La once

What is on the table

The bread

• la marraqueta crusty, in joined pairs
• la hallulla round and flatter — Which is better is a matter of strong opinion.

On top

• la palta avocado — Chile, Peru and Argentina; Mexico and Spain say aguacate.
• la mantequilla butter
• el jamón ham
• el queso cheese
• la mermelada jam

To drink

• el té tea

If there are guests

• el kuchen a German cake, with its German name from the settlers of the south
• las sopaipillas fried pumpkin dough rounds

• The basics are bread, tea and something to put on top: avocado, butter, ham, cheese or jam.
• The bread is marraqueta or hallulla, both Chilean words, and there are strong opinions about which is better.
• Kuchen keeps its German name from the settlers of southern Chile and appears when there are guests.

Lo básico es pan, té y algo para poner encima.

The basics are bread, tea and something to put on top.

El pan puede ser marraqueta o hallulla, y hay opiniones fuertes sobre cuál es mejor.

The bread can be marraqueta or hallulla, and there are strong opinions about which is better.

Encima se pone palta, y también mantequilla, jamón, queso o mermelada.

On top goes avocado, and also butter, ham, cheese or jam.

What the invitation means

In Chile a lot of people do not have dinner: they have once, between six and eight, and for many it is the last meal of the day. The verb is tomar, as with a drink, not cenar.

Nobody knows for certain where the name comes from. The story everyone tells is that men used to call brandy once because aguardiente has eleven letters; historians doubt it. The less entertaining explanation is that it was taken at eleven in the morning.

Inviting someone to tomar once is not the same as inviting them to a meal. It is more informal, longer, and it happens in the kitchen, not the dining room. The invitation means stay a while, and the right answer is nearly always yes.

• Many Chileans do not have dinner; they take once between six and eight in the evening, and for many it is the last meal of the day.
• The origin of the name is unknown. The popular story links it to the eleven letters of aguardiente, which historians doubt; another explanation is that it was taken at eleven in the morning.
• An invitation to once is informal, long, and in the kitchen; it means stay a while.

En Chile mucha gente no cena: toma once.

In Chile a lot of people do not have dinner: they have once.

Nadie sabe con certeza de dónde viene el nombre.

Nobody knows for certain where the name comes from.

Es más informal, más largo y se hace en la cocina, no en el comedor.

It is more informal, longer, and it happens in the kitchen, not the dining room.

La invitación significa quédate un rato, y la respuesta correcta casi siempre es que sí.

The invitation means stay a while, and the correct answer is nearly always yes.

Words at the once

cenar

to have dinner

la comida

the meal; in some countries, the midday meal

lo básico

the essentials

la visita

the visitor, the guests

el comedor

the dining room

quedarse un rato

to stay a while

Si hay visita, aparecen el kuchen y a veces las sopaipillas.

If there are guests, kuchen appears and sometimes sopaipillas.

Invitar a alguien a tomar once no es lo mismo que invitarlo a comer.

Inviting somebody to have once is not the same as inviting them for a meal.