4.28.2025

Good Morning!

I was walking along the other day and I said good morning to someone and they responded by saying something that sounded like "Dobre." Afterwards, I was going over in my mind where I thought they were from, as you sometimes do when you are traveling. Do you do that? The "judge the tourist" game, or is that just me? Often you don't ever get the answer but it's fun to guess. For example, two people kissing on two cheeks... They could be French, Italian, Latin American or even African (as well as many others). But what if they kiss on three cheeks? They could be Dutch, or from the southern part of France, the Balkans, or maybe even the Middle East. What if they bump foreheads? They could be Turkish or Maori! In Africa, it's common to see two male friends holding hands and I've seen the same thing in Türkiye. 

But I digress. Going back to the Dobre people, this is a hard one, as there are many languages who say something similar to say good morning or good day. So they could have been Russian or Polish or Czech. My guess was Polish because I have recency bias since I was there a couple of months ago. And I'll never know! 

Some once asked me (Michelle? Kae?) about how I managed languages while traveling. I have a list of phrases and I always check those before I go so I will be ready. I am a firm believer in not just approaching everyone and immediately speaking English to them. If possible , I always ask them in their language, "do you speak English?" and then go from there. If they say no, I either use the point and guesture method, or I whip out Google Translate and type in what I need. Pro tip: download the language so that you can use it offline in case you are not in wifi or your SIM card is not working. 

Unless I have a complicated question, I generally just use baby phrases, like, "bus, Paris?" Instead of trying to ask "where is the bus to Paris and when does it leave and how much is the ticket?" Then we often go back to the point and guesture method. I once was hiking in Slovenia and it was raining and I was coming from the Alps into a very tiny town where I was going to try to catch a bus into a bigger town. A man pulled over asked me sometging in Slovenian and when I said the name of the tiny town he guestured for me to get in. So I did. The car ride was fun because somehow despite neither of us speaking the other language, I learned that the bus to the bigger town was leaving in about an hour and he dropped me off right next to the stop. Luckily the word bus is often similar in other languages, and it is avtobus in Slovenian. 

Some other phrases which are helpful are: yes, no, thank you, bathroom (although often you can say "toilet" and people will know what you mean, or you can make the pee-pee face and cross your legs and they will get the point), bus, and, to bring it back full circle, hello, good morning or good day. 

In many cultures it is rude to just walk up to someone and demand or ask for what you need without first saying hello, good morning or good day. In fact, even in some places in the US this is the case. So, at the very least, I always make sure that this is something I know how to say. Here are some of my favorites! I am going to spell them phonetically so excuse my poor spelling.

In Japanese, you say Ohio! 
In Slovakian, you say Ahoy! 
In Swedish, you say Hey! (Spelled Hej)

Here are a few more casual greetings:
In French instead of Bonjour (formal), you can say Salut!
In German instead of Gluten Tag, you can say Servus! 

I have a list of common words and phrases that I want and usually I just plug it into chatgpt before I go to the country and then I copy and paste the list into my notes app (Google Keep) which will be offline. If I am going to be moving around, I will ask it to do the list for the next five countries all at the same time. 

If I am doing something specific, like hiking, I will have it put together a list with common phrases for that activity like, "Where can I find water/food? Can I camp here? Do you have a room available? How much does it cost?" And of course "bus, bathroom, thank you" still come in handy.

I also like to learn a few numbers, especially if I plan on going to the weekly markets, and then the word for "kilo" or "gram" so that I can buy tomatoes or cheese! So at least "one" or "half" is handy to know. I mean, half a kilo is about a pound and I can eat a pound of most things! 

So that's it, that's what I do as far as languages in other countries. Your turn! 

What do you do regarding language when you are traveling? Do you have a go-to list of phrases? Do you stay in hotels or do tours so that you don't need to worry about it?? 

18 comments:

  1. Like you I always like to learn some basic words before I go away. Definitely greetings, thank you and do you speak English or at least how to say English which I’ll add the inflection to make it a question. In France I have enough to ask properly for what I want. I want to learn a bit more French, Italian and Spanish if I can. We usually stay in hotels but you still need some language for shops and restaurants.

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    1. I almost never stay in hotels anymore and I often have to use Google translate even for checking in!

      I agree with you though in that I can luckily get around in Spanish, French and kind of Portuguese by proxy but would like to get better!

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  2. I think it's rude in any culture to just walk up and say what you're looking for without saying hello at least. I obviously don't travel as much as you do, but Rob usually books our trips many months in advance, and so I do DuoLingo for those months leading up to it. As an example, right now I'm brushing up on my school days French as well as Arabic, for our upcoming trip to Morocco. And Spanish of course, it always comes in handy. Google translate is wonderful as well. I am the language person in our pair but Rob can at least say hello, please and thank you in whatever language we need.
    Funny story, recently in Mexico I would say 99% of the people at our resort were American, and the number of people I saw asking for things in a rude way was very high. I started thinking about it, and thought - imagine if I was working at a bar and someone came up to me and just loudly said, with no preamble, WATER. But that's what happened all the time, someone would go up to the bar and just say with increasing volume AGUA. So rude!

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    1. Ug, that hurts my heart. I mean, you could learn to say, agua, por favor, in a nice voice! Was your resort all inclusive? Please do not take this the wrong way but in my mind I see all inclusive as a way for people who don't want to try very hard to assimilate to go to a different country. I may be way off base but that's how I think of it. They don't want to try to learn the language or the culture.

      I once saw a lady from New York, yes I could tell, yell at a cashier at the supermarket I was working at in Bordeaux, in English, because the girl did not understand her question, that she had asked in English. I ended up going over and helping but man was I embarrassed to be from the same county as she was.

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  3. I have not traveled nearly as extensively as you have so this has been easier for me. I learned some French before my France trips and knew some Spanish before my Spain trip. It's incredibly rude to just assume others will speak English. That's probably why Americans get a bad rap for being rude a-holes!

    I have never done a tour and don't know that I ever would unless I was older and wanted to hand over some of the management to someone else (like in my 70s or 80s or something!). I almost always stay in airbnb & vrbos, though. I rarely stay in hotels as I like and need access to a kitchen so I don't have to eat out for every meal!

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    1. See my comment above to Nicole! I blame the New Yorkers! Kidding...

      I am usually a non hotel person too but that does mean that you have to go mingle and find food and stuff! But that's my favorite thing to do! You can always find a connection over food. I remember ogling all of the huge cans of olive oil in Italy and Greece and wishing I was traveling with a bigger suitcase so I could buy some!

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  4. I learned from Mini before we went to Italy that there would be lots of English spoken, so I wasn't worried. "Gluten free' was the only phrase I was concerned about, but Reg happened to have a b-ball playing roomie from Italy when we were planning our trip and he assured me that all restaurants would know what meant. I don't think I travel abroad enough to have a 'system' for how I deal with language barriers. We stayed in a hotel for a few days, and a B & B. The B & B workers were a bit difficult to communicate with. We acted things out a bit. I laughed at your advice on acting out the universal pee face while crossing one's legs. ;)

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    1. Hahaha, yes the pee-pee face is recognized pretty much anywhere!!! I think GF is generally pretty easy, as it is sin gluten, or gluten frei or something similar! In Turkish it's glütensiz!

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  5. I think Google Translate is one of the greatest inventions ever! A couple of years ago, we had our roof repaired. The construction foreman sent his crew, but they only spoke Spanish. They were scrambling around and sounded upset, so we went to talk to them, and communication was impossible. So I typed out "What can we do to help you?" on Google Translate. We passed the phone back and forth, and got our roof repaired quickly because we could get them extension cords and supplies right away instead of waiting for the foreman to return. And they did a great job!

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    1. It really is a lifesaver! I have used it a lot, although when traveling much of the time the phrases are similar, like I am normally looking for food, a bed, or transportation! So I get pretty good at those few things!

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  6. I used to work in a big hotel in San Francisco, and I never liked it when people came up and just started demanding things, no matter what language they were speaking. Thankfully it wasn’t too common, and when it happened it was usually Americans. Sigh.

    I haven’t travelled abroad much, but like you, I like to have a couple of phrases memorized, will use Google translate as needed, and ALWAYS say hello and smile before asking anything.

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    1. Yup. It even helps when you're walking along and someone is just sitting. I always smile and say hello or good morning. I mean, they make think I'm forward, or like most people, they say hi back! I had to walk through a sheep herders property and I was a little unsure where to go and he and his dog looked at me and I said hello and then he helped me find my way, without a common language! It's amazing what a smile will do!

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  7. Wow, this was interesting. My daughter was asking recently why boys don't hold hands (she and her friends went ice skating, and the girls were holding hands with each other but the boys weren't). I can't wait to tell her that they DO- in Africa.
    This is all reminding me of the time I spent working in Europe. Most of my time was in Germany, where I could say the basic phrases and of course, sprechen sie English? In other countries I would learn a few basic phrases and used the point and gesture method A LOT. In Germany almost everyone did speak English, but that was not true in other countries.

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    1. Yes, boys are very affectionate in some countries! I also love it when the American boys get next to the Euros on the beach. We look so modest with our long shorts!!

      I had to use Google translate today to book a room. It was funny and fun and we made it work!! But yes, in Germany 8/10 would say yes when I asked sprechen sie English? But sometimes they don't and you get to work on your guestures and bad German!!

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  8. I'm with you that it feels (or IS) rude to approach someone with English right off the bat. I always at least TRY to say something in the language of the country I'm in, even if it goes poorly, lol. In addition to hello, goodbye, please, thank you, bathroom, cost, I usually like to find out how to order simple things -- like water or beer. I also usually try to figure out how to say "without tomatoes" because I hate tomatoes!

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    1. Haha! Without tomatoes ! I love that! It's like Ernie needing to learn "gluten free." It's not on your normal high school language rotation! Luckily the word tomato is kind of similar in many languages, so you have to just learn "without."

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  9. Languages and Daria go together! I speak Spanish and Russian and can hold my ground in French and German.
    Polish is relatively similar to Russian in a sense that they understand me, I do not understand them as much BUT we made do. Spanish and Italian can be quite similar in a sense that folks may understand the message overall. I picked up quite a few key sentences to get by in Italy.
    If a country where I am going is not a romance language country then I make sure I pick up a few key sentences/words: please, where, thanks/hello/goodbye/etc
    I mainly travel with my kids and the beauty about it is that kids don't sweat it. They just go for it whether they speak the language or not. They see a human, they want to get to know them, and they move in. I wish I could be more like that.

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    1. Wow, you're a polyglot! I only know a few words in Russian, but I've never been there so would definitely add some to the repertoire if I was going to visit!

      Kids are great. They don't care as much about being wrong or sounding silly, which is my main concern. Although it "helps" to go to a place where they don't really speak a lot of English because you learn very quickly how to muddle through, vs just being able to switch to what is comfortable to you right away. I'm using Google translate a lot mor e in rural Türkiye and also the point, guesture, smile method.

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