Café & Drinks

1. Saisinko yhden kahvin, kiitos

   SAI-sin-ko YH-den KAH-vin KII-tos

   Could I get one coffee, please

   Usage

   Used to order a coffee at a café or diner

   Grammar Note

   "Saisinko" is the conditional first person of "saada" (to get) plus question suffix -ko. Common polite ordering phrase

2. Haluatko kokeilla sahtia?

   HA-lu-at-ko KO-keil-la SAH-ti-a

   Would you like to try sahti beer?

   Usage

   Used to recommend sahti, a traditional Finnish farmhouse ale brewed with juniper

   Grammar Note

   Sahti is a traditional Finnish farmhouse ale brewed with juniper berries and rye. It is registered as an EU Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG)

3. Onko teillä paikallista olutta?

   ON-ko TEIL-lä PAI-kal-lis-ta O-lut-ta

   Do you have any local beer?

   Usage

   Used to ask a bar or restaurant whether they serve locally brewed beer

   Grammar Note

   "Teillä" is the adessive of "te" (you plural). Finnish expresses possession with the adessive: "minulla on" (I have)

4. Voisinko saada vettä?

   VOI-sin-ko SAA-da VET-tä

   Could I get some water?

   Usage

   Polite phrase to request water at a restaurant or café

   Grammar Note

   Finnish tap water is among the world's purest. "Vettä" is partitive, indicating an unspecified amount of water

5. Haluaisin kokeilla glögiä

   HA-lu-ai-sin KO-keil-la GLÖG-i-ä

   I would like to try glögi

   Usage

   Used to express interest in trying glögi, the Finnish spiced mulled wine drunk at Christmas

   Grammar Note

   Glögi is the Finnish version of Swedish glögg — a hot spiced wine with cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Non-alcoholic versions exist

6. Yksi lonkero, kiitos

   YK-si LON-ke-ro KII-tos

   One lonkero, please

   Usage

   Used to order lonkero, Finland's beloved gin-grapefruit canned long drink

   Grammar Note

   Lonkero was created for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. It's a ready-to-drink mix of gin and grapefruit soda, a Finnish institution

7. Mitä lasiviinejä teillä on?

   MI-tä LA-si-vii-ne-jä TEIL-lä on

   What wines do you have by the glass?

   Usage

   Used to ask a restaurant what wines are available by the glass

   Grammar Note

   "Lasiviini" (wine by the glass) is a compound of "lasi" (glass) + "viini" (wine). "Mitä ... teillä on?" asks what is available and takes the partitive plural "lasiviinejä"

8. Onko teillä alkoholitonta vaihtoehtoa?

   ON-ko TEIL-lä AL-ko-ho-li-ton-ta VAIH-to-eh-to-a

   Do you have a non-alcoholic option?

   Usage

   Used to ask if non-alcoholic drink options are available

   Grammar Note

   Alkoholiton = alkoholi + -ton (privative suffix meaning "without"). The suffix -ton/-tön corresponds to English "-less"

9. Juodaan saunaolutta yhdessä!

   JUO-daan SAU-na-o-lut-ta YH-des-sä

   Let's drink sauna beer together!

   Usage

   Used to invite someone to enjoy the Finnish tradition of drinking cold beer after a sauna

   Grammar Note

   The passive present (-taan/-täan) is used colloquially as a 1st-person plural invitation, "let's do something". "Juodaan!" parallels "Mennään!" (let's go!)

10. Missä voin ostaa siideriä?

    MIS-sä VOIN OS-taa SII-de-ri-ä

    Where can I buy cider?

    Usage

    Used to ask where to purchase cider, a popular drink in Finland

    Grammar Note

    In Finland, shops and convenience stores may sell fermented drinks such as cider up to 8% ABV and other alcohol up to 5.5% ABV. Anything stronger is sold only at state-run Alko stores

11. ilman jäitä

    Without ice

    Usage

    Show this when ordering a drink to ask for no ice

    Grammar Note

    "Ilman" (without) takes the partitive; "jäitä" is the partitive plural of jää (ice)

12. jää

    Ice

    Usage

    The word for ice itself — use it to ask for ice or to point out what you want left out

13. kivennäisvesi

    Mineral water (sparkling)

    Usage

    Point to this to order bottled sparkling water; still bottled water is "lähdevesi"

    Grammar Note

    In Finnish "kivennäisvesi" normally means the carbonated kind; say "hiilihapoton" if you want it still

14. hanavesi

    Tap water

    Usage

    Point to this to ask for free tap water; Finnish tap water is drinkable and served free in restaurants

15. kuuma vesi

    Hot water

    Usage

    Ask for hot water, e.g. for tea or baby formula

    Grammar Note

    Lukewarm water is "lämmin vesi" — "kuuma" is hot, "lämmin" is warm

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