Languages by Destination

When traveling, I believe making an effort to learn some basic phrases in the language of your destination country can go a long way. I have found that learning just a few simple words like "hello," "thank you," "pardon me," and "please" shows genuine respect for the local culture and people, which often leads to warmer interactions. It breaks the ice (this includes locals laughing at my try in a horrible accent) and shows people that we aren't totally self-consumed Americans who assume that everyone will speak English just because we do. Darrel speaks Spanish at work and is fully fluent. I can also speak and understand Spanish fluently, although some verb tenses and specific vocabulary needs refreshing. I learned language basics when I was in Africa, India, Thailand etc., but I have always been intimidated by French because my slight Texas accent and admittedly screechy voice obliterates the beauty of the French language.

Marrakesh, Morocco (and Agafay Desert Camp): Arabic (Moroccan Darija dialect is most common in daily life; Modern Standard Arabic is official). French is very widely spoken (especially in tourism/business). Berber (Amazigh) in some areas.
Barcelona, Spain: Spanish (Castilian) is widely spoken; Catalan is co-official and prominent locally (many signs/menus in Catalan).
Paris, France: French.
London, England: English.
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Dutch.
Brussels, Belgium: French (dominant in Brussels); Dutch also official.
Luxembourg: French, German, and Luxembourgish (national language); French is most common for communication.
Black Forest (Triberg), Germany: German (with local Alemannic/Swabian dialects).
Lucerne, Switzerland: German (Swiss German dialect spoken daily; Standard German for writing/formal).
Rome, Italy: Italian.
Athens & Santorini, Greece: Greek.
Istanbul, Turkey: Turkish.

Marrakesh, Morocco & Agafay Desert Camp (May 26–June 2)

Main languages: Moroccan Arabic (Darija) and French (French is very common in tourism).

Hello: Salam alaikum (sa-laam a-lay-koom) or Salaam (sa-laam) / Bonjour (bohn-zhoor)
Goodbye: Ma'a salama (ma-a sa-la-ma) / Au revoir (oh ruh-vwahr)
Thank you: Shukran (shoo-kran) / Merci (mair-see)
Please: 3afak (af-ak) or Min fadlak (min fad-lak) / S’il vous plaît (seel voo play)
Excuse me/Sorry: Afwan (af-wan) or Sama7ni (sa-mah-nee) / Excusez-moi (ex-kew-zay mwa)
Where is the restroom?: Fin bl-ma7raj? or Ayn al-hammam? / Où sont les toilettes? (oo sohn lay twah-let)
May I have a coffee, please?: Mumkin qahwa min fadlak? / Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît (zhuh voo-dreh uhn ka-fay, seel voo play)
How much does this cost?: Bsh7al? (b-sh-hal) / Combien ça coûte? (kohm-byen sa koot)
Your country is beautiful: Biladak jameela (bee-la-dak ja-mee-la) / Votre pays est magnifique (voh-truh pay ee ma-gnee-feek)
My name is _____: Ismi _____ (ees-mee _____) / Je m’appelle _____ (zhuh ma-pel _____)

Barcelona, Spain (June 2–9)

Main languages: Spanish (widely used) and Catalan (local prid; using a few Catalan words is appreciated!).

Hello: Hola (oh-la) / Bon dia (bon dee-ah)
Goodbye: Adiós (ah-dee-ohs) / Adéu (ah-deh-oo)
Thank you: Gracias (grah-see-ahs) / Gràcies (grah-see-uhs) or Merci (mehr-see)
Please: Por favor (por fah-vor) / Sisplau (sees-plow)
Excuse me/Sorry: Perdón (pair-dohn) / Perdó (pair-doh)
Where is the restroom?: ¿Dónde está el baño? (dohn-deh es-tah el bah-nyo)
May I have a coffee, please?: ¿Me puede dar un café, por favor? / Un cafè, sisplau (oon ka-feh, sees-plow)
How much does this cost?: ¿Cuánto cuesta? (kwan-to kwehs-tah)
Your country is beautiful: Tu país es hermoso (too pah-ees es air-moh-so)
My name is _____: Me llamo _____ (meh yah-mo _____)

Paris, France (June 9–16)

Main language: French.

Hello: Bonjour (bohn-zhoor)
Goodbye: Au revoir (oh ruh-vwahr)
Thank you: Merci (mair-see)
Please: S’il vous plaît (seel voo play)
Excuse me/Sorry: Excusez-moi (ex-kew-zay mwa)
Where is the restroom?: Où sont les toilettes? (oo sohn lay twah-let)
May I have a coffee, please?: Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît (zhuh voo-dreh uhn ka-fay, seel voo play)
How much does this cost?: Combien ça coûte? (kohm-byen sa koot)
Your country is beautiful: Votre pays est magnifique (voh-truh pay ee ma-gnee-feek)
My name is _____: Je m’appelle _____ (zhuh ma-pel _____)

London, England (June 16–23)

Main language: English—no need for basics here!

Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 23–27)

Main language: Dutch.

Hello: Hallo (hah-lo) or Hoi (hoy)
Goodbye: Dag (dahkh) or Tot ziens (tot zeens)
Thank you: Dank je (dahnk yuh) or Dank u wel (dahnk oo vel) formal
Please: Alsjeblieft (ahls-yuh-bleeft)
Excuse me/Sorry: Pardon (par-don) or Sorry
Where is the restroom?: Waar is het toilet? (vahr is het twah-let)
May I have a coffee, please?: Mag ik een koffie, alsjeblieft? (mahkh ik uhn kof-fee, ahls-yuh-bleeft)
How much does this cost?: Hoeveel kost dit? (hoo-vayl kost dit)
Your country is beautiful: Je land is prachtig (yuh lahnt is prahkh-tikh)
My name is _____: Ik heet _____ (ik hayt _____)

Brussels, Belgium (June 27–29)

Main language in Brussels: French (Dutch also official but French dominates in the city center/tourism). Luxembourg, Luxembourg (June 29–July 2)

Luxembourg, Luxembourg (June 29–July 2)

Main languages: French (most common for visitors), German, Luxembourgish. Stick with French phrases from above, or German below if needed.

Main languages: French (most common for visitors), German, Luxembourgish.

Black Forest (Triberg), Germany (July 2–5) & Lucerne, Switzerland (July 5–12)

Main language: German (Swiss German dialect in Lucerne, but Standard German works everywhere).

Hello: Hallo (hah-lo) or Guten Tag (goo-ten tahk)
Goodbye: Auf Wiedersehen (owf vee-der-zay-en) or Tschüss (chooss) casual
Thank you: Danke (dahn-kuh)
Please: Bitte (bit-tuh)
Excuse me/Sorry: Entschuldigung (ent-shool-dee-goong)
Where is the restroom?: Wo ist die Toilette? (vo ist dee twah-let-uh)
May I have a coffee, please?: Ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte (ish murkh-tuh eye-nen kah-fee, bit-tuh)
How much does this cost?: Wie viel kostet das? (vee feel kos-tet dahs)
Your country is beautiful: Dein Land ist wunderschön (dine lahnt ist voon-der-shurn)
My name is _____: Ich heiße _____ (ish hy-suh _____)

Rome, Italy (July 12–19)

Main language: Italian.

Hello: Ciao (chow) informal or Buongiorno (bwon-jor-no)
Goodbye: Arrivederci (ah-ree-veh-der-chee) or Ciao
Thank you: Grazie (grah-tsee-eh)
Please: Per favore (pair fah-voh-reh)
Excuse me/Sorry: Scusa (skoo-za) informal or Mi scusi (mee skoo-zee)
Where is the restroom?: Dov'è il bagno? (doh-veh eel bahn-yo)
May I have a coffee, please?: Un caffè, per favore (oon ka-feh, pair fah-voh-reh)
How much does this cost?: Quanto costa? (kwan-to kos-tah)
Your country is beautiful: Il tuo paese è bellissimo (eel two-oh pah-eh-zeh eh bel-lees-see-mo)
My name is _____: Mi chiamo _____ (mee kee-ah-mo _____)

Athens & Santorini, Greece (July 19–29)

Main language: Greek.

Hello: Geia sou (yee-ah soo) informal or Yia sas (yee-ah sas) formal
Goodbye: Geia sou / Yasou (yee-ah soo) or Andio (ahn-dee-oh)
Thank you: Efcharistó (ef-ha-ree-stoh)
Please/You're welcome: Parakaló (pa-ra-ka-lo)
Excuse me/Sorry: Signómi (see-gno-mee)
Where is the restroom?: Pou einai i tualéta? (poo ee-nai ee too-ah-leh-tah)
May I have a coffee, please?: Éna kafé parakaló (eh-na ka-feh pa-ra-ka-lo)
How much does this cost?: Póso kánei? (po-so ka-nee)
Your country is beautiful: I chó ra sou eínai ómorfi (ee ho-ra soo ee-nai oh-mor-fee)
My name is _____: Me lene _____ (meh leh-neh _____)

Istanbul, Turkey (July 29–Aug 5)

Main language: Turkish.

Hello: Merhaba (mare-ha-ba)
Goodbye: Hoşça kal (hosh-cha kal) or Güle güle (goo-leh goo-leh)
Thank you: Teşekkür ederim (teh-shehk-kur eh-deh-rim)
Please: Lütfen (loot-fen)
Excuse me/Sorry: Affedersiniz (af-feh-dehr-see-neez)
Where is the restroom?: Tuvalet nerede? (too-vah-let neh-reh-deh)
May I have a coffee, please?: Bir kahve alabilir miyim? (beer kah-veh ah-lah-bee-leer mee-yeem)
How much does this cost?: Bu ne kadar? (boo neh ka-dar)
Your country is beautiful: Ülken çok güzel (ool-ken chok goo-zel)
My name is _____: Adım _____ (ah-dum _____)

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