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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 13 - Finnish Restaurant: Smoking or Non-Smoking?
Reeta: In the last lesson, we learned how to make a reservation in a restaurant. Now that you know how to get a table, you have another big issue to tackle. If you want to enjoy your meal, the smoking issue is very important. If you are a smoker and you enter a non-smoking establishment, or if you are a non-smoker and enter a smoking establishment, this could ruin your meal.
In this lesson, we'll cover how to ask for a smoking or non-smoking table.
Let's imagine first that you are a smoker. Before entering a restaurant, you need to ask, "Excuse me, is smoking allowed here?" Anteeksi, saako täällä polttaa? Let’s break it down, Anteeksi, saako täällä polttaa. Once more, Anteeksi, saako täällä polttaa.
Anteeksi, as we have seen, means "Excuse me." We follow this with saako which means "allowed to," then with täällä which means "here." The last word is polttaa, the infinitive for "to smoke."
Here's the whole sentence: Anteeksi, saako täällä polttaa?
The answer to this question is very simple: either saa ("allowed, may") or ei saa ("not allowed"). Both of these can be followed with polttaa, the infinitive form of the verb "to smoke".
If the answer is "You are not allowed to smoke here," often the expression "I'm sorry" comes before the negative answer: Olen pahoillani, ei saa polttaa.
Another way of asking is Anteeksi, onko täällä tupakointi kielletty?
This literally means, "Excuse me, is smoking forbidden here?" You might want to use this while pointing at specific tables or areas inside the restaurant. Täällä means "here" in English. Tupakointi is a noun and means smoking. Kielletty means "forbidden."
The whole question is Anteeksi, onko täällä tupakointi kielletty? Let’s break it down, Anteeksi, onko täällä tupakointi kielletty. Once more, Anteeksi, onko täällä tupakointi kielletty.
Tupakointi kielletty is also found on "No smoking" signs, beside the familiar image of a cigarette inside a cancel sign.
Now let's go over the possible answers to that question, "Is smoking forbidden here?". If it's a positive answer, you might hear Kyllä on.
All we did was add the Finnish word for "yes," kyllä, in front of the sentence. Kyllä, on.
If what you're pointing at is a smoking table, you'll hear Ei, ei ole.
In this sentence we hear two instances of the word ei for "no."
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.
“Excuse me, is smoking allowed here?” - Anteeksi, saako täällä polttaa?
“Yes, it is (allowed).” - Saa
“No, it isn't (allowed).” - Ei saa.
“Excuse me, is smoking forbidden here?” - Anteeksi, onko täällä tupakointi kielletty?
“Yes, it is.” - Kyllä on.
“No, it's not.” - Ei, ei ole.
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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