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Lesson Transcript

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 12 - Finnish Restaurant: Reserving a Table
Reeta: In the last lesson, we learned how to get a table at a restaurant. Because of the popularity of Finnish food, however, it can be difficult to get a seat, especially on the weekends. The best thing to do, without a doubt, is to make a reservation for the time you want to go and eat.
In this lesson, we'll cover making a reservation at a restaurant.
Normally, if you make a phone call in order to make a reservation for the evening you would say, Haluaisin varata pöydän täksi illaksi. Let’s break it down, Haluaisin varata pöydän täksi illaksi. Once more, Haluaisin varata pöydän täksi illaksi.
Literally, haluaisin means "I would like to." We follow this with varata which in English means "to reserve" in its infinitive form. Pöydän is the accusative form of the noun "table." Finally, we have täksi illaksi, which means "for tonight."
Now the whole phrase: Haluaisin varata pöydän täksi illaksi.
Normally, they'll ask you how many people are in your party and what time you'd like a table.
"For how many people?" is Kuinka monelle? Let’s break it down, Kuinka monelle. Once more, Kuinka monelle.
Now imagine you are a party of two. In Finnish, you would use Kahdelle, which in English means "For two people."
Finally, let's see how they will ask you the time of your reservation. Mihin aikaan?
Now let's answer the question! Let's imagine you want to reserve a table at eight o'clock: "At eight o'clock please." In Finnish, that's Kahdeksalta, kiitos. Let’s break it down, Kahdeksalta, kiitos. Once more, Kahdeksalta, kiitos.
We follow this with kiitos, which you'll remember is "please."
The whole phrase, once again: Kahdeksalta, kiitos.
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.
“I'd like to make a reservation.” - Haluaisin varata pöydän
“For how many people?” - Kuinka monelle?
“For two.” - Kahdelle.
“For what time do you want to reserve?” - Mihin aikaan?
“At eight o'clock, please.” - Kahdeksalta, kiitos.
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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