Real spoken Finnish for Eating at a Restaurant, with the written form (kirjakieli) beside every line, word-by-word notes and audio on every sentence. Free to read.
Spoken Questions and Pronouns
In spoken Finnish, questions are often formed by adding -ks instead of -ko (e.g., 'onks' instead of 'onko'). We also use the short forms 'mä' (I) and 'sä' (you).
Onks tässä vapaata? = Is this seat free?
Saaks täält kahvii? = Can I get coffee here?
Moi, onks tääl tilaa?
Hi, is there space here?
Written Finnish: Moi, onko täällä tilaa?
moi
hi
onks
is - spoken 'onko': the -ko question ending becomes -ks
tääl
here - spoken 'täällä', the last syllable drops
tilaa
space - partitive of 'tila'
Mä otan kahvin.
I'll take a coffee.
Written Finnish: Minä otan kahvin.
mä
I - spoken 'minä'
otan
I take - from 'ottaa'
kahvin
a coffee - object form of 'kahvi'
Mitä sä otat?
What will you take?
Written Finnish: Mitä sinä otat?
mitä
what
sä
you - spoken 'sinä'
otat
you take - from 'ottaa'
Saaks täält pitsaa?
Can you get pizza here?
Written Finnish: Saako täältä pitsaa?
saaks
can one get - spoken 'saako': -ko becomes -ks
täält
from here - spoken 'täältä', the final vowel drops
pitsaa
pizza - partitive of 'pitsa'
Yks iso limu, kiitos.
One large soda, please.
Written Finnish: Yksi iso limonadi, kiitos.
yks
one - spoken 'yksi', the final -i drops
iso
large
limu
soda - the casual word for 'limonadi'
kiitos
thanks
Se tekee kymmenen euroo.
That makes ten euros.
Written Finnish: Se tekee kymmenen euroa.
se
it
tekee
makes - from 'tehdä'
kymmenen
ten
euroo
euros - spoken 'euroa': the -oa ending smooths to -oo