Learn how to ask for directions
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| Jessi: Hello, and welcome to Finnish Survival Phrases, brought to you by FinnishPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Finland. You'll be surprised at how far a little Finnish will go. Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by FinnishPod101.com and there you'll find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment! |
| Finnish Survival Phrases lesson 31 - Asking Directions in Finnish |
| Reeta: In today’s lesson, we'll introduce you to directions that will help you find the place you are looking for. Previously, we introduced "Is there a place near here?" and "Where is ...(something)?" But while we can now ask, we haven't addressed understanding the answer. In this lesson, we're going to work on understanding what someone tells us, and we'll go over basic directions. First, we have "go straight." |
| In Finnish, "go straight" is Suoraan. Let’s break it down, Suoraan. Once more, Suoraan. |
| It doesn't actually contain the word "go," only "straight." That is usually how Finns get around the problem of choosing the appropriate level of politeness in grammar. Let's say they want to be more polite with you. Then, you would hear: Menkää suoraan. |
| The word menkää is "go" in its more polite form when talking to one person, but it is also the plural form of the verb. |
| You might also hear Mene suoraan to mean the same thing, which is normal spoken language when talking to one person, and not considered impolite. Mene suoraan. |
| Let's look at the next expression to help us turn. Let's cover "turn left," which in Finnish is Kääntykää vasempaan. Let’s break it down, Kääntykää vasempaan. Once more, Kääntykää vasempaan. |
| The first word, kääntykää, means "turn" again, with an elevated level of politeness (or plural). We follow this with vasemmalle ("to the left"). So all together, we have Kääntykää vasemmalle. |
| Remember how we mentioned that Finns might skip the verb, to make it easier and less awkward without polite speech? It's the same here too; you might just hear vasemmalle. The verb can also be in the spoken language form (not impolite), in that case it would be Käänny vasemmalle. |
| Now let's work on "turn right." In Finnish, "turn right" is Kääntykää oikealle. |
| We can also say the spoken-language verb Käänny oikealle. |
| Now let's try "Turn right at the traffic light." |
| Kääntykää oikealle liikennevaloista. |
| After Kääntykää oikealle ("turn right"), which we have just seen, you have a liikennevaloista ("from the traffic light"). |
| Kääntykää oikealle liikennevaloista. |
| "It's on the right" in Finnish is Se on oikealla. se on oikealla. Let’s break it down, se on oikealla. Once more, se on oikealla. |
| The first word, se, means "it." Then we have the verb on which means "is." Finally, we have oikealla ("on the right"). So all together, we have Se on oikealla. |
| "It's on the left" in Finnish is Se on vasemmalla. |
| The only difference is the word vasemmalla in place of oikealla. Let’s break it down, vasemmalla. Once more, vasemmalla. |
| Ok, to close out today's lessons, we’d like you to practice what you have just learned. I’ll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you’re responsible for shouting it out loud. You’ll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so Onnea! which means “Good luck!” in Finnish. |
| “Go straight. (polite)” - Menkää suoraan. |
| “Go straight (spoken language)” - Mene suoraan. |
| “Turn left. (polite)” - Kääntykää vasemmalle. |
| “Turn left. (spoken language)” - Käänny vasemmalle. |
| “Turn right. (polite)” - Kääntykää oikealle. |
| “Turn right. (spoken language)” - Käänny oikealle. |
| “Turn right at the traffic light.” - Kääntykää oikealle liikennevaloista. |
| “It's on the right.” - Se on oikealla. |
| “It's on the left.” - Se on vasemmalla. |
| Jessi: Alright! That's going to do it for today. Remember to stop by FinnishPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment! |
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