INTRODUCTION |
Finally, you’ve got a seat at a table. Now it’s time to order! |
In this lesson, we'll cover how to ask for a menu and then order your food and drinks. |
GRAMMAR POINT |
Normally you have to catch the waiter’s attention, perhaps by raising your right hand a bit. And then you might say “May I ask for the menu, please.” In Danish, this would be: |
Må jeg bede om menuen, tak. |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) Må jeg bede om menuen, tak. |
Once more: |
Må jeg bede om menuen, tak. |
Må jeg is equivalent to the English “may I” |
(slow) Må jeg. |
Må jeg. |
This is followed by the verb “to ask” which is bede and the word om, which in this case is translated as “for.” So it is “ask for” |
(slow) Bede om. |
Bede om. |
This is the original form of the conjugation be’om which means “please.” |
Menuen means “the menu”. |
(slow) Me-nu-en. |
Menuen. |
And at the end we have tak meaning “thanks” but here it is translated as “please”. |
The literal translation of the expression would be “May I ask for the menu, thanks.” |
Here’s the whole expression again: |
Må jeg bede om menuen, tak. |
“May I see the menu, please.” |
・ |
In most cases, the waiter or waitress will start by asking “What do you want to drink?” |
Hvad vil du have at drikke? |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) Hvad vil du have at drikke? |
Once more: |
Hvad vil du have at drikke? |
Hvad means “what.” |
(slow) Hvad. |
Hvad. |
This is followed by vil du, which means “do you” |
(slow) Vil du. |
Vil du. |
Have is a form of the verb “to have” but in this case is translated as “want” |
(slow) Have. |
Have. |
Lastly you have at drikke which is “to drink” |
(slow) At drikke. |
At drikke. |
Again, the whole question is |
Hvad vil du have at drikke? |
You might also hear the question like this. Vil du have noget at drikke? Which translates into “Do you want something to drink?” |
Again we have the phrase vil du have which means “do you want” |
This time followed by noget meaning “something” |
(slow) Noget. |
Noget. |
And last we have the verb “to drink” |
One more time: |
(slow) Vil du have noget at drikke? |
Vil du have noget at drikke? |
You can change what you are asking about in both questions simply by changing the last verb to another, or exchanging the at drikke completely with a noun. |
・ |
Now let’s take a look at some typical beverages Danish restaurants might have: |
Vand (“water”) |
(slow) Vand. |
Vand. |
Øl (“beer”) |
(slow) Øl. |
Øl. |
Hvidvin (“white wine”) |
(slow) Hvidvin. |
Hvidvin. |
Rødvin (“red wine”) |
(slow) Rødvin. |
Rødvin. |
Cola (“cola”) |
(slow) Co-la. |
Cola. |
・ |
Once you have looked at the menu, you can finally call the waiter to order. |
・ |
Now let’s take a look at some good dishes you can find on a typical Danish menu. They are very common, and you shouldn’t miss them if you come to Denmark. |
Frikadeller. (“Danish meat-balls”) |
(slow) Frikadeller. |
Frikadeller. |
Stegt flæsk (“oven or pan-fried pork”) |
(slow) Stegt flæsk. |
Stegt flæsk. |
Stegt rødspætte. (“fried flounder”) |
(slow) Stegt rødspætte. |
Stegt rødspætte. |
Dansk bøf med løg. (hamburger steak with onions) |
(slow) Dansk bøf med løg. |
Dansk bøf med løg. |
In Denmark when you order, you can just say the name of the dish you want and add tak, meaning “thanks” or be’om, meaning “please”. |
・ |
Let’s say you want to order beer and stegt flæsk. You should say this to the waiter: |
En øl og en gang stegt flæsk, be’om. |
(slow) En øl og en gang stegt flæsk, be’om. |
En øl og en gang stegt flæsk, be’om. |
And en means one. |
In this sentence the word og means “and.” |
En gang would be translated here as “one round of” |
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