Phrases · Dialogue 2 · 9 lines
At the café
A customer orders breakfast at the counter of a busy café.
A1 · formal (usted · vous · Lei · o senhor · dumneavoastră · vostè)
Waiter · Clara — a customer
j / k or arrow keys step through the lines
- WaiterBuongiorno, mi dica.
Buenos días. ¿Qué le pongo?
Bonjour madame. Qu'est-ce que je vous sers ?
Bom dia! O que a senhora vai querer?
Bună dimineața. Ce doriți?
Bon dia. Què prendrà?
Good morning. What can I get you?
Each counter has its own formula: Spanish 'what shall I put you?', French 'what shall I serve you?', Italian simply 'tell me' (dica is the formal imperative of dire). Brazil asks 'what will the lady want?', Romania 'what do you wish?', Catalonia 'what will you take?'.
- ClaraUn cappuccino, per favore.
Un café con leche, por favor.
Un café crème, s'il vous plaît.
Um café com leite, por favor.
O cafea cu lapte, vă rog.
Un cafè amb llet, si us plau.
A milky coffee, please.
French and Catalan ask 'if it pleases you' (s'il vous plaît, si us plau); Spanish, Italian and Portuguese say 'as a favor'; Romanian vă rog is 'I ask you'. Each country also has its own milky coffee — and in Italy a cappuccino is a breakfast drink.
- WaiterQualcosa da mangiare?
¿Algo para comer?
Vous prendrez quelque chose à manger ?
E para comer, alguma coisa?
Și ceva de mâncare?
Alguna cosa per menjar?
Anything to eat?
- ClaraSì, un cornetto. Ne avete?
Sí, un cruasán. ¿Tienen?
Oui, un croissant. Vous en avez ?
Sim, um croissant. Tem?
Da, un croasant. Aveți?
Sí, un croissant. En teniu?
Yes, a croissant. Do you have any?
French en, Italian ne and Catalan en stand for 'some of it'; Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian have no such pronoun and simply leave it out.
- WaiterCerto. Ecco a Lei.
Claro. Aquí tiene.
Bien sûr. Voilà.
Claro. Aqui está.
Desigur. Poftiți.
I tant. Aquí té.
Of course. Here you are.
Italian formal Lei is grammatically a third-person feminine pronoun ('she'), used for anyone — just as Spanish usted and Catalan vostè take third-person verbs (aquí tiene, aquí té), and Brazilian o senhor / a senhora too. Romanian dumneavoastră takes the second-person plural, like French vous (poftiți).
- ClaraGrazie. Quanto le devo?
Gracias. ¿Cuánto le debo?
Merci. Je vous dois combien ?
Obrigada. Quanto é?
Mulțumesc. Cât vă datorez?
Gràcies. Què li dec?
Thank you. How much do I owe you?
Portuguese 'thanks' is 'obliged' and agrees with the speaker: Clara says obrigada, a man obrigado.
- WaiterTre euro e venti.
Tres euros con veinte.
Trois euros vingt.
Três reais e vinte.
Trei lei douăzeci.
Tres euros vint.
Three euros twenty.
Italian euro never changes in the plural (tre euro); Spanish, French and Catalan add -s. In Brazil and Romania the bill comes in reais (singular real) and lei (singular leu, literally 'lion').
- ClaraEcco. Tenga pure il resto.
Tome. Quédese con la vuelta.
Tenez. Gardez la monnaie.
Aqui está. Pode ficar com o troco.
Poftiți. Păstrați restul.
Tingui. Quedi's el canvi.
Here you go. Keep the change.
Formal commands borrow the subjunctive in Spanish (tome, quédese), Catalan (tingui, quedi's) and Italian (tenga) to match usted/vostè/Lei; French and Romanian simply use the plural you form (tenez, gardez; păstrați). Brazilian Portuguese softens it with pode, 'you can (keep)'.
- WaiterGrazie mille. Buona giornata!
Muchas gracias. ¡Que tenga un buen día!
Merci beaucoup. Bonne journée !
Muito obrigado. Tenha um bom dia!
Mulțumesc frumos. O zi bună!
Moltes gràcies. Que vagi bé!
Thank you very much. Have a nice day!
French journée and Italian giornata are 'the day as you live it', distinct from jour and giorno; Spanish día, Portuguese dia and Romanian zi (all from DIEM) cover both. Romanians thank 'beautifully' (mulțumesc frumos); Catalan wishes 'may it go well' (que vagi bé).