cafeteria

See also: Cafeteria, cafetería, caféteria, and cafétéria

English

Alternative forms

• caféteria
• cafétéria (rare)
• cafeterie

Etymology

(Mid 19th or 20th century) American 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): /ˌkafəˈtɪəɹi.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

• cafeteria Catholic
• cafeteria Catholicism
• cafeteria Christian
• cafeteria Christianity
• cafeteria plan
• cafeteria-style

 

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
• 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: kafeteria (fi); kahvio (fi) (usually as part of a larger entity such as a large retail store)
• 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 (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)
• Vietnamese: nhà ăn (vi), căng tin (vi), quán cà phê

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 c (meals can be purchased), spisesal c (schools), frokoststue 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 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 (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

Catalan

Pronunciation

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

Noun

cafeteria f (plural cafeteries)

1. cafe
2. cafeteria

Finnish

Pronunciation

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

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 cafeteriainrare
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
instructive		—	cafeterioin
abessive		cafeteriatta	cafeterioitta
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of cafeteria (type kulkija)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cafeteriani cafeteriani accusative nom. cafeteriani cafeteriani gen. cafeteriani genitive cafeteriani cafeterioideni cafeterioitteni cafeteriainirare 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 instructive — — abessive cafeteriattani cafeterioittani comitative — cafeterioineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cafeteriasi cafeteriasi accusative nom. cafeteriasi cafeteriasi gen. cafeteriasi genitive cafeteriasi cafeterioidesi cafeterioittesi cafeteriaisirare 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 instructive — — abessive cafeteriattasi cafeterioittasi comitative — cafeterioinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cafeteriamme cafeteriamme accusative nom. cafeteriamme cafeteriamme gen. cafeteriamme genitive cafeteriamme cafeterioidemme cafeterioittemme cafeteriaimmerare 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 instructive — — abessive cafeteriattamme cafeterioittamme comitative — cafeterioinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cafeterianne cafeterianne accusative nom. cafeterianne cafeterianne gen. cafeterianne genitive cafeterianne cafeterioidenne cafeterioittenne cafeteriainnerare 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 instructive — — abessive cafeteriattanne cafeterioittanne comitative — cafeterioinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative cafeteriansa cafeteriansa accusative nom. cafeteriansa cafeteriansa gen. cafeteriansa genitive cafeteriansa cafeterioidensa cafeterioittensa cafeteriainsarare 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 instructive — — abessive cafeteriattaan cafeteriattansa cafeterioittaan cafeterioittansa comitative — cafeterioineen cafeterioinensa

Portuguese

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/

Noun

cafeteria f (plural cafeterias)

1. cafeteria (type of restaurant)

Swedish

Noun

cafeteria c

1. cafeteria

Declension

Declension of cafeteria
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	cafeteria	cafeterian	cafeterior	cafeteriorna
Genitive	cafeterias	cafeterians	cafeteriors	cafeteriornas

Alternative forms

• kafeteria