Konnichiwa, bitches

Although my traveling to non-English speaking countries is limited, I’ve noticed that being able to say a few key phrases can go a long way.

When I was in the Philippines I started compiling (with the help of my GSE team members) a list of those phrases in several different languages – mainly in languages of countries that I aspire to visit. Like too many things that I start, the idea was an obsession for a short while and then sat unfinished. Well, it’s time that I finished it.

Words & phrases

These are some of the words and phrases that I think are the most commonly used, and/or the most useful:

  • hello
  • goodbye
  • yes
  • no
  • please
  • thank you
  • you’re welcome
  • Excuse me.
  • I’m sorry.
  • Help me.
  • I would like …
  • water
  • food
  • beer
  • cheers
  • My name is …
  • What is your name?
  • Nice to meet you.
  • How much?
  • Where is…
  • bathroom
  • Do you speak English?
  • What?
  • Why?
  • I don’t understand.

I’ve narrowed the list down to 25, but could easily think of others that could make the cut. Did I miss any important ones?

The languages

I have a mental list of countries that I want to visit in my lifetime, which represents the languages that I chose. It’s definitely not meant to be an all inclusive list, although that would be really interesting to see. If/when I finish the initial list, I will undoubtedly add more.

  • German
  • Spanish
  • French
  • Italian
  • Greek
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Tagalog (Filipino)

Thankfully, I actually remember all of the German words and phrases, so I will be adding those later. The rest I will need to get translated. So, if you know any of the ones listed, please to let me know.

Edit: I’ve added a page for the translations.