Food is where Derja is most itself. The vocabulary is Arabic, Berber, Turkish and French all in one kitchen, شربة next to سوبّة, and قهوة ordered in a café whose menu is written in French.
The words on this page are the ones you actually need at a table: what the dish is, whether it is baked or fried, and how to say no thank you without giving offence. That last one matters more than you would think in a house where the plate keeps being refilled.
10 words to start with
خبز
khobz
Bread
كسرة
kesra
Flat semolina bread
Very Algerian.
الما
lma
Water
قهوة
qahwa
Coffee
Two pronunciations, both Algerian: qahwa in Algiers and Constantine, gahwa across much of the west, the highlands and the south.
الشاي / تاي
shshay / tay
Tea
حليب
ḥlib
Milk
ولاد الدجاج
wlad eddjaj
Eggs (lit. “children of the chicken”)
A very Algerian way to say it. البيض lbidh works too.
زيت
zit
Oil
ملح
melḥ
Salt
سكّر
sokkor
Sugar
There are 16 more in this theme
The whole library is searchable, sorted by level, and yours to save from. Beginner level is free.