I have always loved learning different kinds of languages, but I really started to get motivated to learn them when I went to Holland. English is required in most countries (particularly in Europe), and that was a bonus because everyone over there already knew a little bit of it. Actually, in Holland, most employees must speak fluent English in order to get a job since the country is a major export in Europe and English is the business language. Unfortunately though, since English is my first language, everyone knew what I was saying, and I didn't know what they were saying. :P And there were a couple of instances were I ran into someone who knew no English what-so-ever and I felt bad because I couldn't help them.
The languages that I am currently learning right now are:
- Spanish (in school)
- Dutch (as mentioned before)
- German (actually to be honest, I'm not a big fan of the German language for some reason, but I might be visiting Germany some time soon and I would like to know some of it.)
- Italian (I absolutely love it - it is a beautiful language!)
Also, in the near future, I will be learning French and Swedish. :D
Just a few basic phrases from each:
Italian:
| Buon giorno bwon zhor-no Hello / Good morning/afternoon | Buona sera bwoh-nah seh-rah Good evening | Buona notte bwoh-nah noht-teh Good night |
| Ciao chow Hi / Hello / Bye (informal) | Arrivederci ah-ree-vuh-dehr-chee Goodbye | ArrivederLa ah-ree-vuh-dehr-lah Goodbye (formal) |
| A più tardi ah pyoo tar-dee See you later | A presto / A dopo ah press-toh / ah doh-poh See you soon | A domani ah doh-mahn-ee See you tomorrow |
| Per favore / Per piacere pehr fah-voh-reh / pehr pee-ah-cheh-reh Please | Grazie (mille) graht-zee-eh (mee-leh) Thank you (very much) | Prego preh-goh You're Welcome |
| Mi dispiace mee dee-spyah-cheh Sorry | Scusi / Scusa skoo-zee / skoo-zah Excuse me (formal / informal) | Andiamo! on-dee-ah-mo Let's go! |
| Come sta? / Come stai? koh-meh stah / koh-meh sty How are you? (formal / informal) | Sto bene. stoh beh-neh I am fine / well. | Non c'è male. nohn cheh mah-leh Not bad. |
| Abbastanza bene. ah-bah-stahn-tsah beh-neh Pretty good. | Così così. koh-zee koh-zee So so. | Sì / No see / noh Yes / No |
| Come si chiama? koh-meh see kee-ah-mah What's your name? (formal) | Come ti chiami? koh-meh tee kee-ah-mee What's your name? (informal) | Mi chiamo... mee kee-ah-mo My name is... |
| Piacere / Molto lieto. pee-ah-cheh-reh / mohl-toh lee-eh-toh Pleased / Nice to meet you. | Signore, Signora, Signorina seen-yoh-reh, seen-yoh-rah, seen-yoh-reen-ah Mister, Misses, Miss | |
| Di dov'è? dee doh-veh Where are you from? (formal) | Di dove sei? dee doh-veh seh-ee Where are you from? (informal) | Sono di... soh-noh dee I am from... |
| Quanti anni ha? kwahn-tee ahn-nee ah How old are you? (formal) | Quanti anni hai? kwahn-tee ahn-nee ah-ee How old are you? (informal) | Ho venti anni. oh vehn-tee ahn-nee I am 20 years old. |
| Parla italiano? par-lah ee-tahl-ee-ah-no Do you speak Italian? (formal) | Parli inglese? par-lee een-gleh-zeh Do you speak English? (informal) | Parlo italiano. / Non parlo inglese. par-lo ee-tahl-ee-ah-no / non par-lo een-gleh-zeh I speak Italian. / I don't speak English. |
| Capisce? / Capisci? kah-pee-sheh / kah-pee-shee Do you understand? (formal / informal) | [Non] capisco. [non] kah-pees-koh I [don't] understand. | Non so. / Lo so. non soh / low soh I don't know. / I know. |
| Può aiutarmi? / Puoi aiutarmi? pwoh ah-yoo-tar-mee / pwoh-ee ah-yoo-tar-mee Can you help me? (formal / informal) | Certamente / D'accordo. cher-tah-mehn-teh / dah-kohr-doh Sure / OK. | Come? koh-meh? What? / Pardon me? |
| Desidera? / Desideri? deh-zee-deh-rah / deh-zee-deh-ree May I help you? (formal / informal) | Come si dice "house" in italiano? koh-meh see dee-cheh "house" een ee-tah-lee-ah-noh How do you say "house" in Italian? | |
| Dov'è / Dove sono...? doh-veh / doh-veh soh-noh Where is / Where are... ? | Ecco / Eccoli... eh-koh / eh-koh-lee Here is / Here are... | C'è / Ci sono... cheh / chee soh-noh There is / There are... |
| Cosa c'è? koh-zah cheh What's the matter? / What's wrong? | Non importa. / Di niente. / Di nulla. nohn eem-por-tah / dee nee-ehn-teh / dee noo-lah It doesn't matter. | Non m'importa. nohn meem-por-tah I don't care. |
| Non ti preoccupare. nohn tee preh-ohk-koo-pah-reh Don't worry. (informal) | Ho dimenticato. oh dee-men-tee-kah-toh I forgot. | Devo andare adesso. deh-voh ahn-dah-reh ah-des-soh I have to go now. |
| Ho fame. / Ho sete. oh fah-meh / oh seh-teh I'm hungry. / I'm thirsty. | Ho freddo. / Ho caldo. oh freh-doh / oh kal-doh I'm cold. / I'm hot. | Mi annoio. mee ahn-noh-ee-oh I'm bored. |
| Salute! sah-loo-teh Bless you! | Congratulazioni! kohn-grah-tsoo-lah-tsee-oh-nee Congratulations! | Benvenuti! behn-veh-noo-tee Welcome! |
| Buona fortuna! bwoh-nah for-too-nah Good luck! | Tocca a me! / Tocca a te! tohk-kah ah meh / tohk-kah ah teh It's my turn! / It's your turn! (informal) | Ti amo. tee ah-moh I love you. (informal) |
| È pazzo! / Sei pazzo! eh pats-soh / seh-ee pats-soh You're crazy! (formal / informal) | Sta zitto! / Stai zitto! stah tseet-toh / sty tseet-toh Be quiet / Shut up! (formal / informal) | Va bene! vah beh-neh OK! |
Spanish:
| ¡Buenos días! bway-nohs dee-ahs Hello! / Good morning! | ¡Buenas tardes! bway-nahs tard-ays Good afternoon! | ¡Buenas noches! bway-nahs noh-chays Good evening! / Good night! |
| ¡Hola! / ¡Chao! oh-lah / chow Hi! / Bye! | Adiós. ah-dee-ohs Good bye. | Por favor. por fah-bor Please. |
| Hasta la vista / Hasta luego. ah-stah lah vees-tah / ah-stah loo-ay-go See you / See you later. | Hasta pronto. ah-stah prohn-toh See you soon. | Hasta mañana. ah-stah mahn-yahn-ah See you tomorrow. |
| (Muchas) Gracias. (moo-chahs) grah-see-ahs Thank you (very much). | De nada. day nah-dah You're welcome. | Bienvenidos byen-veh-nee-dohs Welcome |
| Lo siento loh see-ehn-toh I'm sorry | Con permiso / Perdón / Disculpe kohn pehr-mee-soh / pehr-dohn / dees-kool-peh Excuse me / Pardon me | ¡Vamos! bah-mohs Let's go! |
| ¿Cómo está usted? koh-moh ay-stah oo-sted How are you? (formal) | ¿Cómo estás? koh-moh ay-stahs How are you? (informal) | ¿Qué tal? kay tahl How's it going? |
| Bien / Muy bien bee-ehn / moy bee-ehn Good / Very good | Mal / Muy mal / Más o menos mahl / moy mahl / mahs oh may-nohs Bad / Very bad / OK | Sí / No see / noh Yes / No |
| ¿Cómo se llama usted? koh-moh say yah-mah oo-sted What is your name? (formal) | ¿Cómo te llamas? koh-moh tay yah-mahs What is your name? (informal) | Me llamo... / Mi nombre es... may yah-moh / mee nohm-breh ess My name is... |
| Mucho gusto. / Encantado. moo-choh goo-stoh / en-cahn-tah-doh Nice to meet you. | Igualmente. ee-guahl-mehn-tay Same here. / Same to you. | Señor / Señora / Señorita sayn-yor / sayn-yor-ah / sayn-yor-ee-tah Mister / Mrs. / Miss |
| ¿De dónde es usted? day dohn-day ehs oo-sted Where are you from? (formal) | ¿De dónde eres? day dohn-day eh-rehs Where are you from? (informal) | Yo soy de... yoh soy day I'm from... |
| ¿Cuántos años tiene usted? quahn-tohs ahn-yohs tee-ay-nay oo-sted How old are you? (formal) | ¿Cuántos años tienes? quahn-tohs ahn-yohs tee-ayn-ays How old are you? (informal) | Yo tengo _____ años. yoh tayn-goh _____ ahn-yohs I am _____ years old. |
| ¿Habla usted español? ah-blah oo-sted eh-spahn-yol Do you speak Spanish? (formal) | ¿Hablas inglés? ah-blahs een-glehs Do you speak English? (informal) | (No) Hablo... noh ah-bloh I (don't) speak... |
| ¿Entiende usted? / ¿Entiendes? ehn-tyen-deh oo-sted / ehn-tyen-dehs Do you understand? (formal / informal) | (No) Entiendo. noh ehn-tyen-doh I (don't) understand. | Yo (no lo) se. yoh noh loh seh I (don't) know. |
| ¿Puede ayudarme? pweh-deh ah-yoo-dar-meh Can you help me? (formal) | Claro / Claro que sí klah-roh / klah-roh keh see Sure / Of course | ¿Cómo? koh-moh What? Pardon me? |
| ¿Dónde está / Dónde están... ? dohn-deh eh-stah / dohn-deh eh-stahn Where is ... / Where are ... ? | Aquí / Ahí ah-kee / ah-ee Here / There | Hay / Había... eye / ah-bee-ah There is / are... / There was / were... |
| ¿Cómo se dice ____ en español? koh-moh seh dee-seh ___ en eh-spahn-yol How do you say ____ in Spanish? | ¿Qué es esto? keh ehs ehs-toh What is that? | ¿Qué te pasa? keh teh pah-sah What's the matter (with you)? |
| No importa. noh eem-por-tah It doesn't matter. | ¿Qué pasa? keh pah-sah What's happening? | Sin novedad. seen noh-veh-dahd Nothing much. |
| No tengo ninguna idea. noh tehn-goh neen-goo-nah ee-deh-ah I have no idea. | ¡Buena idea! bweh-nah ee-deh-ah Good idea! | ¡Pase! pah-seh Go ahead! |
| Estoy cansado / enfermo. eh-stoy kahn-sah-doh / ehn-fehr-moh I'm tired / sick. | Tengo hambre / sed. tehn-goh ahm-breh / sed I'm hungry / thirsty. | Tengo calor / frío. tehn-goh kah-lohr / free-oh I'm hot / cold. |
| Estoy aburrido. eh-stoy ah-boo-ree-doh I'm bored. | No me importa. noh meh eem-por-tah I don't care. | No se preocupe. noh seh preh-oh-koo-peh Don't worry |
| Está bien. ehs-tah bee-ehn That's alright. / It's ok. | Me olvidé. meh ohl-vee-deh I forgot. | Tengo que ir ahora. tehn-goh keh eer ah-oh-rah I must go now. |
| ¿Listo? lees-toh Ready? | Quizás / Depende. kee-sahs / deh-pehn-deh Maybe / It depends. | Todavía no. toh-dah-vee-ah noh Not yet. |
| ¡Qué chistoso! keh chees-toh-soh How funny! | ¡Que le vaya bien! keh leh vah-yah bee-ehn Have a nice day! | ¡Nos vemos! nohs veh-mos We'll see you! |
| ¡Salud! sah-lood Bless you! | ¡Felicitaciones! feh-lee-see-tah-see-oh-nehs Congratulations! | ¡Buena suerte! bweh-nah swehr-teh Good luck! |
| Te toca a ti. teh toh-kah ah tee It's your turn. (informal) | ¡Callate! kah-yah-teh Shut up! | Te amo. tay ah-moh I love you. (informal and singular) |
| Goedemorgen khoo-duh-mawr-ghuh Good Morning | Goedemiddag khoo-duh-mih-dahkh Good Day | Goedenavond khoo-duh-nah-fohnt Good Evening |
| Goedenacht khoo-duh-nahkht Good Night | Hoi / Hallo / Daag / Doei hoy / hah-loh / dahk / doo-ee Hi / Bye | Tot ziens toht zeens Goodbye |
| Tot straks toht straks See you later (in the same day) | Tot zo toht zoh See you soon | Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft ahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuh-bleeft Please |
| Dank u wel / Dank je wel dahnk-ew-vehl / dahnk-yuh-vehl Thank you | Hartelijk bedankt hahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnkt Thank you very much | Graag gedaan khrahkh khuh-dahn You're welcome (don't mention it) |
| Sorry saw-ree I'm sorry / Excuse me | Pardon, wat zei u? pahr-dohn, vat zay ew Pardon me (didn't understand) | Ja / Nee yah / nay Yes / No |
| Hoe gaat het met u? hoo khaht ut meht ew How are you? (formal) | Hoe gaat het? hoo khaht ut How are you? (informal) | Goed / Heel goed khoot / hayl khoot Fine / Very well |
| Het gaat / Slecht uht khaht / slehkht So so / Bad | Ik ben moe / ziek ik ben moo / zeek I'm tired / sick. | Ik heb honger / dorst ik heb hohng-ur / dohrst I'm hungry / thirsty. |
| Hoe heet u? hoo hayt ew What's your name? (formal) | Hoe heet je? hoo hayt yuh What's your name? (informal) | Ik heet... ik hayt... My name is (I'm called)... |
| Ik ben... ik ben I am... | Aangenaam (kennis te maken) ahn-guh-nahm (ken-nis tuh mah-kuh) Nice to meet you. | meneer / mevrouw / mejuffrouw muh-nayr / muh-frow / muh-yuh-frow Mister / Misses / Miss |
| Waar komt u vandaan? vahr kawmt ew fun-dahn Where are you from? (formal) | Waar kom je vandaan? vahr kawn yuh fun-dahn Where are you from? (informal) | Ik kom uit Nederland. ik kawm owt nay-der-lant I am from the Netherlands. |
| Waar woont u? vahr vohnt ew Where do you live? (formal) | Waar woon je? vahr vohn yuh Where do you live? (informal) | Ik woon in Amerika. ik vohn in ah-meh-ree-kah I live in America. |
| Hoe oud bent u? hoo owt bent ew How old are you? (formal) | Hoe oud ben je? hoo owt ben yuh How old are you? (informal) | Ik ben ... jaar (oud). ik ben ... yahr owt I am ____ years old. |
| Spreekt u Nederlands? spraykt ew nay-der-lahnds Do you speak Dutch? (formal) | Spreek je Engels? sprayk yuh ehng-uhls Do you speak English? (informal) | Ik spreek [geen]... ik sprayk [khayn] I [don't] speak... |
| Ik spreek niet zo goed... ik sprayk neet zoh khood I don't speak ... very well. | Ik begrijp het [niet.] ik buh-khraip ut neet I [don't] understand. | Ik weet het [niet.] ik vayt ut [neet] I [don't] know. |
| Wat kost het? vat kohst ut How much is it? | Ik wil graag... ik vil khrahk I'd like... | Proost! prohst Cheers! |
| Veel plezier! fayl pleh-zeer Have fun! | Veel succes! fayl suk-sehs Good luck! | Wees voorzichtig! vays fohr-zikh-tikh Be careful! |
| Dat is geweldig / vreselijk! dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh / fray-zuh-likh That is great / terrible! | Ik hou van je. ik how fahn yuh I love you. (informal) | Ik hou van jullie. ik how fahn juh-lee I love you (all). |
| Wat vreemd! vaht fraymt How funny / odd! | Wat jammer! vaht yah-mer What a pity! | Wat is dit / dat? vut iss dit / dut What is this / that? |
| Guten Morgen goot-en mor-gen Good Morning | Guten Tag goot-en tahk Hello/Good Day | Guten Abend goot-en ah-bent Good Evening |
| Gute Nacht goot-eh nakht Good Night | Tag / Hallo / Servus tahk / hah-loh / sair-voohs Hi / Hello / Hi & Bye (Southern Germany & Austria) | Auf Wiedersehen owf vee-dair-zayn Goodbye |
| Grüß dich / Grüß Gott! Hello! / Greetings! (Southern Germany & Austria) | Tschüs / Tschau tchews / chow Bye! | Gehen wir! geh-en veer Let's go! |
| Bis später biss shpay-ter See you later | Bis bald biss bahlt See you soon | Bis morgen biss mohr-gen See you tomorrow |
| Bitte bih-tuh Please | Danke (schön / sehr) dahn-kuh shurn/zair Thank you | Bitte schön bih-tuh shurn You're welcome |
| Es tut mir leid. ehs toot meer lite I'm sorry | Entschuldigen Sie ehnt-shool-dih-gun zee Excuse me | Verzeihung Pardon me |
| Wie geht es Ihnen? vee gayt es ee-nen How are you? (formal) | Wie geht's? vee gayts How are you? (informal) | (Sehr) Gut / So lala zair goot / zo lahlah (Very) Good / OK |
| Schlecht / Nicht Gut shlekht / nisht goot Bad / Not good | Es geht. ess gate I'm ok. (informal) | Ja / Nein yah / nine Yes / No |
| Wie heißen Sie? vee hie-ssen zee What's your name? (formal) | Wie heißt du? vee hiesst doo What's your name? (informal) | Ich heiße... ikh hie-ssuh My name is... [I am called...] |
| Es freut mich. froyt mikh Pleased to meet you. | Gleichfalls. glykh-fals Likewise. | Herr / Frau / Fräulein hair / frow / froi-line Mister / Misses / Miss |
| Woher kommen Sie? vo-hair koh-men zee Where are you from? (formal) | Woher kommst du? vo-hair kohmst doo Where are you from? (informal) | Ich komme aus... ikh koh-muh ows... I'm from... |
| Wo wohnen Sie? vo voh-nen zee Where do you live? (formal) | Wo wohnst du? vo vohnst doo Where do you live? (informal) | Ich wohne in... ikh voh-nuh in I live in... |
| Wie alt sind Sie? vee alt zint zee How old are you? (formal) | Wie alt bist du? vee alt bisst doo How old are you? (informal) | Ich bin ____ Jahre alt. ikh bin ____ yaa-reh alt I am ____ years old. |
| Sprechen Sie deutsch? shpreck-en zee doytch Do you speak German? (formal) | Sprichst du englisch? shprikhst doo eng-lish Do you speak English? (informal) | Ich spreche (kein)... ikh shpreck-uh kine I (don't) speak... |
| Verstehen Sie? / Verstehst du? fehr-shtay-en zee / fehr-shtayst doo Do you understand? (formal / informal) | Ich verstehe (nicht). ikh fehr-shtay-eh nikht I (don't) understand. | Ich weiß (nicht). ikh vise nikht I (don't) know. |
| Können Sie mir helfen? ker-nen zee meer hell-fen Can you help me? (formal) | Kannst du mir helfen? kahnst doo meer hell-fen Can you help me? (informal) | Natürlich / Gerne nah-tewr-likh / gair-nuh Of course / Gladly |
| Kann ich Ihnen helfen? kahn ikh ee-nen hell-fen May I help you? (formal) | Kann ich dir helfen? kahn ikh deer hell-fen May I help you? (informal) | Wie bitte? vee bih-tuh What? Pardon me? |
| Wie heißt ___ auf deutsch? vee heist ___ owf doytch How do you say ___ in German? | Wo ist / Wo sind... ? voh ist / voh zint Where is / Where are... ? | Es gibt... ess geept There is / are... |
| Was ist los? vahs ist lohs What's the matter? | Das macht nichts. dass makht nikhts It doesn't matter. | Das ist mir egal. dass ist meer eh-gahl I don't care. |
| Keine Angst! ky-nuh ahngst Don't worry! | Ich habe es vergessen. ikh hah-buh ess fehr-geh-sen I forgot. | Jetzt muss ich gehen. yetz mooss ikh geh-en I must go now. |
| Ich habe Hunger / Durst. ikh hah-buh hoong-er / dirst I'm hungry / thirsty. | Ich bin krank / müde. ikh bin krahnk moo-duh I'm sick / tired. | Ich habe Langeweile. ikh hah-buh lahn-guh-vy-luh I'm bored. |
| Ich möchte / Ich hätte gern... ikh merkh-tuh / ikh heh-tuh gairn I'd like... | Das gefällt mir. dahs geh-fehlt meer I like it. | Prima / Toll / Super! pree-mah / tohl / zoo-pair Great / Fantastic! |
| Gesundheit! geh-soont-hyt Bless you! | Herzlichen Glückwunsch! herts-likh-en glewk-voonsh Congratulations! | Sei ruhig! zy roo-hikh Be quiet! (informal) |
| Willkommen! vil-koh-men Welcome! | Viel Glück! feel glewk Good luck! | Schauen Sie mal! / Schau mal! show-en zee mal / show mal Look! (formal / informal) |
| Bitte schön? Yes? / What would you like to order? | Was darf's sein? What can I get you? / How can I help you? | Sonst noch etwas? Anything else? |
| Bitte schön. Here you go. (handing something to someone) | Zahlen bitte! The check, please! | Stimmt so. Keep the change. |
| Ich bin satt. I'm full. | Mir ist schlecht. I feel sick. | Es tut mir weh. It hurts. |
| Ich liebe dich. ikh leeb-uh dikh I love you. (informal) | Du fehlst mir. I miss you. (informal) | Alles ist in Ordnung. Everything is fine. |
| Wie wäre es mit ... ? How about...? | Was für ein...? What kind of (a)...? | Nicht wahr? [general tag question] |
| (credit goes to www.ielanguages.com) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oooh! Italian! It IS a lovely language; if I wasn't learning Irish, I would so want to learn that. :) A lot of songs I like to sing are in Italian, though, so I unmeaningly do know some Italian... :D
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