A2 · At a family lunch
At the family table
What gets said at a Peruvian lunch, from knocking on the door to saying goodbye. Almost none of it translates literally, and getting it wrong here is more noticeable than any grammar mistake.
Arriving
¿Ya almorzaste?Peruvian
Have you eaten?
Not curiosity: it is an offer of food. Say yes and you go without lunch.
Permiso.Peruvian
Excuse me / may I come in.
Said when entering a house or squeezing past someone. Close to obligatory.
¿Cómo están por acá?informal
How is everyone here?
A greeting to the room when you are not going to greet each person separately.
Vengo con las manos vacías, disculpa.
Sorry, I came empty-handed.
The apology if you brought nothing. The norm is to bring something, even just a dessert.
While the food is served
¿Un refresquito?Peruvian
A little drink?
The diminutive makes the offer warmer and harder to turn down.
- México
- ¿Un refresquito?
- Argentina
- ¿Un vasito de gaseosa?
- España
- ¿Un refresco?
Sírvete nomás.very Peruvian
Help yourself, go ahead.
Nomás softens the command. Without it the sentence sounds like an order.
- México
- Sírvete, ándale
- Argentina
- Servite tranquilo
- España
- Sírvete, venga
Hay bastante.Peruvian
There is plenty.
Said so you do not hold back, not to inform you about quantities.
Un poquito nomás, por favor.
Just a little, please.
How to accept without committing to a full plate.
Está riquísimo.
It is delicious.
You are expected to say it. Saying nothing reads as not liking the food.
When they insist
Gracias, ya estoy lleno.
Thank you, I am full.
There will be a second offer regardless. Repeating it with a smile is part of the script.
Más tarde me sirvo, gracias.
I will have some later, thanks.
A softer way out than a flat no.
Me encantó, pero ya no puedo.
I loved it, but I cannot manage more.
Compliment first, refusal second. That order matters.
Leaving
Ya sabes dónde queda tu casa.Peruvian
You are always welcome here.
The sign that you have been accepted. It is not about addresses.
Gracias por la atención.formal
Thank you for having me.
The standard formula when leaving someone's home.
Saludos a tu mamá.
Say hi to your mum.
Said even if you have never met the mother.
15 expressions in this pack