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Navigation | About

German phrasebook

German is a main language of Germany, Austria, parts of Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Almost similar languages are also spoken in the French region of Alsace (German: Elsass), in the Italian province of Alto Adige (German: Südtirol), parts of Luxembourg, and a small part of Belgium.

Grammar

In common with many other European languages, German has two "you" verb forms which denote the relationship the speaker has to someone else. To express familiarity, one uses the du form; for formality, the Sie form. As a general rule the Sie form is used when one might address someone as "Madam" or "Sir". If on first name terms, one uses the du form. Grammatically, the Sie form takes the 3rd person plural ending.

There are 3 different noun genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. The article of a noun depends on the gender: der (m), die (f) and das (n).

Furthermore, German nouns are declined. There are four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), genitive (posessive), and dative (indirect object.) Each varies depending on the noun's gender and whether it is singular or plural.

An orthographic peculiarity is that all nouns, even those in the middle of a sentence, begin with a capital letter.

There are very strong accentual and dialectic differences in German-speaking countries. A German from the north and one from the south can have great difficulty understanding each other's dialects. Standard German, or "Hochdeutsch", is universally known, although not everyone speaks it well. Generally, the further south, the broader the dialect.

Along the coastline in the north of Germany, many people speak a related language called Plattdüütsch ("Plattdeutsch" in German). It is strongly related to Dutch or Danish and German; most Platt speakers will understand standard German.

The German spoken in Switzerland is referred to as Schwyyzerdüütsch. There are various varieties of Swiss German depending on the region.

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Pronunciation guide

German pronunciation is relatively straightforward, although spelling is somewhat more involved.

Vowels

a
like 'u' in "cup", 'a' in "target"
e
like 'e' in "ten", 'a' in "bake"
i
like 'i' in "bingo"
o
like 'oo' in "door", like 'o' in "top"
u
like 'ou' in "you"
ä
(Umlaut, transcribed as 'ae') like 'e' in "ten", 'a' in "band"
ö
(Umlaut, transcribed as 'oe') like 'i' in "Sir"
ü
(Umlaut, transcribed as 'ue') like 'y' in 'Tyrell'
y
same as 'ü', but also consonant "j" in words of foreign origin ("Yacht")

Length of Vowels

A vowel is shortened when followed by a double consonant.

A vowel is lengthened by a subsequent 'h', or by a double vowel, depending on the word. An exception is 'i', which is lengthened by a following 'e' or 'eh'.

Examples: the h in Hahn makes the a long; the aa in Haar is also long, the e in Tier makes the i long. (See below for "Diphthongs".)

Consonants

Consonants are pronounced quite strongly (except perhaps the 'r').
b
like 'b' in "bed"
c
like 'ts' in "bits" before 'i' and 'e'; like 'k' in "kid" else
d
like 'd' in "dog"
f
like 'ph' in "phone"
g
like 'g' in "go" (never as in "giraffe")
h
like 'h' in "help"
j
like 'y' in "yoga"
k
like 'c' in "cat"
l
like 'l' in "love"
m
like 'm' in "mother"
n
like 'n' in "nice"
p
like 'p' in "pig"
q
like 'q' in "quest" (always with "u")
r
like 'r' in "arm", like 'r' in "feather" (often like silent "h")
s
like 'z' in "haze"
t
like 't' in "top"
v
like 'f' in "father", or like "v" in "victory"
w
like 'v' in "victory", never like 'wh' in "whisky"
x
like 'cks' in "kicks"
z
like 'ts' in "bits"
ß
like 'ss' in "hiss"

Common diphthongs and ligatures

Note: these combinations are not always used as diphthongs. At syllable boundaries and sometimes even in a syllable, they are spoken as separate vowels (e.g. soeben — zoh-AY-ben)
au
like 'ow' in "how"
ae
transcription for 'ä' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs
ah
like 'a' in "bar", longer than 'a'.
äu
like 'oy' in "boy"
ei
like 'i' in "wine"
eu
like 'oy' in "boy"
eh
long 'e'
ie
like 'ee' in "week", longer than 'i'.
ieh
like 'ee' in "week", longer than 'i', fundamentally no difference to 'ie'.
oe
transcription for 'ö' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs
oh
like 'oo' in "door", longer than 'o'.
ue
transcription for 'ü' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs
uh
like 'ou' in "youth", longer than 'u'.
ch after 'a', 'o' and 'u'
like 'ch' in Scottish "loch", spoken in the throat, like 'j' in Spanish
ch after 'i' and 'e'
like 'h' in "huge"
ch at the beginning of a word
like 'ch' in "character"
ck
like 'ck' in "blocking"
ng
like both 'ng' in "singing", never like 'ng' in "finger"
ph
like 'f' in "fish"
sch
like 'sh' in "sheep"
sp at the beginning of a word
like 'shp' in "fish pool"
ss
like 'ss' in "hiss", in contrast to 'ß', makes the preceding vowel shorter. Also used as transcription for 'ß' in URL or on foreign keyboards.
st at the beginning of a word
like 'sht' in "ashtray"

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German Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and Train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Shopping
Money
Eating
Bars
Driving
Authority

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Basics

Hello.
Guten Tag. (GOO-ten tahk) better: Hallo

Hello. (In Austria and the south of Germany only)
Grüß Gott! (gruus got) (formal, literally: "God may greet you", originally from Grüß Dich Gott!)

Hello. (In Austria and Bavaria only)
Servus! (SEHR-voos) (to a friend / informal but polite)

Hello. (coastline in the north of Germany only, to 12 o'clock)
Moin, Moin! (moin moin)

Hello. (coastline in the north of Germany only, after 12 o'clock)
Moin! (moin)

Hello. (informal)
Hallo. (hah-LOH)

How are you?
Wie geht's? (vee gayts?) used as a real question, not a form of greeting."

Fine, thank you.
Danke, gut. (DAN-keh, goot)

What is your name?
Wie heißt du? / Wie heißen Sie? (vee highst doo? / vee HIGH-sen zee?)

My name is ______.
Ich heiße ______. (ikh HIGH-seh) Nice to meet you.: Nett, Sie kennen zu lernen. ("net zee KEN-en tsoo LER-nen")

Nice to meet you. ("informal")
Sehr angenehm. (zayr AHN-geh-naym)

Please.
Bitte. (BIT-tuh)

Thank you.
Danke sehr. (DAN-keh zayr)

Thanks.
Danke. (DAN-keh)

You're welcome.
Bitte sehr! (BIT-teh zayr)

Yes.
Ja. (yah)

No.
Nein. (nine)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Entschuldigen Sie. (ent-SHUL-di-gen zee)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Entschuldigung. (ent-SHUL-di-goong)

I'm sorry.
Es tut mir leid. (es toot meer light)

Goodbye
Auf Wiedersehen. (owf VEE-der-zay-en)

Goodbye (informal)
Tschüß. (chuuss)

Goodbye (In Austria and Bavaria only)
Servus! (ZEHR-voos) (to a friend / informal but polite)

I can't speak German well.
Ich kann nicht [so gut] deutsch sprechen. (ikh kahn nikht [zo goot] doytsh shprekhen)

Do you speak English?
Sprichst du / Sprechen Sie englisch? (shprikhst doo / shprekhen zee ENG-lish?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Gibt es hier jemanden, der Englisch spricht? (gibt ez heer yeh-MAHNT-en dare ENG-lish shprikht?)

Help!
Hilfe! (HILL-fuh!)

Good morning.
Guten Morgen. (GOO-ten MOR-gen)

Good evening.
Guten Abend. (GOO-ten AH-bent)

Good night.
Schönen Abend noch. (Shur-nen AH-bent nokh)

Good night (to sleep)
Gute Nacht. (GOO-tuh nakht)

I don't understand.
Ich verstehe das nicht. (ikh fur-SHTAY-uh dahs nikht)

Where is the toilet, please?
Wo ist die Toilette, bitte? (voh ist dee twah-LET-uh, BIT-tuh?)

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Problems

Help!
Hilfe! (HILL-fuh!)

Leave me alone.
Lass / Lassen Sie mich in Ruhe. (LAHS(-un zee) mikh in ROO-uh)

Don't touch me!
Fass / Fassen Sie mich nicht an! (FAHS(-un zee) mikh nikht AHN!)

I'll call the police.
Ich rufe die Polizei. (ikh ROO-fuh dee poh-lee-TSIGH)

Police!
Polizei! (poh-lee-TSIGH!)

Stop! Thief!
Halt! Ein Dieb! (HAHLT! ighn DEEP!)

I need your help.
Ich brauche deine/Ihre Hilfe. (ikh BROW-khuh DIGH-nuh/EE-ruh HILL-fuh)

It's an emergency.
Das ist ein Notfall. (dahs ist ighn NOHT-fahl)

I'm lost.
Ich habe mich verirrt. (ikh HAH-buh mikh fer-IRT)

I lost my bag.
Ich habe meine Tasche verloren. (ikh HAH-buh migh-nuh TAH-shuh fer-LOH-run)

I lost my wallet.
Ich habe mein Portemonnaie verloren. (ikh HAH-buh mighn port-moh-NEH fer-LOH-run)
Note: Portmonnaie is of French origin, but usual in German.

I'm sick.
Ich bin krank. (ikh bin krahnk)

I've been injured.
Ich bin verletzt. (ikh bin fer-LETST)

I need a doctor.
Ich brauche einen Arzt. (ikh BROW-khuh IGH-nuh ARTST)

Can I use your phone?
Kann ich dein/Ihr Telefon benutzen? (kahn ikh dighn/eer tay-lay-FOHN buh-NOOT-sun?)

Can I use your mobile?
Kann ich dein/Ihr Handy benutzen? (kahn ikh dighn/eer handy buh-NOOT-sun?)

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Numbers

In German, the roles of dot and comma are swapped compared to their English counterparts. The grouping separator in big numbers is a dot (.), not a comma (,); the separator between decimal fractions and integer is a comma (,), not a dot (.).

E.g.: 1,000 in English is 1.000 in German; 3.1 in English is 3,1 in German.

Note that numbers above twenty are said "backwards". Twenty-one (einundzwanzig) is literally spoken as "one-and-twenty". This takes a bit of getting used to, especially in higher regions. Eg. 53426 (dreiundfünfzigtausendvierhundertsechsundzwanzig) is spoken as "three-and-fifty-thousand-four-hundred-six-and-twenty".

1
eins (ighnss)

2
zwei (tsvigh)

3
drei (drigh)

4
vier (feer)

5
fünf (fuunf)

6
sechs (zekhs)

7
sieben (ZEE-ben)

8
acht (ahkht)

9
neun (noyn)

10
zehn (tsayn)

11
elf (elf)

12
zwölf (tsvoolf)

13
dreizehn (DRIGH-tsayn)

14
vierzehn (FEER-tsayn)

15
fünfzehn (FUUNF-tsayn)

16
sechzehn (ZEKH-tsayn)

17
siebzehn (ZEEP-tsayn)

18
achtzehn (AHKH-tsayn)

19
neunzehn (NOYN-tsayn)

20
zwanzig (TSVAHN-tsikh)

21
einundzwanzig (IGHN-oont-tsvahn-tsikh)

22
zweiundzwanzig (TSVIGH-oont-tsvahn-tsikh)

23
dreiundzwanzig (DRIGH-oont-tsvahn-tsikh)

30
dreißig (DRIGH-sikh)

40
vierzig (FEER-tsikh)

50
fünfzig (FUUNF-tsikh)

60
sechzig (ZEKH-tsikh)

70
siebzig (ZEEP-tsikh)

80
achtzig (AHKH-tsikh)

90
neunzig (NOYN-tsikh)

100
(ein)hundert ([ighn]-HOON-dert)

200
zweihundert (TSVIGH-hoon-dert)

300
dreihundert (DRIGH-hoon-dert)

1000
(ein)tausend ([ighn]-TOW-zent)

2000
zweitausend (TSVIGH-tow-zent)

1,000,000
eine Million (igh-nuh mill-YOHN)

1,000,000,000
eine Milliarde (igh-nuh mill-YAR-duh)
Note the difference to American English numbers, often mistranslated!

1,000,000,000,000
eine Billion (igh-nuh bill-YOHN)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
Nummer/Linie _____ (NOO-mer/LEE-nee-uh)

half
halb (hahlp)

the half
die Hälfte (dee HELF-tuh)

less
weniger (VAY-nihg-er)

more
mehr (mayr)

Ordinal Numbers

1.
erster (ayr-stayr)

2.
zweiter (tsvigh-tayr)

3.
dritter (dri-tayr)

4.
vierter (feer-tayr)

5.
fünfter (fuunf-tayr)

20.
zwanzigster (TSVAHN-tsikhs-tayr)

100.
(ein)hundertster ([ighn]-HOON-dert-stayr)

101.
(ein)hunderterster ([ighn]-HOON-dert-ayr-stayr)

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French phrasebook

French is a Romance language originating in France but spoken in many other parts of the world including Luxembourg, Southern Belgium and Western Switzerland in Europe. In North America, French is spoken in Quebec, New Brunswick, Ontario, other parts of Canada, and parts of Louisiana. Other countries include former French colonies in North Africa and West Africa; in Haiti, Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean; in French Guiana in South America; in Tahiti and numerous other islands in Oceania. It has long been the language of international diplomacy and communication, and although replaced largely by English since World War II, it remains de rigueur (of obligatory requirement) for educated people around the world to have some level of basic French ability.

In French, there are several levels of politeness. But to keep things simple this phrasebook is limited to two levels -- formal and informal -- with complex rules about age and social rank that determine which level you use. In France and most of the rest of the world, formal speech is the default; in Canada, it's informal that's used more often. This phrasebook gives everything in the formal level of politeness, on the principle that your friends or peers will just laugh if you address them too formally (vouvoyer), but strangers and "superiors" will find it offensive if you address them too intimately (tutoyer). Except a few phrases, such as "Buzz off", when you want to be offensive.

Note you should try not to pronounce the "G" where "NG" is used in the prononciation hint.

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Pronunciation

Like that of English - and unlike most other Romance languages - French spelling is not necessarily phonetic. The same letter used in two different words can make two different sounds, and many letters are not pronounced at all. In general, it's not impossible to sound out words, but suffice it to say that many experienced non-native French speakers -- and some native speakers -- mispronounce words often.

One thing to note is that final consonants of a word are usually dropped: allez (go) is pronounced ahl-AY, not ahl-AYZ; tard (late) is pronounce tar, not tard. Also a final "e" is usually silent. But if the next word begins with a vowel, the consonant may be pronounced; this is called liaison.

Stress is usually on the last syllable of a phrase, but sometimes when a word is emphasized, the stress moves to the middle of the word.

For many French words, it is impossible to write something which, when pronounced as English, sounds like the French word. Use the transliteration as a guide to liaison and the French spelling to pronounce the vowels.

Vowels

Vowels in French can have accent marks, which generally have no noticeable impact on pronunciation. The only really important one is é, which is always pronounced "ay", and changes the meaning of the word.
a, à, â
like "a" in "father"
e
in most cases a central neutral vowel ("schwa") like "a" in "about", sometimes not pronounced at all, sometimes like "é" or "è"
é, è, ai, -er, -es, -ez
é is a bit like "ay" in "day", è is more towards "e" in "set", but many French people don't even distinguish them, you can consider them equivalent
i, î
like "ee" in "see" but shorter and tenser
o, ô, au, eau
generally like "oa" in "boat" or "aw" in "law", can be considered equivalent
u, ù
like a very tight, frontal "oo" sound (purse your lips as if to say "oo" as in "soon" but try and say "ee") - uu in transcriptions
ou
like "oo" in "food", but a pure vowel
y
like "ee" in "see"
eu
between "ew" in "dew" and "ur" in "burp"; written eu in transcriptions

Semi-vowels

oi
like "wa" in "walk"
oui
like "wee" in "week"
ui
like "wee" in "week", but with a French uu instead of the w
œ
a bit like "eu" but more "open"

Consonants

b
like "b" in "bed"
c
like "k" in "kill" (before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonent), like "s" in "sun" (before "e", "i", and "y")
ç
like "s" in "sun" (this letter can only be written before "a","o", or "u")
d
like "d" in "death" (but a bit heavier than in English, and pronounced on the tongue)
f
like "f" in "fun"
g
like "g" in "go" (before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonent), like "g" in "sabotage" (before "e", "i" and "y").
gu
like "g" in "goose" (before "e", "i", "y")
gn
like "ny" in "canyon". This is particularly difficult (even for little French kids) when followed by oi, as in baignoire (beh-NYWAR) "bathtub".
h
usually silent, but may sometimes prevent a liaison with the former word
j
like "g" in "sabotage"
k
like "k" in "kill"
l, ll
like "l" in "like"
m
like "m" in "me"
n
like "n" in "nurse" (but see Nasals below)
p
like "p" in "push" (unaspirated like the t)
q(u)
most of the time like "k" in "kill" (not like "qu" in "quick"); in some words like "qu" in "quick" (generally before an "a") or the same but with a French u (generally before an "i")
r
gutteral; kind of like coughing up a hairball
s
like "s" in "sun"; like "z" in "zero" (between two vowels)
ch
like "sh" in "bush"; sometimes like "k" in "kill" (in words of Greek origin mostly)
t, th
like "t" in "take" (unaspirated, it should sound dry and on the tongue, like a spanish speaker)
v
like "v" in "value"
w
only in foreign words, mostly like "w" in "wise" and sometimes like "v" in "value" (in particular, "wagon" is "vagon" and "WC" is "VC"!)
x
either ks (like "x" in "exit") or gz
z
like "z" in "zero"
ph
like "f" in "fun"

Nasals

an, en, em
nasal a (not always pronounced as a nasal, especially if the n or m is doubled: emmental is pronounced as a normal "emm" sound)
on
nasal o - distinguishing between this and "an" is tricky, it's a deeper, more closed sound
in, ain
nasal è
un
nasal eu (almost always pronounced the same as 'in'
oin
nasal "wè" (thus, coin is a nasalised "cwè")

Diphthongs

ail
like "i" in "fight"
ill
either literally, or like "y" in "three years", with some exceptions (ville is veel, fille is fiy)

Exceptions

- When there is an accent mark on "e", it prevents diphthongs. Letters should be pronounced separately, following the rule for the accented letter. Example: énergumène, (rowdy character), réunion (meeting).
- A diaeresis (") may also be used to prevent diphthongs on "e", "u" and "i". Example: maïs (maize).
- In the combinations "gue" and "gui", the "u" should not be pronounced, it is there only to force the prononciation of "g" as in "go". If the "u" is pronounced, a diaeresis is added: aiguë (sharp).
- In the combination "geo", the "e" should not be pronounced, it is only there to force the prononciation of "g" as in "sabotage" (in the case the "e" should be pronounced, it is indicated with an accent mark as in géologie).

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French Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Writing Time and Date
Months
Colors
Bus and Train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Road sign captions
Authority

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Basics

Hello.
Bonjour. (bohng-ZHOOR)

Hello. (informal)
Salut. (sah-LUU)

How are you?
Comment allez-vous? (kuh-mahng tah-lay VOO?) (Quebecois: Comment ça va? [kuh-mahng sa va' '])

Fine, thank you.
Bien, merci. (byahng, mehr-SEE)

What is your name?
Comment vous appelez-vous? (kuh-MAWNG vooz ah-puhll-ay VOO?)

My name is _____.
Je m'appelle _____. (zhuh mah-PEHLL _____ )

Nice to meet you.
Enchanté(e). (ahng-chahng-TAY)

Please.
S'il vous plaît. (seell voo PLEH)

Thank you.
Merci. (mehr-SEE)

You're welcome.
De rien. (duh RYANG) (Quebecois: Bienvenue [be-YEIGN-ve-new])

Yes.
Oui. (WEE)

No.
Non. (NOHNG)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Pardon. (pahr-DOHNG), Excusez-moi. (ehks-kuu-zay MWAH)

I'm sorry.
Désolé(e). (day-zoh-LAY) Excusez-moi. (ehks-kuu-zay MWAH)

What's the time?
Quelle heure est-il? (kel ehr e-til?)

Goodbye
Au revoir. (oh RVWAHR)

Goodbye (informal)
Salut. (sah-LUU)

I can't speak French [well].
Je ne parle pas [bien] français. (zhuh nuh PAHRL pah [byahng] frahng-SEH)

Do you speak English?
Parlez-vous anglais? (PAHR-lay VOOZ ahng-LEH?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Est-ce qu'il y a quelqu'un ici qui parle anglais? (ess keel-ee-AH kel-KUHNG ee-SEE kee PAHRL ahng-LEH?)

Help!
Au secours! (os-KOOR!)

Look out!
Attention! (ah-TAHNG-see-ohng)

Good morning.
Bonjour. (bohng ZHOOR)

Good evening.
Bonsoir. (bohng SWAHR)

Good night.
Bonsoir. (bohng SWAHR)

Good night (to sleep)
Bonne nuit. (buhn NWEE)

I don't understand.
Je ne comprend pas. (ZHUH nuh kohm-PRAHNG pah)

Where is the toilet?
Où sont les toilettes? (OOH sohng lay twa-LEHT?)

How do you say _____ ?
Comment dit-on _____  ? (koh-mahn dee-TONG _____  ?)

What is this/that called?
Comment appelle-t-on ceci/ça ? (koh-mahnt ah-pehl-TONG suh-SEE/SAH?)

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Problems

Help!
Au secours! (os-KOOR!)

Leave me alone.
Laissez-moi tranquille! (less-ay mwah trahng-KEEL!)

Buzz off.
Dégage! (Day-GAZH!)

Don't touch me!
Ne me touchez pas! (nuh muh TOOSH-ay PAH!)

I'm calling the police.
J'appelle la police. (zhah-PELL la poh-LEESS)

Police!
Police! (POHL-ees)

Stop! Thief!
Arrêtez! Au voleur! (ah-reh-TAY! OH vo-LEUR!)

Help!
Au secours! (OH suh-KOOR!)

I need your help.
Aidez-moi, s'il vous plaît! (ay-day MWAH, SEEL voo PLAY!)

It's an emergency.
C'est une urgence. (seh tuun uur-ZHAHNS)

I'm lost.
Je suis perdu. (ZHUH swee pehr-DUU')

I lost my bag.
J'ai perdu mon sac. (ZHAY pehr-DUU mong sak)

I lost my wallet.
J'ai perdu mon portefeuille. (ZHAY pehr-DUU mong???)

I'm sick.
Je suis malade. (ZHUH swee MAU-laud)

I've been injured.
Je suis blessé. (zhuh swee bless-AY)

I need a doctor.
J'ai besoin d'un médecin. (ZHAY bez-WANG dun mayd-SANG)

Can I use your phone?
Je peux utiliser votre téléphone? (ZHUH poo UUT-ee-lee-zay vOt-ruh te-LAY-phun)

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Numbers

1
un (ung)

2
deux (deu)

3
trois (trwa)

4
quatre (katr)

5
cinq (sank)

6
six (seece or see)

7
sept (set)

8
huit (wheat)

9
neuf (neuf)

10
dix (deece or dee)

11
onze (ohnz)

12
douze (dooz)

13
treize (trayz)

14
quatorze (kat-ORZ)

15
quinze (cans)

16
seize (sayz)

17
dix-sept (dee-SET)

18
dix-huit (dee-ZWEET)

19
dix-neuf (dee-ZNEUF)

20
vingt (vang)

21
vingt-et-un (vang-tay-UNG)

22
vingt-deux (vang-DEU)

23
vingt-trois (vang-TRWA)

30
trente (trongt)

40
quarante (kar-AHNGT)

50
cinquante (sank-AHNGT)

60
soixante (swah-SAHNGT)

70
soixante-dix (swah-sahngt-DEE) or septante (set-AHNGT) in Belgium and Switzerland

80
quatre-vingt (katr-VANG) or huitante (wee-TAHNGT) in Belgium and Switzerland (except Geneva)

90
quatre-vingt-dix (katr-vang-DEE) or nonante (noh-NAHNGT) in Belgium and Switzerland

100
cent (sahng)

200
deux cent (deu sahng)

300
trois cent (trwa sahng)

1000
mille (meel)

2000
deux mille (deu meel)

1,000,000
un million (ung mee-LYOHNG)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
numéro _____ (nuu-may-ROH)

half
demi (deh-MEE), moitié (mwah-tee-AY)

less
moins (mwang)

more
plus (pluu)

__________

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Arabic phrasebook

Arabic is the fourth most widely-spoken language in the world. It is spoken in many popular destinations in North Africa and the Middle East. There are many regional dialects, but a standard Arabic language is maintained due to religious needs and region-wide media.

Arabic is written from right to left. It has its own alphabet, different from the Roman alphabet used for English.

For communication purposes while travelling and using this guide, it is very important to note that Arabic is divided into Classic Arabic(mostly used in print) and Colloquial Arabic. Colloquial Arabic is furtherly subdivided into regional colloquial accents, the main regions being the Levant, Persian Gulf States, Egypt, and North Africa. These regional colloquial accents differ enough to be mutually incomprehensible.

The pronunciation guide below uses Classical Arabic and Levantine Colloquial Arabic.

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Pronunciation guide

Arabic pronunciation varies WIDELY from place to place.

Standard Arabic will be understood by most educated people, as it is what they hear frequently on TV.

As a general rule:

- 'a' tends to be like that of 'hat'
- 'aa' is a longer version of 'a'
- 'b' as in English
- 't' as in English
- 'th' as in English 'thin'
- 'dh' as in English 'them'
- 'j' as in 'jam' in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, 'j' as in 'measure' in the Levant (Lebanon, Palestine etc.), and 'g' as in 'give' in Egypt and North Africa.
- 'H' is a pharyngeal fricative sound at the back of the throat (though not like clearing it). It sounds like you are about to whisper the word 'hello'.
- 'kh' as in Scots 'loch' or German 'mach'
- 'r' a tapped sound like Spanish 'pero', but trilled like Spanish 'perro' when doubled.
- 'z' as in English
- 'd' as in English
- 's' as in English
- 'sh' as in English
- 'S' like 's' but with the back of the throat constricted. Makes 'a' further back in the throat, 'i' into 'e' and 'u' into 'o'.
- 'D' like 'd' but with the back of the throat constricted. Samve vowel changes as 'S'
- 'T' like 'D', but equivalent to 't'
- 'Z' varies: sometimes like 'D', but equivalent to 'th', but other times equivalent to 'z'.
- 'h' as in English
- 'q' like 'k' but further back in the throat. Often pronounced like '?'
- 'k' as in English
- 'l' as in English
- 'm' as in English
- 'f' as in English
- 'n' as in English
- '?' as in Cockney 'bottle' ('bole). A glottal stop.
- '9' not always pronounced, but essential in Standard Arabic. A voiced version of 'H'.
- 'gh' a fricative sound at the back of the throat. 'kh' while using the voice box.

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Arabic Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Pronouns
Asking questions
Useful "I"s
Things
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

_________

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Basics

Hello.
marhaba(n) - the 'n' is not pronounced.

How are you?
kayfa haal-louk? - to male, singular; kayfa haal-lou-ki - female singular; kaifa haal-lou-kom - plural (depends on the number and gender spoken to)

Please.
min faDlik.

Thank you [very much].
shukran [jazeelan].

Yes.
na'am

No.
laa.

Maybe.
mumkin.

Excuse me.
ismahli - the 'i' at the beginning is swallowed

Good morning.
sabaH ul-khayri - the 'i' at the end is silent

Good evening.
masa' ul-khayri - the 'i' at the end is silent

good
jayyid.

very good
jayyid jiddan.

Never mind.
Laysa Muhim.

None, nothing, nobody.
Maa fee.

Hello. informal
salaam.

Fine, thank you.
Bekhair Shukran

What is your name?
ma ismuka (to a male) ma ismukee (to a female)

My name is ______.
ismee _______

Nice to meet you.
tasharafna (lit. "You honor us")

You're welcome.
afwan

Excuse me. getting attention
law samaht

Excuse me. begging pardon
Ana Asif (m) OR Ana Asifa (f)

I'm sorry.
Ana Asif (m) OR Ana Asifa (f)

Goodbye
ma'salama

Goodbye informal
salam

I can't speak name of language [well].
La atakalum "name of language" [jayidan]

Do you speak English?
Hal tetakallem al-inglizia?

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Hal huna ay shakhs yatakalam al-inglizia?

Help!
al-najda!

Look out!
intabih

Good night.
tisbah alal-khair
Good night (in response): wanta min ahl al-khair

I don't understand.
la afham

Where is the toilet?
aynal-hamam

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Problems

Help!
al-najda!

Leave me alone.
Otrokni (M)- Otrokini (F)

Don't touch me!
Ma tilmisni

I'll call the police.
Sa Unadi al-Police

Police!
Shurta!

Stop! Thief!
Qif! Harami!

I need your help.
Ahtaj musa'ada lau semah't

I'm lost.
Ana Tayeh (M) Tayha (F)

I lost my bag.
Lakad fakadto hakibati

I lost my wallet.
Lakad fakadto mahafazati

I'm sick.
Ana mareed (m) Or Ana mareeda (f)

I've been injured.
Innani Musabun

I need a doctor.
Ah'taj doktor.

Can I use your phone?
hal momken asta'mel al-telefone?

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Numbers

0
sifr

1
waahid

2
ithnaan

3
thalaatha

4
arba'a

5
khamsa

6
sitta

7
sab'a

8
thamaaniya

9
tis'a

10
ashara

20
ishruun

30
thalathuun

40
arba'uun

50
khamsuun

60
sittuun

70
Sab'uun

80
thamanuun

90
tis'uun

100
mi'a

11
ahad ashar

12
athnaa ashar

13
thalaathata ashar

14
arba'ata ashar

15
khamsata ashar

16
sittata ashar

17
sab'ata ashar

18
thamaaniyata ashar

19
tis'ata ashar

21
waahid wa ashruun

22
ithnaan wa ashruun

23
thalaatha wa ashruun

200
mitayn

300
thalaath mi'a

1000
alf (as in The Thousand and One Nights -Alf Layla wa Layla)

2000
alfayn

1,000,000
al-milyuun

1,000,000,000
al-bilyuun

1,000,000,000,000
at-triilyuun

number _____ train, bus, etc.
Raqm …

half
nisf

less
aqal

more
ak'thar

_________

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Catalan phrasebook

Pronunciation Guide | Phrase list

Catalan (Català), spoken in Catalonia, Land of Valencia (where it is called Valencià), Balearic Islands (where it is sometimes called Mallorquí), Andorra (where it is the only official language), the south of France (north Catalonia) and the Sardinian city Alghero, is spoken by about 7 million people, making it the 8th language in the European Union. It is, like Spanish and French, a Romance language, and people who listen it for first time have the impression that it's a mix between them. It's a separate language however, as old as the other Romance languages, and you will be very welcome if you try to say some words while you are in a Catalan-speaking region.

Unlike English, Catalan nouns (words for things) have genders. Every noun is either masculine, like home ("man") or feminine, like dona ("woman"). The gender of things doesn't always seem to follow logically from the meaning of the word; why a house (casa) is feminine but a car (cotxe) is masculine is just one of the vagaries of the language. Fortunately, the gender of a noun is usually but not always indicated by the last letter of the word; -a indicates feminine nouns, but as a difference from Spanish, masculine words don't have a common ending.

Adjectives also have gender and number. Like nouns, -a usually indicates the feminine form. Adding an -s at the end of an adjective makes it plural. Adjectives need to match the noun they describe in both gender and number. For example, borratxo "drunk", when modifying les dones ("the women"), makes les dones borratxes.

In this guide, where genders of nouns or adjectives comes up, we use the form "/a" to differentiate. It should be clear from context when to use the feminine and when to use the masculine form.

Pronunciation Guide

Vowels | Consonants

Written Catalan does not seem as phonetic as Spanish or Italian to an anglophone foreigner, but it is definitely less complicated to pronounce than French or English. It has variations from one region to other; the model presented here is the standard pronunciation, similar to the language of the region near Barcelona. Each of the major dialectal areas has its differences in pronunciation and vocabulary (just like English does in Britain, by the way): Western (Lleida province and Ebre river basin), Balearic (Balearic islands), Valencian, etc..

Vowels

To know how to pronounce vowels in Catalan, is necessary to know the strong syllable of the word; a, i, o change if are in the strong syllable or a weak one.

a
like 'a' in "apple" if in the strong syllable or 'e' in "over" if in a weak syllable

e
like 'e' in "bed" or 'ea' in "bear" if in the strong syllable or 'e' in "over" if in a weak syllable

i
like 'ee' in "bee"

o
like the first component of the diphthong 'ow' in "low" or 'o' in "bond" if in the strong syllable or 'oo' in "hoop" if in a weak syllable

u
like 'oo' in "hoop"

In the case of e and o in a strong syllable, you can only know how it sounds if has the accent sign. è sounds always as 'e' in "bed", é sounds as 'ea' in "bear", ò sounds as 'o' in "bond" and ó sounds as the first component of the diphthong 'ow' in "low".

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "bed"

c
when followed by 'e' or 'i', like 'c' in "cell", otherwise like 'k' in "kid"

ç
like 'c' in "cell"

d
like 'd' in "dog"

f
like 'f' in "fine"

g
when followed by 'e' or 'i', like 'j' in "james", otherwise like "g" in "go" (in the clusters "gue" and "gui", the "u" is silent, unless it bears a diaeresis, as in "güe" and "güi")

gu, gü
like 'Gu' in McGuire or 'w' in "wire"

h
silent

j
like 'j' in "james"

k
like 'c' in "cat"

l
like 'l' in "love"

ll
like 'lli' in "million" (palatized l)

l·l
like 'l' in "love"

m
like 'm' in "mother"

n
like 'n' in "nice", and like 'n' in "anchor"

ny
like 'ny' in "canyon"

p
like 'p' in "pig"

q
like 'q' in "quiche" (always with a silent "u")

r
like 'tt' in "butter"; except at the beginning of a word, or after "l" and "n"

r
like 'r' in "row"; at the beginning of a word, or after "l" and "n"

rr
like 'rr' in "mirror"; identical to the sound above

s
like 'ss' in "hiss" except when is between vowels, when it sounds like 'z' in "zone".

ss
like 'ss' in "hiss". Always goes between vowels.

t
like 't' in "top"

v
like 'b' in "bed"

w
like 'w' in "weight" in English words, like 'b' in "bed" in Germanic words

x
like 'sh' in "short", except if is between two vowels, when sounds like 'cks' in "kicks"

z
like 'z' in "zone"

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Phrase list

Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Clock time
Duration
Days
Months
Writing time and date
Colors
Transportation
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

Basics

Hello (informal).
Hola. (OH-lah). For the formal equivalent of "hola" see good morning, good afternoon, good evening, below.

How are you?
Com estàs? (KOH-m ehss-TAHSS?) (informal); Com està? (KOH-m ehss-TAH?) (formal)

Fine, thank you.
Molt bé, gràcies.

What is your name?
Com et dius? (informal); Com es diu? (formal)

My name is ______.
Em dic ______.

Nice to meet you.
Molt de gust.

Please.
Si us plau.

Thank you.
Gràcies. OR Mercès.

You're welcome.
De res.

Yes.
Sí. (SEE)

No.
No. (NOH)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Dispensi.

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Perdoni.

I'm sorry.
Ho sento OR Em sap greu.

Goodbye
Adéu OR Adéu-siau.

I can't speak Catalan [well].
No parlo [bé] el català.

Do you speak English?
Parles anglès? (informal); Que parla anglès?

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Que hi ha algú que parli anglès?

Help!
Ajuda! Auxili!

Good morning.
Bon dia.

Good afternoon.
Bona tarda.

Good evening (when it's dark)
Bon vespre.

Good night.
Bona nit.

I don't understand.
No ho entenc.

Where is the toilet?
On és el lavabo? OR On són els serveis?

Problems

Help!
Ajuda! Auxili!

Leave me alone.
Deixa'm en pau!

Don't touch me!
No em toquis! (nom-TOH-kees)

I'll call the police.
Trucaré la policia!

Police!
Policia! (poo-lee-SEE-ah)

Stop! Thief!
Al lladre!

I need help.
Necessito la teva ajuda.

It's an emergency.
És una emergència

I'm lost.
M'he perdut.

I lost my bag.
He perdut la meva bossa.

I lost my wallet.
He perdut la meva cartera/bitlletera.

I'm sick.
Estic malalt (woman: Estic malalta)

I've been injured.
Estic ferit/ferida

I need a doctor.
Necessito un metge. (nah-sir-see-toom-MEH-djer)

Can I use your phone?
Puc utilitzar el seu telèfon?

Numbers

1
u/una (Male/Female) (OON/OO-nah)

2
dos/dues (Male/Female) (DOHS/DOO-wehz)

3
tres (TRREHS)

4
quatre (KWAH-truh)

5
cinc (SEENK)

6
sis (SEES)

7
set (SEHT)

8
vuit (BWEET)

9
nou (NOH-oo)

10
deu (DAY-oo)

11
onze (OHN-zuh)

12
dotze (DOH-tzuh)

13
tretze (TRAY-tzuh)

14
catorze (kuh-TOR-tzuh)

15
quinze (KEEN-zuh)

16
setze (SEHT-zuh)

17
disset (dee-SEET)

18
divuit (dee-BWEET)

19
dinou (dee-NOH-oo)

20
vint (BEENT)

21
vint-i-u (been-tee-OO)

22
vint-i-dos (been-tee-DOHS)

23
vint-i-tres (been-tee-TREHS)

30
trenta (TRAYN-tuh)

31
trenta-u (trayn-tuh-OO)

40
quaranta (kwuh-RAHN-tuh)

50
cinquanta (sin-KWAHN-tuh)

60
seixanta (say-SHAHN-tuh)

70
setanta (suh-TAHN-tuh)

80
vuitanta (bwee-TAHN-tuh)

90
noranta (noo-RAHN-tuh)

100
cent (SENT)

200
dos-cents (DOHS-SENTS) or dues-cents (DOO-wuhz-SENTS)

300
tres-cents (TRES-SENTS)

1000
mil (MEEL)

2000
dos mil

1,000,000
un milió

1,000,000,000
mil milions

1,000,000,000,000
un bilió

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
número _____

half
mig (MEECH)

less
menys

more
més (MEHS)

________

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Chinese phrasebook

Mandarin Chinese is the official language of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. In English, it is often just called "Mandarin" or "Chinese". In Chinese, it is called Putonghua, meaning "common speech". It has been the only language of education in China (but not Hong Kong) since the 1950s. Standard Mandarin is close to, but not quite identical with, the dialect of the Beijing area.

Understand

The word "dialect" means something different when applied to Chinese than it does for other languages. Chinese "dialects" are mutually unintelligible, as different as, say, Spanish and French and even English, which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects".

However, while there are different spoken dialects of Chinese, there is only one form of written Chinese, with one common set of characters -- mostly. An exception arises where in some spoken dialects, for example Cantonese as used in Hong Kong, more informal phrasings are used in everyday speech than what would be written. Thus, there are some extra characters that are sometimes used in addition to the common characters to represent the spoken dialect and other colloquial words. One additional complication is that mainland China and Singapore use simplified characters, a long-debated change completed by the mainland Chinese government in 1956 to facilitate the standardization of language across China's broad minority groups and sub-dialects. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and many overseas Chinese use the traditional characters.

About one fifth of the people in the world speak some form of Chinese as their native language. It is a tonal language that is related to Burmese and Tibetan. Although Japanese and Korean use Chinese written characters, the spoken languages are only very distantly related to Chinese. Also, the unrelated Vietnamese language has borrowed many words from Chinese.

Yet other languages may've borrowed so much from Chinese that they've come to be considered Chinese languages. Hokkien/Taiwanese/Ban-lam-gu and Teochew could have "become Chinese" this way.

Note that travellers headed for Guangdong, Hong Kong or Macau will almost certainly find Cantonese more useful than Mandarin.

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Pronunciation guide

The pronunciation guide below uses Hanyu pinyin, the official romanization of the People's Republic of China. Until recently, Taiwan used the Wade-Giles system, which is quite different, but has recently officially switched to Tongyong pinyin, which is only slightly different.

Vowels

a
as in father

e
as in the hen

i
as in ping or key; after sh, zh, or r, as in shirr; after s or z, hold the z and make a vowel of it

o
as in saw or sung

u
as in soon; but as ü in ju, qu, yu and xu

ü
as in French lune or German grün

Consonants

Chinese stops distinguish aspirated and unaspirated, not voiceless and voiced as in English. So p, t, and k should be pronounced with a puff of air.

b
as in ball or spall

c
as in rats

ch
as in chore

d
as in do or stew

f
as in fun

g
as in gang

h
as in her

j
as in jeer

k
as in king

l
as in lease

m
as in mow

n
as in none

ng
as in sing

p
as in pit

q
as in cheap

r
as in genre or fair

s
as in sag

sh
as in shoot

t
as in tongue

w
as in wing, but silent in wu

x
as in sheep

y
as in yet, but silent in yi, yu

z
as in red zebra

zh
as in jungle

Exceptions

There are a fairly large number of niggling exceptions to the basic rules above, based on the position of the sound. Some of the more notable ones include:

-ian
as -ien, so Tian'anmen is pronounced "Tien'anmen"

wu-
as u-, so wubai is pronounced "ubai"

yi-
as i-, so yige is pronounced "ige"

yü-
as ü-, so Yuyuan is pronounced "ü-üan"

Tones

There are four tones in Mandarin that must be followed for proper pronunciation.

1. first tone
flat, high pitch - more sung instead of spoken

2. second tone ( á )
low to middle, rising - pronounced like the end of a question phrase (Whát?)

3. third tone
middle to low to high, dipping - if at the end of a sentence or before a pause, it is then followed by a rising pitch

4. fourth tone ( à )
high to low, falling - Pronounced like a command (Stop!)

5. There is also a fifth tone, the neutral tone, which is used rarely, mostly for phrase particles.

_________

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Chinese Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority
Telephone and Internet

_________

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Basics

Chinese does not have words for "yes" and "no" as such; instead, questions are typically answered by repeating the verb.

Hello.
Ni hao.

How are you?
Ni hao ma? Shen1ti hao ma?

Fine, thank you.
Hen hao, xièxie.

What is your (first) name?
Ni jiào shénme mingzi?

My name is ______.
Wo jiào ______.

Nice to meet you.
Hen gaoxìng rènshì ni.

Please.
Qing.

Thank you.
xièxie.

You're welcome.
Bú kèqi.

Excuse me. (getting attention)
qing wèn

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Darao yixià; Máfan ni le.

I'm sorry.
Duìbùqi.

Goodbye
Zàijiàn

Goodbye (informal)
Bai-bai (Byebye)

I can't speak Chinese.
Wo bú hui shuo hànyu.

Do you speak English?
Ni hui4 shuo yingyu ma?

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Zhèli you rén hùi shuo Yingyu ma?

Help! (in emergencies)
jìu mìng!

Good morning.
Zao an.

Good evening.
Wanshàng hao.

Good night.
Wan an.

I don't understand.
Wo ting bu dong.

Where is the toilet?
Cèsuo zài nali?

_________

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Problems

Help! (in emergencies)
jìu mìng!

Leave me alone.
búyào darao wo

Don't touch me!
búyào pèng wo!

I'll call the police.
wo yào jiào jingchá le

Police!
jingchá!)

Stop! Thief!
zhùshou! xiaotou!

I need your help.
wo xuyào nide bangzhù

It's an emergency.
zhèshì jinji qingkuàng

I'm lost.
wo milù le

I lost my bag.
wo diule shoutibao

I lost my wallet.
wo diule qiánbao

I'm sick.
wo shengbìng le

I've been injured.
wo shòushang le

I need a doctor.
wo xuyào yisheng

Can I use your phone?
wo keyi da ge diànhuà ma?

_________

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Numbers

0
ling

1
yi

2
èr

3
san

4
sì

5
wu

6
lìu

7
qi

8
ba

9
jiu

10
shi

11
shi-yi

12
shi-èr

13
shi-san

14
shi-sì

15
shi-wu

16
shi-lìu

17
shi-qi

18
shi-ba

19
shi-jiu

20
èr-shi

21
èr-shi-yi

22
èr-shi-èr

23
èr-shi-san

30
san-shi

40
sì-shi

50
wu-shi

60
lìu-shi

70
qi-shi

80
ba-shi

90
jiu-shi

For numbers above 100, any "gaps" must be filled in with ling, as eg. yibaiyi would otherwise be taken as shorthand for "110". A single unit of tens may be written and pronounced either yishi or just shi.

100
yi-bai

101
yi-bai-ling-yi

110
yi-bai-yi-shi

111
yi-bai-yi-shi-yi

200
èr-bai

300
san-bai

500
wu-bai

1000
yi-qian

2000
èr-qian

Numbers above 10,000 are grouped by in units of four digits, starting with wàn (ten thousand). "One million" in Chinese is thus "hundred tenthousands".

10,000
yi-wàn

10,001
yi-wàn-ling-yi

10,002
yi-wàn-ling-èr

20,000
èr-wàn

50,000
wu-wàn

100,000
shi-wàn

200,0000
èr-shi-wàn

1,000,000
yi-bai-wàn

10,000,000
yi-qian-wàn

100,000,000
yi1yi4

half
bàn

less
shaoyu

more
duoyu

_________

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Czech phrasebook

Pronunciation Guide
Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Transportation
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority
Language Barrier
Emergencies

Czech is a Slavic language, closely related to Slovak and Polish. Spoken by over 10 million people as a first language and at least 6 million who use it as a second language (mainly in Slovakia), Czech is one of two official and defacto languages of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Czech belongs to the "synthetic" language group, which means that unlike English and other "analytical" languages, different grammatical aspects are expressed in one word by changing the structure of that word - adding an ending or prefix, modifying the core of the word, etc. In analytical languages such as English, the same is achieved by using separate auxiliary verbs, pronouns or adjectives while the actual word remains unchanged. In Czech, one word is often sufficient to express what English can only achieve by using multiple words.

The only tricky sound to watch for in Czech is this 'ř' letter. Its like putting a trilled 'r' and 'su' in "pleasure" together to make up a 'rrrzh' sound.

Pronunciation guide

Stress

The accent doesn't mean a vowel is stressed. It means it's long. Czech is basically an unstressed language (all syllables given equal stress), which you can approximate by putting the stress on the first syllable

Short Vowels

a

like 'u' in "cup" [uh]

e

like 'e' in "red" [eh]

i

like 'i' in "bit" [ih]

o

like 'o' in "bore" [oh]

u

like 'u' in "put" [oo]

y

same as 'i' [ih]

Long Vowels

á

like 'a' in "far" [aa]

é

like 'e' in "bled" [ehh]

í

like 'ee' in "spleen" [ee]

ó

like 'o' in "for" [ohh]

ú/ů

like 'oo' in "pool" [ooh]

ý

like 'ee' in "speed" [ee]

The Vowel Ěě

The Czech vowel "ě" is pronounced in one of three ways, depending on the preceding letter.

dě, tě, ně

pronounced as though they were written ďe, ťe, ňe — the preceding consonant is softened and the e is pronounced [eh]

mě

pronounced as though it was written mňe — a soft n, like the Spanish ñ, is inserted and the e is pronounced [eh]

in all other cases

ě is pronounced 'ye' as in "yet" but in a middle of a word 'ie' in "miedo"

Consonants

b

like 'b' in "bed"

c

like 'ts' in "tsunami"

č

like 'ch' in "child"

d

like 'd' in "dog"

ď

like 'd' in "duty"

f

like 'f' in "for"

g

like 'g' in "go"

h

like 'h' in "help"

ch

like 'ch' in the Scottish word "Loch"

j

like 'y' in "yell"

k

like 'k' in "king"

l

like 'l' in "love"

m

like 'm' in "mother"

n

like 'n' in "nice"

ň

like 'ñ' in Spanish "señor"

p

like 'p' in "pig"

q

like 'q' in "quest" (very rare)

r

like Scottish 'r' (a.k.a. rolling 'r')

ř

like 'rzh'; is like the trilled 'r' and the 'su' in " pleasure " together, the tip of your tongue should vibrate loosely. Like "diversion". (This sound is very difficult for foreigners: even young Czechs and Slovaks have trouble pronouncing it.)

s

like 's' in "his"

š

like 'sh' in "cash"

t

like 't' in "top"

ť

like 'ti' in "Tatiana"

v

like 'v' in "victory"

w

like 'v' in "victor" (rarely used in Czech words, however used in German-originated proper nouns or words of Polish origin)

x

like 'cks' in "kicks"

z

like 'z' in "zebra"

ž

like 'j' in french "Jacques"

Diphthongs

Diphthongs are sounds that consist of two vowels within the same syllable (like in the English word "meow").

au

like 'ow' in "cow"

eu

like 'eu' in "Europa"

ou

like 'o' in "go"

Nondigraphs

sh

is not digraph, but two separate consonats, not like the "sh" in "ship" but rather 's' followed by 'h' as in glass house.

Phrase list

Basics

Common signs

OPEN

Otevřeno (oh-teh-VRZHEH-noh)

CLOSED

Zavřeno (zah-VRZHEH-noh)

ENTRANCE

Vchod (fkhot)

EXIT

Východ (VEE-khot)

PUSH (on a door)

Tam (tahm)

PULL (on a door)

Sem (sehm)

TOILET

Toalety/WC (toa-LEH-tih/ VEH TSEH)

MEN

Muži/Páni (MOO-zhih/ PAHH-nih)

WOMEN

Ženy/Dámy (ZHEH-nih/ DAHH-mih)

FORBIDDEN

Vstup zakázán (vehs-toop zah-KAHH-zahhn)

Hello.

Dobrý den. (DOH-bree dehn)

Hello. (informal)

Ahoj. (ahoy)

How are you? (formal)

Jak se máte? (yahk seh MAA-teh?)

How are you? (informal)

Jak se máš? (yahk seh MAA-sh?)

Fine, thank you.

Dobře, děkuji. (DOH-brzheh, DYEH-koo-yih.)

What is your name?

Jak se jmenuješ? (yahk seh YMEH-noo-yehsh?)

My name is ______ .

Jmenuji se ______ . (YMEH-noo-ee seh _____.)

Nice to meet you.

Těší mě. (TYEH-shee myeh.)

Please.

Prosím (Proseem)

Thank you.

Děkuji. (Dyekooyih.)

You're welcome.

Rádo se stalo. (Raado seh stulo.)

Yes.

Ano. (AH-noh.)

No.

Ne. (neh.)

Excuse me, I am sorry. (getting attention)

Promiňte (PROH-mih-nyteh)

I'm sorry.

Je mi to líto. (yeh mee toh LEE-toh)

Goodbye

Na shledanou (NAHSH-leh-dah-noh)

I can't speak Czech [well].

Neumím [moc dobře] mluvit česky (Neh-oomeem [mots dobrzheh] mloovit cheskee.)

Do you speak English?

Mluvíte anglicky? (Mlooveeteh unglitskee?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

Je tady někdo, kdo mluví anglicky? (Yeh tuhdih nyegdo gdo mloovee uhnglitskee?)

Help!

Pomoc! (POH-mohts!)

Look out!

Pozor! (Pozor!)

Good morning.

Dobré ráno (DOH-brehh RAHH-noh)

Good evening.

Dobrý večer (DOH-bree VEH-chehr)

Good night.

Dobrou noc (DOH-broh nohts)

I don't understand.

Nerozumím (NEH-roh-zoo-meem)

Where is the toilet?

Kde je záchod? (Gdeh yeh ZAHH-khoht?)

Problems

Leave me alone.

Nechte mě být. (NEHKH-teh myeh beet)

Don't touch me!

Nedotýkejte se mě! (NEH-doh-tee-keh-teh seh myeh!)

I'll call the police.

Zavolám policii (ZAH-voh-laam POH-lee-tsee)

Police!

Policie! (POH-lee-tsee-eh!)

Stop! Thief!

Stůj, (stooyeh) zloděj! (ZLOH-dyehy!)

I need your help.

Potřebuji vaši pomoc. (POHT-rzheh-boo-yee VAH-shee POH-mots)

It's an emergency.

To je nebezpečí. (toh yeh NEH-behz-peh-chee)

I'm lost.

Jsem ztracen (YEH-sehm ZTRAH-tsehn)

I lost my bag.

Ztratil jsem tašku (ZTRAH-til yeh-sehm TAHSH-koo)

I lost my wallet.

Ztratil jsem peněženku (ZTRAH-til yeh-sehm PEH-ehh-zhehn-koo)

I'm sick.

Je mi špatně. (yeh mee SHPAH-tnehh)

I've been injured.

Jsem zraněn (YEH-sehm ZRAH-nehhn)

I need a doctor.

Potřebuji doktora (POHT-rgeh-boo-yee DOHK-toh-rah)

Can I use your phone?

Mohu použít váš telefon? (MOH-hoo pwoh-zheet vaash TEH-leh-fohn?)

Numbers

0

nula (NOO-lah)

1

jeden/jedna/jedno (YEH-dehn/ YEHD-nah/YEHD-noh)

2

dva/dvě (dvah/ dvyeh)

3

tři (trzhee)

4

čtyři (CHTEE-rzhee)

5

pět (pyeht)

6

šest (shehst)

7

sedm (SEH-duhm)

8

osm (OH-suhm)

9

devět (DEH-vyeht)

10

deset (DEH-seht)

11

jedenáct (YEH-deh-naatst)

12

dvanáct (DVAH-naatst)

13

třináct (TRZHEE-naatst)

14

čtrnáct (CHTR-naatst)

15

patnáct (PAHT-naatst)

16

šestnáct (SHEST-naatst)

17

sedmnáct (SEH-duhm-naatst)

18

osmnáct (OH-suhm-naatst)

19

devatenáct (DEH-vah-teh-naatst)

20

dvacet (DVAH-tseht)

21

dvacet jedna (DVAH-tseht YEHD-nah)

22

dvacet dva (DVAH-tseht dvah)

23

dvacet tři (DVAH-tseht trzhih)

30

třicet (TRZHIH-tseht)

40

čtyřicet (CHTIH-rzhih-tseht)

42

čtyřicet dva (CHTIH-rzhih-tseht dvah)

50

padesát (PAH-deh-saat)

60

šedesát (SHEH-deh-saat)

70

sedmdesát (SEH-duhm-deh-saat)

80

osmdesát (OH-suhm-deh-saat)

90

devadesát (DEH-vah-deh-saat)

100

sto (stoh)

175

sto sedmdesát pět (stoh SEH-duhm-deh-saat pyeht)

200

dvě stě (dvyeh styeh)

300

tři sta (trzhih stah)

1000

tisíc (TIH-seehts)

2000

dva tisíce (dvah TIH-see-tseh)

3758

tři tisíce sedm set padesát osm (trzhih TEE-see-tseh sehdm seht PAH-deh-saat ohsm)

1,000,000

milion (MIH-lyohn)

1,000,000,000

miliarda (MIH-lyahr-dah)

1,000,000,000,000

bilion (BIH-lyohn)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)

číslo _____ (CHEES-loh)

half

půl (pool)

less (than)

méně (než) (MEHH-nyeh (nehzh))

more (than)

více (než) (VEE-tseh (nehzh))

_________

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Dutch phrasebook

Dutch is a Germanic language spoken by about 27 million people world-wide. Most people living in the Netherlands and Flanders (the northern part of Belgium) use it as a first language, while in Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles it is widely used as a second language. Historically, French Flanders and parts of the Lower Rhine Region in Germany also belong to the Dutch language sphere, and during the age of colonization it has also spread to Indonesia and other former Dutch colonies.

Dutch is the ancestor of the Afrikaans language spoken in South Africa and Namibia, which is mutually intelligible to Dutch. Lastly, it is closely related with other West Germanic languages, such as German (especially the Low German dialects), English and West Frisian.

Difficulties

Since many Dutch and Flemish people like to practice their foreign languages it is very difficult to learn more than the basics. You will notice that even after having reached a reasonable level people continue to respond in English after having started the conversation in Dutch.

Older people generally don't speak English though, so a bit of Dutch can come in handy.

Differences between Flemish and Dutch

In Flanders it is much more common to use the polite form than in the Netherlands, where it is nowadays mostly reserved to address elderly people. However, since it could be a problem to use the casual form where the polite form is due, and the opposite might simply invoke some giggles, we use the polite form in this phrasebook unless mentioned otherwise.

The pronunciation of the G differs greatly between the Flemish and the Dutch. The Dutch G can sometimes sound a bit like someone clearing their throat. The actual border of the soft/hard G lies between the Rhine and the Waal.

_________

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Dutch Phrasebook - Pronunciation

Short vowels | Long vowels | Diphthongs | Consonants

Dutch has some vowel sounds that are not known in many other languages, so they can be hard to learn.

Short vowels

a
like 'a' in "calm", (but shorter)

e
like 'e' in "pen" or 'e' in "the" (at word endings)

i
like 'i' in "pin"

o
like 'o' in "dork"

oe
like 'oo' in "too" (but shorter)

u
like 'e' in "the"

y
like 'i' in "pin" or 'ee' in "deep"

Long vowels

a, aa
like 'aa' in "Afrikaans"

e, ee
like 'a' in "day" (without pronouncing the 'y'-sound at the end)

eu
similar to 'er' in "mercy"

ie
like 'ea' in "sea"

o, oo
like 'o' in "ago" (without pronouncing the 'w'-sound at the end)

oe
like 'oo' in "too"

u, uu
like 'ü' in German "München"

Diphthongs

au, ou
like 'ow' in "how"

eeuw
like 'a' in "day" (and substituting the 'y'-sound at the end with a 'w'-sound

ei, ij
like 'ay' in "say"

ieuw
like 'ea' in "sea" followed by a 'w'-sound

ui
like 'i' in "sir" followed by a 'y'-sound

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "bed"

c
like 'c' in "can" or the second 'c' in "success"

ch
like 'ch' in Scottish "loch"

d
like 'd' in "do"

f
like 'f' in "feel"

g
voiced 'ch'-sound

h
like 'h' in "have"

j
like 'y' in "you"

k
like 'k' in "kilo"

l
like 'l' in "low"

m
like 'm' in "man"

n
like 'n' in "no"; often dropped at the end of words

p
like 'p' in "pet"

q
like 'q' in "quick"

r
similar to 'r' in "row"

s
like 's' in "say"

sj
like 'sh in "she"

t
like 't' in "top"

v
like 'v' in "vein"

w
like 'w' in "we"

x
like 'x' in "axe"

y
like 'y' in "yes"

z
like 'z' in "zoo"

_________

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Dutch Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
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_________

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Basics

Hello.
Hallo. (HAH-low)

How are you?
Hoe gaat het? (hoo GAHT hut?)

Fine, thank you.
Goed, dank u. (GOOT, dahnk uu)

Fine, thank you. (informal)
Goed, dank je. (GOOT, dahnk yuh)

What is your name?
Hoe heet u? (hoo HAYT uu?)

What is your name? (informal)
Hoe heet je? (hoo HAYT yuh?)

My name is ______ .
Mijn naam is ______ . (meyn NAHM is _____ .)

Nice to meet you.
Aangenaam kennis te maken. (AHN-guh-NAH-muh KAN-nis-tuh-MA-kuh), or simply Aangenaam (AHN-guh-NAHM)

Please.
Alstublieft. (AHL-stuu-BLEEFT)

Thank you.
Dank u. (DAHNK uu)

Thank you. (informal)
Dank je. (DAHNK yuh)

You're welcome.
Graag gedaan. (GRAHG guh-DAHN)

Yes.
Ja. (YAH)

No.
Nee. (NAY)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Mag ik even uw aandacht. (mahg ick AYvuhn uuw ahnDAGHT ) or simply Pardon (PAR-don)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Sorry. (SOHR-ree)

I'm sorry.
Sorry. (SOHR-ree)

Goodbye
Tot ziens. (TOT seens)

I can't speak Dutch.
Ik spreek geen Nederlands. (ick SPRAYK gayn NAY-dur-lawnts)

I can't speak Dutch well.
Ik spreek niet goed Nederlands. (ick SPRAYK neet goot NAY-dur-lawnts)

Do you speak English?
Spreekt u Engels? (SPRAYKT uu ENG-uls?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Spreekt hier iemand Engels? (SPRAYKT here EE-mahnt ENG-uls?)

Help!
Help! (HEHLP!)

Good morning.
Goedemorgen. (GOO-duh-MORE-gun)

Good afternoon.
Goedemiddag (GOO-duh-MID-dahg)

Good evening.
Goedenavond. (Goo-duhn-AH-vunt)

Good night.
Goedenavond. (Goo-duhn-AH-vunt)

Good night (to sleep)
Slaap lekker. (SLAHP leck-uhr)

I don't understand.
Ik begrijp het niet. (ick buh-GRAYP hut neet)

Where is the toilet?
Waar is het toilet? (WAHR is hut twah-LET?)

_________

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Problems

Help!
Help! (HEHLP!)

Leave me alone.
Laat me met rust. (LAHT muh met RUST)

Don't touch me!
Blijf van me af! (BLEYF van muh AHF)

I'll call the police.
Ik roep de politie. (ick ROOP duh poh-LEE-see)

Police!
Politie! (poh-LEET-see)

Stop! Thief!
Stop! Dief! (STOP DEEF)

I need your help.
Ik heb uw hulp nodig. (ick HEP uu HULP noh-duhg)

It's an emergency.
Het is een noodgeval. (hut IS uhn NOWT-guh-vahl)

I'm lost.
Ik ben verdwaald. (ick BEN vuhr-DWAHLT)

I lost my bag.
Ik heb mijn bagage verloren. (ick HEP meyn bah-GHAH-zhuh vuhr-LOH-run)

I lost my wallet.
Ik heb mijn portefeuille verloren. (ick HEP meyn por-tuh-FUH-yuh vuhr-LOH-run)

I'm sick.
Ik ben ziek. (ick ben ZEEK)

I've been injured.
Ik ben gewond. (ick ben ghuh-WONT)

I need a doctor.
Ik heb een dokter nodig. (ick hep uhn DOCK-tuhr no-duhg)

Can I use your phone?
Mag ik uw telefoon gebruiken? (MAHG ick uu tay-lay-PHOHN ghuh-BROWK-kuhn)

_________

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Numbers

1
een (AIN)

2
twee (TWAY)

3
drie (DREE)

4
vier (VEER)

5
vijf (VAYF)

6
zes (ZEHS)

7
zeven (ZAY-vuhn)

8
acht (AHGT)

9
negen (NAY-guhn)

10
tien (TEEN)

11
elf (ELF)

12
twaalf (TWAHLF)

13
dertien (DEHR-teen)

14
veertien (VAYR-teen)

15
vijftien (VAYF-teen)

16
zestien (ZEHS-teen)

17
zeventien (ZAY-vuhn-teen)

18
achttien (AHGT-teen)

19
negentien (NAY-guhn-teen)

20
twintig (TWIN-tuhg)

21
eenentwintig (AIN-uhn-TWIN-tuhg)

22
tweeëntwintig (TWAY-uhn-TWIN-tuhg)

23
drieentwintig (DREE-uhn-TWIN-tuhg)

30
dertig (DEHR-tuhg)

40
veertig (VAYR-tuhg)

50
vijftig (VAYF-tuhg)

60
zestig (ZEHS-tuhg)

70
zeventig (ZAY-vuhn-tuhg)

80
tachtig (TAHG-tuhg)

90
negentig (NAY-guhn-tuhg)

100
honderd (HON-duhrt)

200
tweehonderd (TWAY-hon-duhrt)

300
driehonderd (DREE-hon-duhrt)

1000
duizend (DIGH-zuhnt)

2000
tweeduizend (TWAY-digh-zuhnt)

1,000,000
een miljoen (uhn mil-YOON)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
nummer _____ (NUHM-muhr)

half
de helft (duh HELFT)

less
minder (MIN-duhr)

more
meer (MAYR)

_________

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Danish Phrasebook

Danish is a Scandinavian language spoken in Denmark. It is closely related to Norwegian and Swedish, and some speakers of the three languages can understand the others. In writing, the difference between the Danish and Norwegian languages are not bigger than the difference between English and American English, though it will often be harder in oral conversations. These Scandinavian languages are North Germanic, strongly influenced by Low Saxon (German).

________

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Danish Phrasebook - Pronunciation guide

Alphabet

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V (W) X Y Z Æ Ø Å a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v (w) x y z æ ø å

Acute accent may be used in some words (eg fór), for ease of reading, but it's always optional. C, Q, W, X and Z are only used in loanwords. V and W are treated the same, and W is sometimes left out of the alphabet.

Vowels

a as in cat
e as in sin, but also as æ and murder
i as in see, only shorter
o as [o], but also as å
u as in soon, but also as å
y as in few, but also as ø
æ as in egg, only shorter
ø as [ø], but also as in bird
å as in old, but also caught; sometimes written aa

Consonants

b as in bed, and wick between vowels and at the end of words
c as k, but sing before e or i
d as in dead, tithe after vowels, silent before l, n or r and before t or s
f as in ferry
g as in gone, yet after a vowel
h as in hope, hv = v, hj = j
j as in yes
k as in kick, and go between vowels and at the end of a syllable
l as in lake
m as in many
n as in near
p as in parry, bit between vowels and at the end of a syllable
qu like English
r is a rolling sound at the back of the throat, silent after vowels and before consonants
s as in smell
t as in trout and dog between vowels, at the end of a syllable and at the end of a word
v as in viking, and hoot at the end of words

________

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Danish Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Clock time
Duration
Days
Months
Writing time and date
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

Basics

Hello.
Hallo (halo).

Hello. (informal)
Hej (hay).

How are you?
Hvordan går det? (vorran gur ded)

Fine, thank you.
Godt, tak (god, tag).

What is your name?
Hvad hedder du? (vadh hedhuh du)

My name is ______.
Jeg hedder ______ (yay hedhuh..).

Nice to meet you.
Det var rart at møde dig (ded varr rrarrd ad murdhe dee).

Please.
Vær så venlig (verr suh venlee).

Thank you.
Tak (tag).

You're welcome.
Selv tak (seloo tag).

Yes.
Ja (ja).

No.
Nej (nay).

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Undskyld mig (unskurl mee).

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Undskyld (unskurl).

I'm sorry.
Det må du undskylde (ded mur doo unskurle).

Goodbye
Farvel (favel).

Goodbye (informal)
Hej (nay).

I can't speak Danish [well].
Jeg taler ikke [godt] dansk (yay taluh ige [god] densk).

Do you speak English?
Taler du engelsk? (taluh doo engelsk)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Er der nogen her, der taler engelsk? (uh duh noyen her, duh taluh engelsk)

Help!
Hjælp! (julb)

Look out!
Pas på! (pas pu)

Good morning (before roughly 10-11am).
Godmorgen (godhmorgen).

Good morning (after 10-11am, but before noon)
Godformiddag (godh-formidhai).

Good evening.
Godaften (godhafden).

Good night.
Godnat (godhnad).

Good night (sleep well)
Sov godt (so'oo god).

I don't understand.
Det forstår jeg ikke (ded fostur yay ige).

Where is the toilet?
Hvor er toilettet? (vorr err toileded)

Problems

Leave me alone.
Lad mig være i fred (ladh mee vere i fredh).

Don't touch me!
Rør mig ikke! (rruhrr mee ige)

I'll call the police.
Jeg ringer efter politiet (yay reenger efduh poleedyed).

Police!
Politi (poleedee)!

Stop! Thief!
Stop tyven (stob toorven)!

I need your(sg)/your(pl) help.
Jeg har brug for din/jeres hjælp (yay harr brroy forr din/yerres yulb).

It's an emergency.
Det er et nødstilfælde (ded err ed nuhsteelfule).

I'm lost.
Jeg er faret vild (yay err farred vil).

I lost my bag.
Jeg har mistet min taske (yay har misded min taske).

I lost my wallet.
Jeg har mistet min tegnebog (yay har misded min teyneboy).

I'm sick.
Jeg er syg (yay err soor).

I've been injured.
Jeg er kommet til skade (yay er komed til skadhe).

I need a doctor.
Jeg har brug for en læge (yay har broy for en lur'ye).

Can I use your phone?
Må jeg låne din telefon? (muh yay luhne din telefon)

Numbers

1 en (en)/et (ed)

2 to (to)

3 tre (trre)

4 fire (fear)

5 fem (fem)

6 seks (seks)

7 syv (sur'oo)

8 otte (ude)

9 ni (ni)

10 ti (ti)

11 elleve (eleve)

12 tolv (toloo)

13 tretten (tredn)

14 fjorten (fyordn)

15 femten (femden)

16 seksten (seksden)

17 sytten (surdn)

18 atten (adn)

19 nitten (needn)

20 tyve (turve)

21 enogtyve (enoyturve)

22 toogtyve (to'oyturve)

23 treogtyve (tre'oyturve)

30 tredieve (tredhieve)

40 fyrre (furre)

50 halvtreds (halvtres)

60 treds (tres)

70 halvfjerds (halv'jers)

80 fjerds (fyers)

90 halvfems (halfems)

100 ethundrede (edhunredhe)

150 ethundrede og halvtreds

200 tohundrede (tohunredhe)

300 trehundrede (trehunredhe)

1000 tusind (toosin)

2000 totusinde (totoosine)

1,000,000 en million, abbr: en mio.

1,000,000,000 en milliard (en miliar), abbr: en mia.

1,000,000,000,000 en billion

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
nummer _____ (numuh..)

half halv (haloo)

less mindre (minre)

more mere (mere)

________

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Hungarian phrasebook

Hungarian is a spoken in a linguistic island around Hungary (Hungary, parts of Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine and Serbia); it is surrounded by Germanic, Romance and Slavic languages, none of which it is related to. Two of Hungarians relatives, both spoken in Europe, are Finnish and Estonian. It shares with them the following properties:

-There is no grammatical gender.
-The first syllable is always stressed.
-Vowel and consonant length are distinctive; i.e., the meanings of words change when they are altered.
-Words are marked by case endings ("suffixes") which take on vowels similar to those in the words (e.g., a vonat Budára vagy Pestre közlekedik = the train goes to Buda or Pest). The importance of the similarity of vowels is a common aspect among languages which share a feature known as vowel harmony. The rules of vowel harmony are quite complex, but it basically consists of "front" vowels being placed with "front" vowels and "back" vowels placed with "back".

________

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Hungarian phrasebook: Pronunciation guide

Vowels

Vowel length is indicated by the acute accent. Words are often distinguished only by vowel length: e.g., kór "disease" vs. kor "age".

a like 'o' in "old" (a very deep "o") --> [SYMBOL: å]

á like 'a' in "father" --> [SYMBOL: a]

e like 'e' in "let" --> [SYMBOL: e]

é like 'a' in "say" --> [SYMBOL: ey]

i
like i in "hit" --> [SYMBOL: i]

í like 'ee' in "seem" --> [SYMBOL: ee]

o like 'o' in "or" --> [SYMBOL: o]

ó like 'o' in "so" --> [SYMBOL: oa]

ö like 'ö' in German "schön" or English "shun" (with rounded lips) --> [SYMBOL: ø]

o like 'ö' but longer --> [SYMBOL: ø1]

u like 'ou' in "could" --> [SYMBOL: ou]

ú like 'oo' in "moon" --> [SYMBOL: oo]

ü like 'ü' in German "über" (like "ee" with rounded lips) --> [SYMBOL: u]

u like "ü" but longer --> [SYMBOL: u1]

Consonants

Only the consonants having sounds different from those in English are noted here. Consonant length is distinctive: tizenegyedik "eleventh" vs. tizennegyedik "fourteenth". Consonants written with two letters are doubled by doubling the first letter: asszony "woman". Exception: tizennyolc is tizen-nyolc.

c like 'ts' in hats --> [SYMBOL: ts]

cs like 'ch' in chair --> [SYMBOL: ch]

dzs like 'dg' in badge --> [SYMBOL: j]

gy like 'j' in major or 'de y' in made your --> [SYMBOL: dj]

j like 'y' in yes --> [SYMBOL: y]

ly same as j

ny as in canyon or 'ñ' in señor --> [SYMBOL: ny]

r always rolled like as in Spanish "María

s as in sugar --> [SYMBOL: sh]

sz like 's' in see --> [SYMBOL: s]

ty like 'tch' in batch --> [SYMBOL: ty]

zs like 'g' in genre or 's' in pleasure --> [SYMBOL: zh]

________

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Hungarian Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
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Learning more:
How do you say (in Hungarian) _____ ?
Hogy mondják (magyarul) _____ ? (hodj MOND-yak (MÅ-djår-oul) _____)
What is this/that called?
Hogy hívják ezt/azt? (hodj HEEV-yak ezt/åzt)

________

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Basics

Hello.
Szervusz. (SER-voos)

Hello. (informal)
Szia. (SEE-å) [like English "See ya!", (what a coincidence!)]

How are you?
Hogy vagy? (hodj vådj)

Fine, thank you.
Köszönöm, jól. (KØ-sø-nøm, yoal)

What is your name?
Hogy hívják? (hodj HEEV-yak?)

My name is ______.
______ vagyok. ( _____ VÅ-djok.)

Nice to meet you.
Örvendek. (ØR-ven-dek)

Please.
Kérem. (KEY-rem)

Thank you.
Köszönöm. (KØ-sø-nøm)

You're welcome.
Szívesen. (SEE-ve-shen)

Yes.
Igen. (EE-gen)

No.
Nem. (nem)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Elnézést. (EL-ney-zeysht)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Bocsánatot kérek. (BO-cha-nå-tot KEY-rek)

I'm sorry.
Bocsánat. (BO-cha-nåt)

Goodbye
Viszontlátásra. (VEE-sont-la-tash-rå)

Goodbye (informal)
Viszlát/Szia. (VEES-lat/SEE-å)

I can't speak Hungarian [well].
Nem tudok [jól] magyarul. (nem TOU-dok MÅ-djå-roul)

Do you speak English?
Beszél angolul? (BE-seyl ÅN-go-loul?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Beszél itt valaki angolul? (BE-seyl it VÅ-lå-ki ÅN-go-loul)

Help!
Segítség! (SHE-geet-sheyg!)

Look out!
Vigyázz! (VEE-djaz)

Good morning. (before around 9 AM)
Jó reggelt! (yoa REG-gelt)

Good morning. (after 9 AM)
Jó napot! (yoa NÅ-pot)

Good afternoon.
Jó napot! (yoa NÅ-pot)

Good evening.
Jó estét! (yoa ESH-teyt)

Good night.
Jó éjt! or Jó éjszakát! (yoa eyt / yoa EY-så-kat)

I don't understand.
Nem értem. (nem EYR-tem)

Where is the toilet?
Hol van a mosdó? (hol vån å MOSH-doa?)

________

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Problems

Leave me alone.
Hagyj békén! (hådÊ¸ BEY-keyn)

Don't touch me!
Ne érj hozzám! (ne eyrÊ¸)

I'll call the police.
Hívom a rendorséget. (HEE-vom å REN-dø1r-shey-get)

Police!
Rendor! (REN-dø1r)

Stop! Thief!
Megállj! Tolvaj! (ME-"guy")

I need your help.
Segítened kell. (SHE-gee-te-ned kel)

It's an emergency.
Vészhelyzet van. (VEYS-hey-zet vån)

I'm lost.
Eltévedtem. (EL-tey-ved-tem)

I lost my bag.
Elveszett a táskám. (EL-ve-set å TASH-kam)

I lost my wallet.
Elveszett a tárcám. (EL-ve-set å TAR-tsam)

I'm sick.
Rosszul vagyok. (RO-soul VÅ-djok)

I've been injured.
Megsérültem. (MEG-shey-rul-tem)

I need a doctor.
Orvosi segítség kell. (OR-vo-shi SHE-geet-sheyg kel)

Can I use your phone?
Használhatom a telefonját? (HÅS-nal-hå-tom å TE-le-fon-yat)

________

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Numbers

1
egy (edj)

2
ketto (KET-tø1)

3
három (HA-rom)

4
négy (neydj)

5
öt (øt)

6
hat (håt)

7
hét (heyt)

8
nyolc (nyolts)

9
kilenc (KI-lents)

10
tíz (teez)

11
tizenegy (TEEZ-en-edj)

12
tizenketto (TEEZ-en-ket-tø1)

13
tizenhárom (TEEZ-en-ha-rom)

14
tizennégy (TEEZ-en-neyj)

15
tizenöt (TEEZ-en-øt)

16
tizenhat (TEEZ-en-håt)

17
tizenhét (TEEZ-en-heyt)

18
tizennyolc (TEEZ-en-nyolts)

19
tizenkilenc (TEEZ-en-ki-lents)

20
húsz (hoos)

21
huszonegy (HOOS-on-edj)

22
huszonketto (HOOS-on-ket-tø1)

23
huszonhárom (HOOS-on-ha-rom)

30
harminc (HÅR-mints)

40
negyven (NEDJ-ven)

50
ötven (ØT-ven)

60
hatvan (HÅT-vån)

70
hetven (HET-ven)

80
nyolcvan (NYOLTS-vån)

90
kilencven (KEE-lents-ven)

100
száz (saz)

200
kétszáz (KEYT-saz)

300
háromszáz (HA-rom-saz)

1000
ezer (E-zer)

2000
kétezer (KEYT-e-zer)

1,000,000
millió (MIL-li-oa)

1,000,000,000
milliárd (MIL-li-ard)

1,000,000,000,000
trillió (TRI-li-oa)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
szám _____ (sam)

half
fél (feyl)

less
kevesebb (KE-ve-sheb)

more
több (tøb)

________

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Croatian phrasebook

Croatian is a Slavic language (also known as Serbo-Croatian) spoken by around 5 million people. It is the official language of Croatia and an official regional language in Austria.

Croatian belongs to the "synthetic" language group, which means that unlike English and other "analytical" languages, different grammatical aspects are expressed in one word by changing the structure of that word - adding an ending or prefix, modifying the core of the word, etc. In analytical languages such as English, the same is achieved by using separate auxiliary verbs, pronouns or adjectives while the actual word remains unchanged. In Croatian, one word is often sufficient to express what English can only achieve by using multiple words. Be aware that some nationalists tend to exagerate differences among Serbs, Croats and Bosnians, giving the false impression that they are different languages; in reality, they are all the same, only separated by a few minimal vocabulary differences.

________

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Croatian phrasebook - Pronunciation

Vowels | Consonants

Croatian traditionally uses the Latin alphabet; be aware that most Croats also know and use the Cyrillic alphabet. The spelling of Croatian is largely phonetic, that is, most words are written exactly as they are pronounced. However, there is a number of exceptions.

Vowels

a
like 'a' in "above"

e
like 'e' in "enemy"

i
like 'i' in "pin"

o
like 'o' in "opera"

u
like 'u' in "put"

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "bed"

c
like 'ts' in "tsunami"

like 'ch' in "child"


like 'ch' in "chat"

d
like 'd' in "dog"

d~
like 'dg' in "fudge"


like 'j' in jeep

f
like 'f' in "for"

g
like 'g' in "go"

h
like 'h' in "help"

j
like 'y' in "yell"

k
like 'k' in "king"

l
like 'l' in "love"

lj
like 'lli' in "million".

m
like 'm' in "mother"

n
like 'n' in "nice"

nj
like 'ñ' in Spanish "señor"

p
like 'p' in "pig"

q
like 'q' in "quest" (only in foreign words)

r
like Scottish 'r' (a.k.a. rolling 'r' only much softer)

s
like 's' in "sock"

š
like 'sh' in "cash"

t
like 't' in "top"

v
like 'v' in "victory"

w
like 'v' in "victor" (only in foreign words)

x
like 'cks' in "kicks"(only in foreign words)

z
like 'z' in "zebra"

~
like 'su' in "measure"

________

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Croatian phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Clock time
Duration
Days
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Writing time and date
Colours
Transportation
Bus and train
Directions
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Basics

Good afternoon.

Dobar dan. (DOH-bahr dahn)

Hello. (informal)

Bok or Bog (bogh). (literally means God).

How are you?

Kako ste? (formal) (KAH-koh steh?)

How are you?

Kako si? (informal) (KAH-koh see?)

Fine, thank you.

Dobro sam, hvala. (DOH-broh sahm, HVAH-lah)

What is your name?

Kako se zovete? (formal) (KAH-koh seh ZOH-veh-teh)

What is your name?

Kako se zoveš? (informal) (KAH-koh seh ZOH-vehsh)

My name is ______ .

Zovem se ______ . (ZOH-vehm seh____.)

I am _____. : Ja sam ______. (yah sahm____.)

Nice to meet you.

Drago mi je. (DRAH-goh mee yeh)

Mrs.

Gospoa (gohs-POH-jah)

Mr.

Gospodin (gohs-POH-deen)

Miss

Gospoica (gohs-poh-JEE-tsah)

Please.

Molim. (MOH-leem)

Thank you.

Hvala. (HVAH-lah)

Thank you very much

Hvala lijepa. (HVAH-lah LYEH-pah)

You're welcome.

Nema na emu. (NEH-mah nah CHEH-moo)or Molim. (MO-leem)

Yes.

Da (dah)

No.

Ne. (neh)

Excuse me. (getting attention)

Oprostite. (oh-PROHS-tee-teh)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

Pardon. (pahr-DOHN)

I'm sorry. ("expressing condolence"): }ao mi je. (zhow mee yeh)

Goodbye

Do vienja (doh vee-JEH-nyah) or Zbogom (ZBOH-gohm).

Goodbye (informal)

Do vienja (doh vee-JEH-nyah) or Bog. (Bohg)

I speak a little Croatian.

Govorim malo hrvatski. (Goh-VOH-reem MAH-loh HRVAHTS-kee)

I can't speak Croatian [well].

Ne govorim (dobro) hrvatski. (neh goh-VOH-reem DOH-broh HRVAHTS-kee)

Do you speak English?

Govorite li engleski? (formal) (goh-voh-REE-teh lee ehn-GLEHS-kee); Govoriš li engleski? (informal) (goh-VOH-reesh lee ehn-GLEHS-kee)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

Govori li ovdje netko engleski? (goh-VOH-ree lee OHV-dyeh NEH-tkoh ehn-GLEHS-kee)

Help!

Upomo! (oo-POH-mohch)

Look out!

Pazite! (formal) (pah-ZEE-teh); Pazi! (informal) (PAH-zee)

Good morning.

Dobro jutro. (DOH-broh YOO-troh)

Good evening.

Dobra ve er. (DOH-brah VEH-cher)

Good night.

Laku no. (LAH-koo nohch)

Good night (to sleep)

Laku no. (LAH-koo nohch)

I understand.

Razumijem. (rah-ZOO-myem)

I don't understand.

Ne razumijem. (neh rah-ZOO-myehm)

Where is the toilet?

Gdje se nalazi WC? (Gdyeh seh nah-LAH-zee VEH-TSEH)

Problems

Leave me alone.

Ostavite me na miru. (ohs-TAH-vee-teh meh nah MEE-roo)

Don't touch me!

Prestani me dirati! (prehs-TAH-nee meh dee-RAH-tee)

I'll call the police.

Zvat u policiju. (zvaht tchoo poh-LEE-tsyoo)

Police!

Policija! (poh-LEE-tsyah!)

Stop! Thief!

Stanite! (stah-NEE-teh!) Lopov! (LOH-pohv)

I need your help.

Trebam vašu pomo. (TREH-bahm VAH-shoo POH-mohtch)

It's an emergency.

Hitno je. (HEET-noh yeh)

I'm lost.

Izgubio [m] (eez-GOO-byoh) izgubila (eez-GOO-bee-lah)[f] sam se. (sahm seh)

I lost my bag.

Izgubio[m] (eez-GOO-byoh) izgubila (eez-GOO-bee-lah)[f] sam torbu. (sahm TOHR-boo)

I lost my wallet.

Izgubio (eez-GOO-byoh) [m] izgubila (eez-GOO-bee-lah) [f] sam nov anik. (sahm nohv-CHAH-neek)

I'm sick.

Bolestan[m] (boh-LEHS-tahn) /bolesna (boh-LEHS-nah)[f] sam. (sahm)

I've been injured.

Povrijedio ["m"] (poh-VRYEH-dyoh) /povrijedila ["f"] (poh-VRYEH-dee-lah) sam se. (sahm seh)

I need a doctor.

Treba mi doktor. (TREH-bah mee DOHK-tohr)

Can I use your phone?

Mogu li se poslu~iti telefonom? (MOH-goo lee seh pohs-LOO-zhee-tee teh-leh-FOH-nohm)

Numbers

0

nula : (NOO-lah)

1

jedan (YEH-dahn)

2

dva/dvije (dvah/dvyeh)

3

tri (tree)

4

etiri (cheh-TEE-ree)

5

pet (peht)

6

šest (shehst)

7

sedam (SEH-dahm)

8

osam (OH-sahm)

9

devet (DEH-veht)

10

deset (DEH-seht)

11

jedanaest (YEH-dah-nah-ehst)

12

dvanaest (DVAH-nah-ehst)

13

trinaest (TREE-nah-ehst)

14

etrnaest (CHEH-trnah-ehst)

15

petnaest (PEHT-nah-ehst)

16

šesnaest (SHEHS-nah-ehst)

17

sedamnaest (SEH-dahm-nah-ehst)

18

osamnaest (OH-sahm-nah-ehst)

19

devetnaest (DEH-veht-nah-ehst)

20

dvadeset (DVAH-deh-seht)

21

dvadeset jedan (DVAH-deh-seht YEH-dahn)

22

dvadeset dva/dvije (DVAH-deh-seht dvah/dvyeh)

23

dvadeset tri (DVAH-deh-seht tree)

30

trideset (TREE-deh-seht)

40

etrdeset (CHEH-trdeh-seht)

50

pedeset (PEH-deh-seht)

60

šezdeset (SHEHZ-deh-seht)

70

sedamdeset (SEH-dahm-deh-seht)

80

osamdeset (OH-sahm-deh-seht)

90

devedeset (DEH-veh-deh-seht)

100

sto (stoh)

200

dvjiesto (DVYEH-stoh)

300

tristo (TREE-stoh)

400

etristo (CHEH-tree-stoh)

500

petsto (PEHTS-toh)

600

šeststo (SHEH-stoh)

700

sedamsto (SEH-dahm-stoh)

800

osamsto (OH-sahm-stoh)

900

devetsto (DEH-vet-stoh)

1000

tisuu (TEE-soo-choo)

2000

dvije tisue (dvyeh TEE-soo-tcheh)

1,000,000

milijun (MEE-lyoon)

1,000,000,000

one thousand million in UK, one billion in USA: milijarda (MEE-lyahr-dah)

1,000,000,000,000

one billion in UK, one trillion in USA: bilijun (BEE-lyoon)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)

broj (broy)_____(vlak, autobus, itd.)

half

pola (POH-lah)

less

manje (MAH-nyeh)

more

više (VEE-sheh)

________

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Turkish phrasebook

Turkish (Türkçe) is the most widely-spoken of the Turkic languages and is the official language of the Republic of Turkey - as well as being the most useful language in Turkish-ruled northern Cyprus. Outside of Turkey itself, knowledge of Turkish is helpful in several neighbouring countries including Azerbaijan. While the Central Asian "stans" speak Turkic languages, the similarities between Kazakh and Turkish (for example) are only very rudimentary. Turkish is a fairly difficult language to learn and speak, due to its complicated, mathematical vowel-harmonied grammar.

Grammar

Unlike many languages, Turkish forms words by a process known as "agglutination", where prefixes and suffixes are attached to words to mark different parts of speech and so on. Thus, an English phrase such as "I am an Australian" is rendered in Turkish with the one word "Avustralyaliyim - Avustralya-li-y-im".

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Turkish phrasebook - Pronunciation guide

Vowels | Consonants

Turkish pronunciation looks daunting to non-native speakers, as many of the words are very long and look like tongue-twisters. With a bit of practice, however, it becomes much easier.

Vowels

The Turkish vowels are

- A - a short sound, as in the English car

- E - a short sound, as in the English pet

- I - the sound in the English hit and at the beginning of Istanbul

- I - a "neutral" sound with no real equivalent in English. The closest sound is the "uh" which replaces the "e" in the second syllable of open

- O - as in the English order

- Ö - pronounced as in German, a blend of "o" and "e"

- U - short as in the English put

- Ü - pronounced as in German, a blend of "u" and "e"

Remember that, in lower case, the two letters I and I look different as well. The lower case form of I is i, while the lower case form of I is i.

Consonants

- B - as in bed

- C - pronounced as the initial letter in the English jump

- - the "ch" sound in the English chapel

- D - as in drum

- F - as in far

- G - as in girl

- - a silent letter, which serves to lengthen the previous vowel

- H - as in hello

- J - pronounced as in the French name Jean

- K - as in king

- L - as in love

- M - as in man

- N - as in new

- P - as in print

- R - as in run

- S - as in snake

- - the "sh" sound in the English shake

- T - as in take

- V - roughly the mid-point between the "v" in very and the "w" in was

- Y - as in yet

- Z - as in zoo'

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Turkish phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Days (Günler)
Months
Writing time and date
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving

Basics

Hello.
Merhaba. (mehr hah bah)

Hello. (informal)
Selam. (sell um)

How are you? (polite/plural)
Nasilsiniz? (na suhl suhn uhz)

How are you? (informal singular)
Nasisin? (na suhl suhn)

What's up / How're you doing? (very informal, contraction of "Ne naber?", literally meaning "What is new?")
Naber? (na berr)

Fine, thank you.
Iyiyim, tesekkürler. (ee yee yeem teh shek ür lerr)

What is your name? (polite)
Adiniz ne? (ad uhn uhz ne)

What is your name? (informal singular)
Adin ne? (ad uhn uhz ne)

My name is ______.
Benim adim ______. ( Benn im ad uhm _____.)

Nice to meet you.
Memnun oldum. (mem noon oll doom)

Please.
Lütfen. (Luet fen)

Thank you.
Tesekkür ederim. (teh shek uer eh der eem)

You're welcome.
Bir sey degil. (Bir shey de yeel)

is/are there (any/some) ____?
____ var mi? (var muh?)

there isn't any
Yok (yock) usually said with a upward movement of chin and eyebrows

Yes.
Evet. (eh vet)

No.
Hayir. (Hah yuhr)

Excuse me. (getting attention) (polite)
Efendim. (E fen dim)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Afedersiniz. (af fair dair sin niz)

I'm sorry.
Özür dilerim. (Ö zuer di lay reem)

I'm sorry.
Pardon. (Par don)

Goodbye (polite singular, used by the person leaving)
Hosça kalin. (Hosh cha kaluhn )

Goodbye (informal/plural, used by the person leaving)
Hosça kalin. (Hosh cha kaluhn )

Goodbye (used by the person staying)
Güle güle. (guele guele)

I can't speak Turkish [well].
[Iyi] Türkçe konusamiyorum. ([E yee] Tuerck-che conusha-me-yoo-ruhm)

Do you speak English? (polite/plural)
Ingilizce biliyor musunuz? (literally, "Do you know English?")

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Burada Ingilizce konusan birisi var mi? ( boor-a-duh Eengleez jay kow noo shun bee ree seh wurrm ?)

Look out!
Dikkat! (Dick kaht !)

Good morning.
Günaydin. (Guen eye duhn )

Good evening.
Iyi aksamlar. (E yee Ak sham lar )

Good night.
Iyi geceler. (E yee Ge jay ler )

Good night (to sleep)
Iyi uykular (E yee yoo ku lar)

Welcome
Hos geldiniz (Hosh Gel din iz)

Welcome (informal singular)
Hos geldin (Hosh Gel din)

I don't understand.
Anlamadim (An la ma duhm)

Where is the toilet?
Tuvalet nerede? (Too va let ner eh de?)

Is there any..?
.. var mi? (var Muh)

Problems

Help!
Imdat! (Im Daht !)

Help!
Yardim Edin! (Yard um ed in)

Accident
kaza (ka za)

Doctor
doktor (dok tor)

Numbers

1
bir (bir)

2
iki (icki)

3
üç (uech)

4
dört (dirt)

5
bes (besh)

6
alti (altuh)

7
yedi (yedi)

8
sekiz (sekiz)

9
dokuz (dokuz)

10
on (on)

11
on bir (on bir)

12
on iki (on icki)

13
on üç (on uech)

14
on dört (on doert)

15
on bes (on besh)

16
on alti (on altuh)

17
on yedi (on yedi)

18
on sekiz (on sekiz)

19
on dokuz (on dokuz)

20
yirmi (yir mi)

21
yirmi bir(yir mi bir)

22
yirmi iki (yir mi icki)

23
yirmi üç (yir mi uech)

30
otuz (otuz)

40
kirk (kuhrk)

50
elli (elli)

60
altmis (altmuhsh)

70
yetmis (yet mish)

80
seksen (seksen)

90
doksan (doksan)

100
yüz (yuez)

200
iki yüz (icky yuez)

300
üç yüz (uech yuez)

1000
bin (bin)

2000
iki bin (icky bin)

1,000,000
bir milyon (beer milyon)

1,000,000,000
bir milyar (beer milyar)

1,000,000,000,000
bir trilyon (beer trilyon)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
_____ numara (numara)

half
yarim (yaruhm)

less
az (as)

more
çok (chock)

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Finnish phrasebook

Pronunciation | Phraselist

Finnish (suomen kieli) is spoken by people in Finland, and by Finns in other areas, predominately in Scandinavia. Finland is a country that is officially bilingual in Finnish and Swedish, and most Finns eventually learn both languages. In contrast, very few Swedes and even fewer foreigners learn Finnish.

Finnish is a Finno-Ugric language and hence completely unrelated to almost every language between Ireland and India. (In particular, Finnish has nothing at all in common with Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or any other Scandinavian language or Russian except for a load of loan words.) The origin of these languages traces back over 5000 years to nomadic peoples of the Ural mountains in Russia that migrated westward into Europe. Just across the Gulf of Finland the closest modern relative to the Finnish language, Estonian, is spoken. Other related languages are the Sámi languages of Lapland and the Murmansk Peninsula, and more distantly, Hungarian.

Pretty pretty please?

There is no easy way of politely making requests in Finnish, although starting requests with Saisinko.. (Could I please have..) or Voisitko.. (Could you please..) can often substitute. Better yet, just smile!

I no, you no, we all no

In Finnish, the word "no" — ei — is a verb, so it can be conjugated. Thus, if juo means "drink"..

en juo
"I don't drink"

et juo
"you don't drink"

ei juo
"he doesn't drink"

emme juo
"we don't drink"

ette juo
"you all don't drink"

eivät juo
"they don't drink".

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Pronunciation

Vowels | Consonants | Stress and tone | Grammar

The Finnish language is fairly easy to pronounce: it has one of the most phonetic writing systems in the world, with only a small number of simple consonants and relatively few vowel sounds. Native English speakers tend to have the most problems with vowel length and the distinction between the front vowels (ä, ö, y) and back vowels (a, o, u). English does make the same distiction — consider the "a" sounds of father (back) and cat (front), or the difference in the "i" sound for bit (short) and beat (long) — but you will need to pay extra attention to it in Finnish.

In Finnish, all vowels are single sounds (or "pure" vowels). All diphthongs retain the individual sounds of its vowels but are slightly blended together to be pronounced in one "beat". Doubled letters are simply pronounced longer, but it's important to differentiate between short and long sounds. Example:

tuli -> fire
tuuli -> wind
tulli -> customs

The basic Finnish alphabet consists of the following letters:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v y z ä ö

Additionally the letters š and z appear in a small number of loanwords and are pronounced like English sh and as s in treasure, respectively. The letter w also occurs infrequently in some proper names and is treated identically to v. Lastly, the letter å occurs in some Swedish proper names and is pronounced "o", but the beginning learner need not worry about these minutiae.

Vowels

The harmony of vowels

Finnish has an unusual feature called vowel harmony, which means that the front vowels (ä, ö, y) and the back vowels (a, o, u) can never be found in the same word. (Compound words don't count, and the mid-vowels i, e are OK anywhere.) This extends even into loanwords and conjugations: most Finns pronounce Olympia as olumpia, and suffixes with a bend into ä when necessary (jaa -> jaata, jää -> jäätä).

Long vowels are indicated simply by doubling the vowel in question.

a
like a in father, but short and clipped

aa
like a in father

e
like e in get

ee
not found in English, but just stretch out the e sound

i
like i in bit

ii
like ee in beet

o
like o in cod

oo
like oo in door

u
like ou in would

uu
like oo in moon

y
like German ü; similar to ew in few but with lips rounded (transcribed uu)

yy
not found in English, but just stretch out the y sound

ä
like a in cat

ää
like a in bad

ö
like German ö; similar to e in her (transcribed eu)

öö
not found in English, but just stretch out the ö sound

Consonants

If a Finnish consonant is doubled, it should be pronounced with a brief glottal stop, meaning that your mouth is ready to say it but pauses for a moment. Hence mato (worm) is "MAto", but matto (carpet) is "MA'to".

b c d f
pronounced as in English (not used in native Finnish words, except for d that is used in suffixes)

g
like g in get

h
like h in hotel; pronounced more strongly before a consonant

j
like y in yes

k
similar to English k, but unaspirated and slightly voiced

ks
pronounced as two seperate syllables, not like the letter x.

l m n
pronounced as in English

nk ng
pronounced like ng in sing

p
similar to English p, but unaspirated and slightly voiced

r
trilled, as in Spanish perro

s
like ss in hiss

t
pronounced as in English

v w
like v in vine

z
like ts in cats (not used in native Finnish words)

Stress and tone

Word stress is always on the first syllable. There is no tone whatsoever in Finnish speech, just a long strings of monotone sounds. Foreigners tend to think this makes the language sound rather depressing; Finns, on the other hand, wonder why everybody else's languages sound so sing-songy.

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Grammar

Finnish grammar is radically different from English (or any other Indo-European language), making Finnish a rather difficult language to master, and Finns love to regale foreigners with horror stories of compound words a mile long and verbs with seventeen suffixes tacked on. Basically, everything in a sentence (nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns) conjugates to indicate who is doing what, why, when and in what way, so constructing even a simple sentence requires lots of tweaking about:

I go to the shop. I quickly buy bread.
Menen kauppaan. Ostan nopeasti leipää.
go-I shop-to. buy-I quick-adverb bread-object.

Nouns can be conjugated in 14 different cases and there is a whole assortment of additional suffixes, leading to improbable but entirely grammatical monsters like talo ("house") -> taloissammekinkohan ("also in our houses, perhaps?") or kala ("fish") -> kalastajamaisuudettomuudellansakaan ("even by using his non-fisherman-likeness").

The good news is that most of these monstrosities are limited to formal written Finnish, and it's possible to "speak like Tarzan" (without conjugating anything) in subject-verb-object order like English and still be more or less understood. Minä mennä kauppa, minä nopea ostaa leipä (I go shop, I quick buy bread) will get you a zero in Finnish class, but it gets the message across.

And there are some minor consolations for the aspiring student: Finnish has no articles and no grammatical gender. Rules for conjugation are often complex, but at least they are very regular.

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Phrase list

Common signs
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Clock time
Duration
Days
Months
Writing Time and Date
Colors
Transportation
Place Names
Bus and Train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

Phrases in the following phrase list use the informal singular (sinuttelu), which is by far the most common form in modern Finnish and appropriate for almost all situations a traveller might encounter.

Note: Due to the ease, specificity and regularity of Finnish pronunciation, the difficulty of transcribing long vowels, and the general inaccuracy of English-based phoneticizations, it is highly recommended you take a few minutes to learn the alphabet instead of relying on the phoneticizations. That being said, however, Finns are often quite excited to hear a foreigner attempt to speak the language and tend to be very forgiving of pronunciation blunders.

Common signs

AUKI, AVOINNA
Open

KIINNI, SULJETTU
Closed

SISÃÃN
Entrance

ULOS
Exit

TYÖNNÃ
Push

VEDÃ
Pull

WC
Toilet

HERRAT, MIEHET
Men

NAISET
Women

KIELLETTY
Forbidden

Basics

Good day
Hyvää päivää (HUU-vaa PIGH-vaa)

Hello (informal)
Moi (MOI), Hei (HAY), Terve (TEHR-veh)

How are you?
Mitä kuuluu? (MEE-ta KOO-loo?)

Fine, thank you.
Kiitos, hyvää. (KEE-toss, HUU-vaa)

What is your name?
Mikä sinun nimesi on? (MEE-ka SEE-noon NEE-meh-see ohn?)

My name is ______.
Nimeni on ______. (NEE-meh-nee ohn _____.)

Nice to meet you.
Hauska tavata. (HOWS-kah TAH-vah-tah)

Please.
none (see box)

Thank you.
Kiitos. (KEE-tohss)

You're welcome.
Ole hyvä (OH-lay HUU-va); Ei kestä. (AY KEHSS-ta)

Yes
Kyllä (KUUL-la), Joo (yoh)

No.
Ei. (ay)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Anteeksi (AHN-tehk-see)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Anteeksi (AHN-tehk-see)

I'm sorry.
Anteeksi (AHN-tehk-see)

Goodbye
Näkemiin. (NAK-eh-meen.)

Goodbye (informal)
Hei hei (HAY-hay)

I can't speak Finnish
En puhu suomea. (EN POO-hoo SOO-oh-meh-ah)

Do you speak English?
Puhutko englantia? (POO-hoot-koh EHNG-lahn-tee-ah?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Puhuuko kukaan täällä englantia? (POO-hoo-koh KOO-kahn TAAL-la EHNG-lahn-tee-ah?)

Help!
Apua! (AH-poo-ah!)

Look out!
Varo! (VAH-roh!)

Good morning.
Hyvää huomenta. (HUU-vaa HOO-oh-mehn-tah)

Good evening.
Hyvää iltaa. (HUU-vaa EEL-tah)

Good night.
Hyvää yötä. (HUU-vaa UU-eu-ta)

Good night (to sleep)
Hyvää yötä. (HUU-vaa UU-eu-ta)

I don't understand.
En ymmärrä (EN UUM-mar-ra)

Where is the toilet?
Missä on vessa? (MEES-sa ohn VEHS-sah?)

Problems

Help!
Apua! (AH-poo-ah!)

Leave me alone!
Anna minun olla rauhassa! (AHN-nah MEE-noon OHL-lah RAU-has-sah)

Don't touch!
Ãlä koske! (AL-ah KOHSS-keh!)

I'll call the police.
Kutsun poliisin. (KOOT-soon POH-lee-sin)

Police!
Poliisi! (POH-lee-see!)

Stop! Thief!
Pysähdy! Varas! (PUU-sa-duu! VAH-rahs!)

I need your help.
Tarvitsen apuasi. (TAHR-veet-sehn AH-poo-ah-see)

It's an emergency.
Nyt on hätä. (NUUT ohn HA-ta)

I'm lost.
Olen eksynyt. (OH-lehn EHK-suu-nuut)

I lost my bag.
Laukkuni katosi. (LAUK-koo-nee KAH-toh-see)

I lost my wallet.
Lompakkoni katosi. (LOHM-pahk-koh-nee KAH-toh-see)

I'm sick.
Olen kipeä. (OH-lehn KEE-peh-a)

I've been injured.
Olen loukkaantunut. (OH-lehn LOH-ook-kahn-too-noot)

I need a doctor.
Tarvitsen lääkärin. (TAHR-veet-sehn LAA-ka-reen)

Can I use your phone?
Voinko soittaa? (VOIN-koh SOIT-tah)

Numbers

1
yksi (UUK-see)

2
kaksi (KAHK-see)

3
kolme (KOHL-meh)

4
neljä (NEHL-ya)

5
viisi (VEE-see)

6
kuusi (KOO-see)

7
seitsemän (SAYT-seh-man)

8
kahdeksan (KAHH-dehk-sahn)

9
yhdeksän (UUHH-dehk-san)

10
kymmenen (KUUM-mehn-nehn)

11
yksitoista (UUK-see-tois-tah)

12
kaksitoista (KAHK-see-tois-tah..)

1X
X-toista

20
kaksikymmentä (KAHK-see-KUUM-mehn-ta)

21
kaksikymmentäyksi (KAHK-see-KUUM-mehn-ta-UUK-see)

2X
kaksikymmentä-X

30
kolmekymmentä (KOHL-meh-KUUM-mehn-ta)

XY
X-kymmentä-Y

100
sata (SAH-tah)

200
kaksisataa (KAHK-see-SAH-tah)

300
kolmesataa (KOHL-meh-SAH-tah)

1000
tuhat (TOO-haht)

2000
kaksi tuhatta (KAHK-see TOO-haht-tah)

1,000,000
miljoona (MEEL-yoh-nah)

1,000,000,000
miljardi (MEEL-yahr-dee)

1,000,000,000,000
biljoona (BEEL-yoh-nah)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
numero _____ (NOO-meh-roh _____)

half
puoli (POO-oh-lee)

less
vähemmän (VA-hehm-man)

more
enemmän (EH-nehm-man)

Chopping up numbers

Does saying things like seitsemänkymmentäkahdeksan for "78" seem terribly long-winded? Finns think so too, and in colloquial speech they abbreviate brutally, leaving just the first syllable of each component: seit-kyt-kahdeksan. Here are the short "prefix" forms, but note that they can only be used in compounds.

1
yks-

2
kaks-

3
kol-

4
nel-

5
viis-

6
kuus-

7
seit-

8
kaheks-

9
yheks-

10
-kyt

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Greek phrasebook

Greek is one of the oldest attested Indo-European languages, known from 1400 BC in inscriptions in a syllabary of Minoan origin. The present alphabet was introduced by a Phoenician called Qadmu (Καδμος) about 800 BC, and has been in use, with a few letters added and removed, continuously since then. The 24-letter alphabet used in Classical Greek is the same one used today.

Many Greek words have been borrowed into other languages, so you will find a lot of these words familiar, such as τραυμα "injury" and γιατρος "doctor" (think of words in -iatry). Originally they were borrowed into Latin, which became French and other Romance languages. The changes Greek words underwent in Latin are different from those they underwent in Greek. For instance, in a rare case of someone actually returning a word he borrowed, κινημα (motion) was borrowed into Latin as cinema, which in French acquired the meaning "movie", and was returned to Greek as σινεμα.

Greek has changed less in the last two thousand years than English has in the last five hundred. It still has three genders, five cases, and movable ν. Although the dative dropped out of use in Greek before the dative merged with the accusative in English, one can still form the dative of μπαγλαμας (a stringed instrument smaller than the μπουζουκι), even though it belongs to a new declension. So if you know some Attic or Koine Greek and pronounce it as Modern Greek, though you will sound archaic, you will probably be understood.

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Letters and Pronunciation

Vowel | Diphtongs | Consonants | Notes on Sounds, Accents etc.

Following are the uppercase and lowercase versions of each letter, followed by its name in English (Latin) and Greek. (You can also see how the transliteration works)

Vowel

Α/α alpha (αλφα)
as in pat

Ε/ε epsilon (εψιλον)
as in pet

Η/η eta (ητα)
as in pit

Ι/ι iota (ιωτα)
as in pit, though when followed by a vowel it can often be pronunced like y - example: its very name, it's either said as iota or yota.

Ο/ο omicron (ομικρον)
as in pot

Υ/υ upsilon (υψιλον)
as in pit

Ω/ω omega (ωμεγα)
as in pot

Diphtongs

ΑΙ/αι aplha-iota
as in pet

ΕΙ/ει epsilon-iota
as in pit

ΟΙ/οι omicron-iota
as in pit

ΥΙ/υι upsilon-iota
as in pit

ΟΥ/ου omicron-upsilon
as in put

ΑΥ/αυ alpha-upsilon

ΕΥ/ευ epsilon-upsilon
For the last two diphthongs: when followed by a voiceless consonant or a vowel or nothing (end of the word), the upsilon is pronunced as f resulting to 'af' and 'ef'; though, when followed by a voiced consonant the f is voiced as well making it a v. so we have 'av' and 'ev'. (example: 'aura' and 'tau' in Greek are pronunced as 'avra' and 'taf')

Consonants

Β/β beta (βητα)
V/v

Γ/γ gamma (γαμμα)
a voiced version of chi. Before epsilon (γε) and iota (γι), as in yet and yiddish. Also see consonant clusters.

Δ/δ delta (δελτα)
as in those / Spanish soft d / Norse Ð/ð

Ζ/ζ zeta (ζητα)
as in zone

Θ/θ theta (θητα)
th as in thorn / Norse Þ/þ

Κ/κ kappa (καππα)
as in kinetic

Λ/λ lambda (λαμβδα)
L/l

Μ/μ mu (μυ)
M/m

Ν/ν nu (νυ)
N/n

Ξ/ξ xi (ξι)
X/x as in ax

Π/π pi (πι)
P/p as in ape

Ρ/ρ rho (ρω)
Spanish/Scotish R/r

Σ/σ/ς sigma (σιγμα)
S/s as in some. Before voiced consonants it gets voiced to z

Τ/τ tau (ταυ)
T/t

Φ/φ phi (φι)
F/f

Χ/χ chi (χι)
Scottish ch [loch] / like an H/h but with the tongue touching the palate

Ψ/ψ psi (ψι)
as in lips

- SPECIAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS:

Γκ/γκ gamma-kappa
as in gong

γγ gamma-gamma
as in gong

γχ gamma-chi
n+chi / like ankh but more aspirated - see also Chi

Μπ/μπ mu-pi
as in bumble / B/b

Ντ/ντ nu-tau
as in dander / D/d

All the above 5 diphthongs can be nasalized more or less depending to the speaker.

Any other consonant combination is pronunced like their English counterparts.
Just remember which is the proper letter in English!

Notes on Sounds, Accents etc.

The accent (similar in usage as in Spanish), if written, is placed on the vowel of the tonic syllable, or onto the second vowel if there's a diphthong. If there's an accent at the first vowel of a diphthong, or a diaeresis on the second, then it isn't an actual diphthong and the two vowels are pronunced seperately. The former occasion is the most common, but since words written in capital letters never get accents, the diaeresis is the only way to note the broken diphthong at all-caps phrases - English such example: naïve. (diairesis = two dots on top of iota or upsilon, Ï/ï - Ÿ/ü)

All vowels have the same short length. So yes, there are 2 ways to write 'e', 6 to write 'i' and 2 letters to write 'o'!

Diphthongs 'γγ' and 'γχ' are never found at the start of a word. Vowel diphthong 'υι' is very rare, virtually only in a couple words.

Greek language lacks a 'sh' sound. Consequently there are only simple unaspirated s, z, ts, j, x 's (no shame, pleasure, luxurious, chin etc.). Also, "ς" is the form of Sigma used only when it is the last letter of a word. Graphically is just like English s.

The capital letters are the same with the ones of the Enlish alphabet. Although the small letters seem entirely different (and some of them are indeed) at people's handwritting they are extrememly close to English.

Greek people know they have a difficult language and don't expect any tourist to know more than a couple words. And even while they think its easy phonetically, they understand the problems foreigners have pronuncing it. You can say gamma as a hard 'g', chi as 'h', and rho as an unrolled English 'r' and you'll be totally understood. People in no way expect you to be proficient in any aspect of Greek, so by studying a bit before visiting you can really impress people and win their hearts!

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Greek Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Food

_________

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Basics

Hello.
Γεια σας. (YAH sahss) (means literally "your health")

Hello. (informal)
Γεια σου. (YAH soo)

How are you?
Τι κανετε; (tee KAH-neh-teh?)

Fine, thank you. (And you?)
Καλα, ευχαριστω. (Και εσεις;) (kah-LAH ef-khah-rees-TOH (keh eh-SEES?))

What is your name?
Πως σε λενε; (pohs seh LEH-neh?)

My name is ______.
Με λενε ______. (Με LE-neh _____.)

Nice to meet you.
Χαρηκα. (HA-ree-ka)

Please.
Παρακαλω. (pah-rah-kah-LOH)

Thank you.
Ευχαριστω. (ef-khah-rees-TOH)

You're welcome.
Παρακαλω. (Pah-rah-kah-LOH)

Yes.
Ναι. (neh)

No.
Οχι. (OH-khee)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Συγνωμη. (See-GHNO-mee)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Συγνωμη. (See-GHNO-mee)

I'm sorry.
Λυπαμαι. (lee-PAH-meh)

See you later.
Τα Λεμε. (Ta LE-me)

Goodbye.
Αντιο. (AHN-dee-oh)

I can't speak Greek [well].
Δεν μιλω καλα ελληνικα. (dhen mee-LOH KAH-lah eh-lee-nee-KAH)

Do you speak English?
Μιλατε αγγλικα; (mee-LAH-teh ang-glee-KAH?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Μιλαει κανεις εδω αγγλικα; (Mee-LAH-ee ka-NEES e-DHO ang-glee-KAH?)

Help!
Βοηθεια! (Voh-EE-thee-yah!)

Good day.
Καλημερα. (kah-lee-MEH-rah)

Good evening.
Καλησπερα. (kah-lee-SPEH-rah)

Good night.
Καληνυχτα. (kah-lee-NEEKΗ-tah)

I don't understand.
Δεν καταλαβαινω. (dhen kah-tah-lah-VEH-no)

Where is the toilet?
Που ειναι η τουαλετα? (poo ΕΕ-ne ee too-ah-LEH-tah?)

..an English-Greek dictionary.
..ελληνικο-αγγλικο λεξικο. (eh-lee-nee-KOH ang-glee-KOH LEX-ee-koh)

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Problems

Help!
Βοηθεια! (Voh-EE-thee-yah!)

Leave me alone.
Αφηστε με ησυχο (male)/ ησυχη (female). (a-FIS-te me EE-si-kho / EE-si-khee)

Don't touch me!
Μην με αγγιζεις! (meen meh ang-GEEH-zees)

I'll call the police.
Θα καλεσω την αστυνομια. (Tha kah-LEH-soh teen ah-stih-noh-MIH-ah)

Police!
Αστυνομια! (ah-stih-noh-MIH-ah)

Stop! Thief!
Σταματηστε τον κλεφτη! (Stah-mah-TIH-steh ton KLEH-ftee!)

I need your help.
Χρειαζωμαι την βοηθεια σας. (hreeh-AH-zoh-meh teen voh-EEH-thih-ah sas)

It's an emergency.
Ειναι επειγον. (EEH-neh eh-PEEH-ghon)

I'm lost.
Εχω χαθει. (EH-hoh hah-THEEH)

I lost my bag.
Εχασα την τσαντα μου. (EH-hah-sah teen TSAHN-dah mooh)

I lost my wallet.
Εχασα το πορτοφολι μου. (EH-hah-sah toh por-toh-FOH-leeh mooh)

I'm sick.
Ειμαι αρρωστος/τη. (EE-me hah-ROHS-tos/tee )

I've been injured.
Ειμαι τραυματισμενος/νη. (EEH-meh trav-mah-tees-MEH-nos/nee)

I need a doctor.
Χρειαζομαι γιατρο. (hree-AH-zoh-meh yiah-TROH)

Can I use your phone?
Μπορω να χρησιμοποιησω το τηλεφωνο σας; (mboh-ROH nah khree-see-moh-pee-EEH-soh toh tee-LEH-foh-NOH sahs?)

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Numbers

The different forms of 1-4 are used with nouns of different genders.

1
ενας/μια/ενα (EH-nahs / MEE-ah / EH-nah)

2
δυο (DHEE-oh)

3
τρεις/τρια (trees / TREE-ah)

4
τεσσαρες/τεσσαρα (TESS-a-ress / TESS-a-rah)

5
πεντε (PEN-deh)

6
εξ (ex)

7
εφτα (ef-TAH)

8
οχτω (okh-TOH)

9
εννεα (en-eh-AH)

10
δεκα (DHEH-kah)

11
ενδεκα (EN-dheh-kah)

12
δωδεκα (DHOH-dheh-kah)

13
δεκατρεις (dheh-kah-TREES)

14
δεκατεσσαρες (dheh-kah-TESS-ah-ress)

15
δεκαπεντε (dheh-kah-PEN-deh)

16
δεκαεξ (dheh-kah-EX)

17
δεκαεφτα (dheh-kah-ef-TAH)

18
δεκαοχτω (dheh-kah-okh-TOH)

19
δεκαεννεα (dheh-kah-en-eh-AH)

20
εικοσι (ee-KOSS-ee)

21
εικοσι ενας (ee-KOSS-ee EN-ahs)

22
εικοσι δυο (ee-KOSS-ee DHEE-oh)

23
εικοσι τρεις (ee-KOSS-ee TREES)

30
τριαντα (tree-AHN-dah)

40
σαραντα (sah-RAHN-dah)

50
πενηντα (peh-NEEN-dah)

60
εξηντα (ex-EEN-dah)

70
εβδομηντα (ev-dhoh-MEEN-dah)

80
ογδοντα (ogh-DHON-dah)

90
ενενηντα (en-en-EEN-dah)

100
εκατον (EH-kah-ton)

200
δικοσια (dhee-KOH-see-ah)

300
τρικοσια (tree-KOH-see-ah)

1000
χιλιος (KHEE-lee-ohs)

2000
δισχιλιοι (dhees-KHEE-lee-ee)

10,000
μυριος (MEE-ree-ohs)

1,000,000
εκατομμυριος (eh-kah-tom-MEE-ree-ohs)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
number _____

half
ημισυ (ee-MEES-ee)

less
ελασσον (EH-lahss-on)

more
πλειον (PLEE-on)

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Hebrew phrasebook

Hebrew is spoken as a daily language in Israel and is used as a religious language by Jews worldwide.

Hebrew is written with a different alphabet than most European languages, and is written from right to left.

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Pronunciation guide

The Hebrew alphabet consists entirely of consonants, though some can facultate as vowels. Vowels are indicated with a system of dots and dashes next to the letters, but these are usually omitted except in Bibles and children's books. It is common for words, especially foreign words, to be spelled in more than one way; the Abu'l`afia Synagogue has five different spellings of its name on its signs.

The accent is usually on the last syllable; most of the exceptions are segolates (words in which segol, the e-sound, was inserted after the accent), such as elef "thousand". Some words have a diphthong "ua" or "ia" which is one syllable but sounds like two, like English "oil". This is called pattach gnubah "stolen a-sound" and occurs in shavua "week", which is accented on the "u".

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Hebrew Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Pronouns
Asking Questions
Numbers
Time
Days
Months
Seasons
Colors
Transportation
Directions
Taxi

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Basics

Hebrew verbs conjugate according to the gender of the sentence's object: different verb forms must thus be used when speaking to men and women. These have been noted below when appropriate.

Hello.
(shah-LOHM)
The Hebrew greeting, though the English "Hi" is also used.

Bye.
(shah-LOHM)
Yes, the greeting is the same for the start and end of conversation. See also "See you later".

See you later.
(leh-hit-rah-'OHT)
The most common farewell greeting, besides the English "Bye".

Good morning.
(BOH-ker TOHV)

Good afternoon.
(tsoh-hoh-RAH-yeem toh-VEEM)

Good evening.
(EH-rev TOHV)

Good night.
(LIGH-lah TOHV)

How are you? (addressing to a man).
(mah shlom-KHAH)

How are you? (addressing to a woman).
(mah shloh-MEKH)

How are you? (What's new?).
(mah nish-MAH)

Thank you.
(toh-DAH)

Please.
(be-vah-kuh-SHAH)

Excuse me.
(slee-KHAH)

I don't understand. (a man).
(ahni loh meh-VEEN)

I don't understand. (a woman).
(ahni loh meh-VEENA)

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Numbers (mispaRIM)

0
(EH-fess)

1
(ah-KHAT)

2
(SHTAH-yeem)

3
(shah-LOSH)

4
(AHR-bah)

5
(khah-MESH)

6
(shesh)

7
(SHEH-vah)

8
(shmo-NEH)

9
(TEY-shah)

10
(EH-sehr)

11
(ah-khat es-REH)

12
(shtem es-REH)

13
(shlosh es-REH)

14
(ar-bah es-REH)

15
(kha-mesh es-REH)

16
(shesh es-REH)

17
(shva es-REH)

18
(shmo-nah es-REH)

19
(tshah es-REH)

20
(es-REEM)

25
(es-REEM ve-khah-MESH)

30
(shlo-SHEEM)

40
(ar-bah-EEM)

50
(khah-mee-SHEEM)

60
(shee-SHEEM)

70
(shiv-EEM)

80
(shmo-NEEM)

90
(tish-EEM)

100
(MEH-'ah)

200
(m'ah-TAH-yeem)

300
(sh-LOSH meh-'OHT)

1000
(EH-lef)

1%
(ah-KHOOZ ah-KHAD)

5%
(kha-misha ah-KHOOZIM)

100%
(MEH-'ah ah-KHOOZ)

Half
(KHE-tsee)

Quarter
(REH-vah)

More
(yoh-TEHR)

Less
(pah-KHOHT)

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Indonesian phrasebook

Grammar | The shorter the better | No means no | Pronunciation guide

Phraselist
Common signs
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Clock time
Duration
Days
Months
Writing time and date
Colors
Transportation
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Edible adjectives
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

Indonesian (Indonesian: Bahasa Indonesia) is the official language and lingua franca of Indonesia, and also widely spoken in East Timor. With over 230 million speakers, there are a lot of people to talk to in Indonesian.

Indonesian is closely related to Malay, but the main difference is the vocabulary: Indonesian has been heavily influenced by Dutch and Javanese (and also Sanskrit), while Malay has been heavily influenced by English and Arabic.

Grammar

The shorter the better | No means no | Pronunciation guide

Indonesian word order is subject-verb-object like English. There are no plurals, grammatical gender, or verb conjugation for person, number or tense, all of which are expressed with adverbs or tense indicators: saya makan, "I eat" (now), saya sudah makan, "I eat already" = "I ate".

A characteristic of Indonesian is that it is a so-called agglutinative language, which means that the suffixes are all attached to a base root. So a word can become very long. For example there is a base word hasil which means "result". But it can be extended as far as ketidakberhasilannya, which means his/her failure.

The shorter the better

Colloquial Indonesian shortens commonly used words mercilessly.

tidak -> tak -> nggak
no

tidak ada -> tiada
not have

sudah -> udah -> dah
already

bapak -> pak
father; you (polite, for men)

ibu -> bu
mother; you (polite, for older women)

aku -> ku
I (informal)

kamu -> mu
you (informal)

-ku and -mu also act as suffixes: mobilku is short for mobil aku, "my car".

Indoabbr newspeak

One legacy of the Sukarno-Suharto era still affecting Indonesia is an inordinate fondness for vaguely Orwellian Newspeak-y abbreviations, chosen more for pronouncability than logic or comprehensibility. For example, the National Monument (Monumen Nasional) is universally known as Monas, the Jakarta-Bogor-Tangerang-Bekasi capital region is called Jabotabek and a police captain at the West Kalimantan HQ (kepala polisi resort Kalimantan Timur) would be known as Kapolres Kaltim. Even the socialistic exhortation to stand on your own feet (berdiri diatas kaki sendiri) can be snappily rendered as berdikari and the humble fried rice nasi goreng can be chopped up into nasgor!

No means no

Indonesian has a number of ways to say "no".

tidak (tak, nggak)
"Not" — used to negate verbs.
Ada apel? (Do you) have an apple?
Tidak ada. (No, I) don't have.

bukan (kan)
"No" — used to negate nouns.
Ini apel? Is this an apple?
Bukan, ini jeruk. No, it's an orange.

belum
"Not yet" — used when something has not happened (yet).
Sudah makan apel? (Did you) already eat the apple?
Belum. No, not yet.

jangan
"Don't" — to tell somebody not to do something.
Jangan makan apel! Don't eat the apple!

dilarang
"Forbidden" — used mostly on signs.
Dilarang makan apel. Eating apples is forbidden.

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Pronunciation guide

Vowels | Consonants | Common diphthongs

Indonesian is very easy to pronounce: it has one of the most phonetic writing systems in the world, with only a small number of simple consonants and relatively few vowel sounds. One peculiarity of the spelling is the lack for a separate sign to denote the schwa. It is written as an 'e', which can sometimes be confusing.

In Indonesia, spelling reforms in 1947 and 1972 have officially eliminated several vestiges of Dutch in the otherwise very phonetic spelling, and the writing system is now nearly identical to Malay. However, the older forms remain in use to some extent (especially in names) and have been noted in parenthesis below.

Stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable, so in two-syllable words the first syllable is stressed.

Vowels

a
like 'a' in "father"

e
like 'e' in "vowel" (schwa)

é
like 'e' in "bed", usually the difference between a schwa and an e is not indicated in writing

i (ie, j)
like 'i' in "thin"

o
like 'ow' in "low", in open positions or like 'o' in "top" in close positions

u (oe)
like 'oo' in "hoop", in open positions or like 'o' in "hope" in close positions

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "bed"

bh
like 'b' in "bed", only in Sanskrit borrowings

c (ch, tj)
like 'ch' in "China"

d
like 'd' in "dog"

dh
like 'd' in "dog", only in Sanskrit borrowings

f
like 'ph' in "phone"

g
like 'g' in "go"

h
like 'h' in "help"

j (dj)
like 'dg' in "edge"

k
like 'c' in "cat", often silent at the end of a word

kh (ch)
like 'ch' in "loch"

l
like 'l' in "love"

m
like 'm' in "mother"

n
like 'n' in "nice"

ng
like 'ng' in "sing" (no hard 'g' sound)

ngg
like 'ng' in "finger" ('ng' plus a hard 'g')

ny
like 'ny' in "canyon"

p
like 'p' in "pig"

q
like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always, only in Arabic borrowings)

r
like 'rr' in Spanish "perro"

s
like 'ss' in "hiss"

sy (sj)
like 'sh' in "sheep"

t
like 't' in "top"

v
like 'ph' in "phone"

w
like 'w' in "weight"

x
like 'cks' in "kicks"

y (j)
like 'y' in "yes"

z
like 's' in "hiss", like 'z' in "haze", like 'dg' in "edge"

Common diphthongs

ai
like 'ay' in "say"

au
like 'ow' in "cow"

oi
like 'oy' in "boy"

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Phrase list

Unless noted as (informal), phrases in this phrasebook use the formal, polite Anda and saya forms for "you" and "I" respectively.

Prefix attack

Having trouble finding a word in a dictionary? Trying dropping the exact cruft.

Prefixes: be-, bel-, ber-, di-, ke-, me-, mem-, men-, meng-, per-, se-, ter-

Postfixes: -an, -i, -kan, -lah, -nya

Common signs

BUKA
Open

TUTUP
Closed

MASUK
Entrance

KELUAR
Exit

DORONG
Push

TARIK
Pull

WC
Toilet

PRIA
Men

WANITA
Women

DILARANG
Forbidden

Basics

Hello.
Halo. (HUH-lo)

Hello. (informal)
He. (Hey)

How are you?
Apa kabar? (AH-pAh KAH-bar?)

Fine, thank you.
Baik, terima kasih. (BAYK, TREE-muh KUS-see)

What is your name?
Namanya siapa? (NUM-muh-nyuh shah-puh?)

My name is ______.
Nama saya ______. (NUM-MUH suh-yuh _____.)

Nice to meet you.
Senang bertemu anda. (SNUNG burr-tuh-moo UN-duh)

Please.
Silakan. (see-LUH-kunn)

Please. (request)
Tolong. (TOH-long)

Thank you.
Terima kasih.

You're welcome.
Terima kasih kembali.

Yes.
Ya. (EEYUH)

No.
Tidak. (TEE-duh), Tak (TAH)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Maaf. (MUH-UFF)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Maaf, permisi.

I'm sorry.
Maaf.

Goodbye
Selamat tinggal.

Goodbye (informal)
Dadah. (DUH-DUH)

I can't speak Indonesian [well].
Saya tidak bisa berbahasa Indonesia [dengan baik].

Do you speak English?
Bisa bahasa Inggris?

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Ada orang yang bisa bahasa Inggris?

Help!
Tolong!

Look out!
Hati-hati!

Good morning.
Selamat pagi. (slum-mut PUH-GUEE)

Good afternoon.
Selamat siang.

Good evening.
Selamat sore.

Good night.
Selamat malam.

Good night (to sleep)
Selamat tidur.

I don't understand.
Saya tidak mengerti.

Where is the toilet?
Di mana toiletnya? (DEE muh-nuh TOY-leht-nyuh?)

Problems

Help!
Tolong!

Leave me alone.
Jangan ganggu saya.

Don't touch me!
Jangan pegang saya!

I'll call the police.
Saya panggil polisi.

Police!
Polisi!

Stop! Thief!
Stop! Maling!

I need your help.
Saya minta tolong.

It's an emergency.
Ini darurat.

I'm lost.
Saya tersesat.

I lost my bag.
Saya kehilangan tas saya.

I lost my wallet.
Saya kehilangan dompet saya.

I'm sick.
Saya sakit.

I've been injured.
Saya terluka.

I need a doctor.
Saya perlu dokter.

Can I use your phone?
Bisa saya pakai telepon anda?

Numbers

0
nol / kosong (COSS-song)

1
satu

2
dua

3
tiga

4
empat

5
lima (LEE-ma)

6
enam

7
tujuh

8
delapan

9
sembilan

10
sepuluh

11
sebelas

12
duabelas

13
tigabelas

14
empatbelas

20
duapuluh

21
duapuluh satu

22
duapuluh dua

23
duapuluh tiga

30
tiga puluh

40
empat puluh

50
lima puluh

100
seratus

200
dua ratus

300
tiga ratus

1000
seribu

1100
seribu seratus

1152
seribu seratus lima puluh dua

1200
seribu duaratus

1500
seribu limaratus

2000
dua ribu

2100
dua ribu seratus

10,000
sepuluh ribu

20,000
duapuluh ribu

100,000
seratus ribu

150,000
seratus limapuluh ribu

156,125
seratus limapuluh enam ribu seratus duapuluh lima

250,000
duaratus limapuluh ribu / seperempat juta (quarter of a million)

500,000
limaratus ribu / setengah juta (half a million)

1,000,000
satu juta

1,150,000
satu juta seratus limapuluh ribu

1,250,000
satu seperempat juta

1,500,000
satu setengah juta

1,750,000
satu juta tujuh ratus limapuluh ribu

1,000,000,000
satu milyar

1,000,000,000,000
satu trilyun

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
nomor _____ (NO-more)

half
setengah

quarter
seperempat

three quarter
tiga perempat

less
kurang

more
lebih

Time

now
sekarang

later
nanti (NUN-tee)

before
sebelum

morning
pagi (0.00 - 10.30)

afternoon
siang (10.30 - 15.00) (see-YOUNG)

evening
sore (15.00 - 19.00) (sore-RAY)

night
malam (19.00 - 0.00)

Clock time

one o'clock AM
jam satu pagi

two o'clock AM
jam dua pagi

noon
jam duabelas siang

one o'clock PM
jam satu siang

two o'clock PM
jam dua siang

midnight
jam duabelas malam

Duration

_____ minute(s)
_____ menit

_____ hour(s)
_____ jam

_____ day(s)
_____ hari

_____ week(s)
_____ minggu

_____ month(s)
_____ bulan (BOO-lun)

_____ year(s)
_____ tahun

Days

today
hari ini

yesterday
kemarin (kuh-MAR-reen)

tomorrow
besok (bay-SOAK)

this week
minggu ini (MEENG-goo EE-nee)

last week
minggu lalu (MEENG-goo LUL-loo)

next week
minggu depan (MEENG-goo duh-PUN)

Sunday
Minggu (MEENG-goo)

Monday
Senin (suh-NEEN)

Tuesday
Selasa (SLUH-suh)

Wednesday
Rabu (RUH-boo)

Thursday
Kamis (KUM-mees)

Friday
Jum'at (joom-UTT)

Saturday
Sabtu (SUB-too)

Months

January
Januari

February
Februari

March
Maret (MAR-ruht)

April
April

May
Mei

June
Juni (JOON-nee)

July
Juli (JOOL-lee)

August
Agustus (a-GOOS-tuhs)

September
September

October
Oktober

November
November

December
Desember (day-SEM-burr)

Writing time and date

1.00
pukul / jam satu

1.01
jam satu lewat / lebih satu

1.15
jam satu seperempat

1.20
jam satu lewat duapuluh / jam setengah dua kurang sepuluh

1.30
jam setengah dua

1.40
jam setengah dua lebih sebuluh / jam satu lewat empat puluh

1.45
jam dua kurang seperempat

The hours are written from zero to 23. So 06.00 PM is written as 18.00.

First one should write the day, after that the month and then the year.

August 17th 1945  17 Agustus 1945

Colors

black
hitam (HEE-tum)

white
putih (POO-teeh)

gray
abu-abu (UH-boo UH-boo)

red
merah (MER-ruh)

blue
biru (BEE-roo)

yellow
kuning (KOO-neeng)

green
hijau (HEE-jow)

orange
oranye (oh-RUN-nyuh)

purple
ungu (OONG-oo)

brown
coklat (CHOC-klutt), also the word for chocolate

Transportation

Bus and train

How much is a ticket to _____?
Berapa harga karcis ke _____?

One ticket to _____, please.
Tolong, satu karcis ke _____.

Where does this train/bus go?
Kereta/bus ini ke mana?

Where is the train/bus to _____?
Di mana kereta/bus ke _____?

Does this train/bus stop in _____?
Apa kereta/bus ini berhenti di _____?

What time does the train/bus for _____ leave?
Jam berapa kereta/bus ke _____ berangkat?

What time does this train/bus arrive in _____?
Jam berapa kereta/bus ini sampai di _____?

Directions

How do I get to _____ ?
Bagaimana saya bisa ke _____ ?

..the train station?
..stasiun kereta api?

..the bus station?
..terminal bus?

..the airport?
..bandara?

..downtown?
..pusat kota?

..the _____ hotel?
.. hotel _____ ?

..the American/Canadian/Australian/British embassy/consulate?
.. Kedutaan Besar/Konsulat Amerika / Australia / Inggris / Kanada?

Where are there a lot of..
Di mana ada banyak..

..hotels?
..hotel?

..restaurants?
..rumah makan?

..bars?
..bar?

..sites to see?
..tempat-tempat bagus?

Can you show me on the map?
Bisa anda tunjukkan di peta? (BEE-SUH un-duh TOON-jook-kunn dee PEY-TUH?)

street
jalan

left
kiri

right
kanan

straight ahead
lurus

towards the _____
menuju _____

past the _____
melewati _____

before the _____
sebelum _____

near the
dekat _____

in front of
di depan _____

intersection
persimpangan

north
utara

south
selatan

east
timur

west
barat

north-east
timur laut

nort-west
barat laut

south-east
tenggara (tuhng-GAH-rah)

south-west
barat daya

Taxi

Taxi!
Taksi! (TUKS-see)

Take me to _____, please.
Bisa pergi ke _____.

How much does it cost to get to _____?
Berapa harganya ke _____?

Take me there, please.
Tolong antar saya ke sana.

Turn left.
Belok kiri.

Turn right.
Belok kanan.

Turn around. (U-turn)
Putar balik.

Watch for the _____.
Lihat _____.

Stop here.
Berhenti disini.

Wait here.
Tunggu disini.

Lodging

Do you have any rooms available?
Ada kamar kosong? (UH-duh kum-muhr COS-SONG?)

How much is a room for one person/two people?
Berapa harganya kamar untuk satu/dua orang?

Does the room come with..
Apakah ini termasuk..

..bedsheets?
..seprei?

..a bathroom?
..kamar mandi?

..a telephone?
..telepon?

..a TV?
..TV? (tee-FEE)

May I see the room first?
Bisa lihat kamarnya dulu?

Do you have anything quieter?
Ada yang lebih tenang?

..bigger?
..besar?

..cleaner?
..bersih?

..cheaper?
..murah?

OK, I'll take it.
Baik saya mau. (BAYK, sah-yah MaH-oo)

I will stay for _____ night(s).
Saya tinggal _____ malam.

Can you suggest another hotel?
Tahu hotel lainnya?

Do you have a safe?
Anda punya deposit box?

..lockers?
..locker?

Is breakfast/supper included?
Sudah termasuk sarapan/makan malam?

What time is breakfast/supper?
Sarapannya/makan malamnya jam berapa?

Please clean my room.
Tolong kamar saya dibersihkan.

Can you wake me at _____? | Saya bisa dibangunkan pada pukul _____?

I want to check out.
Saya mau check out.

Money

Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?
Bisa pakai dollar Amerika /Australia / Kanada?

Do you accept British pounds?
Bisa pakai poundsterling Inggris?

Do you accept credit cards?
Bisa pakai kartu kredit?

Can you change money for me?
Apa saya bisa tukar uang?

Where can I get money changed?
Di mana saya bisa tukar uang?

Can you change a traveler's check for me?
Anda bisa tukar traveler's check saya?

Where can I get a traveler's check changed?
Di mana saya bisa tukar traveler's check?

What is the exchange rate?
Apa kursnya?

Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?
Di mana ada ATM? (dee MUN-nuh UH-duh AH-TEY-EM)

Edible adjectives

asin
Salty

asam
Sour

dingin
Cold

enak
Delicious

manis
Sweet

panas
Hot (temperature)

pedas
Hot (spicy)

tawar
Tasteless, bad

Eating

A table for one person/two people, please.
Tolong, satu meja untuk satu/dua orang.

Can I look at the menu, please?
Bisa lihat menunya?

Is there a house specialty?
Ada makanan istimewa?

Is there a local specialty?
Ada makanan khas daerah ini?

I'm a vegetarian.
Saya vegetarian.

I don't eat pork.
Saya tidak makan babi.

I don't eat beef.
Saya tidak makan sapi.

Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard)
Tolong bisa dibuat ringan?

I want _____.
Saya mau pesan _____.

I want a dish containing _____.
Saya mau makanan yang mengandung _____.

chicken
ayam

beef
sapi

fish
ikan

pork
daging babi

sausage
sosis

cheese
keju

eggs
telur

tofu
tahu

(fresh) vegetables
sayuran

(fresh) fruit
buah

bread
roti

toast
roti bakar

noodles
mie (MEE)

rice
nasi

porridge
bubur

May I have a glass of _____?
Saya bisa minta satu gelas _____?

May I have a cup of _____?
Saya bisa minta satu cangkir_____?

May I have a bottle of _____?
Saya bisa minta satu botol _____?

coffee
kopi

tea (drink)
teh

juice
jus

(bubbly) water
air bersoda

water
air (AH-yer)

beer
bir

red/white wine
anggur merah/putih

May I have some _____?
Saya bisa minta _____?

salt
garam

black pepper
merica (MREE-chah)

chili sauce
sos cili

butter
mentega (muhn-TEY-gah)

Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server)
Mas-Mas! (young male), Bang-Bang! (older male) Mbak-Mbak! (female) Bu-Bu! (older Female)

I'm finished.
Saya sudah selesai.

It was delicious.
Tadi enak rasanya.

Please clear the plates.
Tolong piringnya diambil.

The check, please.
Minta bon.

Bars

Do you serve alcohol?
Anda juga menyajikan alkohol?

A beer/two beers, please.
Tolong, satu/dua bir.

A glass of red/white wine, please.
Tolong, satu gelas anggur merah/putih.

A bottle, please.
Tolong, satu botol.

_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.
_____ and _____, please.

whisky
whisky

vodka
vodka

rum
rum

local spirits
arak

water
air

club soda
club soda

tonic water
tonic water

orange juice
jus jeruk

Coke (soda)
Coca cola

Do you have any bar snacks?
Ada makanan kecil?

One more, please.
Tolong, satu lagi.

Another round, please.
Tolong, satu ronde lagi.

When is closing time?
Pukul berapa tutup?

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?
Ada yang ukuran saya?

How much is this?
Berapa harganya?

That's too expensive.
Lho kok mahal. (HLO KOH muh-HUHL)

Would you take _____?
Would you take _____?

expensive
mahal

cheap
murah

I can't afford it.
Saya tidak bisa beli itu.

I don't want it.
'nggak mau (informal) / Saya tidak mau (formal)

You're cheating me.
Saya ditipu ya?

I'm not interested.
Saya tidak tertarik.

OK, I'll take it.
OK, saya mau.

Can I have a bag?
Ada tas?

Do you ship (overseas)?
Bisa kirim (ke luar negeri)?

I need..
Saya perlu..

..toothpaste.
..odol.

..a toothbrush.
..sikat gigi.

..condoms.
..kondom.

..tampons.
..softeks / pembalut.

..soap.
..sabun.

..shampoo.
..sampo.

..pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)
..obat anti sakit (aspirin, parasetamol..) (Note: ibuprofen is not widely available).

..cold medicine.
..obat masuk angin.

..stomach medicine.
..obat sakit perut.

..a razor.
..cukuran kumis/jenggot.

..an umbrella.
..payung.

..a postcard.
..kartu pos.

..postage stamps.
..prangko.

..batteries.
..baterai.

..writing paper.
..kertas.

..a pen.
..balpen.

..English-language books.
..buku-buku Inggris.

..English-language magazines.
..majalah Inggris.

..an English-language newspaper.
..koran Inggris.

..an English-Indonesian dictionary.
..kamus Inggris-Indonesia.

Driving

I want to rent a car.
Saya mau sewa mobil.

Can I get insurance?
Saya bisa minta asuransi?

stop (on a street sign)
stop

one way
Satu arah

no parking
Dilarang Parkir

gas (petrol) station
Pompa Bensin or SPBU (abbreviation for Stasiun Pompa Bensin Umum)

petrol
premium

diesel
diesel, solar

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.
Saya tidak bersalah.

It was a misunderstanding.
Itu salah paham.

Where are you taking me?
Saya dibawa ke mana ?

Am I under arrest?
Apakah saya ditahan ?

I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.
Saya warganegara Amerika /Australia / Inggris / Kanada.

I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.
Saya ingin bicara dengan Kedutaan Besar/Konsulat Amerika / Australia / Inggris / Kanada.

I want to talk to a lawyer.
Saya mau bicara dengan pengacara/advokat.

Can I just pay a fine here now?
Bisakah saya bayar denda di tempat saja?

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Italian phrasebook

Italian is the official language of Italy, San Marino and the Swiss Canton Ticino. It is the de facto primary language of the Vatican City.

Even if in most of the touristic resorts along Italy English and German are widely spoken, most of the Italian people can't speak a foreign language (we are lazy, I know) so you'd better know some basic phrases in Italian, just to make yourself understood.

In Italian, you use the polite form ("lei") with all the people you don't know; it doesn't matter whether they are older or younger than you. You'll use the confidential form ("tu") with the people you know. The two forms differs in the use of the 2nd and 3rd persons in verbs.

Italian has two genders, masculine (-o, pl. -i) and feminine (-a, pl. -e), and some remnants of the neuter (uovo "egg", pl. uova). So a woman would say Mi sono persa while a man would say Mi sono perso.

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Pronunciation

Vowels | Consonants | Common diphthongs | Digraphs

Pronunciation is relatively easy in Italian since most words are pronounced exactly how they are written. Unless accented, words are normally pronounced with the emphasis on the second to last syllable. Double consonants tend to affect how the preceding vowel is pronounced; e.g. in "sono" (I am) the "o" is pronounced like the "o" in "close", while in "sonno" (sleep) the "o" is pronounced like the "o" in "dot" and the "n" sound is a bit longer. Similarly in "sera" (evening) the "e" is pronounced like the "ay" in "say", while in "serra" the "e" is said as a short closed "e" as in "set" and the rolled "r" is a bit more marked

Vowels

a
as in "father"
e
as in "set", but more closed
i
as in "machine"
o
as in "close", but undiphthongized
u
like 'oo' in "hoop"

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "bed"
c
like 'ch' in "chipper" (before 'i' or 'e'), 'k' in "kid" (before 'a', 'o', 'u')
d
like 'd' in "dog"
f
like 'ph' in "phone"
g
like 'g' in "go", like 'j' in "jello"
h
silent
l
like 'l' in "love"
m
like 'm' in "mother"
n
like 'n' in "nice"
p
like 'p' in "pig"
q
like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always)
r
trill with the tip of the tongue
s
like 'ss' in "hiss", like 'z' in "haze"
t
like 't' in "top"
v
like 'v' in "victory"
z
as in "pizza" or "adze"

Common diphthongs

ai
like 'i' in "fight"
au
like 'ow' in "brown"
ei
like 'ay' in "say"
eu
doesn't exist in English, run 'e' and 'u' together
ia
like "ya" in "yard"
ie
like 'ye' in "yes"
ii
not a diphthong but two syllables
io
like "yo" in "Yorick"
iu
like "ew" in "few"
oi
like 'oy' in "boy"
uo
like 'wo' in "won ton"

Digraphs

ch
like 'k' in "keep"
sc
before "e" or "i", like 'sh' in "sheep"
gh
like "g" in "get"

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Italian Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and Train
Directions
Taxi
Shopping
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Authority
Driving

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Basics

Hello.
Buon giorno. (bwohn JOHR-noh)

Hello. (informal)
Ciao. (chow)

How are you?
Come sta? (koh-meh STAH?)

Fine, thank you.
Bene, grazie. (BEH-neh, GRAHT-tsyeh)

What is your name?
Come si chiama? (KOH-meh see kee-AH-mah?)

My name is ______.
Mi chiamo ______. (mee kee-AH-moh _____)

Nice to meet you.
Piacere di conoscerla. (pyah-CHEH-reh dee koh-noh-SHEHR-lah)

Please.
Per favore. (PEHR fah-VOH-reh)

Thank you.
Grazie. (GRAHT-tsyeh)

You're welcome.
Prego. (PREH-goh)

Yes
Sì. (SEE)

No
No. (NOH)

Excuse me
Mi scusi. (mee SKOO-zee)

I'm sorry.
Mi scusi. (mee SKOO-zee)

Goodbye.
Arrivederci. (ah-ree-veh-DEHR-chee)

I don't speak Italian.
Non parlo italiano. (non PAHR-loh ee-tah-lee-AH-no)

Do you speak English?
Parla inglese? (PAHR-lah een-GLEH-zeh?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Qualcuno parla inglese? (KWAHL-koo-noh PAHR-lah een-GLEH-zeh?)

Help!
Aiuto! (ah-yoo-toh!)

Good morning.
Buongiorno. (bwohn JOHR-noh)

Good afternoon.
Buon pomeriggio. (bwohn poh-meh-REE-gio)

Good evening.
Buonasera. (bwohn-ah-SEH-rah)

Good night.
Buonanotte. (bwohn-ah-NOHT-teh)

I don't understand.
Non capisco. (NOHN kah-PEES-koh)

Where is the toilet?
Dov'è il bagno? (doh-VEH eel BAH-nyoh?)

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Problems

Help!
Aiuto! (ah-yoo-toh!)

Leave me alone.
Mi lasci solo/a. (mee LAH-shee SOH-loh/lah) (or Mi lasci stare (.STAH-reh))

Don't touch me!
Non mi tocchi! (NOHN mee TOH-kee!)

I'll call the police.
Chiamo la polizia. (KYAH-moh lah poh-LEE-tsyah!)

Police!
Polizia! (poh-LEE-tsyah!)

Stop! Thief!
Al ladro! (ahl LAH-droh!)

I need your help.
Ho bisogno del suo aiuto. (oh bee-ZOH-nyoh dehl swoh ah-YOO-toh)

It's an emergency.
e un'emergenza. (eh oo-neh-mehr-JEN-tsah)

I'm lost.
Mi sono perso/a. (mee soh-noh PEHR-soh/sah)

I lost my bag.
Ho perso la mia borsa. (oh PEHR-soh lah MEE-ah BOHR-sah)

I lost my wallet.
Ho perso il mio portafoglio. (oh PEHR-soh eel myoh pohr-tah-FOH-lyoh)

I'm sick.
Sono malato/a. (SOH-noh mah-LAH-toh/tah)

I've been injured.
Mi sono ferito/a. (mee SOH-noh feh-REE-toh/tah)

I need a doctor.
Ho bisogno di un dottore. (oh bee-ZOH-nyoh dee oon dot-TOH-reh)

Can I use your phone?
Posso usare il suo telefono? (POS-soh oo-ZAH-reh eel swoh teh-LEH-foh-noh?)

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Numbers

1
uno (OO-noh)

2
due (DOO-eh)

3
tre (treh)

4
quattro (KWAH-troh)

5
cinque (CHEEN-kweh)

6
sei (SEH-ee)

7
sette (SEH-teh)

8
otto (OH-toh)

9
nove (NOH-veh)

10
dieci (DYEH-chee)

11
undici (OON-dee-chee)

12
dodici (DOH-dee-chee)

13
tredici (TREH-dee-chee)

14
quattordici (kwahr-TOHR-dee-chee)

15
quindici (KWEEN-dee-chee)

16
sedici (SEH-dee-chee)

17
diciassette (dee-chee-ah-SSEH-teh)

18
diciotto (dee-CHOH-toh)

19
diciannove (dee-chah-NOH-veh)

20
venti (VEHN-tee)

21
ventuno (vehn-TOO-noh)

22
ventidue (vehn-tee-DOO-eh)

23
ventitré (vehn-tee-TREH)

30
trenta (TREHN-tah)

40
quaranta (kwah-RAHN-tah)

50
cinquanta (cheen-KWAHN-tah)

60
sessanta (sehs-SAHN-tah)

70
settanta (seht-TAHN-tah)

80
ottanta (oht-TAHN-tah)

90
novanta (noh-VAHN-tah)

100
cento (CHEHN-toh)

200
duecento (dweh-CHEHN-toh)

300
trecento (treh-CHEHN-toh)

1.000
mille (MEEL-leh)

2,000
duemila (dweh-MEE-lah)

1,000,000
un milione (oon mee-LYOH-neh)

1,000,000,000
un miliardo (oo mee-LYAHR-doh)

1,000,000,000,000
mille miliardi (MEEL-leh mee-LYAHR-dee) or un bilione (oo bee-LYOH-neh)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
numero_____ (NOO-meh-roh)

half
mezzo (MEHD-dzoh)

less
meno (MEH-noh)

more
più (pyoo)

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Japanese phrasebook

Japanese (nihongo) is spoken in Japan, and essentially nowhere else other than South Korea and China, where some use it as a second language. The language is strongly influenced by Chinese though the two are unrelated; Japanese may be distantly related to Korean, although the written form uses a combination of Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji characters which were all derived from Chinese characters.

Grammar

Japanese generally employs a subject-object-verb order, using particles to mark the grammatical functions of the words: watashi-ga hamburger-o taberu, "I-subject hamburger-object eat". It is common to omit subjects and even objects if these are clear from previous context.

Verbs and adjectives conjugate by tense and politeness level, but not by person or number. There is no verb "to be" as such, but the polite copula desu can be used in most cases: John desu ("I am John"), Ringo desu ("This is an apple"), Akai desu ("It is red"), etc. Note that the exact meaning will depend on the implied subject!

The good news is that Japanese has none of the following: gender, declensions or plurals. Nouns never conjugate and almost all verbs are regular.

Reading and writing

Reading and writing Japanese are advanced skills which take years of work to gain much real proficiency. Japanese themselves use three different writing systems of various complexity, two of which (hiragana and katakana) are syllabic and relatively easy to learn with 50 characters each, but the clincher is the set of over 2000 Chinese characters known as kanji.

There are also several competing systems for rendering Japanese in the Latin alphabet, although the Hepburn romanization system is the most common and is used on Wikitravel as well. Do not be surprised if you see these words romanized differently elsewhere.

O, honorable prefix!

Nearly any Japanese word can be prefixed with the respectful tags o- or go-, often translated with the unwieldy four-syllable word "honorable". A few you might expect o-tosan is "honorable father", o-kami is "honorable God" - and a few you might not - o-shiri is "honorable buttocks". Most of the time, they're used to emphasize that the speaker is referring to the listener, so if someone enquires if after your honorable health (o-genki) it's proper to strip off the honorific and reply that you are merely genki. However, for some words like gohan "rice" and ocha "tea", the prefix is inseparable and should always be used. In this phrasebook, the prefix is separated with a hyphen if it's optional o-kane, and joined to the word if it's mandatory oisha.

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Pronunciation guide

Vowels | Consonants | Katakana

Japanese is not a tonal language like Chinese or Thai, and is comparatively easy to pronounce. The vowels are pronounced virtually identical to the "Italian way" and there are very few consonants that do not exist in English. All syllables are to be pronounced equal in length. Long vowels take the length of two syllables. Combinations like kya are treated like one syllable and are the only occurrence of sliding vowels, all other syllables are to be pronounced rather separately.

Also avoid placing too much emphasis on particular words or syllables. Although Japanese does have a form of stress and intonation, it is significantly flatter than English. Word stress is much more subtle and neglecting it at this point should not interfere with meaning. Trying to keep your intonation flat will make your attempts to speak Japanese more comprehensible to local listeners. When asking questions, you can raise the tone at the end, as in English.

Vowels

Japanese has both short and long vowels and the distinction is often important. In romanized Japanese, long vowels are marked with a macron, so that o represents "long O".

a
like 'a' in "father"

i
like 'i' in "machine"

u
like 'oo' in "hoop"

e
like 'e' in "set"

o
like 'o' in "rope"

Note that "u" is often weak at the end of syllables. In particular, the common endings desu and masu are usually pronounced as des and mas respectively. Also, the kana "do" and "to" are sometimes pronounced with a weak "o".

The long vowels are generally the same sound as the short vowels, only held approximate 60% longer. The long vowels, marked with a macron in this phrasebook, are:

ā
like 'a' in "father"
ii
like 'ee' in "cheese"
u
like 'oo' in "hoop"
ei
like the 'ay' in "pay"
ō
stretch out the 'o' in "soap"

Consonants

With the solitary exception of "n", consonants in Japanese are always followed by a vowel to form a syllable. Consonants and vowels are not freely combinable as in English, see table on the right for all possible syllables and note irregularities like shi or fu. Certain syllables can be marked with diacritics, which alters the pronunciation of the consonant part. The list below first gives the consonant part of the syllable in romanized Japanese, then the Japanese syllables that the sound occurs in first in Hiragana, then Katakana.

k

like 'k' in "king"

g

like 'g' in "go"

s

like 's' in "sit"

z

like 'z' in "haze"

t

like 't' in "top"

d

like 'd' in "dog"

n

like 'n' in "nice"

h

like 'h' in "help"

p

like 'p' in "pig"

b

like 'b' in "bed"

m

like 'm' in "mother"

y

like 'y' in "yard"

r

no equivalent in English, a sound between 'l', 'r' and 'd', but close to a very soft 'r'

w

like 'w' in "wall"

sh

like 'sh' in "sheep"

j

like 'j' in "jar"

ch

like 'ch' in "touch"

ts

like 'ts' in "hot soup"

f

like 'f' in "food"

n

short 'n', slides towards 'm' in some cases

(small tsu)

glottal stop; the following consonant is prepared, held and stopped for the duration of one syllable. For example, nippon is pronounced "nip-(pause)-pon". (Note that the double consonants nn, mm, do not have this pause.)

Examples

- kon'nichiwa → kon-nee-chee-wa (not kounneeCHEEua)

- sumimasen → soo-mee-mah-sen (not sue my maysen)

- onegai shimasu → oh-neh-gigh shee-mahss (not ouneeGAY SHYmessu)

Katakana

Katakana chart, with hiragana and Roman letters below each kana character

Katakana are used to write foreign and loanwords and are hence a good choice for travellers to learn. The katakana set of characters encompasses exactly the same sounds as hiragana; they only look different.

_________

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Japanese Phrasebook

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Offensive Language

_________

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Basics

Hello.
kon-nee-chee-WAH

How are you?
oh-GEN-kee dess-KAH?

Fine, thank you.
GEN-kee dess

How about you?
an-ATA wa?

What is your name?
oh-NAH-mah-eh wah NAHN dess-KAH?

My name is ____.
____ dess

Nice to meet you.
hah-jee-meh-MASH-teh

Please. (request)
oh-neh-gigh shee-moss

Please. (offer)
DOH-zo

This person (used when introducing somebody)
ko-chi-ra

Thank you. (formal)
doh-moh ah-ree-GAH-toh

Thank you. (informal)
doh-moh

You're welcome.
doh EE-tah-shee mosh-teh

Yes.
HIGH

No.
EE-eh

Excuse me.
soo-mee-mah-sen

I'm sorry.
goh-men-nah-sigh

Goodbye. (long-term)
sa-YOH-nah-rah

Goodbye. informal
SOH-reh deh-wah

I can't speak Japanese [well].
nee-hohn-goh oh [yo-koo] hah-nah-seh-mah-sen

Do you speak Japanese?
ni-HON-go oh hah-nah-seh-moss-KAH?

Yes, a little.
HIGH sko-shee

Do you speak English?
AY-goh oh hah-nah-seh-moss-KAH?

Is there someone here who speaks English?
dah-reh-kah EHH-goh gah hah-nah-seh-moss-KAH?

Please speak slowly.
YOO-kuree hanash-teh koo-dah-sah-ee

Please say it again.
mo EE-chee-doh ee-te koo-dah-sah-ee

Help!
tahs-keh-teh!

Look out!
ah-boo-NIGH!

Good morning.
oh-hah-YOH go-zigh-moss

Good evening.
kohm-bahn-wah

Good night to sleep
oh-yah-soo-mee-nah-sigh

I don't understand.
wah-kah-ree-mah-sen

I am not Japanese.
Nihon-jin ja arimasen.

Where is the toilet?
Oh-teh-ah-rah-ee wah DOH-koh dess kah?

What?
nah-nee

Where?
doh-koh

Who?
dah-reh

When?
it-soo

Which?
doh-reh

Why?
doh-sh'teh

How?
dohh-yah-teh

How much?
ee-koo-rah

What type of?
dohn-nah

_________

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Problems

Help!
tahs-keh-teh!

Leave me alone.
hottoite.

Don't touch me!
sawaranaide!

I'll call the police.
keisatsu o yobimasu

Police!
keisatsu!

Stop! Thief!
mate! dorobo!

I need your help.
tasukete kudasai

It's an emergency.
kinkyu desu

I'm lost.
maigo desu

I lost my bag.
kaban o nakushimashita

I dropped my wallet.
saifu o otoshimashita

I'm sick.
byoki desu

I've been injured.
kega shimashita

Please call a doctor.
isha o yonde kudasai

Can I use your phone?
denwa o tsukatte iidesuka

_________

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Numbers

While Arabic (Western) numerals are employed for most uses in Japan, you will occasionally still spot Japanese numerals at eg. markets and the menus of fancy restaurants. The characters used are nearly identical to Chinese numerals, and like Chinese, Japanese uses groups of 4 digits, not 3. "One million" is thus hyaku-man, literally "hundred ten-thousands".

There are both Japanese and Chinese readings for most numbers, but presented below are the more commonly used Chinese readings. Note that, due to superstition shi also means "death"), 4 and 7 typically use the Japanese readings yon and nana instead.

Down for the count

When counting objects, Japanese uses special counter words. For example, "two beers" is biiru nihon, where ni is "two" and -hon means "bottles". Alas, the list of possible counters is vast, but some useful ones include:

generic object
ko

people
-meisama (polite)

flat objects (papers, tickets)
-mai

long objects (bottles, pens)
-hon, -bon, -pon

cups, glasses
-hai, -bai, -pai

nights of a stay
-haku, -paku

Note how many counters change form depending on the previous number: one, two, three glasses are ippai, nihai, sanbai respectively. You'll still be understood if you get these wrong though.

0
zero or rei

1
ichi

2
ni

3
san

4
yon or shi

5
go

6
roku

7
nana or shichi

8
hachi

9
kyu

10
ju

11
ju-ichi

12
ju-ni

13
ju-san

14
ju-yon

15
ju-go

16
ju-roku

17
ju-nana

18
ju-hachi

19
ju-kyuu

20
ni-ju

21
ni-ju-ichi

22
ni-ju-ni

23
ni-ju-san

30
san-ju

40
yon-ju

50
go-ju

60
ro-ku-ju

70
nana-ju

80
hachi-ju

90
kyu-ju

100
hyaku

200
ni-hyaku

300
san-byaku

1000
sen

2000
ni-sen

10,000
ichi-man

1,000,000
hyaku-man

100,000,000
ichi-oku

1,000,000,000,000
itcho

0.5
rei ten go

0.56
rei ten go-roku

number _____ train, bus, etc.
____ ban

half
hanbun

less (few)
sukunai

more (many)
ooi

_________

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Malay phrasebook

Grammar | The shorter the better | Pronunciation guide

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Malay (Malay: Bahasa Melayu) is the sole official language of Malaysia and Brunei, and one of four in Singapore. It is closely related to Indonesian, but the main difference is the vocabulary: Indonesian has been heavily influenced by Dutch and Javanese (and also Sanskrit), while Malay has been heavily influenced by English and Arabic.

Grammar

The shorter the better | Pronunciation guide | Phrase list

Malay word order is subject-verb-object like English. There are no plurals, grammatical gender, or verb conjugation for person, number or tense, all of which are expressed with adverbs or tense indicators: saya makan, "I eat" (now), saya sudah makan, "I already eat" = "I ate".

A characteristic of Malay is that it is a so-called agglutinative language, which means that the suffixes are all attached to a base root. So a word can become very long. For example there is a base word hasil which means "result". But it can be extended as far as ketidakberhasilannya, which means his/her failure.

The shorter the better

Colloquial Malay shortens commonly used words mercilessly.

sudah -> dah
already

tidak -> tak
no

hendak -> nak
to want

aku -> ku
I (informal)

kamu -> mu
you (informal)

-ku and -mu also act as suffixes: keretaku is short for kereta aku, "my car".

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Pronunciation guide

Vowels | Consonants | Common diphthongs

Malay is very easy to pronounce: it has one of the most phonetic writing systems in the world, with only a small number of simple consonants and relatively few vowel sounds. One peculiarity of the spelling is the lack for a separate sign to denote the schwa. It is written as an 'e', which can sometimes be confusing.

Vowels

a
like 'a' in "father"

ê
like 'e' in "vowel" (schwa)

e, é
like 'e' in "bed", usually the difference between a schwa and an e is not indicated in writing

i
like 'i' in "thin"

o
like 'ow' in "low", in open positions or like 'o' in "top" in close positions

u
like 'oo' in "hoop", in open positions or like 'o' in "hope" in close positions

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "bed"

c
like 'ch' in "China"

ch
old spelling of c

d
like 'd' in "dog"

f
like 'ph' in "phone"

g
like 'g' in "go"

h
like 'h' in "help"

j
like 'j' in "jug"; in older romanizations also the vowel i

k
like 'c' in "cat", often silent at the end of a word

kh
like 'ch' in "loch"

l
like 'l' in "love"

m
like 'm' in "mother"

n
like 'n' in "nice"

p
like 'p' in "pig"

q
like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always, only in Arabic borrowings)

r
like 'rh' in "rheumatism"

s
like 'ss' in "hiss"

sy
like 'sh' in "sheep"

t
like 't' in "top"

v
like 'ph' in "phone"

w
like 'w' in "weight"

x
like 'cks' in "kicks"

y
like 'y' in "yes"

z
like 's' in "hiss", like 'z' in "haze", like 'dg' in "edge"

Common diphthongs

ai
like 'in' in "mind"

au
like 'ow' in "cow"

oi
like 'oy' in "boy"

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Phrase list

Basics

Hello.
Hello. (Hello)

Hello. (informal)
Hai. (Hi)

How are you?
Apa khabar? (AH-pAh KAH-bar?)

Fine, thank you.
Baik, terima kasih. (BAYK, TREE-muh KUS-see)

What is your name?
Siapa nama anda? (siah-puh NUM-muh UN-duh?)

My name is ______.
Nama saya ______. (NUM-MUH suh-yuh _____.)

Nice to meet you.
Senang berjumpa dengan Anda. (SNUNG burr-jum-puh UN-duh)

Please.
Silakan. (see-LUH-kunn)

Please. (request)
Tolong. (TOH-long)

Thank you.
Terima kasih.

You're welcome.
Sama-sama.

Yes.
Ya. (YUH)

No.
Tidak. (TEE-duck), Tak (TAHK)

Maybe
Mungkin. (Munk-Kin)

Excuse me. (getting attention, lit. may i ask?)
Boleh tumpang tanya? ( )

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Maaf.

I'm sorry.
Maaf.

Goodbye
Selamat tinggal. , Selamat Jalan

Goodbye (informal)
Bai.

I can't speak Malay [well].
Saya tidak boleh berbahasa Melayu [dengan baik].

Do you speak English?
Boleh anda cakap bahasa Inggeris?

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Ada orang yang boleh berbahasa Inggeris? , Ada sesiapa yang boleh bercakap Inggeris di sini?

Help!
Tolong!

Look out!
Hati-hati!

Good morning.
Selamat pagi. (slum-mut PUH-GUEE)

Good afternoon.
Selamat tengah hari.

Good evening.
Selamat petang.

Good night.
Selamat malam.

Good night (to sleep)
Selamat tidur.

I don't understand.
Saya tidak faham.

Where is the toilet?
Tandas di mana? (TAHN-das DEE muh-nuh?)

Problems

Help!
Tolong!

Leave me alone.
Jangan ganggu saya.

Don't touch me!
Jangan pegang saya!

I'll call the police.
Saya akan panggil polis.

Police!
Polis!

Stop! Thief!
Berhenti! Pencuri!

I need your help.
Saya perlukan bantuan anda.

It's an emergency.
Ini kecemasan.

I'm lost.
Saya tersesat.

I lost my bag.
Saya kehilangan beg saya.

I lost my wallet.
Saya kehilangan dompet saya.

I'm sick.
Saya sakit.

I've been injured.
Saya terluka.

I need to see a doctor.
Saya perlu jumpa doktor.

Can I use your phone?
Boleh saya gunakan telefon anda?

Numbers

0
Sifar / kosong (COSS-song)

1
satu

2
dua

3
tiga

4
empat

5
lima

6
enam

7
tujuh

8
lapan

9
sembilan

10
sepuluh

11
sebelas

12
duabelas

13
tigabelas

14
empatbelas

20
duapuluh

21
duapuluh satu

22
duapuluh dua

23
duapuluh tiga

30
tiga puluh

40
empat puluh

50
lima puluh

100
seratus

200
dua ratus

300
tiga ratus

1000
seribu

1100
seribu seratus

1152
seribu seratus lima puluh dua

1200
seribu duaratus

1500
seribu limaratus

2000
dua ribu

2100
dua ribu seratus

10,000
sepuluh ribu

20,000
duapuluh ribu

100,000
seratus ribu

150,000
seratus limapuluh ribu

156,125
seratus limapuluh enam ribu seratus duapuluh lima

250,000
duaratus limapuluh ribu / Suku juta (quarter of a million)

500,000
limaratus ribu / setengah juta (half a million)

1,000,000
satu juta

1,150,000
satu juta seratus limapuluh ribu

1,250,000
satu suku juta

1,500,000
satu setengah juta

1,750,000
satu juta tujuh ratus limapuluh ribu

1,000,000,000
satu milion

1,000,000,000,000
satu trilium

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
(keretapi, bas) nombor _____

half
setengah

quarter
suku

three quarter
tiga suku

less
kurang

more
lebih

roughly (more or less)
lebih kurang

________

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Norwegian phrasebook

Norwegian is the language spoken in Norway. It's closely related to Danish and Swedish, and most speakers of the three languages can understand each other without much difficulty. Most of Norway's 4.5 million citizens speak Norwegian. sS

There are two official variations of written Norwegian: Bokmål and Nynorsk. The differences are small, but important to a lot of Norwegians. Bokmål is by far the most common, and evolved from Danish. Nynorsk is a reconstructed standard written form, devleoped by Ivar Aasen, a teacher and linguist. Aasen traveled the western regions of Norway, an area in which the Danish influence on spoken Norwagian was minimal during the time Norway was ruled from Denmark. Between 1848 and 1855, Aasen published a grammar, lexicon, dialect samples, and a set of readings as he devleoped Nynosk (called then landsmål).

In 2003, approximately 15% of primary school pupils were in school districts that taught Nynorsk as the primary written standard.

There are also many spoken variations (dialects) of Norwegian, and even to Norwegians, some of them can be really hard to understand if you are not used to them. Because of radio, TV, and other mass communication, the situation is normalizing towards a language more similar to how it is written (Bokmål or Nynorsk).

_________

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Pronunciation Guide

Norwegian spelling is pretty simple and regular (compared to, say, English), but like most real languages, unfortunately not completely regular.

Vowels

Each vowel can be pronounced either as "long" or "short". A "short" vowel will almost always be followed by a double consonant (i.e. two similar consonants, such as ll or tt). A long vowel is not.

For example, in Norwegian "it" will be pronounced as in eet, whereas "itt" will be pronounced as English it.

(There are some exceptions to this rule: if the consonant is followed by another consonant, it does not always need to be doubled to make the vowel short.)

The Norwegian vowels are pronounced in almost the same way as in German. There are three additional vowels. æ (Æ), ø (Ø), and å (Å). Here's the full list:

a
like 'a' in "father"

e
like 'e' in "better" (but like æ if it is followed by an r)

i
like 'i' in "pin"

o (short)
like o in "lord"

o (long)
like 'oo' in "spooky"

u
like 'oo' in "foot"

y
like 'i' in "pin" (but darker; y doesn't correspond to any sound in English. English speakers may have difficulty distinguishing Norwegian's i and y. It's similar to German ü or French u.) One starts with making the "o" sound with one's lips but saying the "ee" sound in "steel".

æ
like 'a' in "hat"

ø
like 'u' in "burn". One starts with e and rounds one's lips to produce ø.

å
like 'o' in "lord"

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "book"

c
like 'c' in "cat" (mostly foreign words)

d
like 'd' in "dog", silent at end of syllable.

f
like 'f' in "face"

g
like 'g' in "good", but like 'y' in "yes" before i or j, silent at the end of some words

h
like 'h' in "hat", silent before j or v

j
like 'y' in "yes"

k
like 'k' in "keep", but like 'ch' in German "ich" before i or j (IPA [ç])

l
like 'l' in "late"

m
like 'm' in "mouse"

n
like 'n' in "nice"

p
like 'p' in "push"

q
like 'q' in "quick" (mostly foreign words)

r
like 'r' in "feather" (very soft, as in German) (many different variations ranging from Spanish to French sounding.)

s
like 's' in "sun" (not like 'z' in "zap")

t
like 't' in "top", silent at the end of some words

v
like 'v' in "viper"

w
like 'w' in "water" (mostly foreign words)

x
like 'x' in "box" (mostly foreign words), generally spelled with ks

z
like 'z' in "zipper" (officially), but usually pronounced like 's' in "sun" (mostly foreign words)

Diphthongs and two letter combinations

ei
like 'a' in "babe" (æ-i)

ai
like 'i' in "pine" (a-i)

au
like 'ou' in "mouse" (a-u), or like 'o' in "so" (æ-u)

oi
like 'oy' in "boy" (å-y)

øy
like 'ooey' in "gooey" (ø-y)

sj
like 'sh' in "shirt"

skj
like 'sh' in "shirt"

kj
like 'ch' in Scottish "loch" (but it's not a throat-sound), German "ich", very similar to Greek 'χ' IPA ç.

ng
like 'ng' in "long"

rs
like 'sh' in "shirt" (not a diphthong in the South or the West)

rt
like 'rt' in "art" (not a diphtong in the South or the West)

rn
like 'rn' in "burn" (not a diphtong in the South or the West)

ld
like 'll' in "ball" (makes vowels short, too)

nd
like 'nn' in "banner" (makes vowels short)

hj
like 'y' in "yes"

hv
like 'v' in "victory"

lj
like 'y' in "yes" (rare)

Exceptions

de
(the bokmål word, meaning "they"): like "dee" in "deer" (just as a whole word)

jeg
(the bokmål word, meaning "I"): like "Ya" in "Yale" or "yay"

og
(the bokmål and nynorsk word for "and"): like 'o' in "lord" (just as a whole word)

_________

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Norwegian Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
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Basics

Good morning.
God morgen. (goh moh-ohrn)

Good evening.
God kveld. (goh kvel)

Good night (to sleep)
God natt. (goh naht)

Hello. (informal)
Hei. (hay)

How are you?
Hvordan går det? (vohrd-ahn gohr deh?)

Fine, thank you.
(Jo) takk, bare bra. (yoh tak, barae brah)

What is your name?
Hva heter du? (Vah he-ter du)

My name is ______.
Jeg heter ______. (yei hee-ter _____.)

Nice to meet you.
Hyggelig å treffe deg. (Hygg-e-li å treff-e dei)

Please.
Vær så snill.

Thank you.
Tusen takk.

You're welcome.
Bare hyggelig. (Bar-e hygg-e-li)
More like the english: my pleasure

Yes.
Ja. (ya)

Yes (in reply/opposition to a no in a discussion).
Jo. (yo)

No.
Nei. (naye)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Unnskyld (meg). (Unn-shill mei)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Unnskyld (meg). (Unn-shill mei)

I'm sorry. (for a slight mistake)
Beklager (be-klag-er)

I'm sorry. (I really didn't mean it)
Jeg beklager så mye (Jei be-klag-er så mye)

I'm sorry.
Jeg er lei meg. (Jei ær lei mei)
Not used nearly as often as in english, this sincerely means you are sorry, or can even be interpreted to mean you are sad (usually not associated with guilt).

Goodbye
Ha det bra! (Ha de bra)

Goodbye (informal)
Hade! (Ha-de)

It was nice seeing/meeting you. Goodbye.
Det var hyggelig å treffe deg. Ha det bra! (De var hygg-e-li å treff-e dei. Ha de bra!)

I can't speak norwegian.
Jeg snakker ikke norsk. (Jei snakk-er ikk-e nåsjk)

I only know a little norwegian.
Jeg kan bare litt norsk (Jei kan ba-re litt nåsjk)

Excuse me. Do you know how to speak English?
Unnskyld, kan du snakke engelsk? (Unn-skyll, kan du snakk-e eng-elsk?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Er det noen som kan engelsk her? (Ær de no-en såm kann snakk-e eng-elsk hær?)

Help!
Hjelp! (Yelp!)

Good morning.
God morgen. (Go må-årn)
See hello above

Good evening.
God kveld. (Go kvell)
See hello above

Good night.
God natt. (Go natt)
Never used as a greeting, unless you you want to make a joke. This is potentially troublesome. If you must greet someone at night, use Hallo, Hei, or Hyggelig å møte deg (Nice to meet you), or even God dag (even though it's in the middle of night).

Good night (to sleep)
God natt. (Go natt)

I don't understand (you).
Jeg forstår [deg] ikke. (Jei forst-år [dei] ikk-e)

Where is the toilet/bathroom?
Hvor er toalettet? (Vor ær toa-lett-et?)

_________

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Problems

Help!
Hjelp! (Yelp!)

Leave me alone (please).
Kan du (være så snill å) la meg være alene.
Note: være så snill å means be so kind as to, directly translated, but there are no direct replacement for please. The english word is sometimes used if said imparatively or beggingly.

Don't touch me!
Ikke rør meg!

I'll call the police.
Jeg ringer politiet.
Note: This really means dial the police on the phone. Since there aren't many street cops in Norway, if it's really an emergency, it would make more sense to simply cry Hjelp! (Help), and hope a random person will come to your rescue.

Police!
Politi!

Stop! Thief!
Stopp tyven!

I need your help.
Jeg trenger din hjelp.
Might sound too strong. See below for a more reasonable alternative…

May I ask you for a little assistance?
Kan jeg spørre deg om litt hjelp

It's an emergency.
Det er et nødstilfelle.

I'm lost.
Jeg har gått meg bort.
Even though this is under the problems section, this phrase comes out sounding like you have wandered the woods for days without food or rest, having no idea where you are or where to go (in which case it would be obvious anyway). Either that, or you're 5 year old, in which case getting lost from your parents is equally serious. See below for a more reasonable alternative. More neutral is "Jeg har gått meg vill"

Can you tell me where I am?
Kan du si meg hvor jeg er?

Can you tell me the way to ___?
Kan du si meg veien til ___?

I lost my ___.
Jeg har mistet ___ [min (sg. m./f.)/mitt (sg. neu.)/mine (pl.)].
While almost any kind of carry-on item can be called bag in English, in Norwegian it means a duffle bag. You usually have to be more specific, here are a few alternatives, as part of this sentence, you should also read the part in parenthesis to get the grammar right.

* luggage = baggasje(n)
* suitcase = koffert(en)
* backpack = ryggsekk(en)
* duffle bag = bag(en)
* shoulder bag = skulderveske(n)
* handbag = håndveske(n)
* plastic bag = plastikkpose(n)
* computer bag = computer bag(en)
* handbag = håndveske(n)
* wallet = lommebok(en)
* child/children = barn(et)/barn(a) (I certainly hope not)

I'm sick.
Jeg er syk.

I've been injured.
Jeg har blitt skadet.

I've contracted an injuriy.
Jeg har fått en skade.

I need a doctor.
Jeg trenger (å få treffe) en lege.

Can I use (your) phone?
Kan jeg få låne telefonen (din) litt?

_________

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Numbers

0
null

1
en/ein (.)

2
to

3
tre

4
fire

5
fem (femm)

6
seks (sekks)

7
sju
Another variant (below) also in common use. New system

7
syv
Another variant (above) is slightly more common in some age groups and geographical regions. Old system

8
åtte

9
ni

10
ti

11
elleve (ell-ve)

12
tolv (tåll)

13
tretten

14
fjorten

15
femten

16
seksten (seis-ten)

17
sytten (søtt-en)

18
atten

19
nitten

20
tjue (kju-e)
Note: Used in new counting system (see below)

20
tyve
Note: Used in old counting system (see below)

21 and on

Larger numbers than twenty can be written several ways in Norwegian. Sometimes each word is written separately. Sometimes hyphens are used. And sometimes, the whole number is written as one large word; there are two ways of counting from 21-99.

The new counting is what most people use nowadays. And probably what they would consider using to someone having problems understanding. This is what you should learn.

21
tjue en (kju-e en)

22
tjue to

23
tjue tre

The old counting system is slightly more illogical, but still quite a few people use it. Its popularity increases with the age of the speaker. Most people will probably revert to the new counting system if they realize the speaker is not fluent in norwegian, but here it is for completeness (In English this system has been used in the past, but a change analogous to the new system in Norwegian occurred a long time ago, so few realise this now, although the reminders exist in the teen numbers and the Four and twenty blackbirds nursery rhyme).

21
en og tyve (en å tyv-e)

22
to og tyve (to å tyv-e)

23
tre og tyve

30
tredve (old system)

30
tretti (new system)

40
førti

50
femti

60
seksti

70
sytti

80
åtti

90
nitti

100
(ett) hundre

121
(ett) hundre og 21 (100 å 21)

200
to hundre

300
tre hundre

1000
ett tusen

1021
ett tusen og 21 (ett tu-sen å 21)

1100
ett tusen ett hundre (ett tu-sen ett hun-dre)

1121
ett tusen ett hundre og 21

2000
to-tusen

1,000,000
en million (en milli-on)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
nummer _____ (tog, buss, etc) (nomm-er)

half
halv (hall)

less
mindre (minn-dre)

more
mer

_________

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Polish phrasebook

Pronunciation guide | Phrase list

Polish is the official language of Poland, a country of 40M people and is also used by the 10M Polish diaspora around the world. It is understood and can be used for communication in the western parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. Polish is a Western Slavic language and the closest similar languages are those of Poland's neighbours: Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian and Belarusian. The latter two are actually more easily understood by a speaker of Polish, but not in writing, as they use different alphabets.

The language is unique in that it retains the nasal sounds lost in other Slavic languages and uses a unique diacritic mark, an ogonek (a "little tail") attached to a and e to express them. It is also noted for its consonant clusters with similar-sounding affricates and fricatives, some of which sound easier for a rattlesnake to say with its tail than a human with his mouth. On the other hand, there are only 8 vowels in Polish, as compared to some 20 in RP English and the pronunciation follows a set of rules, so it can be read from the spelling of a word.

Being a highly-inflected language, Polish allows much discretion in its word order. For example, Ania kocha Jacka, Jacka kocha Ania, Ania Jacka kocha, etc. all translate to Annie loves Jack, a sentence that cannot be further reordered without changing the meaning. This may cause some confusion for speakers of positional languages such as English. Polish has 7 cases, 3 grammatical genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) in singular and 2 (virile and non-virile) in plural. There are 6 tenses and 18 verb conjugation patterns so as you can see the grammar may be a little challenging.

Pronunciation guide

Alphabet | Vowels | Consonants | Digraphs and trigraphs | How to pronounce

Alphabet

- A Ą B C Ć D E Ę F G H I J K L Ł M N Ń O Ó P R S Ś T U W Y Z Ź Ż

- a ą b c ć d e ę f g h i j k l ł m n ń o ó p r s ś t u w y z ź ż

Q q and V v are used in foreign words only. X x is used in some historical names too.

Vowels

a
as in dust

ą
nasalized vowel, similar to Portuguese São and amanhã

e
as in bed

ę
nasalized 'e', like rang; becomes just a long "e" at the end of words.

i
as in marine

o
as in lot

ó
see u

u
as in boot

y
as in maximum

Consonants

b
as in bed

c
as in boots

ć
somewhat as in catch, pronounced with the tongue touching the front of the palate

d
as in dog

f
as in fun

g
as in go

h
see ch

j
as in yak

k
as in keep

l
as in lead

l
as in womb

m
as in mother

n
as in nice

ń
as in canyon

p
as in pig

q
as kw, see k and w respectively (rarely used)

r
no approximate sound in English but try ring

s
as in song

ś
somewhat as in wish

t
as in top

v
see w (rarely used)

w
as in vote

x
as ks, see k and s respectively (rarely used)

z
as in haze

ź
as in seizure

ż
as zh in English loanwords or treasure

Digraphs and trigraphs

ch
as Scots say in loch

ci, dzi, ni, si, zi
as a ć/dź/ń/ś/ź followed by an i

sz
as in shackles

cz
as in witch

rz
see ż

dż
as in John, voiced version of cz

dź
voiced version of dz

szcz
sz + cz is a common combination - just think freshcheese.

How to pronounce

- Emphasis is usually on the penultimate syllable.

- Devoicing occurs with b, d, g, w, z, ż and voiced digraphs in the word endings and in consonant clusters. Thus jabłko 'an apple' is really pronounced japko.

- Nasal vowels are really nasal in certain configurations only. Other than that, they are om/on for ą and em/en for ę. To approximate them, say a or e normally and then the say the n sound as in the -ing endings. Link those two sounds together and voila you have a nasal vowel.

- Voiceless plosives k, p and t are not aspirated, unlike their English counterparts.

- Ć-Cz, Dź-Dż, Ś-Sz. This is a little more difficult. The English sh/ch sounds are between ś/ć and sz/cz respectively - the former are softer, and the latter are harder. Cz is really just an affricate consisting of t + sz (or t + sh in English). Dź is a voiced ć and dż is a voiced counterpart of cz, so another way to learn cz is to de-voice the J sound you know from John.

- Rolling r is the sound you will most probably never learn. Approximate it with the r you know, whatever it is. Or if you are really determined, read about the alveolar trill and the alveolar flap.

After you know how to pronounce letters and digraphs, just pronounce all letters as you see them.

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Phrase list

Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Clock time
Months
Writing time and date
Colors
Languages
Transportation
Timetable
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

Basics

Hello
Informal - Cześć (Tch-esh-ch) Formal - Dzień dobry (Jeyn Dob-ry)

How are you?
Jak się masz? (Yahk sheng mah-sh)

Fine, thank you
Dziękuję, dobrze. (Jenkoo-yeng dob-zhe)

What is your name?
Jak masz na imię? (yahk mah-sh nah eem-ye) Note: meaning in polish What is your given name ? (not a surname)

My name is ______.
Nazywam się ______. (Nah-zivam sheng ____) Note: in polish when you introduce yourself you should start from given name followed by surname (in informal situations just given name)

Please.
Proszę (PRO-she)

Thank you.
Dziękuję. (Jenkoo-ye)

You're welcome
Informal - Nie ma za co (nye ma za tso) Formal - Proszę (PRO-she)

Yes.
Tak (tahk)

No.
Nie (nyeh)

Excuse me.
(for getting attention) Przepraszam. (psheh-prah-shahm)

I'm sorry.
Przepraszam. (psheh-prah-shahm)

Goodbye
Informal - pa (pah) Formal - Do zobaczenia (doh zoh-bah-chen-yah)

I can't speak Polish [well].
Nie mówię [dobrze] po polsku. (nye moo-vye [dob-zhe] po pol-skoo)

Do you speak English?
Czy mówisz po angielsku? (chih moo-vish poh ahng-gyel-skoo?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Czy ktos tu mówi po angielsku? (tch-y ktosh too moo-vee poh anhng-yel-skoo)

Help!
Pomocy! (poh-moh-tsy) or Ratunku! (rah-toon-koo)

Good night
Dobranoc. (doh-brah-nots)

I don't understand
Nie rozumiem (Nyeh roh-zoom-yem)

Where is the toilet?
Gdzie jest toaleta? (g-jeh yest twa-leta)

Problems

Help!
Pomocy! (poh-moh-tsy) or Ratunku! (rah-toon-koo)

Can you help me?
Czy moze mi pan m / pani f pomóc? (Tchih MO-zheh mee pahn / PAH-nee POH-moots?)

Leave me alone.
Zostaw mnie. (Zostaff mnieh)

I'll call the police.
As in summoning - Zawolam policje! (ZAH-voh-wam poh-litz-yeh) As in using a phone - Zadzwonie na policje (ZAH-dzvohn-yeh nah poh-litz-yeh)

Police!
Policja! (po-litz-yah)

Stop the thief!
Zatrzymac zlodzieja! (zah-tschy-matz zwoh-TZIEH-yah)

I need your help.
Potrzebuje pomocy. (poh-tscheh-BOO-yeh poh-moh-tsi)

It's an emergency.
To nagla potrzeba (toh NAH-gwah poh-CHEh-bah)

I'm lost.
Zabladzilem. (zah-bwon-TZEE-wehm)

I lost my bag.
Zgubilem torbe. (zgu-BEE-wehm TOHR-beh)

I lost my wallet.
Zgubilem portfel. (zgu-BEE-wehm pohr-tvehll)

I'm sick.
Jestem chory. (YEH-stehm hoh-ry)

I'm injured.
Jestem ranny (YEH-stehm rahn-ni)

I need a doctor.
Potrzebuje lekarza. (Pohtschehbooie leckaschah)

Can I use (your) phone?
Czy moge zadzwonic (od pana/pani)? (tshy moh-gheh zah-tzvoh-nitz (ohd pa-nih [fem.]/pah-nah [masc.])

Numbers

- Comma is the decimal point in Polish, and space is used as a thousand separator.

- For negative numbers, the minus sign is before the number.

- The currency symbol is zł (sometimes also PLN where different currencies are involved or, incorrectly, PLZ) and it goes after the amount.

- Common abbreviations are tys. for 'thousands' (SI: k), mln for million (SI: M). Miliard or mld is a billion, and bilion is a trillion (as in the old British notation).

Examples: 1,000,000 is 1 000 000, 3.141 is 3,141. PLN 14.95 is 14,95 zł, and the Polish public debt is -500 000 000 000 zł or -500 000 mln zł or -500 mld zł or 0,5 bln zł (not that much, actually).

Numbers
liczby

1
jeden (YEH-den) (pierwszy)

2
dwa (dvah) (drugi)

3
trzy (tzhih) (trzeci)

4
cztery (CHTEH-rih) (czwarty)

5
piec (pyench) (piaty)

6
szesc (sheshch) (szósty)

7
siedem (SHEH-dem) (siódmy)

8
osiem (OH-shem) (ósmy)

9
dziewiec (JEV-yench) (dziewiaty)

10
dziesiec (JESH-yench) (dziesiaty)

11
jedenascie (yeh-deh-NAHSH-cheh) (-nasty)

12
dwanascie (dvah-NAHSH-cheh)

13
trzynascie (tzhi-NAHSH-cheh)

14
czternascie (chter-NAHSH-cheh)

15
pietnascie (pyent-NAHSH-cheh)

16
szesnascie (shes-NAHSH-cheh)

17
siedemnascie (sheh-dem-NAHSH-cheh)

18
osiemnascie (oh-shem-NAHSH-cheh)

19
dziewietnascie (jev-yent-NAHSH-cheh)

20
dwadziescia (dwudziesty)

21
dwadziescia jeden

22
dwadziescia dwa

23
dwadziescia trzy

30
trzydziesci (trzyetziesty)

40
czterdziesci (czterdziesty)

50
piecdziesiat (piecdziesiaty)

60
szescdziesiat (szescdziesiaty)

70
siedemdziesiat (siedemdziesiaty)

80
osiemdziesiat (osiemdziesiaty)

90
dziewiecdziesiat (dziewiecdziesiaty)

100
sto (setny)

200
dwiescie (dwusetny)

300
trzysta (trzysetny)

400
czterysta (czterysetny)

500
piecset (piecsetny)

600
szescset (szescsetny)

700
siedemset (siedemsetny)

800
osiemset (osiemsetny)

900
dziewiecset (dziewiecsetny)

1000
tysiac (tysieczny)

2000
dwa tysiace (dwutysieczny)

1 000 000
milion (milionowy)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
numer _____

half
pól/polowa

less
mniej

more
wiecej

________

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Portuguese phrasebook

Portuguese is a Romance language closely related to Spanish, and even more closely related to Galician (in fact, many people consider that Galician and Portuguese are the same language). It is spoken mainly in Portugal and Brazil, with some differences in pronunciation, spelling, and use of pronouns. It is also spoken in Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé e Principe, Angola, Mozambique, East Timor, Macau and Goa, Daman and Diu, as the result of the Portuguese discoveries in the XV and XVI centuries. There are around 200 million Portuguese native speakers.

Most words have similarities to Spanish or sometimes French. However, some people who know a little Spanish mistakenly conclude that it's close enough that it need not be studied separately. While they may be able to figure out the meaning of some signage, items on a menu, etc., understanding of verbal communication will be very low to nothing.

_________

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Alphabet

Grammar | Written vs. spoken | Gender, plurals, and adjectives | Verbs | Pronunciation guide | Vowels | Consonants | Common diphthongs | Common digraphs

The Portuguese alphabet (alfabeto) has 23 letters, plus 3 foreign ones. Accented vowels, cedillas (see below), diphthongs, digraphs (including ch), etc. do not count separately. The alphabet is a b c d e f g h i j l m n o p q r s t u v x z with additional characters á à â ã ç é ê i ó ô õ ú ü. By far, the most common diphthong is ão. The alphabet, when pronounced, is quite similar to Spanish: á bê cê dê é efe gê agá i jota ele eme ene ó pê quê erre esse tê u vê xis zê. The letters k (ká / kápa), w (vê duplo/duplo vê / dábliu/dâbliu), and y (ipsilon) are usually used only on words of foreign origin.

Grammar

Written vs. spoken

Especially in Brazil, spoken language can be very different from written language and official grammar, confusing non-native speakers. While slang (giria) is common in Brazil and difficult to understand, it is generally not used around foreigners. Less educated people are likely to use slang a lot.

Gender, plurals, and adjectives

Portuguese words ending in _ão are often, but not always, feminine, and their plurals must be memorized or looked up in a dictionary.

Verbs

This topic is much too complex for a phrasebook. In general though, infinitive verbs (i.e. as found in the dictionary) end in _ar, _er, and _ir (like Spanish) plus there's one irregular infinitive pôr (to put). A lot of the most common verbs are irregular and must be memorized. Você, ele, ela, (and usually tu in Brazil -- see above) share the same verb set, as do (separately) vocês, eles, and elas. Additionally, eu and nós both have their own respective verb set.

Pronunciation guide

Portuguese has nasal vowels and reduced vowels. If you don't reduce the vowels you will still be understood but you will sound over-enunciating. If you don't nasalize the vowels, you can easily be misunderstood: mão means "hand", while mau means "bad." So, be extra careful not to ouch the ão sound. For starters, try something in between English no and now (without the n). A good native pronunciation of this diphthong will take lots of listening and practice. The nasals are transcribed as "ng", but don't pronounce "ng" as a consonant.

Brazilian and Luso (European Portuguese) pronunciation differ, and within Brazil, there are regional differences as well. The pronunciation of Minas Gerais is especially difficult, for its tendency to merge syllables, reduce vowels, affricate consonants, etc. In the Northeast, the consonants tend to be harder and the vowels longer. The populous region surrounding Rio, São Paulo, and Curitiba generally follow the Rio pronunciation in this guide where indicated (though they do have their own distinctive accents). If there is no separate mention for Rio, then it is the same as the rest of Brazil.

Beware (especially if know any Spanish) that words ending in i and u are stressed on the last syllable without any accent mark, as are those ending in a constant other than m or s (except im/ins and um/uns).

Vowels

a
like father

ã
like détente

e
like set, say, or eight. Often dropped at ends of words in Portugal but not in Brazil, where it is reduced to i.

closed e
like herd. Often spelled with an accent mark: ê
Note this can be much shorter than the Spanish 'e.' See also the diphthong ei i
like machine

o
between sort and book in Portugal. In Brazil it is usually rounded (like in cold)

open o
like in hot.

õ
like French sont (say "song" and drop the final consonant)

u
like soup or book

u with tilde
more or less like boom without completing the articulation of the m.

Consonants

In Brazil, using the English "R" sound in the beginning of words can cause confusion. Use the English "H" sound (or the French R) instead. The M is also nasalised at the end of words (sim, mim) and the English "M" sound should be dropped even if the next word begins with a vowel. In this phrasebook, it's represented by an N (the closest possible sound). Also, be extra careful with words beginning with "Ti" (see below).

b
like 'b' in "bed"

c
like 'c' in "cat"

ce ci
like in cell and civil.

ç
like 's' in soft or super. The mark below the letter "c" is called a cedilla in English or cedilha in Portuguese. It is used to force the soft C before vowels other than E or I.

d
like 'd' in "dog." In some regions of Brazil (e.g. Rio) it is affricate before i (like in dia sounding roughly like an English "j": "jeea").

f
like 'f' in "father"

g
like 'g' in "good"

ge gi
like 'j' in "journal". (Between English "j" and "zh" sound or like French je.) Note this is completely different from Spanish.

h
silent. See Common digraphs below below and r and rr for the English "h" sound.

j
like 'j' in "journal". (Between English "j" and "zh" sound or like French je.) Note this is completely different from Spanish.

(k)
Found only in words of foreign orgin, so pronounce accordingly. (Not part of Portuguese alphabet.) See letters c and q for the English "k" sound.

l
like 'l' in "'love". The final L is vocalised (like in cold).

m..
like 'm' in "mother".

..m
Nasalizes the preceding vowel, and is dropped at the end of a word (Luso). Letter 'N' used in the phrasebook for Brazilian pronounciation.

n
like nice. Nasalizes the preceding vowel and is silent when followed by a consonant. (See Common digraphs below.)

p
like 'p' in "pig"

q
like "unique". Qu is usually followed by e or i as a way to get the k sound.

r..
like 'h' in "help" See also RR in Common Digraphs below. Note this is completely different from Spanish. It is often pronounced as the Spanish J, especially in Brazil.

..r
like 'r' in "morning"

..r..
like the Spanish 'r' (and similar to English).

- Examples (Brazilian pronunciation):
refresco (hay-FRES-koh) cold fruit drink
hora (OH-rah) hour, time s
like hiss, haze, or (in Luso dialect) sure

t
like 't' in "top"

ti (regardless of position) Brazil only -- except some areas near Argentina and Uruguay
..te (if unstressed, i.e. no accent mark)
like 'chee' in cheese, or with _s like 'chees'
Note this is completely different from Spanish

- Examples (Brazilian pronunciation):
tipo (CHEE-po) type
rotina (ho-CHEE-nah) routine
assisti (ah-sist-CHEE) I watched/helped/attended
teste (TES-chee) test
até (ah-TAY) until

v
like 'v' in "victory"

(w)
Found only in words of foreign orgin, so pronounce accordingly. (Not part of Portuguese alphabet.)

x
like "box," "examine," or "shoe". The correct pronunciation of the X is not easy to deduce. In Brazil, the sh sound is most often correct (but not always).

(y)
Found only in words of foreign orgin, so pronounce accordingly. (Not part of Portuguese alphabet.) The digraph lh produces the English consonant "y" sound. (see Common digraphs below)

z
like 'z' in "zebra," or like sh or s when final (paz, luz)

Common diphthongs

Note: Two vowels together not listed as diphthongs usually means a syllable split. Example: ia in Bahia.

am
same as ão, but unstressed andam they walk

ai
like bike (equivalent to Spanish 'AY') praia beach

ão
similar to uwng (u as in cup) dão they give

au
like house Manaus Brazilian city in the Amazon

ei
like say (best equivalent to Spanish 'E') meio half

eu
the e vowel plus a w semivowel (no equivalent in English) Europa Europe

em
nasal ei, similar to rain também also

oi
like boy oito eight

om
same as õ som sound

ou
as in own ouro gold

õe
nasal oi ele põe he puts

Common digraphs

ch
like machine (sh sound) Note this is completely different from Spanish. In Brazil, letter t when followed by i or final e produces the Spanish & English "ch" sound (see above).
- Example:
chuva (SHOU-vah) rain

lh
like million (equivalent to Spanish LL) Note: Spanish words starting with "LL" very often convert to "CH" (with the sh sound) in Portuguese
- Example:
velho (VEL-yo) old

..nh..
like canyon (equivalent to Spanish Ñ)
- Example:
banho (BAN-yo) bath

..nr..
the r is pronounced like help
- Example:
honra (OH-ha) honor

..rr..
like help (not trilled, no equivalent to Spanish RR). In Brazil, same as R at the beginning of a word.
- Example:
cachorro (cah-SHOW-ho) dog

..ss..
prevents the sonorisation of the S between vowels.
- Example:
assado (ah-SAHD-oh) roasted

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Portuguese Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Pronouns
Questions
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

_________

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Basics

Hello.
Bom dia. (bon DEE-ah / JEE-ah (Rio))

Hello. (informal)
Olá. (O-lá)

Thank you. (said by a man)
Obrigado. (ob-ree-GAH-doo)

Thank you. (said by a woman)
Obrigada. (ob-ree-GAH-dah)

How are you?
Como está? (KOH-moh ish-TAH?)

How are you?
Tudo bem? (TOO-do BENG?) also Tudo bom? (bahn) Very common in Brazil.

Fine, thank you.
Bem, obrigado/a (BENG, ob-ree-GAH-doo/dah) Also, you can informally say "Tudo bem/bon."

Everything is OK. (Lit. "All is well")
Tudo Bem. (TOO-do BENG)

What is your name? (Lit. "How are you called?")
Como se chama? (KOH-moh se SHA-ma?)

What is your name? (Literal)
Qual é o seu nome? Preferred in Brazil.

My name is ______.
(O) meu nome é ______. ({oh} mew NOME ey _____.) The "O" is usually omitted in Brazil.

Nice to meet you.
Muito prazer (em conhecê-lo). (MOOY-to pra-ZEHR eng koh-nye-SEH-lo) The final part is dropped in Brazil.

Please (Lit. "As a favor")
Por favor. (pohr fa-VOHR)

You're welcome (Lit. "For nothing")
De nada. (je NAH-dah)

Yes.
Sim. (SEE (Port.) / SEEN (Brazil))

No.
Não. (NOWNG)

- Remember the Portuguese "no" doesn't mean a negation as in English and Spanish -- but rather "in the" as a contraction of em + o (Spanish en el). Such contractions are common in Portuguese. Não falo Inglês no Brasil. I don't speak English in Brazil.

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Com licença (kong lee-SEN-sa)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Desculpe-me. (desh-KULP-me (Port.)/ desh-KUL-pay-me (Brazil))

I'm sorry.
Desculpe. (desh-KULP (Port.)/ desh-KUL-pay (Brazil))

I'm sorry. (Lit. "pardon")
Perdão. (per-DAWNG)

Goodbye (formal or permanent)
Adeus. (uh-DEOOSH.)

Goodbye (informal)
Tchau. (CHOW)

See you later
Até logo. (ah-TEH LOH-goo)

I can't speak Portuguese [well].
Não falo [bem] Português. (NOWNG fah-loo [beng] por-too-GEZH)

Do you speak English?
Fala Inglês? (fah-lah ing-GLEZH?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Há aqui alguém que fale Inglês? (AH ah-KEE al-GENG keh FAH-leh ing-GLEZH?)

Help!
Socorro! (soo-KOO-hoo!)

Good day/Good morning.
Bom dia. (bon DEE-ah/ JEE-ah (Rio))

Good afternoon (also early evening)
Boa tarde. (bo-ah /TARD (Port)/ TAR-dee (Brazil)/ TAR-jay (Rio))

Good evening (also nightime)
Boa noite. (bo-ah NOIT (Port.)/ NOI-chee (Brazil))

I don't understand.
Não compreendo. (NOWNG kom-pre-EN-doo)

I don't understand. (In Brazil)
Não entendo (NOWNG en-TEN-do)

Where is the toilet? (Port.)
Onde é a casa-de-banho? (OND eh a KAH-sah de BAH-nyoo? (Port.))

Where is the toilet? (Brazil)
Onde é o banheiro? (OND-de (Brazil) / OND-je (Rio) eh o bahn-YAIR-row?)

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Problems

Help!
Socorro! (soo-KOO-hoo!)

Leave me alone.
Deixa-me em paz. (DEY-shah meh eng PAZH)

Don't touch me!
Não toque! (NOWNG TOH-keh!)

I'll call the police.
Eu chamo a policia. (yoo SHAH-moo a poh-LEE-see-ah)

Police!
Policia! (poh-LEE-see-ah!)

Stop! Thief!
Pára! Ladrão! (PAH-rah! lah-DROWNG!)

I need your help.
Preciso da sua ajuda. (preh-SEE-zoo dah SOO-ah ah-ZHOO-dah)

It's an emergency.
É uma emergência. (EH oo-mah eh-mer-ZHENG-see-ah)

I'm lost.
Estou perdido/..da. (SOW per-DEE-doo/ per-JEE-doo (Rio)..dah)

I lost my bag.
Perdi a minha mala [bolsa]. (per-DEE / per-JEE (Rio) a meen-yah MAH-lah)

I lost my wallet.
Perdi a minha carteira.(pehr-DEE / per-JEE (Rio) ah MEE-nyah cahr-TAY-rah)

I'm sick.
Estou doente. (ish-TOW doo-AYN-teh (Port.) / doo-AYN-chay (Brazil))

I've been injured.
Estou ferido/da. (ish-TOW feh-REE-doo/dah)

I need a doctor.
Preciso de um médico. (preh-SEE-zoo deh oong MEH-dee-koo / MEH-jee-koo (Rio))

Can I use your phone?
Posso usar o seu telefone? (POH-soo oo-ZAR oo seoo teh-leh-FOWN (Port.) / teh-leh-FOW-nay (Brazil)?)

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Numbers

Note: Spanish speakers need to practice pronunciation of Portuguese numbers to be understood, even though they are quite similar in written form. Give particular attention to dropped syllables in numbers 7,9,10, and those ending in e for Luso and te for Brazil.

1
um/uma (oong / OO-mah)

2
dois/duas (doysh / DOO-ash)

3
três (treysh)

4
quatro (KWAT-roh)

5
cinco (SING-koo)

6
seis/meia (seysh/may-ah) Use meia in a numerical series (e.g. phone numbers, postal codes, etc.) to prevent confusion with "três". "Meia" is short for "meia-dúzia" (half-a-dozen).

7
sete (set (Port.)'/ setch (Brazil)')

8
oito (OY-too)

9
nove (nov (Port.)/ NOH-vee (Brazil))

10
dez (dezh)

11
onze (ongz (Port.) / ONG-zay (Brazil) )

12
doze (doz (Port.)/ DOH-zay (Brazil) )

13
treze (trez (Port.) / TRE-zay (Brazil))

14
catorze (kah-TORZ (Port.)/ kah-TOH-zay (Brazil))

15
quinze (keengz (Port.)/ KEENG-zee (Brazil))

16
dezasseis (Port.) (deh-zah-SEYSH)
dezesseis (Brazil)(deh-zay-SEYSH)

17
dezassete (Port.)(deh-zah-SET )
dezessete (Brazil) (deh-zay-SET-chay )

18
dezoito (dezh-OY-too)

19
dezanove (Port.) (deh-zah-NOV )
dezenove (Brazil) (day-zay-NOH-vay)

20
vinte (veengt (Port.)/ VEEN-chee (Brazil))

21
vinte-um/uma (veengt (Port.)/ VEEN-chee (Brazil) oong/OO-mah)

22
vinte-dois/duas (veengt (Port.)/ VEEN-chee (Brazil) doysh/DOO-ash)

23
vinte-três (veengt (Port.)/ VEEN-chee (Brazil) trezh)

30
trinta (TREEN-tah)

40
quarenta (kwah-REN-tah)

50
cinquenta (Port.) (sing-KWEN-tah)
cinqüenta (Brazil) (sing-KWEN-tah)

60
sessenta (seh-SEN-tah)

70
setenta (seh-TEN-tah)

80
oitenta (oy-TEN-tah)

90
noventa (no-VEN-tah)

100
cem (seng)

200
duzentos/as

300
trezentos/as

500
quinhentos/as (keen-YENG-toosh)

1000
mil (meel)

2000
dois mil (doysh meel)

1,000,000
milhão (meel-YOWNG)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
número _____ (NU-may-ro)

half
metade (me-TAHD (Port.)/ me-TAHD-day (Brazil)/ me-TAHD-jay (Rio))

less
menos (MEH-noosh)

more
mais (mighsh)

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Russian phrasebook

Russian is a Slavic language spoken by 300+ million people world-wide. Most people living in Russia use it as a first language, and many other people in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe know it as a second language. It holds official status in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the unrecognized pseudo-states of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria.

But in countries lacking official designation for Russian, such as Ukraine and the Baltic States (where schooling in Russian was mandatory under the Soviet regime), a solid majority of residents may speak it as a second language, in addition to having significant native-speaker minorities. Russian also remains the lingua franca of choice throughout the rest of the former Soviet Central Asian states and the Caucasus, where it is effectively the language of commerce, government, and travel (despite lacking official status). It is to a lesser extent an important language in Mongolia, where it is a compulsory second language after English in the schools, and where signs remain in Cyrillic. Surprisingly enough, Russian has also become the third most widely spoken language in Israel, owing to a massive exodus of Jews from Eastern Europe in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Russian remains perhaps the most important Eurasian travel language, in particular due to the fact that English is very rarely spoken throughout the Russophone countries.

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Pronunciation guide & Grammar

Vowels
Consonants
Signs
Stress
Grammar

Consonants and vowels in Russian (and Slavic generally) are soft (palatalized) or hard. Consonants are pronounced soft if followed by a soft vowel or the soft sign, else hard. Some consonants are always soft or always hard, regardless of the following vowel.

One important note: the cursive Russian alphabet looks very different from the printed alphabet. The printed alphabet is rarely used when writing by hand. (The same goes to other Slavic languages.) On the upside, though, as a traveler, you are quite unlikely to have to read much handwritten Russian!

Vowels

a ah

like father

e yeh

like yesterday

ё yoh

like yore; always stressed; pronounced "o" only after ч, ш, щ and ж.

и ee

like seen or the i in Machine

o oh

like score when stressed; when unstressed, it is a hard a in Hakeem (syllable before stress) or the o in Gibson (elsewhere).

у oo

like cartoon, lips rounded as with French ou

ы yh

like sit, hit, but pronounced far further down the throat, as if being punched in the stomach

э eh

like end (also pronounced further down the throat, as if being punched in the stomach)

ю yoo

like you or Yugoslavia.

я yah

like Yacht

The vowels are listed in alphabetical order. Please notice that the vowels also occur in hard/soft pairs: a/я, э/e, o/ё, ы/и, y/ю.

Note: Unfortunately vowel ё is very often written as е (i.e. without dots above), which can cause problems for non-native speakers, since some Russian words have a different meaning depending on е or ё usage. Fortunately special books (like dictionaries, grammar books, literature for foreigners, etc.) always include ё.

Consonants

б b

like boy

в v

like very

г g

like go; in genitive (possesive) endings ого/его like avoid, e.g., "Dostoevsky's" = Достоевского (duh-stah-YEHV-skuh-vuh)

д d

like do

ж zh

like measure; always hard

з z

like zoo

й y

like boy

к k

like keep

л l

like leak or look

м m

like seem

н n

like noodle; pronounced ny (palatalized, like a Spanish ñ) before ь, и, e, я, and ю.

п p

like spigot

р r

heavily rolled as in Spanish rr in perro

с s

like seem

т t

like tattoo

ф f

like French

х kh

voiceless velar fricative as in the Scottish loch or German Bach

ц ts

like boots; always hard

ч ch

like cheap; always soft

ш sh

like shot; always hard (pronounced with the tip of the tongue further back in the mouth—almost a retroflex)

щ sh

similar to sheet; always soft—unlike ш, щ is palatalized, meaning that the tip of the tongue rests on the back of the lower teeth, and the sh sound is pronounced with the middle of the tongue. Don't worry about this too much, as you'll be understood in context. (Note: though щ is often transliterated as shch, it is not pronounced similar to "harsh choice"—there is no ch sound in this Russian consonant)

When consonants are soft (they are either always soft or are soft because they are followed by a soft vowel), they become palatalized. This means that the consonant is pronounced while sticking the tip of your tongue behind your lower front teeth while raising the middle of your tongue to your palate. Although Russian is pronounced as it is spelled, stress is very unpredictable and stressing the wrong syllable (or even missing a soft/hard sign) CAN lead to misinterpretation; for that reason, almost every book and dictionary concerning the Russian language put an accent on the tonic syllable, so read the phrases carefully, and then try to re-write them by putting an accent mark. the same rule applies for others that use the Cyrillic script such as Ukrainian and Bulgarian.

Signs

These used to be vowels (pronounced like the unstressed vowels above), but aren't any more. They indicate whether the preceding consonant is hard or soft.

ъ ’’

hard sign (very rarely used since 1918)

ь ’

soft sign

Stress

There is no fixed stress in Russian, except one case: a syllable with ё is always stressed. Stressed vowels in Russian dictionaries are always marked by an acute accent (a kind of diacritical marks), e.g. трамва́й.

Grammar

Unless you intend to seriously study the language, learning Russian grammar on your trip is not realistic. But it can help to at least recognize that the following verb conjugations and noun/adjective declensions are used.

- The second person pronoun вы is the plural of ты and is also used, as in French, for polite address to one person.

- Russian verbs and verb conjugation differ along three axes:

1) Verbs come in perfective and imperfective pairs (e.g., думать | подумать). Imperfective verbs indicate ongoing or uncompleted action; Perfective verbs indicated one-off or completed action. Conjugated perfective verbs are also used to indicated the future tense (future imperfective requires conjugation of the verb to be (быть) + imperfective infinitive). As a general rule (but only a very general rule), perfective verb forms are created by adding a prefix to the relevant imperfective verb.

Singular

Plural

1st Person

Я думаю

Мы думаем

2nd Person

Ты думаешь

Вы думаете

3rd Person

Он думает

Они думают

2) Verbs follow a simple pattern of temporal conjugation: past, present, and future, (e.g., подумал | думаю | подумаю). In the past tense, verbs also conjugate by gender, male, female, and neuter (e.g., подумал | подумала | подумало).

3) In the present and future tenses, pronouns can be ommitted due to context; however, the same is hardly said in the past tense, as the latter changes according to gender (masculine, feminine and neutral) and number (singular and plural).

- Nouns and adjectives have six cases, depending on their general grammatical role in a sentence:

Case

Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Prepositional

Instrumental

Use

Subject of sentence

Direct object

Possessive (of)

Indirect object (to/for)

Location (at)

Instrumental (by/with)

Example

Город красив

Я читал книгу

Центр города

Я дал ему еду

Музей в городе

Я шёл с ним

Translation

The city is pretty

I read the book

Center of the city

I gave him food

A museum in the city

I walked with him

_________

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Russian Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

Basics

Hello.

Здравствуйте. (ZDRAHST-vooy-tyeh) (Considered bad luck to say this to the same person twice in one day.)

Hello. (informal)

Привет. (pree-VYEHT)

How are you?

Как дела? (kahg dee-LAH?)

Fine, thank you.

Хорошо, спасибо. (khah-rah-SHOH spah-SEE-buh)

What is your name?

Как Вас зовут? (kahk vahs zah-VOOT?)

My name is ______ .

Меня зовут ______ . (mee-NYAH zah-VOOT ___)

Nice to meet you.

Очень приятно. (OH-cheen' pree-YAHT-nuh)

Please.

Пожалуйста. (pah-ZHAH-luh-stuh)

Thank you.

Спасибо. (spuh-SEE-buh)

You're welcome.

Не за что. (NYEH-zuh-shtoh) (Literally "It's nothing", can use "Пожалуйста" again)

Yes.

Да. (dah)

No.

Нет. (nyeht)

Excuse me. (getting attention)

Извините. (eez-vee-NEET-yeh)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

Простите. (prah-STEET-yeh)

I'm sorry.

Простите. (prah-STEET-yeh)

Goodbye

До свидания. (duh svee-DAH-nyah.)

Goodbye (informal)

Пока. (pah-KAH)

I can't speak Russian [well].

Я не говорю по-русски (хорошо). (yah nee guh-vah-RYOO pah ROO-skee [khah-rah-SHOH])

Do you speak English?

Вы говорите по-английски? (vyh guh-vah-REE-tyeh pah ahn-GLEES-kee?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

Кто-нибудь здесь говорит по-английски? (KTOH-nee-bood' zdyehs guh-vah-REET pah an-GLEES-kee?)

Help!

Помогите! (puh-mah-GEE-tyeh!)

Look out!

Осторожно!! (uhs-tah-ROH-zhnuh!)

Good morning.

Доброе утро. (DOH-bruh-yeh OO-truh)

Good evening.

Добрый вечер. (DOH-bryh VYEH-chuhr)

Good night (to sleep)

Спокойной ночи! (spah-KOY-nuy NOH-chee)

I don't understand.

Я не понимаю. (ya nee puh-nee-MIGH-yoo)

I don't know.

Я не знаю. (ya nee ZNAH-yoo)

Where is the toilet?

Где туалет? (gdyeh too-ah-LYEHT?)

Problems

Leave me alone.

Отстань. (aht-STAHN’!)

Don't touch me!

Не трогай меня! (nee-TROH-guy mee-NYAH!)

I'll call the police (militsia in Russia).

Я вызову милицию. (yah VYH-zah-voo mee-LEE-tsyh-yoo!)

Police! (Militsia)

Милиция! (mee-LEE-tsyh-yah!)

Stop! Thief!

Держите вора! (deer-ZHEE-tyeh VOH-rah!)

I need your help.

Мне нужна ваша помощь. (mnyeh noozh-NAH VAH-shah POH-muhsh)

It's an emergency.

Это срочно!. (EH-tuh SROHCH-nuh)

I'm lost.

Я заблудился/заблудилась - (m/f). (yah zah-bloo-DEEL-suh / zah-bloo-DEE-luhs’)

Below (а) is for feminine:

I lost my bag.

Я потерял(а) свою сумку. (yah puh-teer-YAHL(-ah) svah-YOOH SOOM-kooh)

I lost my wallet.

Я потерял(а) свой бумажник. (yah puh-teer-YAHL(-ah) svoy boo-MAHZH-neek)

I'm sick.

Я болен (m.) / Я больна (f.) (yah-BOH-leen (masculine) / yah-bahl’-NAH (feminine))

I've been injured.

Я ранен(а) (yah RAH-neen(-ah))

I need a doctor.

Мне нужен врач. (mnyeh NOO-zhyhn vrahch)

Can I use your phone?

Можно от вас позвонить? (MOH-zhnuh aht vahs puhz-vah-NEET’?)

(this can be used only for stationary phone, not for mobile. Asking a mobile phone from unknown person is not polite.)

Numbers

Russian nouns have a paucal form, used with 2, 3, and 4, as well as singular and plural. Singular quantities and any quantities that end in 1 (21, 301, etc.) use the nominative singular: одна минута, двадцать один час. Quantities 2–4 use the genitive singular: две минуты, три минуты, четыре минуты. Quantities greater than four use the genitive plural: пять минут, одиннадцать минут, тринадцать минут, etc.

1

один (ah-DEEN) m, одна (ahd-NAH) f, одно (ahd-NOH) n

2

два (dvah) mn, две (dvyeh) f

3

три (tree)

4

четыре (chee-TYH-ree)

5

пять (pyaht’)

6

шесть (shehst’)

7

семь (syeem’)

8

восемь (VOH-seem’)

9

девять (DYEH-veet’)

10

десять (DYEH-suht’)

11

одиннадцать (ah-DEEN-nuhd-zuht’)

12

двенадцать (dvee-NAHD-zuht’)

13

тринадцать (tree-NAHD-zuht’)

14

четырнадцать (chee-TYHR-nuhd-zuht’)

15

пятнадцать (peet-NAHD-zuht’)

16

шестнадцать (shyhst-NAHD-zuht’)

17

семнадцать (seem-NAHD-zuht’)

18

восемнадцать (vuh-seem-NAHD-zuht’)

19

девятнадцать (dee-veet-NAHD-zuht’)

20

двадцать (DVAHD-zuht’)

21

двадцать один (DVAHD-zuht’ ah-DEEN)

22

двадцать два (DVAHD-zuht’ dvah)

23

двадцать три (DVAHD-zuht’ tree)

30

тридцать (TREED-zuht’)

40

сорок (SOH-ruhk)

50

пятьдесят (pee-dee-SYAHT)

60

шестьдесят (shyhs-SYAHT)

70

семьдесят (SYEM’-ee-seet)

80

восемьдесят (VOH-seem-deeh-seet’)

90

девяносто (dee-vee-NOH-stuh)

100

сто (stoh)

150

полтораста (puhl-tuh-RAHS-tuh)

200

двести (DVYEH-stee)

300

триста (TREE-stuh)

400

четыреста (chee-TYHR-ee-stuh)

500

пятьсот(peet-SOHT)

1000

тысяча (TYH-see-chuh)

2000

две тысячи (dvyeh TYH-see-chee)

5000

пять тысяч (pyaht’ TYH-seech)

1,000,000

миллион (mee-lee-OHN)

1,000,000,000

миллиард (mee-lee-ART)

Number _____ (train, bus, etc.)

номер _____ (NOH-meer)

half

половина (puh-lah-VEE-nuh)

less

меньше (MYEHN’-sheh)

more

больше (BOHL’-sheh)

_________

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Spanish phrasebook

Spanish (castellano or español) is the third most-spoken language in the world. Originating in Spain (where it is also known as Castilian, and spoken by most residents there, with slightly different pronunciation from the rest of the world's Spanish speakers), it is also spoken in Mexico and all of Central and South America except Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname. Spanish is also spoken in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands.

Spanish is a first language for many people in the United States, especially in California, Texas, South Florida, and elsewhere the Southwest.

A Western Romance language, Spanish is closely related to and at least partially mutually intelligible with the other romance languages, such as Portuguese, Catalan, French, and Italian. English and Spanish share variants of approximately one third of their words, although the pronunciation tends to be very different.

Grammar

Spanish nouns have genders. Most words applied to persons have natural gender: masculine like hombre (male person - man) or feminine, like mujer (female person - woman). The gender of some animals, things, and some words applied to persons doesn't follow any rule: they have an arbitrary grammatical gender. Casa (house), rana (frog), and visita (visitor) are of the feminine gender. Árbol (tree), sapo (toad) and genio (genius) are of the masculine gender. Invitado, invitada (guest) and mono, mona (monkey) have natural gender. Fortunately, the gender of a noun is usually (but not always) indicated by the last letter of the word; -o indicates masculine nouns, and -a indicates feminine nouns. Nouns ending with consonants are probably masculine.

The word the changes form depending on gender. It is also made plural when the noun is plural. For example: el perro (the dog), la cerveza (the beer), los caballos (the horses), las casas (the houses).

Adjectives generally come after the noun they describe. They also have gender and number. Like nouns, -o usually indicates the masculine form of the adjective, and -a indicates the feminine form. Adding an -s at the end of an adjective or noun makes it plural. Adjectives need to match the noun they describe in both gender and number. For example, borracho drunk, when modifying las mujeres (the women), makes las mujeres borrachas.

In this guide, where genders of nouns or adjectives comes up, we use the form o/a to differentiate. It should be clear from context when to use the feminine and when to use the masculine form.

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Pronunciation Guide

Vowels | Consonants | Diphthongs | Accents and stress

Spanish spelling has the pleasant characteristic of being more or less phonetic. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it's relatively easy to sound out the word itself.

Besides having a very small number of vowel sounds and a high predictablity of exactly what sound is represented by each letter, Spanish has a very clear set of rules about where a stress normally falls, and exceptions are noted with an acute accent mark (´) over the vowel of the stressed syllable. Normally, words that end in a vowel, or in n or s, have the stress on the next-to-last syllable (muchacho = mu-CHA-cho); all other words without an explicit accent mark are stressed on the final syllable (hospital = os-pee-TAL). There are no secondary stresses within words.

Vowels

a
like 'a' in father.
e
like 'eh' in pet
i
like 'ee' in see.
o
like 'o' in come.
u
like 'oo' in hoop.
y
like 'ee' in see.

Consonants

b
like 'b' in bed (but no aspiration) at the beginning of a word and after 'm': boca. An approximant (a soft vibration sound almost like English 'v') elsewhere. See v below.
c
follows the same pronunciation pattern as in English. In most cases it is pronounced like 'k' in kid: calle, doctor. When followed by 'e' or 'i', it is like 's' in supper (Latin America) or 'th' in thin (Spain): cine.
ch
like 'ch' in touch: muchacho
d
like 'd' in dog at the beginning of a word; like 'th' is this between vowels: dedo, pronounced DAY-thoh
f
like 'f' in fine: faro
g
when followed by 'e' or 'i', like a throaty 'h' (general = heh-neh-RAHL), otherwise like 'g' in go (gato). In the clusters gue and gui, the 'u' is silent (guitarra), unless it bears a diaeresis, as in güe and güi (pedigüeño).
gu, gü
like 'Gu' in McGuire or 'w' in wire (agua, agüita)
h
silent: hora= OR-ah
j
like 'ch' in German auch (though it is often approximated well enough with English 'h'): jamón. Same sound as g followed by 'e' or 'i'.
k
like 'k' in kid: kilo
l
like 'l' in love: lápiz
ll
like 'j' in jam: llama, or 'j' in jet: calle, or 'j' in jean: pollito, or j in john: cuello, or 'j' in june lluvia.
m
like 'm' in mother: mano
n
like 'n' in nice, and like 'n' in anchor: noche, ancla
ñ
like 'ny' in canyon: cañón, piñata
p
like 'p' in pig: perro
q
like 'q' in quiche (always with a silent u): queso, pronounced KAY-so. See k above.
r, rr
Spanish has two 'r' sounds both of which are different from their counterpart in English. Some effort should be made to approximate them, to help listeners distinguish between perro (dog) and pero (but)… or perhaps to understand you at all.
single flap r (ere)
Always written r, this sound is created by putting the tip of the tongue up against where the front of the roof of the mouth meets the upper teeth, very similar to the action English speakers make to pronounce l or d. To an English-speaking ear, it may sound a bit like a combined d-r.

Particular care should be taken when r appears after a consonant, e.g. in the word otro (other). tr is a particular sound in English, which will not be recognized in Spanish. One must separate the two sounds out, as in wha(t) (r)ubbish, clicking the r properly.

rolled r (erre)
Written r at the beginning of the word, or after l, n, or s (ropa, enredo); written rr between vowels (cerro). It's a multiply vibrating sound. Whereas all English speakers can learn to tap out a single r it seems that many adult non-Spanish speakers simply do not have the ability to vibrate the tongue in the way needed to pronounce rr; in this case, pronouncing it like a Spanish r or fumbling out a d-r might be better understood than pronouncing it like an Enlgish r.
s
like 'ss' in hiss: sopa
t
like 't' in top: tapa
v
like 'b' in bed (but no aspiration) at the beginning of a word and after 'm': vaca, pronounced BAH-kah. An approximant (a soft vibration sound almost like English 'v') elsewhere. To distinguish v from b when spelling, one says vay chica or bay grande to indicate which; native Spanish speakers may not hear the difference between vee and bee.
w
like 'w' in weight in English words, whisky, pronounced WEESS-kee). Like 'b' in bed in Germanic words.
x
like 'x' in flexible (flexible). Like 'ss' in hiss at beginning of a word (xilófono). Like a throaty 'h' in the words México, mexicano, Oaxaca, and oaxaqueño.
y
like 'y' in yes: payaso. Like 'y' in boy: hoy. At the beginning of the word, it will sometimes be pronounced more like an English 'j': yo no se, pronounced joh noh say.
z
like 's' in supper (Latin America), like 'th' in thin (Spain): zorro. See c above.

Diphthongs

Most diphthongs can be approximated by blending the first vowel into the second in a single syllable.

ai, ay
like 'eye': baile
au
like 'ow' in cow: causa
ei, ey
like 'ay' in say: reina, rey.
eu
like 'oo' in food euro = OO-row
ia
like 'ya' in Kenya: piano
ie
like 'ye' in yes: pie = PEE-yeh
io
like 'yo': dio
iu
like 'ew' in few: ciudad = see-you-THAHD
oi, oy
like 'oy' in boy: soy
ua
like 'wa' in wallet: cuatro
ue
like 'we' in well: puedo
ui, uy
like 'wee' in ween: ruido
ui
like 'ooy': cuido = coo-wee-dough
uo
like wa in water: averiguo

Accents and stress

Word stress can affect the meaning of the word and generally follows these rules:

- If a word is marked with an accent, then that syllable receives the stress.
- Additionally, if the accent marks a diphthong a syllable break occurs between the two vowels of the diphthong.

- If a word is NOT marked with an accent, then
1. if the word ends in a consonant other than N or S, the stress occurs on the last syllable.
2. if the word ends in a vowel, N or S, the stress occurs on the next to last syllable.

In Spain, a English ci/ce or z sound makes a English "TH". In Latin America, it makes the "S" sound

Examples: (1st pronunciation: Spanish; 2nd pronunciation: Latin America; when there is only one, it's common)

círculo (THEER-koo-loh/SEER-koo-loh) → circle

circulo (theer-KOO-loh/seer-KOO-loh) → I circulate

circuló (theer-koo-LOH/seer-koo-LOH) → he/she/it circulated

estás (ehs-TAHS) → you are

estas (EHS-tahs) → these

origen (oh-REE-hehn) → origin

orígenes (oh-REE-hehn-ehs) → origins

ciudad (thyoo-DAHD/syoo-DAHD) → city

ciudades (thyoo-DAHD-dehs/syoo-DAH-dehs) → cities

An accent can also be used to differentiate between words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings:

él (he) el (the)

té (tea) te (you) (ex: I can't see you)

tú (you) (ex: you want to go there) tu (your)

mí (me) mi(my)

dé (I give or he/she/it give; but in present of subjunctive) de (of)

sí (yes) si (if)

se (a pronoun; difficult to explain here) sé (I know or be imperative of the verb "to be", spoken to the second person of singular)

más (more/plus) mas (but)

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Spanish Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Transportation
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

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Basics

Hello (informal).
Hola. (OH-lah). For the formal equivalent of hola see good morning, good afternoon, good evening, below.

How are you? (informal)
Cómo estás? (KOH-moh ehss-TAHSS?)

How are you (formal)
Cómo está usted? (KOH-mo ehss-TAH oo-stehd?)

Fine, thank you.
Muy bien, gracias. (mooey BYEHN, GRAH-syahss)

What is your name?
Cómo te llamas? (KOH-moh teh YAH-mahss?) (informal); Cómo se llama usted? (KOH-moh seh YAH-mah ooss-TEHD?) (formal)

My name is ______.
Me llamo ______. (meh YAH-moh _____.)

Nice to meet you.
Encantado/a. (EHN-kahn-TAH-doh)

Please.
Por favor. (POHR fah-BOHR)

Thank you.
Gracias. (GRAH-SYAHSS)

You're welcome.
De nada. (deh NAH-dah)

Yes.
Si. (SEE)

No.
No. (NOH)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Disculpe. (dees-KOOL-peh)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Perdón. (pehr-DOHN)

I'm sorry.
Lo siento. (loh SYEHN-toh)

Goodbye
Adiós. (ah-DYOHSS)

Goodbye (informal)
Hasta luego. (AH-stah LWEH-goh)

Goodbye (informal)
Chau. (TSHA-oo) (more used in South America)

I can't speak Spanish [well].
No hablo español [bien]. (noh AH-bloh EHS-pah-NYOL [BYEHN])

Do you speak English?
Hablas inglés? (AH-blahss een-GLEHSS?) (informal); Habla usted inglés? (AH-blah oos-TEHD een-GLEHSS?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Hay alguien que hable inglés? (hah-ee ahl-GYEN keh AH-bleh een-GLEHSS?)

Help!
Ayuda! (ah-YOO-dah!); Socorro! (soh-KOH-roh!)

Good morning.
Buenos dias. (BWEH-nohss DEE-ahss)

Good afternoon.
Buenas tardes. (BWEH-nahss TAR-dehss)

Good evening (when it's dark)
Buenas noches. (BWEH-nahss NOH-chehss)

Good night.
Buenas noches. (BWEH-nas NOH-chehss)

I don't understand.
No entiendo. (noh ehn-TYEHN-doh)

Where is the toilet?
Dónde está el baño? (DOHN-deh ehss-TAH ehl BAH-nyoh?)

Where are the toilets?
Dónde está los servicios? (DOHN-deh ehss-TAH lohs sehr-VEE-see-ohs?)

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Problems

Leave me alone.
Déjame en paz. (DAY-hah-may en PASS)

Don't touch me!
No me toques! (noh may TOH-kayss!)

I'll call the police.
Llamaré a la policia. (yah-mah-RAY ah lah po-lee-SEE-ah)

Police!
Policia! (poh-lee-SEE-ah!)

Stop! Thief!
Alto, ladrón! (AHL-toh, lah-DROAN!)

I need help.
Necesito ayuda. (ne-say-SEE-toh ah-YOU-dah)

It's an emergency.
Es una emergencia. (ayss oo-nah AY-mayr-HEN-syah)

I'm lost.
Estoy perdido/a (ay-STOY payr-DEE-doh/dah)

I lost my purse/handbag.
Perdi mi bolsa/bolso/cartera. (payr-DEE mee BOHL-sa / BOHL-so / cahr-TAY-rah)

I lost my wallet.
Perdi mi cartera/billetera. (payr-DEE mee cahr-TAY-rah / bee-yay-TAY-rah; the last may also be said as beel-yay-TAY-rah)

I'm sick.
Estoy enfermo/a. (ay-STOY ayn-FAYR-moh/mah)

I've been injured.
Estoy herido/a. (ay-STOY ay-REE-doh/dah)

I need a doctor.
Necesito un doctor. (nay-say-SEE-toh OON dohk-TOHR)

Can I use your phone?
Puedo usar su teléfono? (PWAY-doh oo-SAHR soo tay-LAY-foh-noh?)

Can I borrow your cell phone?
Me presta su celular? ((may PRAY-sta soo sayl-U-lar?) (Latin America) Me presta su móvil? ((may PRAY-sta soo MOH-beel?) (Spain)

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Numbers

0
cero (SEH-roh)

1
uno (OO-noh)

2
dos (dohss)

3
tres (trehss)

4
cuatro (KWA-troh)

5
cinco (SEEN-koh)

6
seis (SEH-IHSS)

7
siete (see-EH-teh)

8
ocho (OH-choh)

9
nueve (NOO-EH-beh)

10
diez (dee-EHSS)

11
once (OHN-seh)

12
doce (DOH-seh)

13
trece (TREH-seh)

14
catorce (kah-TOHR-seh)

15
quince (KEEN-seh)

16
dieciséis (dee-EH-see-SEH-ihss)

17
diecisiete (dee-EH-see-see-EH-teh)

18
dieciocho (dee-EH-see-OH-choh)

19
diecinueve (dee-EH-see-NOO-EH-beh)

20
veinte (VAIN-teh)

21
veintiuno (VAIN-tee-OO-noh)

22
veintidós (VAIN-tee-DOHSS)

23
veintitrés (VAIN-tee-TREHSS)

30
treinta (TRAIN-tah)

40
cuarenta (kwah-REHN-tah)

50
cincuenta (seen-KWEHN-tah)

60
sesenta (seh-SEHN-tah)

70
setenta (seh-TEHN-tah)

80
ochenta (oh-CHEHN-tah)

90
noventa (noh-BEHN-tah)

100
cien (see-EHN)

200
doscientos (dohs-see-EHN-tohss)

300
trescientos (trehs-see-EHN-tohss)

500
quinientos (kee-nee-EHN-tohss)

1000
mil (MEEL)

2000
dos mil (dohss MEEL)

1,000,000
un millón (oon mee-JOHN)

1,000,000,000
un billón (oon bee-JOHN), mil millones (Spain)

1,000,000,000,000
un trillón (oon tree-JOHN), un billón (Spain)

half
medio (MEH-dee-oh)

less
menos (MEH-nohss)

more
más (MAHSS)

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Swedish phrasebook

Swedish is a Scandinavian language, closely related to Norwegian and Danish. Spoken by over 9 million people, Swedish is the national language of Sweden and the official language of the Åland Islands. It is also an official language of Finland (along with Finnish), though only the mother tongue for about 6 percent of Finns.

Swedish, please

Please note that the Swedish language has no exact match for the English word "please". This means that English-speaking visitors can be offended since Swedes in general tend to leave out the word in question when they speak English. This does not, however, mean that Swedes are rude, but the significance of the word "please" is usually put differently, either through a different sentence or by the tone of the voice. An example: An English-speaking person walks into a pub and says "May I have a pint of beer, please". A Swede in the same situation would use the phrase 'Kan jag få en öl, tack", i.e. "I would like to have a beer, thanks".

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Swedish phrasebook - pronunciation guide

Vowels

a
like 'a' in "barn"

e
like first 'e' in "here"

i
like 'i' in "machine"

o
like 'oo' in "foot"

u
like 'ou' in "you"

y
like 'y' in "Nitroglycerin"

å
like 'aw' in "saw"

ä
like 'a' in "rare"

ö
like 'i' in "Sir"

Please note: in Swedish 'y' is a vowel and not a consonant.

Consonants

b
like 'b' in "bed"

c
like 'c' in "cat", or like S in Swedish

d
like 'd' in "dog"

f
like 'f' in "for"

g
like 'g' in "go", like 'y' in "yellow" when preceding e, i, y, ä or ö.

h
like 'h' in "help"

j
like 'y' in "yell"

k
like 'k' in "king", like 'sh' in "ship" when preceding e, i, y, ä, ö

l
like 'l' in "love"

m
like 'm' in "mother"

n
like 'n' in "nice"

p
like 'p' in "pig"

q
like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always)

r
like 'r' in "row", like 'r' in "feather"

s
like 'ss' in "hiss", like 'sh" in "ship" when preceded by r

t
like 't' in "top"

v
like 'v' in "victory"

w
like 'v' in "victor"

x
like 'cks' in "kicks", like 'ehcks' at beginning of a word.

z
like 's' in "saw"

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Swedish Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Problems
Numbers
Time
Duration
Days
Months
Colors
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

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Basics

Hello.
God dag. (Good dahg)

Hello. (informal)
Hej. (HAY) also Tjena (Schenah - soft e)

How are you?
Hur mår du? (Hoor mor doo?)

Fine, thank you.
Tack, jag mår bra. (Tack, yag moor brah)

What is your name?
Vad heter du? (Vaad HAY-tehr doo?)

My name is ______.
Jag heter ______. (Yag HAY-tehr _____.)

Nice to meet you.
Trevligt att träffa dig (TRAYV-leet at TREH-fa day)

Thank you.
Tack. (TACK)

You're welcome.
Var så god (VAHR sho good)

Yes.
Ja. (YAH)

No.
Nej. (NAY)

Excuse me. (getting attention)
Ursäkta (Oor-shek-ta)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Förlåt (Fur lowt)

I'm sorry.
Jag är ledsen (Yaag ay lessen)

Goodbye
Adjö (A-juuh)

Goodbye (informal)
Hej då. (Hay doe)

I can't speak 'Swedish' [well].
Jag kan inte tala 'svenska' [så bra] (Yaag can eenta taahla 'svenskah' [sooh brah])

Do you speak English?
Talar du engelska? (Taahlar doo engelskah)

Is there someone here who speaks English?
Finns det någon här som talar engelska (Feens day noegon har som talar Engelskah)

Help!
Hjälp! (Yelp)

Look out!
Se upp (Say oop)

Good morning.
God morgon (Good MOrron)

Good evening.
God eftermiddag (Good eftermeedag)

Good night.
God kväll (Good kvell)

Good night (to sleep)
God natt (Good natt)

I don't understand.
Jag förstår inte (Yag fur shtor eenta)

Where is the toilet?
Var är toaletten? (Vahr ay twa-LETT-en)

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Problems

Help!
Hjälp! (Yelp)

Leave me alone.
Lämna mig ifred (Laymna may ee fraed)

Don't touch me!
Rör mig inte (Rur may eenta)

I'll call the police.
Jag ringer polisen (Yag reengar pooleesan)

Police!
Polis! (Poolees)

Stop! Thief!
Stopp! Tjuv! (Stop! Schoove!)

I need your help.
Jag behöver din hjälp. (Yag beehuver deen hjalp)

It's an emergency.
Det är ett nödläge. (Dat ayr at nudlayga)

I'm lost.
Jag är vilse (Yag ayhr veelsa)

I lost my bag.
Jag har tappat bort min väska (Yag haar tappet boort meen waysca)

I lost my wallet.
Jag har förlorat min plånbok. (Yag haar furloorayt meen ploonbook)

I'm sick.
Jag mår illa. (Yag moor eela)

I've been injured.
Jag är skadad. (Yag ahr skaadaad)

I need a doctor.
Jag behöver en doktor (Yag behuver ahn doctoor)

Can I use your phone?
Får jag låna din telefon? (Faar yag loona deen tallaphone)

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Numbers

1
En/ett (en/ett)

2
två (tfoo)

3
tre (trah)

4
fyra (feera)

5
fem (fahm)

6
sex (sax)

7
sju (shoo)

8
åtta (otha)

9
nio (neeo)

10
tio (teeo)

11
elva (ahlvaa)

12
tolv (tohlv)

13
tretton (traahtoon)

14
fjorton (fioortoon)

15
femton(famtton)

16
sexton (saxtoon)

17
sjutton (shootoon)

18
arton (ahrtoon)

19
nitton (neetoon)

20
tjugo (shoogoo)

21
tjugoett(shoogoo ett)

22
tjugotvå(shoogo tfoo)

23
tjugotre(shoogo trah)

30
trettio (thra tee)

40
fyrtio (fur tee)

50
femtio (fam tee)

60
sextio (sax tee)

70
sjuttio (shoo tee)

80
åttio (oo tee)

90
nittio (nee tee)

100
ett hundra(at hoondrah)

175
ett hundra sjuttiofem (at hoondrah shoo tee fam)

200
två hundra(tfoo hoondrah)

300
tre hundra (trah hoondrah)

1000
ett tusen (at toosan)

2000
två tusen (tfoo toosan)

3758
Tre tusen sju hundra femtioåtta (trah toosan shoo hoondrah famtee otha)

1,000,000
En miljon (Ahn millyoon)

1,000,000,000
En miljard (Ahn millyard)

1,000,000,000,000
En biljon (Ahn billyoon)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
nummer _____ (noomer)

half
halv/halva (hahlv/hahlva)

less
mindre/mindre än (meendrah/meendrah ehn)

more
mer/mer än (mehr/mehr ehn)

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Thai phrasebook

Thai is the main language of Thailand. Several different dialects are spoken in the various parts of the country, namely Central (Bangkok), Northern, Northeastern, and Southern. Lao is also closely related to Thai.

Grammar

Basic Thai grammar is fairly straightforward. Word order is subject-verb-object, as in English. Nouns and verbs do not conjugate, and there are no plurals or grammatical gender. Instead, a wide array of particles and markers are employed to indicate past tense, negation, etc.

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Thai phrasebook - Pronunciation

Vowels | Consonants

Thai is a tonal language with five tones: Mid, Low, Falling, High, and Rising. Meanings can change critically based on the tone, but Thais are fairly used to hearing foreigners mangle their language and can often work out the correct tone based on context. Try not to inflect your sentences; in particular, any questions should be pronounced as flat statements, without the rising intonation ("..yes?") typical to English questions.

The Thai written language is essentially alphabetic, but notoriously difficult to read due to a profusion of 44 consonants (many redundant), complicated tone and vowel signage around consonants and a complete lack of spaces between words.

Vowels

Thai has a complicated set of vowels and diphthongs that distinguishes between vowel length (short and long) and vowel position (front and back). In Thai script, vowel signs are always written around consonants and the letter à¸� (k) is used here to demonstrate. This list follows the Royal Thai General System of Transcription (except that some long vowels are doubled).

Consonants

Thai distinguishes between aspirated ("with a puff of air") and unaspirated ("without a puff of air") consonants. Unaspirated consonants exist in English too, but never alone: compare the sound of 'p' in "pot" (aspirated) and "spot" (unaspirated). Many English speakers find it helpful to pronounce an imperceptible little "m" in front to 'stop' the puff.

In Thai romanized with the Royal Thai General System, the distinction is usually represented by writing aspirated consonants with "h" and unaspirated ones without it. In particular, "ph" represents a hard aspirated 'p' and not a soft 'f', and Phuket is thus pronounced "Poo-ket". Likewise, "th" is a hard aspirated 't' and hence Thailand is pronounced "Tie-land".

Other systems of romanization may use 'bp', 'dt' and 'g' for the unaspirated sounds, and 'p', 't', and 'k' for the aspirated sounds.

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Thai Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Danger
Problems
Numbers
Time
Clock time
Duration
Days
Months
Writing time and date
Colors
Transportation
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority

Note that that the polite suffix khráp (for men) and khâ (for women) can and should be attached to all phrases when talking with strangers. The suffix depends solely on your gender. Also note that the pronoun for "I" is phom for men and di-chan for women.

When addressing people, khun is a safe, respectful all-purpose equivalent to "Mr/Ms/Mrs". People you're familiar with can be addressed as phii (if they are elders) or nong (if they are younger). These are always used with first names, so your business partner Supachai Sakulwattana is khun Supachai and your secretary Nipaporn Khampolsiri is nong Nipaporn. All Thais also have short nicknames, but these are only used informally.

The closer two friends are, the less often you will hear khráp and khâ being spoken. This is especially prominent in lower and middle classes, but is a general trend. This can be compared to western languages, where adding "Sir" at the end of each sentence when speaking to somebody in authority is becoming less and less common, and already entirely removed in many languages. on another note, there is a trend among the upper and middle classes, especially among younger men, to call each other phii, no matter the age difference. This is part of greater age equality in Thailand.

Basics

Mai pen rai

Many a visitor has suggested, perhaps slightly tongue in cheek, that mai pen rai should be the national motto of Thailand. Literally "is no problem", this is most commonly used where an English speaker would say "oK", "no problem" or "never mind". But watch out, as this can also be used in the negative sense: a mai pen rai in response to a complaint about missing your bus or being overcharged now means "it's not my problem" or "it shouldn't be a big deal for you".

Hello.
(sa-wat-dii) (informal)

Hello.
(sa-wat-dii, khráp) (polite, speaker is man)

Hello.
(sa-wat-dii, khâ) (polite, speaker is woman)

Hello.
(haloh, khráp/khâ) (answering the phone)

How are you?
(sabaai-dii rue?)

Fine (sabaai-dii)

Fine, and you?
(sabaai-dii láe khun lá, khráp/khâ)

What is your name?
(khun chue arai?)

My name is ______.
(pho�m/dì-chàn cheu _____ )

Nice to meet you.
� (yin-dii thii dai ruu-jak)

Please. (karunaa)

Thank you [very much].
(khop khun [mâak])

You're welcome.
(mai pen rai)

Yes. (chai)

No. (mai chai)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)
(kho thot)

I'm sorry. (kho thot)

Goodbye
(laa kon) (sa-wat-dii [khráp/khâ])

How (yangrai)

Where? (thii näi')

What? (à'rai')

When? (muea-rai')

Who? (khrai)

Why? (thammai')

How much, how many?
(thâo'rai') or (kii)

I want/would like to _____.(verb)
� _____(pho�m/dì-chàn yàak)

I want/would like _____.(noun)
_____(pho�m/dì-chàn khàw)

I need_____.
_____(pho�m/dì-chàn tông kaan)

Make a question
to end of sentence add (mài)

I can't speak Thai [well].
(phuut phaasaa thai mai dai [dii])

Do you speak English?
(phuut phaasaa ang-krit dai mai?)

I don't understand.
(mai khao jai)

I understand.
(kâo jai)

Please speak more slowly
(phûut cháa cháa nòi)

How do you say this in Thai?
(phûut pen phaa-sàa thai yàang-rai)

Please repeat it
(phûut iik thii)

o.K./All right
(tòk long)

Really?
(jing jing rue)

Thank you very much
(khòp khun mâak)

That's all right
(mâi pen-rai)

I don't know
(mâi sâap (formal)/mâi róo)

I think so
(hen dûai)

What do you think?
(khun kít yàang-rai)

Are you sure?
(khun nâe-jai mài)

It's fine ('dii láew)

Is it possible?
(pen pai dâi mài)

Is it good? (dii mài)

Be careful! (rá-wang nòi ná)

What is this? (nii a-rai)

Near/far

When you're asking whether somewhere is far, the answers Near/Far are almost the same, but the tones are different. Klai means it's far, and Klâi means it's near, but people usually answer Mâi Klai (not far) instead. This is quite a difficult thing for traveller's ears.

Is it far? (klai mai)

Beautiful (suai)

Delicious (a-ròi)

Wonderful (dii, wí-sèt)

Interesting (nâa so�n-jai)

What's the matter?
(pen a-rai pai)

Are you all right?
(khun mâi pen-rai ná)

Hot [temp] (rón)

Hungry (hiw)

Thirsty
(hiw nám)

Tired (nùeai)

Happy (mii khwaam sùk)

Sad (sâo)

Sorry/Excuse me (kho� thot)

Angry
(mo-ho�)

Danger

Help! (chûai dûai)

Watch out (rá-wang)

Fire! (fai mâi)

It's dangerous
(man antaraai)

Danger (antaraai)

I am sick
(pho�m/dì-chàn mâi sà-baai)

Where is the toilet?
(hông nám yùu thîi nài)

Problems

Leave me alone.
(yàa yung kap pho�m (for men)/chan (for women))

Don't touch me!
(yàa jàp pho�m (men)/chan (for women))

I'll call the police.
(phom/chan ja jaang taamruat)

Police!
(taamruat)

Stop! Thief!
(yut jon/khamoy)

I need your help.
(phom/chan tongkaan khwaam chuai luea)

It's an emergency.
(rueang chuk chern)

It's urgent
(rueang duan)

I'm lost.
(phom/chan long thaang)

I lost my bag.
(krapao khong phom/chan haai)

I lost my wallet.
(krapao taang khong phom/chan haai)

I'm sick.
(phom/chan mai sabaai) (phom/chan puai)

I've been injured.
(phom/chan baat jep)

I need a doctor.
(phom/chan tongkaan mö)

Can I use your phone?
(phom/chan kho chai thorasap dai mai)

Numbers

Thai numbering is quite regular and speakers of Cantonese will find many quite familiar. Note that in casual speech it is common to drop the "sip" from numbers over twenty, eg. 23 is yii-saam instead of yii-sip-saam.

Thai has its own set of numerals, shown below, but these are used quite rarely — the major exception being sites with double pricing for Thais and foreigners, the Thai price being often disguised with Thai numbers. Being able to read the Thai price just might get you in at the Thai rate.

0 � (suun)
1 (nueng)
2   (song)
3  (saam)
4  (sii)
5  (haa)
6  (hok)
7  (jet)
8 (paet)
9  (kao)
10 �(sip)
11 (sip-et)
12 (sip-song)
13  (sip-saam)
14 (sip-sii)
15  (sip-haa)
16  (sip-hok)
17  (sip-jet)
18  (sip-paet)
19  (sip-kao)
20 (yii-sip)
21 (yii-sip-et)
22 (yii-sip-song)
23  (yii-sip-saam)
30  (saam-sip)
40  (sii-sip)
50 (haa-sip)
60 � (hok-sip)
70  (jet-sip)
80  (paet-sip)
90  (kao-sip)
100 (nueng roi)
200 (song roi)
300  (saam roi)
1000 (nueng phan)
2000 (song phan)
10 000 (nueng muen)
100 000 (nueng saen)
1 000 000 (neung laan)
1 000 000 000 (phan laan)
1 000 000 000 000  (laan laan)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
_____ (ber)

half (krueng)

less (noi kwa)

more (maak kwa)

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Basics

Accha! OK? TK!

One of the most useful words to know is accha. It is both an adjective and interjection. Its meanings include (but are not limited to!): good, excellent, healthy, well, OK, really?, awesome!, hmm.., a-ha!, etc.! If you learn no other word, remember this one.

Another common all-purpose word is hik hai, pronounced and occasionally even spelled out as "TK". It is used in the same manner, meaning: OK/all right, yes/understood (affirmation), right/correct, etc. Sometimes shortened to just hik

Hello (used esp. when answering the phone) helo
Hello/Goodbye namaste
Hello/Goodbye namaskar
Hello/Goodbye (Hindu, respectful) pranam
Hello/Goodbye (Hindu, colloquial) ram ram
Hello/Goodbye (Sikh) sat sri akal
Hello/Goodbye (Sikh, formal) vaheguru ji ka khalsa
Hello/Goodbye (Sikh, reply vaheguru ji ki fateh
See you later phir milenge
How are you ap kaise/kaisi hain?
How are you ap khairiyat se hain?
I am fine hik hun
OK/fine colloq. hik hai
Fine, and you? (more formal reply) hik, ap sunaiye
What is your name? apka nam kya hai?
My name is ___ mera nam ___ hai.
Nice to meet you (formal) apse milkar bahut Ananda hui
Nice to meet you too (reply) mujhe bhi
Yes haan
No/not nahin
Do you speak English? apko angrezi ati hai?
Is there someone here who speaks English? kya kisi ko angrezi ati hai?
I don't speak Hindi. mujhe hindi nahin ati hai.
I can't speak Hind main hindi nahin bol sakta hun.
I speak some Hindi. mujhe kuch hindi ati haià
I don't understand. main samjha/samjhi nahin
Speak more slowly dhire dhire boliye
Come again? firse?
What does ".." mean? ".." ka artha/matlab kya hai?
How do you say ".."? ".." kaise kehte hain?
Where are you from? ap kahan se hain?
I'm from.. �main.. se hun
Please krp-ya
Thank you dhanyavad
Thank you thainkyu
Thank you very much bahut bahut..
You're welcome apka svagat hai
You're welcome (lit. don't mention it) koi bat nahin
Excuse me (getting s.o.'s attention) suniye
Pardon me ksama kijiye
Pardon me/I'm sorry kShamyA karo
Where is the toilet? ayale kahan hai?
Where is the toilet? saucalay kahan hai?
Good!, really?, nice, etc. accha
Just one minuteà ek mina

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Forms of Address

Mr. misar
Mrs. misez
Mr. sri
Mrs. srimati
Mr. (Sikh) sardar
Mrs. (Sikh) sardarni
Sir mahodaya
Dr.d�akar

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Interrogatives

how/of what kind? kaisa
how much/many? kitna
what? kya?
when? kab?
where? kahan?
who? kaun?
which? kaunsa?
why? kyon?

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Numbers

Hindi numbers ending in 9 are named as "un" (-1) plus the next multiple of ten. Instead of naming powers of a thousand, Hindi has unique names for a thousand, a hundred thousand, ten million etc. These peculiarities don't seem to have effected the proliferation of Indian mathematicians.

0 shUnya, bi.ndi
1 ek
2 do
3 tin
4 char
5 panc
6 cheh, chai, cheh
7 sat
8 ah
9 nau
10 das
11 gyareh
12 bareh
13 tereh
14 caudeh
15 pandreh
16 soleh
17 satreh
18 ahareh
19 unnis
20 bis
21 ikkis
22 bais
23 teis
24 caubis
25 paccis
26 chabbis
27 satais
28 ahais
29 untis
30 tis
31 ikttis
32 battis
33 taintis
34 cauntis
35 paintis
36 chattis
37 saintis
38 artis
39 untalis
40 calis
41 iktalis
42 bayalis
43 taintalis
44 cavalis
45 paintalis
46 chiyalis
47 saintalis
48 artalis
49 uncas
50 pacas
51 ikyavan
52 bavan
53 tirpan
54 cauvan
55 pacpan
56 chappan
57 sattavan
58 ahavan
59 unsah
60 sah
61 iksah
62 basah
63 tirsah
64 cainsah
65 painsah
66 chiyasah
67 sarsah
68 arsah
69 unhattar
70 sattar
71 ikhattar
72 behattar
73 tihattar
74 cauhattar
75 pachattar
76 chihattar
77 sathattar
78 ahhattar
79 unyasi
80 assi
81 ikyasi
82 bayasi
83 tirasi
84 caurasi
85 pacasi
86 chiyasi
87 sattasi
88 ahasi
89 navasi
90 nabbe
91 ikyanave
92 banave
93 tiranave
94 cauranave
95 pacanave
96 chiyanave
97 sattanave
98 ahanave
99 ninyanave

100 sau
200 do sau
300 tin sau
1000 hazar
2000 do hazar
3000 tin hazar
1,00,000 lakh
1,00,00,000 karor
1,00,00,00,000 arab
number _____ (train, bus, etc.) nambar _____ ren, bas, …
1 half adha
less thoRa
more adhika, jyada

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Hindi phrasebook

Hindi an Indo-European language spoken in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and throughout the Indian diaspora in Fiji, Singapore, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana, South Africa, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Germany, etc.). Of the 22 national languages and over 1,000 dialects of India, Hindi is promoted by the government and viewed by over half the population as a "link-language."

Hindi is descended from Sanskrit, sometimes called "the mother of all languages," or "Latin of the East." Hindi developed from the proto-Hindi (lit. "standing tongue"). A mixture of Hindi and Urdu, called Hindustani (though this name is also applied to the Caribbean dialect of Hindi), is the form heard in most Bollywood films, that try to appeal to the widest audience possible. Hindustani is different than what is taught at the literary level and what is used by news programs and the government in India.

A striking fact is that, depending on the source, Hindi is listed anywhere from the 2nd-5th most widely spoken language in the world. In contrast to languages such as Mandarin or Spanish, there has not been much stress outside of India in promoting Hindi education. In 2006, however, President Bush brought education of India's languages, including Hindi, to the forefront in the United States through the National Security Language Initiative, thus highlighting the need for closer ties and understanding between the two countries. This phrasebook may help lift the veil of this "exotic" language, actually a relative of English, in addition to the primary goal of helping travellers who wish to visit India.

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Hindi phrasebook

Writing

Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, shared with Nepali, Marathi and a number of other Indian languages. Learning Devanagari is not quite as difficult as you might think at first glance, but mastering it takes a while and is beyond the scope of most travellers.

Pronunciation

Most English speakers find Hindi pronunciation rather challenging, as there are 11 separate vowels and 35 separate consonants, employing a large number of distinctions not found in English. Don't let this intimidate you: for most of its speakers, Hindi is not a mother tongue, and many native speakers are quite used to regional accents and mangling in various degrees.

Stress

For emphasizing words don't stress them by voice (which would be regarded as a sign of aggressiveness) but add a to after them.

yeh kya hai? ("what's this?") → yeh to kya hai? - ("what is this?")

Voice should always be very low and with few changes in pitch, loudness and stress (British speakers must be aware of this especially: their tone sounds extreme to German ears, and in turn, even German sounds extreme to Hindi speakers, so please: relax!).

One of the only stresses found in Hindi is the last long syllable prior to the last syllable (e.g. in "dhanyavad" stress "dha"). But it is a mild stress which occurs naturally, so don't force it. Don't even think about it!

subhkamnaen! / Good luck

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Hindi Phrasebook

About | Pronunciation

Phraselist
Basics
Forms of Address
Interrogatives
Numbers
Time
Days & Months
Colors
Transportation
Directions
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Problems
Authority

Cultural Notes

Greetings: There are no time elemental greetings in Hindi such as good morning, good afternoon, etc. And each religion has its own greetings. It is considered very gracious to address a person by their respective greetings, but not necessary. Namaste is the most ubiquitous greeting, and though of Hindu origin is now mostly secular. It is said with hands folded and a small gesture of bowing - but don't go overboard Japanese style! Namaste literally means "I bow to you." Namaste can be described as the "aloha" of India, as it is used both for Hello and Goodbye. The original religious significance was of bowing to the soul (atma) within another. It is custom to touch the feet of someone older than you when saying Namaste. Namaskar has the same meaning, but is used less often in Hindi, though it is common in other Indian languages such as Gujarati and Bengali. Namaskar is thought of as more formal, and as such is used more often when addressing a group or a person of importance. The Sikhs also fold their hands and bow, but have their own greetings. Sat sri akal is the most common, which comes from the Punjabi meaning "God alone is Truth." Though Sikhism is mostly centered in the Punjab region of India, Punjabi greetings are used by Sikhs all over the world, as Punjabi is the language of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scripture. A longer, more formal greeting used exclusively between Sikhs is the greeting proscribed by Sri Guru Gobind Singh (the 10th and final Guru of Sikhism): vaheguru ji ka khalsa, vaheguru ji fateh from the Punjabi, meaning "(The) Khalsa (a 'baptized' Sikh) belongs to God and to God alone belongs Victory." After meeting someone for the first time apse milkar bahut khusi hui. may be said, meaning "after meeting you much happiness has happened (to me)."

Civilities: In Western cultures saying phrases like please, thank you, you're welcome, excuse me, sorry, etc. are so ingrained into us from a young age that we say them without a second thought. Not so for Indians. Saying such phrases in an inappropriate circumstance might even embarrass the person, or cheapen the gravity of the phrase itself. These phrases are only said in a sincere sense. Sometimes English words themselves are used; due to the British colonial influence, especially in urban areas and among the upper class. In this case use them as you would in English. Just remember that like Germans, and the French, they sometimes have trouble with English th sounds. When someone is in your way, instead of saying excuse me, or zara suniye, just let out an aspirated ts sound with your tongue behind your teeth to attract their attention. This might seem rude, but is no more rude than children saying "pssst" to get a friend's attention during class! In conclusion, though Hindi has corresponding words to ours, this does not meant that the context in which they are used also correspond likewise. Don't let all of this lead you to believe Indians are cold though - nothing could be further from the truth! These sentiments are merely communicated through body language rather than verbally. To show your thanks, a simple smile will do the trick. Other common gestures include the infamous "head bobble"; and a hand gesture made by swiftly swinging the wrist so your palm is facing the sky and your forefingers slightly elongated. Before travellling to India, rent some Bollywood films so that if a spontaneous Bhangra breaks out in the streets, you'll be ready to join in! All kidding aside, they can demonstrate body language and customs far better than any book is able to, all while acclimatizing you to the language as well.

Prefixes & Suffixes: With the words for "yes" and "no" ji may be added before to give it a more polite tone. Sometimes speakers will simply reply with ji, as an affirmation of something someone says. Ji is added to a person's name as a sign of respect. For example; in India Mahatma Gandhi is known simply as Gandhiji. Another suffix which is indispensable is vala, often rendered in English as "-wallah". Many books devote whole chapters to vala. With nouns it gives the meaning "the one or thing that does" and with verbs, it indicates something is about to happen. Examples:

- noun - shop (dukan) + vala = shopkeeper (dukanvala)
- verb - to come ( ana) + vala = (the).. is coming ( .. anavala hay)

English Loan Words: The British Empire's influence spread into the language itself, and this continues today with American culture being exported throughout the world. So, an English word or phrase may almost always be inserted into any Hindi sentence. You will often hear Indians, whom while talking in Hindi, pepper their sentences with English words. Sometimes they'll even alternate sentences, going from Hindi to English, and back to Hindi! Upon meeting an Indian, many times you may not even get to practice your Hindi, because they want to practice their English on you! English loan words are particularly used for modern inventions/technologies, so words like TV, computer and microwave are the same as in English apart from the slight change of accent. However; this is mostly in the cities, and learning some Hindi will have been all the more rewarding when in rural or non-tourist areas, as well as allowing you to communicate with a wider variety of people in the cities.

Gender & The 2nd Person Pronoun: Certain words have different endings depending on your gender. If you are a man say these with an -a suffix, and if you're a woman, -i. However; when addressing the person respectively with ap, the masculine ending takes the plural form. This is not all that different from the behavior of other Indo-European languages, c.f. German Sie, which like ap is also both the respectful 2nd person pronoun and plural form of address. The other two forms are the familiar tum and intimate tu. These change the forms of certain words. Tum is for friends and peers, tu for small children (within the family); between 'significant others' in private; traditionally to lower castes; in the past, slaves; and, paradoxically, when supplicating to the gods/God (c.f. Greek mythology). As a general rule, stick with ap, until you become more familiar with the language and culture. Forget about tu altogether, at the best using it would be a faux pas and at the worst, very offensive. For those reasons as well as practical ones, this section will only use the ap form.

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Setup and Navigation

1. Amazon Kindle
2. Apple iBooks
3. Barnes & Noble Nook
4. Sony Reader
5. MobiPocket .prc
6. Adobe Digital Editions .pdf

1. Amazon Kindle

1.1 Kindle dedicated device
1.2 Kindle Reader for iPhone
1.3 Kindle Reader for iPad

1.1 Amazon Kindle dedicated device

- To display an image in full screen mode: Point the 5-way controller to the image, the magnifying glass will be displayed in the center of the image. Press the controller to view the image in full screen mode. Press the controller again to switch to normal mode.
- To return to the Table of Contents from any page, click Menu>Go to…>Table of Contents.
- Some useful shortcuts:

- Alt+B: bookmark the current page, unbookmark the current page

- Aa: to change text size, text-to-speech speech rate, text-to-speech speaking voice (male or female). In our user tests we found the male voice to be more clear and pleasant than female voice. We also found the default speech rate to sound better than either faster or slower speed.
- Shift+SYM: start/stop text-to-speech.
- During text-to-speech: press Spacebar to pause/resume text-to-speech.
- To look up the meaning of a particular word, move the cursor in front of the word. The meaning of the word appears at the bottom of the screen. To view the full definition, press the ENTER key on the keyboard. To return to the text you were reading, press the BACK button.

- Search Commands

- Type in a word from any screen. A search box will pop up automatically. Move the 5-way controller to the right twice and select the search location.

- Alternatively, click Menu > Search

- Alt+DEL: clear all

- To search content by specific author, enter in the Kindle Store search bar:
@author AuthorName keyword

To see more Kindle tricks please download the Kindle Survival Guide. The guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to do everything with your Kindle FASTER. You will also unlock hidden secrets of your Kindle, such as how to download free eBooks, send an email from your Kindle, surfing Web, play preinstalled games and read news for free.

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1.2 Amazon Kindle Reader for iPhone

- To turn pages, tap the page edge or flick your finger across the page.
- To switch between landscape and portrait mode, rotate your iPhone. To disable screen rotation, tap and hold the Lock button in the lower right hand corner.
- To zoom in on images, use multi-touch pinch.
- Tap the center of the screen to activate the toolbar. Tap the center of the screen again to hide the toolbar.
- To go to the table of contents, a bookmark, or a specific location, touch and select the desired location.
- To return to the home page, touch the center of the screen to activate the toolbar and touch Home.
- To go to the previous location, touch the icon.

To learn more about the iPhone, please download the iPhone Survival Guide. This concise iPhone manual provides step-by-step instructions on how to do everything with your iPhone FASTER. The iPhone 4 introduced many new features not seen in the iPhone 3G and 3GS, such as FaceTime video calling, multitasking, and even using your iPhone as a modem. This guide will show you these new features and how use them. You will also unlock hidden secrets on your iPhone, such as how to download FREE Games and eBooks and read news for FREE. Note that there is a separate user guide for iPhone 3G and 3GS.

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1.3 Amazon Kindle Reader for iPad

- To turn pages, tap the page edge or flick your finger across the page.
- To switch between landscape and portrait mode, rotate your iPad. To disable screen rotation, put the rotation lock on the right side of the iPad in the down position.
- To zoom in on images, use multi-touch pinch.
- Tap the center of the screen to activate the toolbar. Drag the circular cursor to skip directly to a location. Tap the center of the screen again to hide the toolbar.
- To go to the table of contents, a bookmark, or a specific location, touch and select the desired location.
- To return to the home page, touch the center of the screen to activate the toolbar and touch Home.
- To go to the previous location, touch the icon.

To learn more about the iPad, please download the iPad Survival Guide. The iPad Survival Guide provides useful information not discussed in the official iPad manual, such as tips and tricks, hidden features, troubleshooting advice, as well as advice on how to solve various Wi-Fi issues. You will also learn how to download FREE games and FREE eBooks, how to PRINT right from your iPad, and how to make VOICE CALLS with the use of a simple application. Whereas the official iPad manual is stagnant, this guide goes above and beyond by discussing recent known issues and solutions that may be currently available. This information is constantly revised for a complete, up-to-date manual.

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2. Apple iBooks

2.1 iBooks for iPhone
2.2 iBooks for iPad

2.1. Apple iBooks for iPhone

- To turn pages, tap the page edge or flick your finger across the page.
- Tap the center of the screen to activate the toolbar. Drag the cursor to skip directly to a location. Tap the center of the screen again to hide the toolbar.
- To go to the table of contents or a bookmark, touch the icon and select the desired location.
- To switch between landscape and portrait mode, rotate your iPad. To disable screen rotation, press the home button twice and then touch the icon.
- To zoom in on images, double-tap an image.

To learn more about the iPhone, please download the iPhone Survival Guide. This concise iPhone manual provides step-by-step instructions on how to do everything with your iPhone FASTER. The iPhone 4 introduced many new features not seen in the iPhone 3G and 3GS, such as FaceTime video calling, multitasking, and even using your iPhone as a modem. This guide will show you these new features and how use them. You will also unlock hidden secrets on your iPhone, such as how to download FREE Games and eBooks and read news for FREE. Note that there is a separate user guide for iPhone 3G and 3GS.

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2.2. Apple iBooks for iPad

- To turn pages, tap the page edge or flick your finger across the page.
- Tap the center of the screen to activate the toolbar. Drag the circular cursor to skip directly to a location. Tap the center of the screen again to hide the toolbar.
- To go to the table of contents or a bookmark, touch the icon and select the desired location.
- To switch between landscape and portrait mode, rotate your iPad. In landscape mode, two pages are shown at a time. To disable screen rotation, put the rotation lock on the right side of the iPad in the down position.

To learn more about the iPad, please download the iPad Survival Guide. The guide provides useful information not discussed in the official iPad manual, such as tips and tricks, hidden features, troubleshooting advice, as well as advice on how to solve various Wi-Fi issues. You will also learn how to download FREE games and FREE eBooks, how to PRINT right from your iPad, and how to make VOICE CALLS with the use of a simple application. Whereas the official iPad manual is stagnant, this guide goes above and beyond by discussing recent known issues and solutions that may be currently available. This information is constantly revised for a complete, up-to-date manual.

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3. Barnes & Noble Nook

- To turn the pages, press the > buttons and < buttons on the left and right hand side of the Nook or flick your finger to the right or left on a turned off touchscreen.
- To go to a specific chapter, touch Go to and then touch Chapter.
- To go to the beginning of a book, touch Go to and then touch Cover.
- To go to a specific location, touch Go to and then touch Page.
- To go to the furthest page which you have read, touch Go to and then touch Furthest Read Point.

To learn more about the Nook, please download the Nook Survival Guide. The guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to do everything with your Nook FASTER. You will also unlock hidden secrets on your Nook such as how to download FREE eBooks, send an email from your Nook, surf the web, and read news for free.

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4. Sony Daily Edition Reader

- To turn the pages, press the < and > buttons or touch the screen and move the stylus to the left or right.
- To go to the Table of Contents, press the Options Button and touch Table of Contents.
- To go to a specific location, press the Options Button and touch Go to Page.
- To go back or forward in a book, just like in a web browser, press the Options Button and then touch History. Now touch the Left arrow to go Back or the Right arrow to go Forward.
- To quickly look up a definition of a word, tap it twice.
- To quickly bookmark a page, tap the top right corner of the page.
- To change screen orientation, press the Options button and touch Orientation.
- To switch to two-page view, press the Options button and touch two-page view. Repeat the process and touch one-page view to switch back.

To learn more about the Sony Reader, please download the Sony Reader Survival Guide. The guide gives step-by-step instructions on how to do everything with your Sony Reader FASTER. You will also unlock hidden secrets on your Sony Reader, such as how to download free eBooks, use preinstalled applications and read news for FREE.

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5. MobiPocket Reader .prc files

- To return to the Table of Contents from any page, click Menu>Navigate>Table of Contents (the desktop version: Contents>Table of Contents).
- To view an alphabetical list of all topics, Menu>Navigate>A-Z Index (the desktop version: Contents>A-Z Index).
- To jump through the links, use the Navigation button up/down.
- To scroll the pages, use the Navigation button left/right.
- Large images (maps and illustrations) are scaled to fit the screen. To expand the image, click on the image, or select the image, and click Menu>Zoom 1:1 or View full image
- Drag maps and illustrations with the stylus (or up/down and left/right buttons).
- To maximize viewing area (this is especially important for viewing illustrations), please reduce Display Margins: Menu>Options>Margins>Very Small
- To read a different book from MobiPocket Reader, click Menu>Library, select the book you want to read.
- To delete the trial version: from MobiPocket Reader, click Menu>Library; select the book you want to delete, click Menu>Delete.

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6. Adobe Digital Editions .pdf files

- To return to the Table of Contents go to page 1, click the Home button, or click the Go to TOC link.
- To scroll the pages, use up/down or left/right arrow buttons or PageUp/PageDown buttons.
- To zoom in or our, click Reading>Custom Fit…
- To read a different book, click the Library button and select the book you want to read.

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About MobileReference Books

All eBooks are not created equal. The quality of an eBook varies greatly between publishers. This chapter explains the benefits of MobileReference electronic books.

Table of Contents

1. Active Table of Contents
2. Author Collections from MobileReference
3. Travel Guides from MobileReference
4. Study Guides from MobileReference
5. Reference Books from MobileReference
6. Other Selected Books from MobileReference
7. About this book

1. Benefits of an Active Table of Contents

How do you find a poem you want to read among 2,000 other poems? Anyone reading an electronic edition of Emily Dickinson is confronted with this question. To facilitate the process, our editors included an Index of First Lines, sorted alphabetically. To search the MobileReference edition of Emily Dickinson poems for "I'm nobody, who are you? Are you nobody too? …", you click on the link Index of First Lines, click on the link -I-, then scroll and find "I'm nobody, who are you?". This method of indexing electronic books is called an Active Table of Contents. The illustration below shows the active table of contents from Emily Dickinson collected poems:

Looking for a poem or a story in a book that contains hundreds of stories is much easier with an active table of contents. Automatically scanned books often lack an active table of contents and links to footnotes. MobileReference editors carefully examine each book and insert links to individual stories, poems, letters, and footnotes to improve the reading experience and simplify electronic book navigation. The result is high quality books with active tables of contents.

An active Table of Contents is essential for books that require quick navigation to chapters and verses. The King James Bible published by MobileReference has both book and chapter navigation links. In just a few clicks, you can be reading any verse in the Bible. The Table of Contents has quick links to both the Old and New Testaments, Deuterocanonical literature, the Suggested Reading Lists, Glossary, List of Illustrations, and the A-Z Index. Just select the book you want to read and go directly to it. Once you have opened the book, you can select the chapter you want in just one click. For example, if you want to select Matthew, chapter 7:12, you could go to the Table of Contents, click on the New Testament link, click on the book of Matthew, then click on the chapter 7 link at the top of the page and scroll to 7:12.

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2. MobileReference Author-Collections (Mobi Collected Works series)

MobileReference pioneered the publication of collections of works by a particular author in a single electronic book. This was motivated in part by the desire to reduce the clutter of titles in the digital library. Consider the collection 'Works of Charles Dickens' that contains more than 200 works. When purchased individually, every book has its own entry in your digital library. To select a book in a digital library of 200 books, one needs to scroll through as many as 20 pages of the library. MobileReference's 'Works of Charles Dickens' organizes all of these books into one electronic volume that has a single representation in the digital library.

The first page from 'Works of Charles Dickens' published by MobileReference shows links to categorical, alphabetical and chronological indexes.

Inside author-collections, MobileReference editors diligently indexed the books alphabetically, chronologically and by category. For example, a reader looking for 'A Christmas Carol' can click Fiction> 'A Christmas Carol'. Alternatively, a reader can click 'List of works in alphabetical order' > 'C' > 'Christmas Carol'. If a reader forgets the book title but remembers that 'A Christmas Carol' was written by Charles Dickens early in his career, he or she can click on the 'List of works in chronological order' > (1843) 'A Christmas Carol'.

List of works in alphabetical order from 'Works of Charles Dickens' published by MobileReference

List of works in chronological order from 'Works of Charles Dickens' published by MobileReference

MobileReference had developed over three hundred collections by William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, and other authors. All of the books were carefully checked for accuracy and completeness by a team of experts. Designed for optimal navigation on the Kindle, iPad, Nook, Sony Reader and other electronic devices, MobileReference author-collections cost $5.99 or less.

To search for MobileReference ebooks: enter mobi (short for MobileReference) and a keyword; for example: mobi Dickens.

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3. Travel Guides from MobileReference (Mobi Travel series)

Electronic Travel Guides are notoriously harder to use than paper books. To enable a better experience, MobileReference designed Travel Guides specifically for electronic readers. The active Table of Contents divides articles into categories such as MAPS, ATTRACTIONS, TRANSPORTATION, etc. Local attractions are listed under the SEE link. Articles describing attractions normally indicate the address, telephone, hours of operation and admission charges on top of the page under the first illustration. The TOP 10 link features sights that no visitor should miss. Tips on what to do are listed under the DO link.  Shopping suggestions are listed under the BUY link. The GET OUT article lists nearby towns, cities and other places worthy of a visit.

An active Table of Contents from Travel Rome published by MobileReference

Itineraries include our suggestions for your travel route and include links to individual attraction articles. Click on the link to read detailed information about a sight.

Itineraries from Travel Rome published by MobileReference

Main attractions are numbered and plotted on a map. The numbered list of attractions under the map links to individual attraction articles. In addition, the map page displays the list of attractions in alphabetical order. This list includes both links to individual attraction articles and links to the map. The numbered list provides a better reference when you know your location and want to identify attractions nearby. The alphabetical list provides a better reference when you know the sight you want to see and want to locate the sight on the map.

Attractions Map from Travel London published by MobileReference

With MobileReference Travel Guides you can turn the Kindle into an audio guide. Just open an article and click Shift+SYM to activate text-to-speech. Put the speaker on the back of the Kindle against your ear and enjoy your virtual travel companion. Press Spacebar to pause/resume text-to-speech.

Selected MobileReference Travel Guides

Europe:

- Austria: Vienna

- Belgium: Brussels

- Czech Republic: Prague

- Denmark: Copenhagen & Denmark

- France: Paris, Lyon, South France

- Germany: Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Hamburg

- Greece: Athens, Greek Islands, and Continental Greece

- Hungary: Budapest & Hungary

- Ireland: Dublin & Ireland

- Italy: Rome, Florence & Tuscany & Umbria, Milan, Venice, Sicily

- Netherlands: Amsterdam

- Portugal: Lisbon & Portugal

- Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg

- Spain: Barcelona, Andalusia, Galicia, Madrid

- Sweden: Stockholm

- Switzerland: Zurich

- UK: London, Wales, Scotland, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford & Cambridge

Other:

- Argentina: Buenos Aires

- Australia: Sydney

- Canada: Montreal

- Caribbean: Bermuda, Bahamas, St. Martin and St. Maarten

- China: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong

- Brazil: Rio de Janeiro

- Egypt: Cairo

- India: Delhi, Goa

- Israel: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa

- Japan: Tokyo

- Mexico: Cancun & Yucatan Peninsula

- Morocco: Rabat, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Meknes & more

- Saudi Arabia: Mecca, Medina, Riyadh, Jeddah and more

- South Africa: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, national parks and more

- South Korea: Seoul

- Singapore: Singapore

- Taiwan: Taipei

- Thailand: Bangkok

- Turkey: Istanbul

- United Arab Emirates: Dubai

USA:

- New York

- Boston

- Chicago

- Hawaii (Incl: Honolulu, Hilo, National Parks, Lahaina, and more)

- Las Vegas

- Los Angeles

- Miami

- Orlando, Walt Disney World Resort & more

- San Diego

- San Francisco

- Seattle

- Washington, DC

- USA National Parks: Acadia, Canyonlands, Cuyahoga Valley, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Mammoth Cave, Olympic, Sequoia, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion NP

All MobileReference Travel Guides are only $9.99 or less. Search for any title: enter mobi (short for MobileReference) and a keyword; for example: mobi Paris.

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4. Study Guides from MobileReference (Mobi Study Guides series)

MobileReference study guides give you the information teachers expect you to know in a handy, succinct format without overwhelming you with unnecessary detail. Compatible with any classroom text, MobileReference study guides provide you access to all of the important facts and formulas when you need them. These guides let you study at your own pace. They are so complete, they're perfect for preparing for graduate or professional exams!

If you don't have a lot of time but want to excel in class, MobileReference Study Guides will help you:

- Brush up before tests

- Find answers fast

- Learn key formulas and tables

- Study quickly and more effectively

Students love MobileReference study guides! Each year, hundreds of thousands of students improve their test scores and final grades with these indispensable study guides. Boost your grades - download MobileReference Study Guides to your mobile device or eReader.

All MobileReference Study Guides are only $9.99 or less. Search for any title: enter mobi (short for MobileReference) and a keyword; for example: mobi math.

Selected MobileReference Study Guides

Biology: Biology, Cell Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Psychology
Chemistry: FREE Periodic Table of Elements, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Neurochemistry
Neurobiology: Human Nervous System, Neurophysiology, Neurochemistry, Psychology, Pharmacology
Math: Algebra, Calculus, Geometry, Linear Algebra, Statistics, Trigonometry
Physics and Engineering: FREE Weights and Measures - Units Conversion, Physics
Social Science: Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Art History, World Religions
Art: Western Art History, Asian Art Encyclopedia, Greek and Roman Mythology
Law: US Constitution and Government, US Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Laws
Languages: English Grammar and Punctuation, Rhetoric and Composition, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese

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5. Reference Books from MobileReference (Mobi Reference series)

Mobile devices provide an exceptional platform for reference materials. Below is a partial list of reference books from MobileReference. If you don't see a reference book you need, please email us to: support@soundtells.com.

Selected Illustrated Encyclopedias

- Encyclopedia of Birds
- Encyclopedia of Mammals
- Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians
- Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs
- Encyclopedia of American Cinema
- Asian Art Encyclopedia
- Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- CIA World Factbook
- Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
- Art of Love
- World Religions

Selected Encyclopedias in dictionary format available for Amazon Kindle dedicated device and mobile devices with MobiPocket Reader

-The World's Biggest Encyclopedias in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian. and more
- Medical Encyclopedia
- Encyclopedia of World Biography
- Encyclopedia of Music
- Encyclopedia of Politics
- Encyclopedia of Law
- Encyclopedia of World Cinema
- Business Encyclopedia

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6. Other Selected e-Books from MobileReference

Download more e-Books from MobileReference - The Best Books. The Best Prices. The Best Search and Navigation™

All fiction books are only $0.99. All collections are $5.99 or less.

American Literary Classics: Louisa May Alcott, James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Elbert Hubbard, Washington Irving, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jack London, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Lewis Wallace

British Literary Classics: Jane Austen, William Blake, Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Makepeace Thackeray, Lewis Carroll

World Literary Classics: Miguel de Cervantes, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Alexandre Dumas, James Joyce, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Guy de Maupassant, Sir Walter Scott, Leo Tolstoy, Jules Verne, Oscar Wilde, Émile Zola

Mystery & Crime: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Classic Mystery Collection

History: Art History, Greek and Roman Mythology, World Religions, U.S. History, US Constitution and Government, European History, Encyclopedia of World War II Battles

Biography and People: American Presidents, Kings and Queens of England, 100 Most Influential People of All Times, 100 Richest People in the World, 100 Most Influential Jews of All Times

Health: FREE Hangover Remedy, Acupressure Guide, First Aid Guide, Best Diets, Plans, Recipes and Nutrition, Art of Love, Asthma Care, Diabetes Care, Headache and Migraine Care, Headache Remedy

Religion: The illustrated King James Bible, The illustrated Holy Bible (American Standard Version), The illustrated World English Bible (Modern Translation), Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, Mormon Church's Sacred Texts: Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price; Quran

Cooking: Cookbook, Cocktails and Drinking Games, Best Diets, Plans, Recipes and Nutrition

Home and Personal: All About Christmas; Art of Love, Feng Shui Guide, Chinese Astrology, Art of Palm Reading, Calendar of historical events, births, holidays and observances, Encyclopedia of American Cinema

Mobi Manuals: Kindle User Guide explains keyboard shortcuts, hidden features, Kindle-friendly websites, email from Kindle, download free ebooks; Survival Guides for iPhone, iPad, Nook, Sony Reader, Android Smartphones and other devices.

For a complete list, search keyword MobileReference.

7. About this book

version 17.1

MobileReference is a brand of SoundTells, LLC.
Please email questions and comments to support@soundtells.com. Normally we are able to respond to your email on the same business day.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2003-2011 by SoundTells, LLC.

This software uses some material from public domain such as Wikipedia. This material is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Our editors carefully checked and organized the material, added content where appropriate, and structured the book to fit your mobile device. We are grateful to everybody who contributed content for this book. We apologize for not listing all contributors due to file size constrains. However, you can always see the list of contributors by following the hyperlink at the bottom of each article. Perhaps you will also be glad to learn that we donate 10% of our profit to Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that operates wiki-based projects including Wikipedia. Thank you!

MobileReference®. Intelligence in Your Pocket™.

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