# help yourself



## akana

How would you say "help yourself" in Finnish? In English, this is most often used at mealtimes when guests are invited to serve themselves their own portions, or as an affirmative response when somebody has asked for more.

Kiitos uudestaan.


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## sammio

I guess "ottakaa itse" would be the most common one, at least I can't come up with any other alternative. Other Finns?


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## Hakro

I agree with Sammio.

In a very informal situation with very close friends I could say "käykää kiinni" or "käykää kimppuun".


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## liisahp

I'd just like to point out that "ottakaa itse", by itself, doesn't sound very polite to my ear. I'd probably join it with "Olkaa hyvät, ottakaa itse / ottakaa siitä", or in practice, just "Olkaa hyvät", combined with a hand gesture would probably be most natural to me.


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## sakvaka

And the phrase _Help yourself to some more salad, Sam!_ could be translated as _Otahan (t. ota toki) lisää salaattia, Sam!_


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## sammio

Well, the most common way I have heard someone to tell me to help myself is something like "Noniin, nyt saa sitten itse ottaa eli alottakaa vaan" or something similar. If you add "olkaa hyvät" there it's sounds too polite to be authentic Finnish, so I'd say "ottakaa itse" in various versions and combined with several trifling words is the best way to express it. But this is just my opinion.


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