Learn how to answer the first question you are asked at a restaurant
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Здравейте (zdraveyte). Hello and welcome to BulgarianPod101.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 Bulgaria. You will be surprised at how far a little Bulgarian will go. Now before we jump in, remember to stop by BulgarianPod101.com. And there, you’ll find the accompanying PDF, additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Lesson focus |
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| Lesson 12 - Restaurant 1—Smoking or Non-Smoking? |
| Today, we'll cover getting a table in the section of the restaurant you want. In Bulgaria, smoking in restaurants is still accepted, but there are occasions when you can ask for a non-smoking seat. Or, perhaps you would like a smoking seat. Either way, let's cover that first. Attitudes against smoking are still very much on the tolerant side in Bulgaria. At the time of this recording it is still a challenge to find a place – either public or private – where non-smoking regulations are taken seriously. However, some restaurants provide some sort of non-smoking arrangements so we'll cover the language you need to get to the table of your choice. |
| When you enter a restaurant you'll most likely hear one of three phrases: добро утро (dobro utro), which means "good morning," добър ден (dobar den), which is "good afternoon," or добър вечер (dobar vecher), which is "good evening." |
| These expressions are covered in detail in the "Basic Greetings" lesson. |
| "Non-smoking" in Bulgarian is непушачи (nepushachi). |
| непушачи (nepushachi) |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: непушачи (nepushachi) |
| Back to speed: непушачи (nepushachi) |
| This word is made up of two parts. The first part, не (ne), means "no," "not," or, in this case, "non." |
| Let’s hear it one more time: не (ne) |
| This is followed by пушачи (pushachi), which in Bulgarian is "smokers." |
| In syllables: пушачи (pushachi) |
| пушачи (pushachi) |
| So, непушачи (nepushachi) means literally "non-smokers." |
| "Smoking," as you have already guessed, is пушачи (pushachi). |
| The staff at a restaurant might ask you, маса за пушачи или непушачи? (masa za pushachi ili nepushachi?) This literally means "a table for smokers or non-smokers?" |
| The first word, маса (masa), is "table." |
| One more time slowly: маса (masa) |
| In syllables: маса (masa) |
| маса (masa) |
| The second element, за (za), is a preposition and means "for." |
| Let’s hear it again: за (za) |
| We've already introduced the words for "smokers"—пушачи (pushachi) and "non-smokers"—непушачи (nepushachi). |
| The remaining piece of the puzzle is: или (ili), which means "or." |
| Short and easy to say! |
| или (ili) |
| Let's hear the whole phrase again: маса за пушачи или непушачи? (masa za pushachi ili nepushachi?) |
| Which is translated as "a table for smokers or non-smokers?" |
| You can answer this question by saying: непушачи, моля (nepushachi, molya), which is "non-smokers, please" or пушачи, моля (pushachi, molya), which is "smokers, please." |
| Another option is to beat them to the punch by saying how many people in your party and non-smoking first. We've already covered these phrases in the lesson "Business greetings - How many people" so I'll just give you a quick example. |
| You can start with: трима души, непушачи, моля (trima dushi, nepushachi, molya), which means "three people, non-smokers, please." |
| One more time, slowly: трима души, непушачи, моля (trima dushi, nepushachi, molya) |
| Back to speed: трима души, непушачи, моля (trima dushi, nepushachi, molya) |
| Now, second-hand smoke may not be the only obstacle on your path towards the perfect meal, as you may not like the location of the table selected for you. Perhaps you'd want a table by the window, or one not next to the kitchen door! |
| In Bulgarian, "May we sit there?" is Можем ли да седнем там? (Mojem li da sednem tam?) |
| Можем ли да седнем там? (Mojem li da sednem tam?) |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Можем ли да седнем там? (Mojem li da sednem tam?) |
| Let's hear it once again: Можем ли да седнем там? (Mojem li da sednem tam?) |
| The first word, можем (Mojem), is the first person plural of the verb "can." |
| Let's break down this word and hear it one more time: можем (Mojem) |
| можем (Mojem) |
| This is followed by our good old friend, the particle ли (li), which doesn't have an independent meaning and which we use to make questions. |
| ли (li) |
| The next word is да (da), which is the Bulgarian counterpart of the English "to" used before a verb. In this case the verb is седнем (sednem) and this is the first person plural of "sit." |
| Let’s hear it slowly, in syllables, and then back to speed. |
| седнем (sednem) |
| седнем (sednem) |
| седнем (sednem) |
| The last word, там (tam), means "there" or "over there." Simple, one-syllable word: там (tam). |
| Here's the entire phrase again: Можем ли да седнем там? (Mojem li da sednem tam?) |
| This means, "May we sit there?" |
| If the table you desire is closer by, you can use the phrase: "May we sit here?" |
| In Bulgarian, this is: Можем ли да седнем тук? (Mojem li da sednem tuk?) |
| We have one new word to introduce: тук (tuk), which means "here." |
| Let’s hear the whole phrase slowly: Можем ли да седнем тук? (Mojem li da sednem tuk?) |
| Можем ли да седнем тук? (Mojem li da sednem tuk?) |
Outro |
| Okay, to wrap up today's lesson, we’d like for you to practice what you just learned. I’ll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase, and you’re responsible for saying it out loud. You’ll have few seconds before I give you the answer. So, Успех! (Uspeh!) that means "Good luck!" in Bulgarian. Ok, here we go! |
| "Non-smoking" - Nepushachi |
| Nepushachi |
| Nepushachi |
| "Smoking" - Pushachi |
| Pushachi |
| Pushachi |
| "A table for smokers or non-smokers?" - Masa za pushachi ili nepushachi? |
| Masa za pushachi ili nepushachi? |
| Masa za pushachi ili nepushachi? |
| "Three people, non-smokers, please." - Trima dushi, nepushachi, molya. |
| Trima dushi, nepushachi, molya. |
| Trima dushi, nepushachi, molya. |
| "May we sit there?" - Mojem li da sednem tam? |
| Mojem li da sednem tam? |
| Mojem li da sednem tam? |
| "May we sit here?" - Mojem li da sednem tuk? |
| Mojem li da sednem tuk? |
| Mojem li da sednem tuk? |
| All right. That’s going to do it for today. Remember to stop by BulgarianPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, make sure to leave a comment. Довиждане (dovizhdane)! |
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