheese (p. 289), and мэл кхъуей, sheep’s cheese, is brynza (p. 320). The best-known Circassian cheese has its own page: Adyghe cheese.
Honey. фо is honey; бжьэ фо is bee honey (Kabardian–Russian dictionary, p. 464). The same root starts the name of September, ФокIадэ, literally “a tub of honey”.
Yogurt or sour milk? The app glosses шху as yogurt; the Kabardian–Russian dictionary gives “sour milk, varenets” (p. 574). The table shows both.
Test yourself
Five questions with this page’s words. Pick a dialect, then choose the right word.
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In the app, questions like these are in every lesson, and the words you get wrong come back for review sooner.
More Circassian words by topic
Questions
How do you say cheese in Circassian?
кхъуей in Kabardian and къуае in Adyghe.
How do you say “Tea or water?”
Шей е псы? in Kabardian and Щай е псы? in Adyghe, as the app’s audio course says it.
How do you say bread and meat?
Bread is щIакхъуэ in Kabardian and хьалыгъу in Adyghe; meat is лы in both.
How do you say water?
псы, in Kabardian and in Adyghe alike.
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Sources
- Circassian App lessons, Kabardian and Adyghe courses (October 2026), units: Food, Drinks.
- Circassian App audio course (Beginner), Kabardian lessons 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 30; Adyghe lessons 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 30. Each lesson’s script was reviewed by a native speaker of its dialect before the course was recorded; the translations are the course’s own.
- M.L. Apazhev, Dzh.N. Kokov, Kabardino-cherkessko-russky slovar (Kabardino-Cherkess–Russian Dictionary), Nalchik: Elbrus, 2008, the Kabardian dictionary in the app’s Translate screen: шхын (p. 573), кхъуей (p. 289), лы (p. 294), шыгъу (p. 575), фо (p. 464), псы (p. 366), шей (p. 569), шху (p. 574).
- Adyghe dictionary in the app’s Translate screen (3,499 entries, from dovlet.info): шхыны, хьалыгъу, къуае, лы, щыгъу, шъоу, псы, щай, щэ.
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