At a cafe, lesson 2
Kahvilassa
In this lesson, you will learn how to ask things and the numbers.
Matti ja Antti menevät kahville. He ovat kahvilassa. Matti ostaa kahvia.
- Matti: Hyvää päivää.
- Myyjä: Päivää.
- Matti: Saanko yhden kahvin... ja kuinka paljon munkit maksavat?
- Myyjä: Munkit maksavat 50 senttiä, ja kahvi maksaa yhden euron
- Matti: Siis yksi kahvi, ja kaksi munkkia. Siinä on viisi euroa, olkaa hyvä.
- Myyjä: Kiitos, ja kolme euroa takaisin, olkaa hyvä.
- Matti: Kiitoksia.
Lexicon
Cultural notes
Finns are the world’s top coffee drinkers, consuming around 12 kilograms per person per year — more than any other nation. Traditional Finnish coffee is typically light roast, often much lighter than what you’d find in other countries.
In recent years, other styles like dark roast, espresso, and specialty coffees have also gained popularity, especially among younger people and in urban areas.
Why do Finns love coffee so much? The reasons likely include the cold climate and a strong Protestant work ethic. After all, coffee helps keep you warm and also alert during long workdays.
In fact, coffee breaks (kahvitauko) are such an important part of the work culture that they are legally guaranteed in most Finnish workplaces. It’s not just a caffeine fix — it’s a social ritual and a daily pause that many take seriously.
Personal conjugation of the verbs
Here's how to conjugate the Finnish verbs in person. The endings are always the same.
puhua (to speak, to talk)
| singular | plural |
|---|---|
| minä puhun (I speak) | me puhumme (we speak) |
| sinä puhut (you speak) | te puhutte (you speak) |
| hän puhuu (he/she speaks) | he puhuvät (they speak) |
Read more about the conjugation.
Numerot - Numbers
Numbers from 1 to 10
- 0 nolla
- 1 yksi
- 2 kaksi
- 3 kolme
- 4 neljä
- 5 viisi
- 6 kuusi
- 7 seitsemän
- 8 kahdeksan
- 9 yhdeksän
- 10 kymmenen
Numbers from 11 to 19
[number]+toista -> yksitoista (11), kaksitoista (12), kolmetoista (13) etc.
Tasaluvut - even tens
[number] + kymmentä -> kaksikymmentä (20), kolmekymmentä (30), neljäkymmentä (40) etc.
Numbers from 20 to 99
[tasaluku] + [number]-> kaksikymmentä yksi (21), kolmekymmentä kolme (33), viisikymmentä kahdeksan (58) etc.
Suuremmat luvut - Greater numbers
- 100 sata
- 1000 tuhat
- 100 000 sata tuhatta
- 1 000 000 miljoona
- 1 000 000 000 miljardi
More about numbers.
Plural nominative
The plural nominative is formed by adding t after the stem:
- päivä - päivät
- a day - days
- kahvi - kahvit
- a coffee - coffees
Remember the consonant gradation:
- munkki - munkit
- a doughnut - doughnuts
- sentti - sentit
- a cent - cents
Unlike in many other languages, in Finnish you don't use plural after numerals, but partitive case.
- kaksi kahvia
- two coffees
- viisi munkkia
- five doughnuts
- seitsemän päivää
- seven days
- kymmenen senttiä
- ten cents
That's why you say: Kahvit maksavat 5 euroa. (The coffees cost 5 euros), but Kaksi kahvia maksaa 5 euroa. (2 coffees cost 5 euros)
Ko-question
"Saanko" is the easiest way to request for things:
- Saan -> Saanko?
- get -> Can I get? (or rather "may I have")
Yes/no questions are formed by -ko-suffix. You can add the suffix to the noun, pronoun or verb. This is the topic of the sentence, and therefore placed first.
| Onko teillä auto? - Do you have a car? |
| Teilläkö on auto? - Are you the one who has the car? |
| Autoko teillä on? - Is it the car what you have? (not e.g bicycle) |
More about questions.
How to say thank you in Finnish
- Kiitos!
- neutral (thank you!)
- Kiitti!
- Informal (thanks!)
- Kiitoksia! Paljon kiitoksia!
- Formal (thank you very much).
- Ole hyvä!
- You're welcome
In Finnish, you say "Ole hyvä" when handing something to someone or sometimes as a response when someone thanks you — it literally means "be good" or "here you go."
Finnish doesn’t have a direct equivalent for “please” (like bitte in German or s’il vous plaît in French). Instead, Finns often use "kiitos" or "ole hyvä" in situations where other languages might use “please.”
- Eipä kestä
- Answer to kiitos! (you're welcome).