User:Jun-Dai/Phrasebook

I often find phrase lists contain a lot of things that are not that useful to me, and are missing many vital phrases that are convenient to have to hand (e.g., let's go). So here is my personal phrase list that others might find useful.

Phrases I use often but don't usually find in phrasebooks

• Let's go or Shall we go?
  • Arabic - ياالله - yalla - "let's go", "hurry up", etc.
  • Hindi - चलो - chalo - "let's go"
  • Italian - andiamo
  • French - allons-y or on y va?
  • German - gehen wir
  • Japanese - 行っこう, 行きましょう, etc. - ikkо̄, ikimashо̄ - "let's go", with -か added at the end to make it a question
    • if we are leaving to go home, it would usually be 帰ろう or the equivalent form
• Bon appetit - or any phrase when you or someone else is about to eat, or is eating
  • Arabic - صحتين - sahtein - lit. "double health" or "two healths", from صحة
    • Said to someone that is eating or about to eat, essentially wishing them a good meal (or health from the meal?)
  • Japanese - いただきます - itadakimasu - lit. "I receive" in formal/humble language
    • said before eating, even if one is alone. It's not really clear whom you are receiving from, since you will say this even if you are the one to have prepared the meal
    • there's not really a phrase to wish someone else a good meal, as this phrase sort of occupies that space in most contexts
• I'll see you tomorrow
• Gesundheit or bless you - said after someone sneezes
• That's everything - said to indicate that you are finished ordering, often in response to "did you want anything else?"
  • Portuguese - "é tudo"
  • Spanish - "es todo"
  • French - "c'est tout"
• No need, I don't need it/one, or it's not necessary - a response when offered a receipt or a bag at the cash register
  • French - "(ce n'est) pas necessaire" or "pas besoin"

The more standard phrase-list phrases that I find useful

• Thank you
  • Arabic - شُكْرًا - shukran
• Cheers - toasting for a drink
  • Hungarian - egészségedre (or egs, for short) - famously tricky to pronounce - something like EGG-ess-she-ge-dre
• Hello, Greetings, Good morning, etc.

  combining these, as each language has its own nuance for when to say various greetings

• Goodbye
• Good night - when taking leave from someone who is likely going to bed soon
  • Japanese - お休みなさい or お休み - oyasuminasai or oyasumi (in informal context, either works, only the former works in a formal context)
  • Latvian - arlabunakti
• May I have the cheque?, I would like to pay for the meal now, etc.
• Excuse me (to get someone's attention, or to announce that you are about to do something potentially rude)
• Pardon me (after having done something potentially rude)

Words that are useful to know when travelling, even if you can't put together a useful phrase

• Exit
• Water (for drinking)
• Bathroom/toilet/restroom
• Money
• Taxi
• Supermarket / store / convenience store
• Metro / subway
• River

Quick notes on languages

• Arabic:
  • Vowels are not usually written, meaning you cannot know how to pronounce things purely from reading them – memorisation and context are important
  • this is tied into how the language works, as words are formed from 3–4 consonants with a base meaning, and they are transformed in particular ways from there
  • a few letters are very hard for English-speakers to learn, most famously the ع
  • there's a thing that goes on with س (sin) and ص (sad) - they do something to the vowels around them. Same thing with د (dal) and ض (daad). You can find lots of blogs and videos trying to explain the difference
• Hungarian:
  • always accent the first syllable
  • accent marks indicate the length of a vowel (double-length if there is an accent) and indicate nothing about stress
  • ly, ny, gy are single letters with a pronunciation that are tricky to get the hang of