Learn how to order food
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to FinnishPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 17 - Are You Having Trouble Deciding on Dinner in Finland? Eric here. |
| Päivi: Hei! I'm Päivi. |
| Eric: In this lesson you’ll learn how to order a meal at a restaurant, listen to recommendations, and about using the congruence in sentences. The conversation takes place in a restaurant. |
| Päivi: It's between Jukka and an employee. |
| Eric: The speakers are strangers, so they’ll use both formal and informal Finnish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Jukka: Hei, anteeksi! |
| Työntekijä: Hei, miten voin auttaa? |
| Jukka: Onko tässä ravintolassa lounasaikaa erikseen? Etsin edullista, mutta herkullista lounasta. |
| Työntekijä: Kyllä on, virallisesti aloitamme sen vartin päästä, mutta tulkaa vain jo sisään. |
| Jukka: Kiitos. |
| Työntekijä: Kas tässä on ruokalista. Paistetut silakat ovat suosituin lounasannoksemme. |
| Jukka: Ahaa. Voisin sitten ottaa ne. Haluaisin myös jonkun raikkaan salaatin. |
| Työntekijä: Tämä salaatti on koottu kauden tuoreista vihanneksista. Suosittelen sitä. |
| Jukka: Selvä, otan sitten sen. Saisinko myös lasillisen vissyä, ja jälkiruuaksi palan lämmintä omenapiirakkaa. |
| Työntekijä: Toki. Kiitos! |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Jukka: Hello, excuse me! |
| Employee: Hello, how can I help you? |
| Jukka: Is there a separate lunch time in this restaurant? I’m looking for an inexpensive but delicious lunch. |
| Employee: Yes there is, officially we start it in fifteen minutes, but please come on in already. |
| Jukka: Thank you. |
| Employee: Now, here is the menu. The fried herrings are our most popular lunch dish. |
| Jukka: Aha. Could I have them then? I would also like to have some fresh salad. |
| Employee: This salad is made up of fresh seasonal vegetables. I recommend it. |
| Jukka: Right, I will take that one then. Could I also have a glass of sparkling water, and a piece of warm apple pie as a dessert, please? |
| Employee: Sure. Thank you! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Päivi, how are meals organized in Finland? |
| Päivi: Traditionally Finns eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, and lunch is usually regarded as the main meal. We eat it between 11AM and 3PM. |
| Eric: What do you usually eat for lunch? |
| Päivi: The Finnish lunch is traditionally made up of many parts- a salad or grated vegetables; potatoes, rice or pasta; meat, chicken or fish; bread and butter or margarine, and a drink from a selection of milk, water, juice, sour milk, or home-brewed beer. |
| Eric: Do people go home to have lunch? |
| Päivi: No, and kids can enjoy a healthy, free meal at school, which is compulsory until they are 16 or 17 years old. |
| Eric: What about students at university? |
| Päivi: Students in higher education, like universities, have to pay for their lunches, although Kela, the National Social Insurance Institution, covers part of each meal. |
| Eric: And adults? |
| Päivi: People who work are always entitled to a lunch hour, and usually two coffee breaks as well. Most employees have the option to enjoy their lunches in staff restaurants, other employees prefer to go out for lunch, and it’s relatively common for restaurants to offer special lunch menus for a cheaper price. |
| Eric: Listeners, if you’re interested in this topic, you can find more details and information in the lesson notes. |
| Eric: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Päivi: lounasaika [natural native speed] |
| Eric: lunchtime |
| Päivi: lounasaika[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: lounasaika [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: erikseen [natural native speed] |
| Eric: separately |
| Päivi: erikseen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: erikseen [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: edullinen [natural native speed] |
| Eric: inexpensive |
| Päivi: edullinen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: edullinen [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: virallinen [natural native speed] |
| Eric: official |
| Päivi: virallinen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: virallinen [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: ruokalista [natural native speed] |
| Eric: menu |
| Päivi: ruokalista[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: ruokalista [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: suosittu [natural native speed] |
| Eric: popular |
| Päivi: suosittu[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: suosittu [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: koota [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to compile |
| Päivi: koota[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: koota [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: tuore [natural native speed] |
| Eric: fresh |
| Päivi: tuore[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: tuore [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: suositella [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to recommend |
| Päivi: suositella[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: suositella [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last.. |
| Päivi: lasillinen [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a glass of |
| Päivi: lasillinen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: lasillinen [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Päivi: lounasaika |
| Eric: meaning "lunchtime." |
| Päivi: The word lounasaika is made up of two parts; the noun lounas for "lunch" and the noun aika for "time." |
| Eric: This word is used when referring to lunchtime in schools, workplaces and also restaurants. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Päivi: Sure. For example, you can say.. Milloin sinulla on lounasaika? |
| Eric: ..which means "When is your lunchtime?" |
| Päivi: If you want to say "lunch break," you can use the word lounastauko or ruokatunti, which literally means "food hour." The word ruokatunti is commonly used in employment contracts. |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Päivi: vartti |
| Eric: meaning "fifteen minutes, quarter." |
| Päivi: This word not only refers to a quarter of an hour, but also to the concept of akateeminen vartti, "academic quarter." It is a loan word from the Swedish word kvart. You can use this in a casual context when you want to express 15 minutes in a different way, or a quarter, which is actually neljännesosa in Finnish, in a different way. You can also use it in the phrase akateeminen vartti, |
| Eric: which means that sometimes academic events start 15 minutes past the starting time. It’s also used as a light-hearted excuse when you are late. Can we use this word in any context? |
| Päivi: In formal situations, it’s better to use the proper description and names, for example 15 (viisitoista) minuuttia, "15 minutes," or 15 (viisitoista) kilometriä, "15 kilometres." |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using the first word? |
| Päivi: Sure. For example, you can say.. Voin lähteä vartin kuluttua. Voitko odottaa siihen saakka? |
| Eric: .. which means "I can leave in fifteen minutes. Can you wait until then?" Okay, what's the next word? |
| Päivi: lasillinen |
| Eric: meaning "a glass of." |
| Päivi: The word lasillinen, meaning "a glass of," stems from the noun lasi, meaning "a glass." Words with “ful”-derivatives, such as lasillinen, “glassful,” represent adjectives, which are derived from container nouns with the suffix -llinen. For example pullo means "bottle," while pullollinen means "a bottle of." |
| Eric: You can use this word and this structure to say you want “a measure of something.” |
| Päivi: Right, for example lasillinen - "a glass of" something, or pullollinen - "a bottle of" something or ämpärillinen - "a bucket of" something. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using “a glass of”? |
| Päivi: You can say.. Saisinko lasillisen punaviiniä, kiitos. |
| Eric: .. which means "Could I have a glass of red wine, please?" Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn how to order a meal at a restaurant and listen to recommendations while mastering congruence in sentences. |
| Päivi: In Finnish, “congruence” is Kongruenssi. |
| Eric: Congruence is what affects the predicates and the subjects in a sentence. Congruence means that the words adapt with each other, according to the person and different cases. |
| Päivi: For example, the predicate is usually conjugated according to the person and the number of the subject. |
| Eric: This may sound simple for an intermediate learner, but as your grammar knowledge gets wider, remembering congruence can become complicated, which is why we should repeat the basics. For example, when the subject is singular, the predicate is also in singular. Päivi, can you give us an example? |
| Päivi: Koira juoksee metsään. |
| Eric: “The dog runs into the forest.” |
| Päivi: Kokki tekee salaatin kauden vihanneksista. |
| Eric: “The chef makes the salad out of seasonal vegetables.” When the subject is in plural, the predicate is also in plural. |
| Päivi: Here’s an example- Koirat juoksivat metsässä. |
| Eric: “The dogs were running in the forest.” When there are several subjects in nominative form, the predicate will become plural accordingly. |
| Päivi: For example, Koira ja kissa juoksivat metsässä. |
| Eric: “The dog and cat were running in the forest.” |
| Päivi: Note, however, that if there is a coordinating conjunction tai, meaning “or,” or joko-tai, meaning “either-or,” in between the subjects, the predicate will be singular. As in, Äiti tai isä maksaa ravintolalaskun. |
| Eric: which means “Mom or dad will pay the restaurant bill.” |
| Päivi: When there are many subjects, but they form some kind of group, the predicate will also be in singular form. For example, Huuto ja itku vaimeni äidin tultua paikalle. |
| Eric: “The shouting and crying faded after mother arrived.” |
| Päivi: Proper nouns, which are in plural form, can have a predicate in the singular or in the plural form when you want to underline the plurality, but when the subject in plural form is not a proper noun, the predicate will usually be in the plural form as well. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example? |
| Päivi: Yhdysvallat ei osallistu kokoukseen. |
| Eric: “The United States will not participate in the meeting.” |
| Päivi: Negative verbs also adapt to the number and person of the subject. For example, He eivät saaneet oravaa kiinni. |
| Eric: meaning “They didn’t catch the squirrel.” |
| Päivi: Hän ei tilannut jälkiruokaa. |
| Eric: “She didn’t order any dessert.” |
| Päivi: A group word, which is in singular form, such as ryhmä meaning “group” or henkilökunta meaning “staff,” will also make the predicate singular. Henkilöstö on tyytymätön palkankorotukseen. |
| Eric: “The staff is unsatisfied with the pay raise.” |
| Päivi: Sometimes, the subject may be placed far away from the predicate, or it may follow the predicate. |
| Eric: In that case, thanks to congruence, you should be able to spot the subject easily. Please give us an example. |
| Päivi: Osa asiakkaista hakee take-away annoksen. |
| Eric: “Some of the customers will get a take-away portion.” |
| Päivi: In this example, the subject is osa, meaning “part.” Here’s another example – Erot arkipäivien ja viikonlopun lounasmenuissa eivät ole kovin suuria. |
| Eric: “The differences between the weekday and weekend lunch menus are not very big.” |
| Päivi: In this case, the subject is erot, meaning “differences.” |
| Eric: Now, since this lesson is also about ordering a meal at a restaurant, let’s give a few useful sentences. Listeners, you can find a full list in the lesson notes. |
| Päivi: Right, for example, Oletteko valmiita tilaamaan? |
| Eric: “Are you ready to order?” |
| Päivi: Onko teillä paikallisia suosituksia? |
| Eric: “Do you have any local recommendations?” |
| Päivi: Here are some useful words- kypsä and raaka. |
| Eric: which respectively mean “ripe” and “unripe.” |
| Päivi: raaka can also mean “raw.” Then we have puolikas and kokonainen |
| Eric: meaning “half” and “whole.” Ok, let’s wrap up the lesson with a couple of sample sentences that show congruence when you need to order at a restaurant. |
| Päivi: Osa salaateista sisältyy myös lounaslistalle. |
| Eric: "Some of the salads are also included on the lunch menu." |
| Päivi: Henkilökunta auttaa tarvittaessa. |
| Eric:"The staff will help if needed." |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Päivi: Hei hei! |
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