Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

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.

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