Learn how to give directions
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Dana: Hi everyone, and welcome back to RomanianPod101.com This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 21 - Which Way are the Baked Goods in Romania? Dana Here. |
| Mihai: Bună. I'm Mihai. |
| Dana: In this lesson, you’ll learn about giving directions. The conversation takes place downtown. |
| Mihai: It's between Mihai and a man on the street. |
| Dana: The speakers are strangers; therefore, they will speak formal Romanian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Mihai: Nu vă supărați, este vreo brutărie în apropiere? |
| Om de pe stradă: Da. Este una aproape. |
| Mihai: Și cum pot ajunge acolo? |
| Om de pe stradă: Luați-o prima la stânga la semafor, mergeți drept înainte și este pe dreapta. |
| Mihai: Este departe? |
| Om de pe stradă: Nu, nu este departe. |
| Mihai: Vă mulțumesc mult. |
| Om de pe stradă: Nu aveți pentru ce. |
| Dana: Listen to the conversation one more time slowly. |
| Mihai: Nu vă supărați, este vreo brutărie în apropiere? |
| Om de pe stradă: Da. Este una aproape. |
| Mihai: Și cum pot ajunge acolo? |
| Om de pe stradă: Luați-o prima la stânga la semafor, mergeți drept înainte și este pe dreapta. |
| Mihai: Este departe? |
| Om de pe stradă: Nu, nu este departe. |
| Mihai: Vă mulțumesc mult. |
| Om de pe stradă: Nu aveți pentru ce. |
| Dana: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Mihai: Excuse me. Is there a bakery nearby? |
| Man on the street: Yes. There's one nearby. |
| Mihai: And how can I get there? |
| Man on the street: Take the first left at the traffic light, go straight ahead, then it's on the right. |
| Mihai: Is it far? |
| Man on the street: No, it's not far. |
| Mihai: Thank you so much. |
| Man on the street: Don't mention it. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Dana: It can be a little nerve wracking to ask a random person on the street for help, but that seemed pretty painless. |
| Mihai: Romanians are very hospitable and friendly, especially with foreigners. |
| Dana: So it’s easy to make friends? |
| Mihai: Actually making friends is a bit more difficult, as people need to warm up to you and give you their trust first. But when they do, you’ll be treated like family. |
| Dana: But if you do need help, you’ll be able to find it? |
| Mihai: Usually. If it’s something big, ask someone you’re friends with instead of a stranger. When you do ask, keep your words simple and precise. |
| Dana: That’s good advice. Is it the same all over the country? |
| Mihai: In Bucharest, people are often busier, so if you ask for directions, for example, you might not get an answer. |
| Dana: But outside of Bucharest it’s different? |
| Mihai: Yes, people will take time to talk to you, and may even offer recommendations. |
| Dana: Is there anything that we should avoid doing? |
| Mihai: Don’t break people’s trust, and make sure that you listen to the advice they give you! |
| Dana: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Dana: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Mihai: vreo [natural native speed] |
| Dana: any |
| Mihai: vreo[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: vreo [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: brutărie [natural native speed] |
| Dana: bakery |
| Mihai: brutărie[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: brutărie [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: în apropiere [natural native speed] |
| Dana: nearby |
| Mihai: în apropiere[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: în apropiere [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: a ajunge (undeva) [natural native speed] |
| Dana: to get (somewhere) |
| Mihai: a ajunge (undeva)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: a ajunge (undeva) [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: acolo [natural native speed] |
| Dana: there |
| Mihai: acolo[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: acolo [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: semafor [natural native speed] |
| Dana: traffic light |
| Mihai: semafor[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: semafor [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: la stânga [natural native speed] |
| Dana: to the left |
| Mihai: la stânga[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: la stânga [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: pe dreapta [natural native speed] |
| Dana: on the right |
| Mihai: pe dreapta[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: pe dreapta [natural native speed] |
| Dana: And lastly.. |
| Mihai: nu aveți pentru ce [natural native speed] |
| Dana: don't mention it |
| Mihai: nu aveți pentru ce[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: nu aveți pentru ce [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Dana: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Mihai: Nu vă supărați, |
| Dana: Meaning "Excuse me." |
| Dana: This is a colloquial expression. |
| Mihai: It has the negative reflexive form of the verb a (se) supăra. |
| Dana: Meaning “to get upset.” It’s in the imperative form for the second person in plural form. It can mean “do not get upset.” |
| Mihai: A more literal translation is “excuse me.” You use this to introduce a request politely. |
| Dana: Is there a more informal version? |
| Mihai: You can say, nu te supăra. |
| Dana: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Mihai: Sure. For example, you can say.. Nu vă supărați, cum pot ajunge la Gara de Nord? |
| Dana: ..which means "Excuse me, how can I get to the North Station?" |
| Dana: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Mihai: Nu aveți pentru ce |
| Dana: Meaning "Don't mention it." |
| Mihai: This expression is made from the verb a avea. |
| Dana: Which means “to have.” It’s in the negative form for the second person in plural. |
| Mihai: Then is the preposition pentru, meaning “for,” and the relative pronoun ce. |
| Dana: This means “what.” The literal translation of the sentence is “you do not have for what.” Or “don’t mention it.” |
| Mihai: This is used to give a polite and humble reply to someone that is thanking you for something you did for him or her. |
| Dana: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Mihai: Sure. For example, you can say.. Nu aveți pentru ce. Eu doar mi-am făcut datoria. |
| Dana: .. which means "Don't mention it. I only did my duty." |
| Dana: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Dana: In this lesson, you'll learn about giving directions. |
| Dana: Let’s start by learning how to say “how can I…?” |
| Mihai: We say cum pot…. Cum is the modal adverb “how,” and pot is the modal verb “can.” |
| Dana: We don’t need a word for “I” in this sentence. |
| Mihai: This phrase is only used in interrogative sentences and is followed by an infinitive verb to ask for information, or a conjunctive verb. |
| Dana: Let’s hear some examples. |
| Mihai: Cum pot ajunge în piața din centrul orașului? |
| Dana: “How can I get to the market in the center of the city?” |
| Mihai: Cum pot să trec dincolo de acest pod? |
| Dana: “How can I go beyond this bridge?” When someone answers you, it might be the case that they have to give you more than one instruction. |
| Mihai: This can be done using după ce. |
| Dana: This means “after,” and we can use it to say that A should be done after B |
| Mihai: Yes, for example, După ce treci de cofetărie, virează la dreapta. |
| Dana: “After you pass the bakery, turn right.” As well as directions, it can be used for instructions too. |
| Mihai: După ce termini de amestecat supa, adaugă o linguriță de sare. |
| Dana: “After you finish mixing the soup, add a tablespoon of salt.” And also for giving advice. |
| Mihai: După ce înveți să te dai cu skateboard-ul, o să poți face și scheme. |
| Dana: “After you learn how to ride the skateboard, you will do tricks as well.” |
| Mihai: We use după ce, then a present tense verb and then an infinitive verb. |
| Dana: When giving directions using verbs, the imperative voice is usually used. |
| Mihai: It can be used in the affirmative form, such as Întoarce la prima intersecție. |
| Dana: “Turn at the first intersection.” |
| Mihai: And also the negative form. For example, Nu vira la dreapta aici! |
| Dana: “Don’t turn right here!” |
| Mihai: You can prevent the sentences from sounding too direct by using phrases such as ai putea să... |
| Dana: “you could…” |
| Mihai: e o idee bună să |
| Dana: “It is a good idea to...” Let’s hear a full sentence example. |
| Mihai: Cred că trebuie să coborâm la următoarea stație. |
| Dana: “I think we should get off at the next station.” |
Outro |
| Dana: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Mihai: La revedere. |
Comments
Hide