What do we cook tonight? in Valencian
Sister and brother discuss the menu before supper at home in Valencian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Què cuinem aquest vespre? Al congelador només hi ha pèsols i una pizza.» — What do we cook tonight? In the freezer there are only peas and a pizza. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: sister and brother discuss the menu before supper at home. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Què cuinem aquest vespre? Al congelador només hi ha pèsols i una pizza.What do we cook tonight? In the freezer there are only peas and a pizza.
- Sopa de fideus amb brou de gallina. L'àvia ha deixat brou a la nevera.Noodle soup with chicken broth. Grandma left broth in the fridge.
- Com a segon, truita de patates amb una mica de pebrot fregit. I amanida de tomaques.As a second course, potato omelet with a little fried pepper. And a tomato salad.
- I de postre? Queda una mica de crema catalana de dissabte.And for dessert? There is some crema catalana left from Saturday.
- Amb una mica de canyella per damunt, sembla d'hui.With a little cinnamon on top, it looks like today’s.
- Fet: poso la tetera al foc i anem sopant.Done: I put the kettle on and we slowly have supper.
Lines one by one
| Valencian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Què cuinem aquest vespre? Al congelador només hi ha pèsols i una pizza. | — | What do we cook tonight? In the freezer there are only peas and a pizza. |
| Sopa de fideus amb brou de gallina. L'àvia ha deixat brou a la nevera. | — | Noodle soup with chicken broth. Grandma left broth in the fridge. |
| Com a segon, truita de patates amb una mica de pebrot fregit. I amanida de tomaques. | — | As a second course, potato omelet with a little fried pepper. And a tomato salad. |
| I de postre? Queda una mica de crema catalana de dissabte. | — | And for dessert? There is some crema catalana left from Saturday. |
| Amb una mica de canyella per damunt, sembla d'hui. | — | With a little cinnamon on top, it looks like today’s. |
| Fet: poso la tetera al foc i anem sopant. | — | Done: I put the kettle on and we slowly have supper. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Valencian in this situation?
“Què cuinem aquest vespre? Al congelador només hi ha pèsols i una pizza.” — What do we cook tonight? In the freezer there are only peas and a pizza.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.