When you travel to a foreign place, knowing even a little bit of the local language can work wonders for you. It doesn’t matter if all of the native people speak English; they appreciate it when you make an effort to learn their language and understand their culture. Of course, if they don’t speak English, knowing some of their vernacular becomes a necessity.

Here is a list to aid you. The concept is simple: In whatever country you visit, if you know how to say the following words and phrases, you can communicate on a basic level with the people who live there. Before your trip(s), look up and write down the corresponding translations and pronunciations in a pocket-sized notebook (or your handy-dandy iWhatever). Then carry the list with you and try using your new vocabulary – you’ll be amazed what happens!

(Note: The Spanish translations are listed in italics. If every American knew these words in Spanish, and if every Spanish speaker in the States knew them in English, race relations in our country would be much improved.)

Words to Know, Wherever You Go:

• How do you say … ? (This one is all-important, as long as someone is capable of translating for you.)
  • ¿Cómo se dice …?    i.e. ¿Cómo se dice “basketball?”
• Hello / Goodbye. / See you later.
  • Hola. / Adios. / Hasta luego.
    
• Please / Thank you / You’re welcome. (Manners matter. Throw in a “Thank you very much,” if you want to get fancy.)
  • Por favor. / Gracias. / De nada. / Muchas gracias.
• Good morning / Good afternoon / Good evening / Goodnight.
  • Buenos días. / Buenas tardes. / Buenas noches.
• My name is … / What’s your name?
  • Me llamo Sam. / ¿Cómo te llamas?
• Nice to meet you!
  • ¡Encantado/a de conocerte! or ¡Mucho gusto! (In Spanish, questions and exclamations are punctuated, respectively: ¿ … ? and ¡ … ! and nouns have masculine and feminine forms, usually ending in -o/-a)
    
• Where are you from? / I’m from …
  • ¿De dónde eres? / Soy de …
• Yes / No / Maybe
  • Sí / No (Kind of essential.) / Quizá or a lo mejor (maybe)
• Beer / Wine / Water (in order of importance)
  • Cerveza / Vino / Agua
• Where’s the bathroom?
  • ¿Dónde está el baño? (Other words for bathroom: aseo, servicios)
• I like … / I don’t like …
  • Me gusta … / No me gusta …
• Delicious! (Everyone likes having their cooking complimented.)
  • ¡Riquísimo! (ree-KEE-see-mo)
• How much is this? / How much does this cost?
  • ¿Cuánto cuesta?
    
• How are you? / I’m good! (Because you’re always good. Even when you’re not.)
  
  • ¿Cómo estás? / ¡Estoy bien!
    
• This / That (These and Those for advanced travellers)
  • Esto / Eso / Estos / Esos (There are gender-based versions of these words that are more appropriate, but these are sufficient for basic communication, which is the goal here.)
    
• Personal pronouns (if you don’t want to point at people to indicate who you’re talking about)
  • Me Yo
  • You Tú
    
  • Him Él
    
  • Her Ella
    
  • It Lo / La (masculine / feminine nouns)
    
  • We Nosotros
    
  • Y’all (You, plural) Vosotros
    
  • They Ellos / Ellas
    
• You’re beautiful. / You’re handsome. (Because you just might see someone cute and want to tell them. Or you just might want to make someone feel good.)
  • Eres guapa/guapo. Bonita/o is also worth knowing.
    
• Good / Bad
  
  • Bien / Mal
• Good luck!
  • ¡Buena suerte!
    
• Cheers! (Guaranteed, this will be one of the first things you learn.)
  • ¡Salud! or ¡Chin chin!
    
• Take care. / Be well. (These go beyond saying goodbye to someone, and can be used to show more genuine feeling.)
  • Cuidate. (Pronounced “KWEE-dah-tay.” Literally, “Take care of yourself.”)
    

So there you have it. Just the basics – enough to get you by. Carrying a short list like this is much easier than toting an English-to-whatever-language dictionary. The next time you travel to a foreign country, give the list a try – you’ll be glad you did.

That’s all for now – ¡Cuidate!

Contact Sam Rosenthal at samrose24@gmail.com or Follow @BackwardsWalker

by

by