Coffee and Pulla in spoken Finnish

Real spoken Finnish for Coffee and Pulla, with the written form (kirjakieli) beside every line, word-by-word notes and audio on every sentence. Free to read.

The partitive: a bit of something

Finnish marks "some / an amount of" with the partitive ending (usually -a/-ä or -ta/-tä). Use it for drinks, food and uncountable things.

kahvia = (some) coffee (from kahvi)
vettä = (some) water (from vesi)
Saanks mä pullaa? = Can I have a bun? (pulla → pullaa)

Mä otan kahvin, kiitos.

I'll have a coffee, please.

Written Finnish: Minä otan kahvin, kiitos.

mä: I - spoken form of 'minä'
otan: take / will have - 1st person of 'ottaa'
kahvin: a coffee - object form of 'kahvi'
kiitos: thanks / please

Saisinks mä yhen pullan?

Could I get one pulla?

Written Finnish: Saisinko minä yhden pullan?

saisinks: could I get? - spoken form of 'saisinko'
mä: I - spoken form of 'minä'
yhen: one - spoken form of 'yhden'
pullan: a pulla (cardamom bun) - object form of 'pulla'

Paljonks toi maksaa?

How much does that cost?

Written Finnish: Paljonko tuo maksaa?

paljonks: how much? - spoken form of 'paljonko'
toi: that - spoken form of 'tuo'
maksaa: costs

Se maksaa kolme euroo.

It costs three euros.

Written Finnish: Se maksaa kolme euroa.

se: it
maksaa: costs
kolme: three
euroo: euros - spoken form of 'euroa'

Varo, kahvi on tosi kuumaa.

Careful, the coffee is really hot.

Written Finnish: Varo, kahvi on todella kuumaa.

varo: watch out - imperative of 'varoa'
kahvi: coffee
on: is
tosi: really - spoken intensifier (standard 'todella')
kuumaa: hot - partitive of 'kuuma'

Tää on tosi hyvää!

This is really good!

Written Finnish: Tämä on todella hyvää!

tää: this - spoken form of 'tämä'
on: is
tosi: really - spoken intensifier (standard 'todella')
hyvää: good - partitive of 'hyvä'

Voinks mä maksaa kortilla?

Can I pay by card?

Written Finnish: Voinko minä maksaa kortilla?

voinks: can I? - spoken form of 'voinko'
mä: I - spoken form of 'minä'
maksaa: to pay
kortilla: by card - kortti + -lla ('with')

Ole hyvä.

Here you go. / You're welcome.

Written Finnish: Ole hyvä.

ole: be - imperative of 'olla'
hyvä: good - 'ole hyvä' = here you go / you're welcome

Spoken forms in this lesson

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