Learn how to inquire about a discount
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to FinnishPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 11 - Is this Finnish Coat on Sale? Michael Here. |
| Nico: Hei. I'm Nico. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to inquire about a possible discount. The conversation takes place at a department store. |
| Nico: It's between Vilja and a sales assistant. |
| Michael: The speakers are in a customer service situation, so they’ll be using formal Finnish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Vilja: Hei! Haluaisin hieman tiedustella hinnoista. |
| Sales Assistant: Hei! Selvä. Miten voin auttaa? |
| Vilja: Luulin, että tämä sininen takki olisi ollut tänään puoleen hintaan. |
| Sales Assistant: Voi, tämä takki on alennuksessa vasta huomenna. |
| Vilja: No voi harmi.. |
| Sales Assistant: Tämä toinen samankaltainen takki olisi tänään 40% (neljänkymmenen prosentin) alennuksessa. |
| Vilja: Mikä on sen alennettu hinta? |
| Sales Assistant: Sen alehinta on 120(satakaksikymmentä) euroa. |
| Vilja: Voisinko sovittaa sitä? |
| Sales Assistant: Totta kai! Sovituskoppi on tuolla vasemmalla. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Vilja: Hei! Haluaisin hieman tiedustella hinnoista. |
| Sales Assistant: Hei! Selvä. Miten voin auttaa? |
| Vilja: Luulin, että tämä sininen takki olisi ollut tänään puoleen hintaan. |
| Sales Assistant: Voi, tämä takki on alennuksessa vasta huomenna. |
| Vilja: No voi harmi.. |
| Sales Assistant: Tämä toinen samankaltainen takki olisi tänään 40% (neljänkymmenen prosentin) alennuksessa. |
| Vilja: Mikä on sen alennettu hinta? |
| Sales Assistant: Sen alehinta on 120(satakaksikymmentä) euroa. |
| Vilja: Voisinko sovittaa sitä? |
| Sales Assistant: Totta kai! Sovituskoppi on tuolla vasemmalla. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Vilja: Hello! I’d like to ask something about prices. |
| Sales Assistant: Hello! I see. How can I help you? |
| Vilja: I thought this blue coat was supposed to be half price today. |
| Sales Assistant: Oh, this coat isn't on sale until tomorrow. |
| Vilja: Oh, that’s too bad... |
| Sales Assistant:This other, similar coat is forty percent off today, though. |
| Vilja: How much is it on sale? |
| Sales Assistant: The sale price is 120 euro. |
| Vilja: Could I try it on, please? |
| Sales Assistant: Of course! The fitting room is there on the left. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: When are the sale seasons in Finland, Nico? |
| Nico: There are two major sale seasons in shops and department stores- right after Christmas, and in June and July before school starts in August. Winter stock is sold in the Christmas sale period, and summer stock is sold in the June and July sale period. Also, department stores have their own sales campaigns that have become traditions in themselves. |
| Michael: Are there any famous department store events the listeners should make a note of? |
| Nico: One of the most well known and crowded is the Stockmann department store’s Hullut päivät, "Crazy Days," where quality products are sold at good prices. Independent brands also host their own events for regular customers, called ystävänmyynti, "friendship sales." |
| Michael: What’s a popular Finnish brand? |
| Nico: A well-known and popular Finnish textile and clothing company is called Marimekko. They have a friendship sale twice a year, where they sell samples and special campaign products. |
| Michael: What’s a useful expression here? |
| Nico: kanta-asiakas |
| Michael: This means "regular customer." Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Nico: tiedustella [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to inquire |
| Nico: tiedustella[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: tiedustella [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: hinta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: price |
| Nico: hinta [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: hinta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: puoleen hintaan [natural native speed] |
| Michael: half price |
| Nico: puoleen hintaan [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: puoleen hintaan [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: alennus [natural native speed] |
| Michael: discount |
| Nico: alennus[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: alennus [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: vasta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: until |
| Nico: vasta [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: vasta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: samankaltainen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: similar |
| Nico: samankaltainen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: samankaltainen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: alennettu [natural native speed] |
| Michael: discounted |
| Nico: alennettu[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: alennettu [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: alehinta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: sale price |
| Nico: alehinta [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: alehinta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: sovittaa [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to try on |
| Nico: sovittaa[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: sovittaa [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Nico: sovituskoppi [natural native speed] |
| Michael: fitting room |
| Nico: sovituskoppi[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nico: sovituskoppi [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Michael: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Nico: samankaltainen |
| Michael: meaning "similar." |
| Nico: It’s made up of two parts- sama, "same," and kaltainen, which refers to something being "similar" or "akin." You can’t use the word kaltainen on its own, and it’s always connected to a prefix. For example, sudenkaltainen, means "wolf-like." |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this word in a sentence? |
| Nico: Sure. For example, you can say.. Minä ja veljeni olemme samankaltaisia. |
| Michael: ..which means "My brother and I are similar." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Nico: Sovituskoppi |
| Michael: which means "fitting room." |
| Nico: It’s also made out of two words- sovittaa, |
| Michael: "to fit" or "to try on,” |
| Nico: and koppi, |
| Michael: Meaning "booth," "cabin," or "cubicle.” The word literally means "a booth for trying on,” in this case, for clothes. Is there any other word you can use instead? |
| Nico: Another word synonymous with sovituskoppi is sovitushuone, which literally means "fitting room." When you are looking for a fitting room in a store, you may see signs saying either sovitushuone or just sovitus, "fitting." Sovituskoppi is more often used in conversation, but sovitushuone is considered to be more businesslike. |
| Michael: So that’s the word you’ll see on signs. Can you give us an example using the first word? |
| Nico: Sure. For example, you can say.. Tämä sovituskoppi on liian ahdas. |
| Michael: .. which means "This fitting room is too cramped." Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson you’ll learn how to understand price labels and inquire about discounts. During sale seasons there may be various discounts and offers in shops and department stores, so the prices might get a little confusing. How can you ask how much something is in Finnish, Nico? |
| Nico: You can say Anteeksi, mitä tämä maksaa? |
| Michael: Which means “Excuse me, how much is this?” |
| Nico: You can also say- Anteeksi, mikä tämän hinta on? |
| Michael: “Excuse me, what’s the price for this one?” |
| Nico: If it’s the sale season and you know the item is on sale, you can also ask Mikä tämän alennettu hinta on? or Mikä tämän alehinta on?, |
| Michael: which both mean “What is the sale price for this?” What’s the Finnish for “discount”? |
| Nico: That’s Alennus. So you can also say Onko tämä alennettu? or Onko tämä alennuksessa? |
| Michael: both mean “is this on sale?” or “is this discounted?” Could you repeat them? |
| Nico: Onko tämä alennettu? or Onko tämä alennuksessa? You can also ask Onko tämä tarjouksessa? |
| Michael: “Is this being offered on sale?” In the dialogue, when Vilja thought the coat she found would be “half price,” what was the the word she used? |
| Nico: puoleen hintaan. Another way of saying this would be viidenkymmenen prosentin alennuksessa, |
| Michael: “fifty percent discount.” You can change the numbers and use the expression for any discount expressed with a percentage. |
| Nico: That’s right. For example, a forty percent discount is neljänkymmenen prosentin alennuksessa. |
| Michael: Finally, when you want to try something on, what can you say? |
| Nico:Voinko sovittaa tätä? |
| Michael: “Can I try this on?” |
| Nico: In the lesson, Vilja was polite and asked Voisinko sovittaa sitä? |
| Michael: “Could I try that on?” |
| Nico: Vilja used the polite conditional form, Voisinko, meaning “could I.” She also said sitä, meaning “that,” because she wasn’t holding the item. |
| Michael: Nico, what are some other examples? |
| Nico: For example, Tuleeko alennus hintalapun hinnasta? |
| Michael: "Is the discount from the price of the label?" |
| Nico: Nämä sukat ovat kolme kahden hinnalla. |
| Michael: "These socks are three for the price of two." |
| Nico: Nuo takit ovat tarjouksessa. |
| Michael:"Those coats are on sale." |
Outro |
| Michael: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Nico: Hei hei. |
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