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 27 - Riding the Finnish Train: Long-Distance Trips |
Reeta: In the previous lesson, we covered how to ask for and buy a train ticket. Once you have established the destination, it is time to select the type of seat you want. Normally in Finland, you can choose between ykkösluokka ("first class") and kakkosluokka ("second class"). |
Ykkös means "first" and luokka is "class." |
In the second phrase kakkos is "second" and luokka is "class" again. |
Let's now imagine you want to buy a first class ticket. This time the destination will be Oulu. "A first-class ticket to Oulu, please," in Finnish is Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Ouluun, kiitos. |
The structure is the same as you have just seen in the previous lesson. We just add ykkösluokan ("first class"). Notice how there's an extra -n sound at the end of the word, and one -k dropped off. We need it to use the word as a genitive. Let’s break it down, Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Ouluun, kiitos. Once more, Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Ouluun, kiitos. |
If you want to buy a second-class ticket, you just change ykkös (1st) to kakkos (2nd): |
Yksi kakkosluokan lippu Ouluun. |
In Finland, there is another type of service, only operating between big cities, called intercity. These trains are cleaner and faster, but they really only stop at major towns and junctions. When you get a ticket to your desired location, you can ask for an extra supplementary intercity or IC ticket. These tickets that cost about an extra 35 percent guarantee you a numbered seat, air conditioning and a dining car. Just remember, you have to buy a normal ticket and the IC supplementary ticket as well. |
Now let's see how to do that. Say you want to go to Oulu again, a nice town in the North. Remember that in our earlier lesson, you said Yksi lippu Ouluun, kiitos. "One ticket to Oulu, please." This time you simply add the word Intercity before lippu: Intercity-lippu. |
It means "Intercity ticket." Let’s break it down, Intercity-lippu. |
So all together, the entire sentence is: Yksi Intercity lippu Ouluun, kiitos. "One Intercity ticket to Oulu, please." |
You might want to check online what time the intercity trains leave because it is not every hour that you can find one. |
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. |
“A first-class ticket to Oulu, please. ” - Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Ouluun, kiitos. |
“A second-class ticket to Oulu, please.” - Yksi kakkosluokan lippu Ouluun, kiitos. |
“One Intercity ticket to Oulu, please.” - Yksi Intercity lippu Ouluun, 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! |
7 Comments
HideHello FinnishPod101.com listeners!
Do you usually travel in first or second class?
Hei Luca P. Gentile,
Kiitos kommentistasi ja kysymyksestäsi.
¨Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Ouluun¨
voimmeko kiriottaa samoin:
¨Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Oululle¨
Ei, emme voi sanoa "Oululle". Meidän on käytettävä illatiivi muotoa kun olemme menossa johonkin kaupunkiin.
Siis ¨Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Ouluun¨ on oikein. 👍
Let us know if you have any question.
Cheers,
Aarni
Team FinnishPod101.com
Minä reissui ennen aino ykkösluokka koska oli ilmainen minulle, minun iso oli juna station chief.
Mutta nyt mina taytyy maksaa, minä mennan joka aika kakkosluokka :-)
Before, I had free tickets for all trains, first class cause my father worked in the railway I even had free tickets for all Europe . Once I have turned 26yo I go second class, cause I have to pay!
¨Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Ouluun¨
voimmeko kiriottaa samoin:
¨Yksi ykkösluokan lippu Oululle¨
Hello Mary,
Thank you for your very kind feedback!
I am positive you can have a better look at the magazine soon!
Let us know if you have any question.
Cheers,
Aarni
Team FinnishPod101.com
Thank you so much for such well-organized and interesting lessons. While I have been a subscriber for quite awhile, it has only been recently that I've made a concerted effort to learn in a daily and systematic way. Thank you so much for the way the lessons are organized and just how comprehensive each lesson is; I love that little slideshow...good reinforcement. I am now at the stage where I am really looking forward to the next lesson. I couldn't think of another thing you could do to improve the way this is set up. Just fantastic as it is. Last year a Finnish visitor brought me a beautiful Finnish home decorating magazine and I am looking forward to the day when I can look at this beautiful magazine and have a better idea of what they are saying in it. Thank you again.
Hello Constance Makela,
Thank you for sharing your experience about Amtrak. It gives me a heads up before opting for it:mrgreen:
Cheers,
Neha
Team FinnishPod101.com
When I travel in Finland I will plan on traveling first class. I've had experience traveling in the US via Amtrak from my home in the Midwest to northwestern Montana. I'll never do that again if I can help it. If I do travel Amtrak again, it will be in a private sleeping room. The Amtrak I took to Montana was dirty, there were broken chairs, some staff were very rude, you had to sit where they placed you. It was an altogether negative experience. I'll drive myself before I take another US Amtrak train. Maybe a trip of a few hours would be OK but not a long trip. I have no doubt Finnish trains are higher class than the US ones but I still won't take any chances. Yksi ykkösluokan lippu anywhere in Finland for me, kiitos