The Russian language has been called many things, including “difficult” and “mysterious”. Indeed, understanding the language Russians use in their daily life might be hard for someone who doesn’t know the multitude of slang words used in the language.

Here are the twenty frequently used Russian slang words to get you started:

1. Бабки [babki] – “Money”

The literal, somewhat rude meaning is “grandmas”, but the actual meaning is usually “money” or “bucks”. Here’s an example:

Бабки есть? [Babki yest’?] – “Got some money?”

This word is mostly used in casual talk, so you will never hear it from someone speaking in an official manner. In fact, the word бабки is also used by criminals both large and small.

If you watch some modern Russian movies or TV shows, you will notice that the majority of law-breakers use this word for money rather than using the usual деньги [den’gi] .

2. Тусить [tusit’] – “To hang out”

The word тусить doesn’t have a literal meaning and is always used as a verb that means “to hang out” or “to party”.

Мы тусим. [My tusim] – “We’re hanging out.”

Most Russians love hanging out with their friends or family. The word тусить can be used in almost any situation to describe the action of hanging out with other people, but you should still keep in mind that it’s a slang word.

3. Чувак/Чувиха [chuvak/chuviha] – “Dude”

Чувак and чувиха literally mean “dude” and “dudette”. Чувак can also mean “guy”, “pal”, “mate”, and so on, while чувиха can also mean “gal”.

Чувак со мной работает. [Chuvak so mnoy rabotaet.] – “The guy works with me.”

The feminine version of the word dates back to the 1920s, but during that time, it meant “prostitute”. It went more mainstream during the 1960s and has since become a common slang word along with its masculine counterpart.

4. Чёрт [chiort] – “Devil”

The literal meaning of чёрт is “devil”, but it is more commonly used as an exclamation similar to “Shoot!” or “Damn!”

Чёрт, я забыла об этом. [Chiort, ya zabyla ob atom.] – “Shoot, I forgot about it.”

The word чёрт is used both by young and old alike. It is not a swear word, so you will hear people often exclaiming that just like English speakers use “damn” or “shoot” in unfortunate situations.

5. Хавать [havat’] – “To eat”

The word хавать only has one meaning – “to eat”. But this verb takes on a more casual form as it is a slang word.

Идём хавать. [Idiom havat’.] – “Let’s go eat.”

There are many synonyms in the English language that mean the same thing – “to eat”. They include grub, pig out, chow down, and others. As long as it’s a casual word or phrase for eating, its equivalent will probably be хавать in Russian.

6. Бухать [buhat’] – “To drink”

Unlike English, the Russian language actually has a slang word for the verb “to drink” and this word is бухать.

Пошли бухнём. [Poshli buhniom.] – “Let’s go drink.”

There are some other variations that have the same base including бухой [buhoy] (“drunk”) and набухаться [nabuhatsa] (“to get drunk”).

7. Грузить [gruzit’] – “To bore with too much talking”

Literally, it means “to load”, but as a slang word, грузить means “to overload mentally”, “to bore with too much talking” or “to confuse”.

Хватит меня грузить! [Hvatit menia gruzit’!] – “Stop overloading me!”

When someone keeps boring you with their long and endless story or tries to load you with their troubles, you can always use the word грузить to express how you feel and ask them to stop.

8. Бомба [bomba] – “Amazing”

This word is very similar to the English word “bomb” and they actually have the same meaning.
However, бомба also means “the bomb” or “amazing” when used casually.

Это место просто бомба! [Ato mesto prosto bomba!] – “This place is the bomb!”

More often than not, using this word to show your awe of something will express your feelings quite well as it is best applied in situations when you’ve been blown away (in a good sense). By the way, did you know that Russian is one of the most popular, Бомба languages in the world?

9. Достал/Достала [dostal/dostala] – “To be annoyed”

The literal meaning of this verb is “to reach over and get”, but the slang form is just as common and means “to be annoyed”.

Ты меня достал! [Ty menia dostal!] – “You’ve annoyed me!”

By using this verb, you can show that someone has annoyed or irritated you quite a bit.

10. Всё ништяк. [Vsio nishtiak.] – “It’s all good.”

“When I went to Russia, I couldn’t understand what this phrase meant at first. But once they explained it to me, I started using it more often in my daily conversations. “It’s a really fun phrase,” says Neightan White, travel blogger from IsAccurate.

The phrase всё ништяк is the equivalent of the phrase “it’s all good”, but the Russian version has a more casual tone to it.

Я разобрался. Всё ништяк. [Ya razobralsia. Vsio nishtiak.] – “I’ve figured it out. It’s all good.”

Use this phrase to show that everything is fine and you are feeling good.

11. Мне до лампочки. [Mne do lampochki.] – “I don’t care.”

If you take it literally, it won’t make any sense as it means “to me to the lightbulb”. But this phrase actually means “I don’t care”.

Мне до лампочки, придёт он или нет. [Mne do lampochki, pridiot on ili net.] – “I don’t care whether he comes or not.”

You could say that this is a very expressive way to show your indifference to something.

12. Мне фиолетово. [Mne fioletovo.] – “I don’t care.”

This phrase is very similar to the previous one and actually has the same meaning.

Да мне фиолетово вообще. [Da mne fioletovo voobshe.] – “I don’t really care.”

You can use this phrase and мне до лампочки interchangeably.

13. Офигеть! [Ofiget’!] – “Wow!”

There is no literal meaning for this word, but it means something along the lines of “wow” or “I can’t believe it”.

Офигеть! Никогда не ожидала. [Ofiget’! Nikogda ne ozhidala.] – “Wow! I never expected that.”

There is a Russian word фига [figa] that originated from a similar word in German and was the equivalent of the English F-word. Офигеть is just one of the many words that spawned from the word фига and are now widely used all across Russia and some other neighboring countries.

14. Кайфонуть [Kayfonut’] – “To have a pleasant pastime”

This verb originates from the word кайф [kayf] which is a slang term for “pleasure”. Consequently, кайфонуть means “to have a pleasant pastime”.

Я кайфонул. [Ya kayfonul.] – “I had a nice time.” or “I enjoyed myself.”

Originally, this word was used to describe the state one experiences being on drugs, but then its meaning transformed into a more acceptable one. You can use it for anything from enjoying chocolate to having a good time hiking. Try using it during a language exchange.

15. Давай побазарим! [Davay pobazarim!] – “Let’s have a chat.”

Literally, you could say this means “let’s do marketing”. However, the actual meaning is something along the lines of “let’s have a chat”.

Давай выйдем, побазарим. [Davay vyidem, pobazarim.] – “ Let’s go out, have a chat.”
More often than not, you will hear this phrase used by criminals, though normal casual chats may also have it here and there.

16. Да не гони! [Da ne goni!] – “Seriously?”\

You would think that this phrase means “don’t go/drive fast”, but it actually has four other meanings similar to each other.

Да не гони! Серьёзно? [Da ne goni! Seryozno?]\ – “I can’t believe you! Seriously?”

The meanings vary from “you are saying something unreal” and “I don’t/can’t believe you” to “you are saying something I believe is not true” and “stop lying”.

17. Да ну нафиг! [Da nu nafig!] – “ I don’t want it.”

As you may have noticed, this is one of the variations with the word фига. The phrase means “I don’t want it” or “‘eff it”.
Да ну нафиг! Не буду я это делать! [Da nu nafig! Ne budu ya ato delat’!] – ”’Eff it! I won’t do it!”

You could also extend the meaning to “‘eff it, I don’t want to deal with it”.

18. Нифига себе! [Nifiga sebe!]\ – “Wow!”

Yet another useful variation of the aforementioned word, нифига себе is actually quite similar to офигеть and means is used to show your “wow” reaction to something.

_Нифига себе! Он это реально сделал! [Nifiga sebe! On ato real’no sdelal!] – “Wow! He really did it!”

You can use this phrase every time you are awed or surprised by something, but if you are looking for a less striking phrase, ничего себе [nichevo sebe]_ is a nice alternative.

19. Это полный зашквар! [Ato polnyi zashkvar!] – “This is too much.”

This phrase could be used both for saying “this is too much” and for saying “this is insane”. However, the first definition is more widespread.

Это полный зашквар! Я не знаю, что делать. [Ato polnyi zashkvar! Ya ne znayu shot delat’.] – “This is too much! I don’t know what to do.”

You can also say it to somebody who did something insane, overdone, or complicated.

20. Ты спалился! [Ty spalilsia!]\ – “You got spotted!”

The last word on our list literally means “you burned yourself”, but that’s actually not what it is used for. Ты спалился is the equivalent of “you’ve been busted” or “you got spotted”.

Ты спалился на экзамене. [Ty spalilsia na ekzamene.] – “You were busted on the exam.”

More often than not, you will use it to say that you saw someone or another person saw someone doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing (like watching movies when you should be studying for the exam).

Final Thoughts on Russian Slang

All in all, using Russian slang words will not only allow you to sound more natural but will also help you understand songs, movies, and other types of entertainment. This is definitely not a complete list of all the Russian slang words you may encounter while having conversations with Russians, but these twenty are the most commonly used ones and you can start learning them first.

Original article by Kristin Savage, updated by the Fluent in 3 Months team.

If you need additional motivation, check out this Language Hacking podcast episode:

• How to Learn a Language in 2023 – Ultimate Guide with 40+ Language Hacks
• Benny’s Top Resources for Learning Russian
• Innovative Language Review – Complete Pod101 Language Course Review (with Screenshots and Video Results)
• 30 Essential Russian Phrases for Travelers and Russian Learners
• How to Use Russian Poetry to Improve Your Russian [With 10 Recommendations!]

The post 20 Russian Slang Words To Help You Speak Like A Local appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

So, you want to learn German slang? Sehr gut!

One of the best ways to build new vocabulary, and sound more like a native, is to learn the German slang words people use every day.

By sprinkling words from the German umgangsprache into your daily conversations, you can bring your sentences to life and display emotions you won’t find in German textbooks.

Today I want to show you 20 common German slang words, and how to use them, so you can begin to sound more like a native today!

1. Alter!

This is one of my favourite German expressions. It can be used to express surprise, informally greet someone or as an interjection.

It’s a shortened version of the term, Alter Schwede which translates to “old Swedish man” in English. I’m not sure what old Swedish men did to deserve this term, but you can hear it all over Germany.

You might hear Germans using it as a way to say “mate” or “man” to greet you, in a sentence like Alter, was geht ab?, which means “man, what’s going on?”.

You can also use it to express surprise or disbelief in something. For example one of my Rugby friends asked me my age, and I told him I was 25. He laughed and said, Alter! Nein, wirklich, wie alt bist du?, or “Man! No, really, how old are you?”, which did nothing for my ego as he thought I was 32.

You can use it at the start of a sentence to express disbelief, or to add effect to what you’re saying:

• Alter! Ist das euer Auto? – “Man! Is that your car?”
• Alter Schwede! Was hast du gemacht? – “My God! What did you do?”
• Alter! Mach doch!” – “Man! Get on with it.”

2. Moin

Moin is the shortening of the phrase, Guten Morgen or “good morning” in parts of northern Germany. But lots of people have adopted this as a way of saying “Hello!” in German slang, regardless of what time it is.

I even receive emails from friends using Moin as a greeting:

I find this term really helpful if you’re saying hello to a group of people, like if you’ve just walked into a party, and you’re not quite sure what to say.

3. Geil

Geil is a word used to describe anything you feel is cool, tasty or an interesting surprise. But it’s also an odd word because geil technically means, well…”horny”.

But Germans don’t think of it in that context when they use it. Kind of how people in English might use “sick” to describe something good, without thinking the word really means unwell or vomiting.

You’ll often hear geil in sentences like:

• Man, das Essen war so geil! – “Man, that food was amazing!”
• Was hat sie gemacht? Geil! – “What did she do? Brilliant!”
• Ich habe ein geiles Restaurant gefunden. – “I found a really cool restaurant.”

4. Irre

Irre is used the same way in German as “crazy!” is used in English. It has both good, and bad, connotations depending on how you use it. But mostly it’s used to express bad situations, like:

• Der Typ is Irre! – “That guy is a lunatic!”
• Ich fand es Irre, wie schlecht ihren Kundendienst war. – “I found it crazy how bad their customer service was.”
• Es war total Irre, was sie gemacht hat. – “It was crazy what she did.”

5. Krass

When the German language isn’t using five words to describe one thing, it’s using one word to try and describe everything. Krass is one of those words because it can be used to portray both good and bad emotions in equal measure.

It’s often heard as a reply to something. For example: Robert hat 500 Euro mit einem Rubbellos gewonnen (“Robert won 500 Euros on a scratchcard”) could be met with, Krass! (“Cool!”).

But it could also be used as a response to something negative, such as: Robert hat 500 Euro aus meiner Brieftasche geklaut (“Robert stole 500 euros from my wallet”), Krass! Der typ is Irre!, (“What!? That guy is a lunatic”).

You can also use it to describe something; Das Essen hier is krass! Ich liebe es (“The food here is great! I love it”). Or Das Restaurant is krass, ich finde es immer so dreckig (“That restaurant is awful, it’s always so dirty”).

The words around Krass will help to give it context about whether it’s good or bad.

6. Lecker

Lecker is a simple word you can use to say something is tasty. During a meal Germans will often ask you the question, Schmeckt’s? which means, “How is your food?”.

You can simply reply by saying, Ja! Lecker.

7. Assi

Assi is short for asozial which means “chav” in British English. You can probably closely relate this to “redneck” or “trailer trash” in American English, although it doesn’t quite conjure the same image.

An Assi is someone who is uneducated, unemployed, from a low-income area, who wears fake designer clothes and spends their evenings drinking or doing drugs. This isn’t my opinion, however, that’s what people are referring to when they say it.

Assi can also be used to describe something of poor quality or that is undesirable. For example: Ich wollte neue Jeans kaufen, aber alles was ich gesehen hab, war ein bisschen Assi (“I wanted to buy new jeans, but everything I’ve seen was a little chavvy”).

8. Hammer

A hammer is the tool you use to bang nails into wood. It’s the same word in German as in English. But the Germans also use it to describe something that is cool or outstanding.

It can be used simply as, Hammer! to respond to something cool you’ve heard or seen. But you can also expand a little bit.

Let’s say you’ve spent the afternoon at a soccer game and someone asked you if you saw the match-winning goal. You could say, Alter, es war der Hammer!, which means “Man, it was a doozy!”

You can use that sentence on its own to describe lots of things you’ve seen or done.

9. Bescheuert

Bescheuert roughly translates to “dumb” or “stupid” in English. But it also comes with the connotation that someone is one sandwich short of a picnic, or their head is, well… up their arsch.

It’s not uncommon to hear Germans referring to particular politicians as Total bescheuert! when they disagree with their opinions or policy changes.

10. Quatsch

Quatsch is a fun word to say which comes with a few different meanings.

One of the most common ones is a light-hearted way of saying, Don’t be silly!. For example: Ich wollte mich bei dir Bedanken, für das Geschenk (“I wanted to thank you for the present”) could be met with Quatsch! Ich wollte dir was schenken (“Don’t be silly! I wanted to give you a present”).

Quatch can also be used when you think someone is saying something untruthful. Was für Quatsch redest du? (“What are you talking about!?”).

You can say it to release some frustration. Saying Quatsch! out loud when something bad happens is the same as shouting, “Bollocks!” in English.

Finally, you can turn it into the verb quatschen to say that you’re just chatting away with someone. Ich bin jetzt bei Ela. Wir quatchen nur. Ich komme bald nach Hause. (“I’m with Ela right now. We’re just chatting. I’ll come home soon.”)

11. Jein

Jein is a mix of the words Ja for “yes” and Nein for “no”. Germans will often use this word to describe when something isn’t clear cut, or they haven’t yet made a decision.

Let’s say you’re talking to a friend about their relationship status. They’ve been dating someone for a while and you want to know if they’re serious yet. You might ask, Seid ihr jetzt in einer Beziehung? (“Are you in a relationship now?”), to which they could say, Jein (“Yes and no. Maybe. Who knows!?”).

12. Mensch!

Mensch means “human” in German, but it can also be a way of saying “man!” or “oh man!”. It’s often used to show dissatisfaction with someone or something. Or, at that moment when you’re two streets away from your house and you realise you left your mobile phone at home.

If you’ve got a friend who does something you’re not particularly fond of you can say, Mensch! followed by their name to express your dissatisfaction. Mensch, Marie! can be a good way of getting your point across.

13. Mist!

Mist is used in the same way as “crap” or “bugger” might be used in English. It’s relatively inoffensive and can be used to express mild negative emotions. You know, when something isn’t enough to ruin your day, but you wish it hadn’t happened.

You can slot Mist! or Ach, mist! in wherever you would say “crap” or “oh crap” in your normal everyday conversations.

14. Verarschen

Verarschen is a great word to express when someone is messing you around, pulling your leg or taking the piss.

This can be used in a light-hearted way like, Ich verarsche dich nur can be said like “I’m just joking around with you”. Or if you were to say, Verarschen kann ich mich selber! you’d be sarcastically saying, “My eye!”.

Or if you want to take a more serious standpoint you could say, Willst du mich verarschen? (“Are you trying to take the piss?”), when you feel that someone is doing something to wrong you.

15. Kater

Kater is the German word for “hangover”.

If you’ve had a heavy night drinking German beer or schnapps, you might wake up the next day and want to say, Ich habe einen Kater, meaning “I have a hangover”.

16. Prima!

Prima is a way of saying something or someone is great. When I hear Prima, it always sounds happy, like an early 19th-century English gentleman saying, “Tip top ol’ chap”.

Here are some examples of prima in action:

• Das ist prima! – “That’s excellent!”
• Er ist ein prima Kerl! – “He’s a top bloke!”
• Sie macht das prima. – “She does that so well.”

17. Besserwisser

Besserwissers are people who think they know everything, refuse to listen to advice, and can never be wrong. You’ll know this term in English as someone who is a “know-it-all”, and it works as a direct translation.

18. Ausflippen

Can you use your powers of cognate-deduction to figure out what this word means? It’s close to its English relative.

Ausflippen means “to flip out” at someone, or about something. You know that moment when someone completely loses control and starts screaming and shouting in a moment of pure anger?

19. Verdammt

Verdammt is another close cognate to an English word. It can be used in the same way as the word “damn”.

Here are some sentences to give you an idea:

• Verdammt, ich hab mein Handy zuHause vergessen. – “Damn, I left my phone at home.”
• Der verdammte Verkehr geht mir auf den Keks. – “The damn traffic is getting on my nerves.”
• Verdammt, FC Köln haben schon wieder verloren. – “Damn, FC Köln lost again.”

20. Sau-

Sau- is a versatile prefix you can add to lots of adjectives to emphasise how extreme something is. A Sau is a female pig, but for some reason it’s also used as slang.

The first time I heard this word was in the middle of summer at a wine festival in western Germany. It was boiling hot and the people around me would say that it was, Sauwarm which means “it’s absolutely sweltering”.

You can combine some basic vocabulary, and words you’ve learned on this list, to create some native-sounding variations:

• Saulekker – “Incredibly tasty”
• Saugeil – “Insanely cool”
• Sauteuer – “Really expensive”

The Word On The Strasse…

By using these German slang words you’ll sound more native and add more colour to your conversations in almost no time at all.

• The German Alphabet – a Complete Guide
• German Greetings: 10 Ways to Say “Hello” in German
• German Numbers: Learn To Count From 0 to 1,000 in German
• Is German Hard to Learn? Why German Is Easier Than You Think
• 30 Ways to Start a German Conversation

The post 20 Everyday German Slang Words (So You Sound Like A Native) appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

Planning a trip to Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola, or São Tomé and Príncipe?

Whichever Portuguese-speaking nation you want to visit, you’ll have a much richer experience if you get some basic Portuguese phrases under your belt before you board the plane.

The First 9 Basic Portuguese Words and Phrases You Should Learn

Before we jump into the detailed article, here is a rapid-fire list of words and phrases you should learn as soon as you think about having a conversation in Portuguese (which ideally is now!).

• Bom dia – “Good morning”
• Por favor – “Please”
• De nada – “You’re welcome”
• Tudo bem – “Everything is good”
• Até amanhã – “See you” (literally “until tomorrow”)
• De onde você é? – “Where are you from?”
• Como vai? – “How are you?”
• Desculpe – “Sorry” or “Forgive me”
• Tchau – “Goodbye” (informal)

If you need some motivation, take some time to listen to YouTuber Liz’s experience with learning Portuguese:

“Hello” in Portuguese – Olá/Oi

There are many different ways to greet someone in Portuguese. The most important one to know is olá, which simply means “hello”.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the word oi is very common as well. Oi is a more casual way to greet someone, like saying “hi” or “hey” in English.

Oi is not so common in Portugal.

“Excuse me” in Portuguese: Com Licença

The phrase “excuse me” serves a few different functions in English.

First of all, it can be used to get someone’s attention. A polite way to do this in Portuguese is to say com licença or simply licença.

Licença is also what you’d say if you were pushing through a crowd; it’s a polite way to ask someone to step out of your way.

“Excuse me?” can also mean “can you please repeat yourself?” In Portuguese, you can accomplish this with a como? or o que disse?

Or, if you’re in Brazil, you can use a word we’ve already seen: oi. While oi pronounced with a flat tone means “hi”, as mentioned above, you can also say it with a rising tone – oi? – to ask someone to repeat themselves.

Greetings

“Good Morning” in Portuguese: Bom Dia

Three essential phrases to know in Portuguese are bom dia, boa tarde, and boa noite, which respectively mean “good morning”, “good afternoon”, and “good night”. Which one you use depends, obviously, on the time of day.

Bom dia literally means “good day”, but you only ever use it in the morning, i.e. before midday.

Newcomers to Portuguese often struggle to pronounce bom – the masculine form of the adjective “good” – correctly. From the spelling, you’d think it was pronounced like the English word bomb, but this is dead wrong.

The -om ending actually represents a nasal vowel. This means that, instead of closing your mouth like you would for a normal “m” sound, you only say the “o”, but you let the air out through your nose as well as your mouth.

If that doesn’t make sense, don’t worry – this is a tricky thing for beginners to master. As a starting point, just pronounce bom like the English word “bong”. This is much closer to the correct pronunciation than “bomb” is.

“Good Afternoon” and “Good Night”

After midday you can’t say bom dia anymore; instead, you must use boa tarde in the place of bom dia. Then, after 6 pm, you say boa noite (“goodnight”).

“Goodnight” in English isn’t really a greeting; you’d normally only say it to someone who is about to go to bed. Boa noite can carry this meaning in Portuguese, but it can also be used as a greeting, or as a more generic way of saying “bye”.

What about “good evening”? The distinction between the “afternoon” and “evening” doesn’t exist in Portuguese. There’s only the tarde and the noite.

It’s easy to remember which one to use: between midday and 6 pm, it’s the tarde. From 6 pm onwards, it’s the noite. Simple!

“How are you?” in Portuguese

After you’ve greeted someone with an olá or bom dia, follow it up with a como vai? (“how are you?”).

You’d typically respond to como vai? with a simple bem (“well”).

Or instead of como vai? you can use tudo bem and tudo bom. Both of these expressions mean “everything (is) good”, and they can be both a question and a response.

What I mean by that is, to say “how are you?” in Portuguese, you can say tudo bem? or tudo bom? And if someone asks you either of these questions, you respond with the one that they didn’t say.

I.e. if someone asks you tudo bom?, you reply with tudo bem!. If someone asks you tudo bem?, reply with tudo bom!

“Yes” in Portuguese

“Yes” in Portuguese is sim. Like bom above, sim contains a nasal vowel. To a first approximation, it sounds like the English word “sing”.

However, in Brazilian Portuguese specifically, the word sim is almost never used. This isn’t because Brazilians are a disagreeable bunch – it’s just a quirk of their dialect. Saying sim when someone asks you a question is quite unnatural.

So what should you say instead of sim? The trick is to repeat the word from the question. It’s best illustrated by example:

• Você está com frio? – “Are you cold?”
• Estou – “I am”
• Você gostou do filme? – “Did you like the film?”
• Gostei – “I liked (it)”.
• Você fala português – “Do you speak Portuguese?”
• Falo – “I speak (it)”

It’s easy to get used to.

Note that in European Portuguese, people aren’t so shy about saying sim. You can still respond by repeating the verb in the manner above, but there’s nothing wrong with simply saying sim instead.

“No” in Portuguese

Of course, you might not always want to say sim, even in Portugal. In this case, a simple não, which means “no”, will suffice.

• Você está com frio? – “Are you cold?”
• Não – “no”
• Você gostou do filme? – “Did you like the film?”
• Não, foi uma bosta! – “No, it was crap!”
• Você fala português – “Do you speak Portuguese?”
• Não falo – “I don’t speak (it)”
• Mentira! – “Liar!”

“Where is … ?” in Portuguese

If you’re a tourist newly arrived in a Portuguese-speaking country, you might struggle to find your way around. If so, ask for directions using onde está …? – “where is … ?”

Here are a few things you might ask, and this is a good opportunity to note some of the vocabulary differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese:

• Onde está a estação de trem? – “Where is the train station?” (Brazilian Portuguese)
• Onde está a estação de comboio? – “Where is the train station?” (European Portuguese)
• Onde está o banheiro? – “Where is the bathroom?” (Brazilian Portuguese)
• Onde está a casa de banho? – “Where is the bathroom?” (European Portuguese)
• Onde está o ponto de ônibus? – “Where is the bus stop?” (Brazilian Portuguese)
• Onde está a parada de autocarro? – “Where is the bus stop?” (European Portuguese)

(Note that, due to the dominance of Brazilian media and entertainment in the Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese people are far more familiar with brasileirismos – Brazilian words and expressions – than Brazilians are with portuguesismos.)

“Please” in Portuguese

By learning a bit of Portuguese for your travels, you’re being a little more respectful and polite than you would be by assuming that everyone you need to talk to already speaks English.

With that in mind, it’s time to learn a word that’s essential for etiquette in just about every language: “please”!

To make a sentence or request more polite in Portuguese, stick por favor – “please” – on the end.

So for example, if you’re a restaurante and you want to ask for the conta (bill), you could say this to the moço (waiter): Você pode trazer a conta, por favor?

“Thank you” in Portuguese

Now that you know how to say “please”, it’s time to learn the other essential phrase that will make your Portuguese more polite: “thank you”.

The way to say “thank you” in Portuguese depends on your gender. If you’re male, say obrigado. If you’re female, say obrigada. Often this is shortened to a simple ‘brigado or brigada.

Just like English has “thank you”, “thanks”, “cheers”, and more, there are a few different ways to thank someone in Portuguese. You can get by with obrigado/obrigada alone, but see this article for a more detailed explanation of all the alternatives.

“Bye” in Portuguese

We’ve covered “hello”. What about “goodbye”?

As in English, there are a few different ways to say “bye” in Portuguese. The most useful to know is tchau. It’s pronounced exactly like the Italian ciao, from which it’s derived.

Another way to say goodbye is adeus, which is more formal. It literally means “to God”. You may have noticed that adeus is similar to adios, the Spanish equivalent which is increasingly used these days in English. So that makes adeus easy to remember!

Why Should You Learn These Portuguese Phrases?

As I never grow tired of saying on this blog, travelling with English alone is extremely limiting. You don’t have to become fully fluent in every Portuguese dialect to have fun on a short trip to Brazil, but even a small bit of effort to learn the most common Portuguese phrases can make a big difference to your trip, and to how locals perceive you.

My favourite place to start learning a language is with a phrasebook. They’re a great way to get a basic introduction to the language and learn the most essential expressions without having to worry about grammar rules or verb conjugations or the finer points of the imperfect passive subjunctive.

But if you don’t have time to study an entire Portuguese phrasebook, start with these essential Portuguese words and expressions and you can’t go too far wrong.

And if you want to get more in-depth with Portuguese, check out my favourite resources for learning Portuguese.

I hope you enjoy your time in the Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) world. I certainly enjoyed my time in Brazil – enough to make me visit again and again! Maybe you’ll be the same.

The above phrases won’t turn you into a fluent falante (speaker) of Portuguese, but they’re a start. I hope you have as much fun with the Portuguese language as I have.

Let me know if this post was useful to you, or which was your favourite phrase! You can message me on Instagram (@irishpolyglot), TikTok (@irishpolyglot), and Twitter (@irishpolyglot).

• Rocket Languages Review: Can It Launch Your Language Skills To the Next Level?
• 16 Free Online Portuguese Language Classes
• “I Love You” in Portuguese — Plus 50 More Romantic Portuguese Phrases
• How to Say “Hello” in Portuguese: “Olá!” (plus 15 More Ways!)
• Is Babbel Any Good for Language Learners? I Speak 4 Languages Fluently, Here’s What I Think [Babbel Review]

The post 20+ Basic Portuguese Phrases for Travellers and Tourists appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

Have you ever wanted to start a conversation in German but didn’t have enough adjectives to
express yourself?

Starting or continuing a conversation in German requires the basic building blocks of all languages—words—and the most detailed and artistic of all types of words: adjectives.

Here’s the good news: German adjectives can make sense.

To help you learn the most important ones, I searched through a frequency list of the top 500 German words.

I sorted them by how they’re used in the real world. As a result, here are nine themed conversations containing some of the most frequently used German adjectives to practice describing your everyday life in German.

Let’s dive right in!

8 Most Common German Color Adjectives

Adjectives List

Wortschatz über Farben (“vocabulary about colors”)

• “Blue” – Blau
• “Brown” – Braun
• “Dark” – Dunkel
• “Gray” – Grau
• “Green” – Grün
• “Red” – Rot
• “White” – Weiß
• “Yellow” – Gelb

You can learn more German colors in this article!

Gespräch 1: Farben – “Conversation 1: Colors”

Two close friends, Anton and Josef, have met again after a long time apart, but Josef has hurt his eye in a cleaning accident. Anton asks Josef about what happened to him, and they begin talking about how their hair can change colors.

Anton: Krass! Geht’s dir gut? Wann hast du ein blaues Auge bekommen?
“Anton: Wow, is it going well for you? When have you gotten a ‘black’ eye?” (Note 1)

Josef: Ich habe mich versehentlich mit dem Besen geschlagen, als ich gestern geputzt habe. Seit wann werden deine Haare grau?
“Josef: I accidentally hit myself with the broom when I was cleaning yesterday. Since when has your hair started turning gray?”

Anton: Es ist dann eine Weile her. Zumindest ist es noch nicht weiß!
“Anton: It really has been a while then. At least it’s not yet white!” (Note 2)

Josef: Helles Haar könnte tatsächlich zu dir passen. Ich habe darüber nachgedacht, meine Haare rot zu färben.
“Josef: Light hair could really suit you. I have thought about dying my hair red.”

Anton: Du siehst gut aus, mit dunklen Haaren, also mach es. Bist du gelangweilt von deinem aktuellen Look?
“Anton: You look good with dark hair, so do it. Are you bored with your current look?”

Josef: Ja, meine Haare waren für immer braun, aber ich möchte sie nicht hell wie gelb oder grün färben.
“Josef: Yes, my hair seems to be forever brown, but I would not like it to not be bright like yellow or green.”

Notes on Colors

• (1) German-speakers literally say someone with a dark, injured eye has a “blue eye” instead of a “black eye” as in English. The color “black” in German is called schwarz. Blau changes to blaues, because the word for “the eye” in German is a grammatically neuter noun – das Auge.
• (2) Noch does not truly mean “not,” but rather emphasizes the word it’s directly placed by. Its meaning is closer to “yet” or “still.”

20 German Adjectives for Describing Appearances

Adjectives List

Wortschatz über Aussehen (“vocabulary about appearances”)

• “Beautiful” or “pretty” – Schön
• “Big” or “Tall” – Groß
• “Fat” – Fett
• “High” or “Tall” – Hoch
• “Huge” – Riesig
• “Light” (in terms of “weight”) – Leicht
• “Long” – Lange
• “New” – Neu
• “Old” – Alt
• “Round” – Runde
• “Sharp” (or spicy as in food with a hot taste) – Scharf
• “Short” – Kurz
• “Small” – Klein
• “Soft” – Weich
• “Thick” (can also mean fat depending on how its used) – Dick
• “Thin” – Dünn
• “Tiny” – Winzig
• “Ugly” – Hässlich
• “Wide” – Breit
• “Young” – Jung

Gespräch 2: Aussehen – “Conversation 2: Appearances”

Paula and her significant other, Stefan, are at a furniture store shopping for a new bed. They have several children, including a small three-year-old daughter who worries often. She often sleeps with them at night when she’s worried or scared. Considering this, Paula and Stefan want to choose a bed that is comfortable, attractive and safe.

Paula: Wie wäre es mit diesem Bett? Es ist ganz anders als unser altes Bett.
“Paula: How about this bed? It is completely different from our old bed.”

Stefan: Zuallererst ist es hässlich. Aber ich mache mir Sorgen, dass es zu groß und scharf ist. Unsere Kinder werden sich verletzen, wenn sie uns nachts unweigerlich anschließen.
“Stefan: First of all, it’s ugly. But I’m more worried that it’s too big and sharp. Our kids would hurt themselves when they inevitably join us at night.” (Note 1)

Paula: Emilia ist ziemlich jung und winzig. Ich möchte kein Bett, das zu kurz oder lang ist. Das breite Bett dort drüben ist weich und schön. Es ist auch nicht zu klein.
“Paula: Emilia is rather young and tiny. I would like no bed that is too short or long. The wide bed over there is soft and pretty. It is also not too small.”

Stefan: Es könnte unsere beste Option sein. Dieses neue Bett ist im Vergleich zu unserem alten riesig und es sieht so aus, als könnte der dünne Rahmen immer noch unsere dicken Decken und fetten Kissen halten. Was denkst du?
“Stefan: It could be our best option. This new bed is huge compared to our old bed and it seems that the thin frame could still hold our thick blankets and fat pillows. What do you think?”

Paula: Es sollte leicht genug sein, um uns im Haus zu bewegen, und es ist nicht zu breit, damit wir es durch die Tür passen können. Der Preis ist etwas zu hoch, aber der Rahmen hat runde Ecken, damit die Kinder nicht verletzt werden.
“Paula: It should be light enough to fit into our house, and it’s not too wide, so it could still pass through the door. The price is somewhat too high, but the frame has round corners, so the kids would not get hurt.”

Stefan: Ja! Lass es uns kaufen.
“Stefan: Yeah! Let’s buy it.”

Notes on Appearances

• (1) Unweigerlich means “inevitably,” and can be broken apart just like a lot of English adjectives can be. For example:
• Un = “Not”
• Weigern = “to refuse”
• Lich = “-ly”

Doing this may mislead you at times, because putting these words together, you could assume that unweigerlich means “to do something without refusing” when it really means “inevitably.” However, this method still gives you background information about the word, which in turn helps predict the meaning of the word and remember it.

15 Adjectives to Describe Ability in German

Adjective List

Wortschatz über Fähigkeit (“vocabulary about ability”)

• “Bad” – Schlecht
• “Capable” – Fähig
• “Cheap” – Billig
• “Clear” – Klar
• “Difficult” – Schwierig
• “Easy” – Einfach
• “Expensive” – Teuer
• “Good” – Gut
• “Poor” – Arm
• “Quick or fast” – Schnell
• “Really” – Wirklich
• “Rich” – Reich
• “Slow” – Langsam
• “Strong” – Stark
• “Weak” – Schwach

Gespräch 3: Fähigkeit – “Conversation 3: Ability”

Axel and his uncle, Helmut, are playing basketball on the sidewalk. Axel doubts his ability to be good at basketball, so he asks his uncle whether he believes that he can someday be a professional basketball player. Uncle Helmut reassures Axel that he definitely can and that it’s his choice to become one or not.

Axel: Glaubst du wirklich, ich könnte eines Tages ein professioneller Basketballspieler sein, Onkel?
“Axel: Do you really believe I could be a professional basketball player one day, uncle?”

Onkel Helmut: Absolut. Es ist klar, dass du Talent hast und hart arbeitest. Du lernst auch schnell.
“Uncle Helmut: Absolutely. It is clear that you have talent and work hard. You also learn quickly.”

Axel: Aber ich bin so schwach und langsam! Und die Techniken und Übungen zu lernen, ist ziemlich schwierig. Wir sind auch arm, also können wir uns nicht einmal einen echten Korb leisten.
“Axel: But I am so weak and slow! And learning the techniques and exercises is rather difficult. We are also poor, so we can’t even afford a real basket.”

Onkel Helmut: Du wirst dich wirklich davon abhalten lassen, Kleiner? Natürlich wird es nicht einfach sein und du wirst nicht für immer gleich bleiben. Du wirst eines Tages stark und schnell sein. Nur weil du reich bist, heißt das auch nicht, dass du fähig bist. Du hast die Fähigkeit, gut im Basketball zu sein, aber ob du gut darin sein willst, liegt bei dir.
“Uncle Helmut: Are you really going to let that stop you, kiddo? Naturally, it won’t always be easy and you will not stay the same forever. You will one day be strong and fast. Just because you’re rich doesn’t also mean that you are capable. You have the ability to be good at basketball, but whether you will be good depends on you.”

Axel: Ja, danke, alter Mann. Ich finde es immer noch schlecht, dass die Körbe so teuer sind.
“Axel: Yeah, thanks old man. I still find it bad that the baskets are so expensive though.”

Onkel Helmut: Die Dinge sind heutzutage sicherlich nicht billig, aber ich werde meine Freundin Marie fragen. Sie ist gut darin, Dinge zu finden, die spottbillig sind.
“Uncle Helmut: Things are surely not cheap nowadays, but I will ask my friend Marie. She is good at finding things dirt cheap.” (Note 1)

Notes on Ability

• (1) Instead of saying “dirt cheap,” German-speakers literally say “mockery cheap”.

Working with Nouns, Numbers, and Grammatical Gender

There are three grammatical genders for nouns in German: feminine, masculine, and neuter. German nouns usually have two forms—plural or singular—as well. Yet, grammatical gender does not reflect the biological gender of the object—it simply tells you which ending to use with the word.

The Grammatical Loyalty of a German Adjective

A German adjective is loyal to and matches the noun it describes. This means an adjective adds detail to or explains a noun, and must reflect the grammatical gender and number of this noun.

A German adjective is placed next to the noun and conjugates according to the grammatical gender and specificity of the noun it describes. Masculine, feminine, neuter, and plural nouns react differently to the grammatical rules of strong and weak adjective endings.

Let’s learn a little more about this.

Grammatical Cases and German Adjective Endings

Strong Ending Vs. Weak Ending

If the noun that a German adjective describes is not specific, or in other words, does not use an indefinite article (“a” or “an”) or does not have a determiner (“this”, “our”, “any”, etc.), it has a strong ending.

If the noun that the German adjective describes is specific, so uses a definite article (“the”) or a determiner (“this”, “our”, “any”, etc.), then it follows the weak ending rules.

Strong and weak endings of German adjectives also change depending on the category of grammar rules or grammatical case it uses. There are four basic grammatical rule cases in German: nominative, dative, accusative, or genitive.

Possessive adjectives (mein, dein, Ihr, etc.) in German noticeably follow these complex rules and change depending on the grammatical gender and case of the nouns they describe. Meanwhile, predicate adjectives, a grand exception, follow the German verbs (sein, bleiben, and werden). German predicate adjectives do not change no matter which noun you use them to describe. Examples of predicative adjectives include: ruhig, lustig, and riesig. Did you notice that predicate adjectives usually end in -ig in German?

If you would like a step-by-step guide, learning tips, or German content recommendations for practicing the German language, then check this out! Here are 12 Effective Tips for learning German along with some resources that might help you in your German learning journey .

When Should You Conjugate German Adjectives?

German adjectives are technically always conjugated, because all adjectives in German have been assigned endings. The ending assigned might not change the way the German adjective looks, like the predicate adjective riesig, but it’s still considered to be conjugated. When conjugating your adjective, consider two factors:
What is the case of the adjective? Is the adjective describing the subject, object or position of something in the sentence?
Is the adjective describing a noun? If so, is the noun grammatically feminine, neuter, or masculine?

Check out the complete guide to German adjective endings if you would like more help with grammatical rules or conjugating German adjectives.

In the end, here’s the deal. Adjectives contribute so much information to a sentence, so mastering them can really add color and charm to your vocabulary.

The post Practicing German Adjectives in Everyday Conversations appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

Saying “I love you” in Portuguese is a special thing to me – not least because it’s the language in which I said my wedding vows.

If you plan on travelling to a Portuguese-speaking country, perhaps you too will find love on the road. Or maybe you’ve already found a Portuguese speaking lover! In either case, it’s good to make sure you know all the words and expressions below, so you’re never unsure how to say “I love you” in Portuguese.

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“Love” in Portuguese

“Love” in Portuguese is amor, a masculine noun. It’s a cousin of English words like “amorous”.

To the object of your affection, you could say: você é o amor da minha vida – “you are the love of my life.”

You might send messages com amor (with love), or tell someone they’re your amor verdadeiro – “true love”. “To make love” is fazer amor.

So maybe tomorrow morning you can greet your Portuguese-speaking lover with bom dia, meu amor – “Good morning, my love” in Portuguese.

“To love” in Portuguese

We’ve covered the noun “love”. The verb “to love” in Portuguese is amar, and it conjugates like this:

• eu amo – “I love”
• tu amas – “you love” (informal in Portugal, not used at all in Brazil)
• você ama – “you love” (formal in Portugal, used in all situations in Brazil)
• ele/ela ama – “he/she loves”
• nós amamos – “we love”
• vocês amam – “you (plural) love”
• eles/elas amam – “they love”

For the sake of completeness, it’s also worth knowing vós amais, an antiquated way of saying “you (pl.) love”. You’ll never hear it in speech anymore, but it might turn up in old-timey writing.

With amar under our belts, we can learn this essential phrase:

“I love you” in Portuguese

To say “I love you” in Brazilian Portuguese, say eu te amo. Or better yet, drop the eu, as it’s optional: te amo.

Portuguese people tend to use a different word order to Brazilians, especially when it comes to pronouns. So, while te amo is still acceptable in Portugal, amo-te can be used as well. Brazilians would almost never use amo-te, except perhaps in very formal writing.)

To say “I love you too” in Portuguese, i.e. in response to a te amo or amo-te, you can say te amo/amo-te também, or simply eu também.

Or maybe you want to make things sound more intense. Te amo muito means “I love you a lot”.

Te amo muitíssimo is even more emphatic. It’s a great way to say something like “I love you so much” in Portuguese.

To say “I’m in love with you” in Portuguese, say estou apaixonado por você (change apaixonado to apaixonada if you’re female).

As you may know, Portuguese has two words for “to be”: ser and estar. It’s a complicated topic, but the basic idea is that ser is used for permanent, non-changing states while estar is used for temporary conditions. So actually, if you’ve been madly in love with someone for a long time, it makes more sense to say sou apaixonado/apaixonada por você instead of estou.

“Beautiful” in Portuguese

There are a few ways in Portuguese to tell someone that they’re beautiful.

First off, you could describe someone as bonito (for men) or bonita (for women). This is roughly equivalent to calling someone “pretty” in English.

A stronger word is lindo or linda, which means “beautiful”. The noun lindeza means “beauty”.

Then there’s gostoso/gostosa, which literally means “tasty”, but is a common gíria (slang word) in Brazil for saying that someone is… well, tasty. Tell someone they’re gostoso if you think they’re hot.

The English word “sexy” is also used in Portuguese, with the exact same meaning.

Finally, there’s tesudo or tesuda. This word doesn’t have a direct translation, but if someone is tesudo then it means they make you feel tesão; that is, sexual desire.

Note that tesudo/a is a rather suggestive word. If you tell a girl you just met that you find her tesuda, don’t be surprised if she slaps you in the face!

“Cute” in Portuguese

Another word worth knowing is fofo/fofa, which means “cute”. Use it to describe people, animals, children, or anything that makes you go “awwwwwww”.

Stopping you here in case you’d like to read about someone else’s experience with learning Portuguese. You can read about Holly’s 90-day mission right here!

“I miss you” in Portuguese

There’s a famous word in Portuguese that has no direct English translation. Long-time Fi3M readers may know it, as it’s been mentioned a few times before.

That word is saudade, plural saudades. If you have a saudade for something, it means you feel a deep longing or yearning for it. You miss it!

So to tell someone you miss them in Portuguese, say eu estou com saudades de você – “I have (lit: am with) saudades for you”!

“Heart” in Portuguese

“Heart” in Portuguese is coração. Make sure to pronounce the “-ão” ending correctly, with a nasal sound; this is often a difficult one for learners of Portuguese.

Like in English, and in most languages, Portuguese has a lot of heart-related expressions about relationships and love. A warm, generous person is said to have a grande coração – big heart – or even a coração de ouro – heart of gold. If you want to win someone’s affections, you can try to ganhar o coração – win their heart. Or if your attempts to ganhar o coração are unsuccessful, you may be left with a coração partido – a broken heart.

If something is very important to you, you can say that you feel it do fundo do meu coração; “from the bottom of my heart”.

So next time you see your Portuguese-speaking love interest, let your true feelings be known: te amo do fundo do meu coração – “I love you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Sweetheart” in Portuguese

Portuguese has many terms of endearment – cute, affectionate names by which you might address a loved one, like “sweetheart” or “darling” in English.

One common term of endearment is querido (said to a man) or querida (said to a woman.) While it literally means something like “desired”, think of it as like the English word “sweetheart”; it’s the kind of thing a husband might say to his wife (or vice versa.)

Another nice term of endearment is bem. Or to keep things simple, address your loved one as amor. I already told you what that one means!

“Boyfriend/girlfriend” in Portuguese

Your “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” in Portuguese is your namorado or namorada. To remember it, think of the English word “enamoured”.

In the early stages of your relationship, you might say that you’re saindo com the other person; “going out with them”. Once things get more serious, and they “officially” become your namorado or namorada, you say that you’re namorando com them. (Com means “with”.)

“Fiancé/fiancée” in Portuguese

Are you ready to pop the question to your namorada? If so, get down on one knee and say você quer casar comigo? – “will you marry me?”. Hopefully he or she will say yes, in which case you’re no longer namorados (boyfriend/girlfriend) but noivos (fiancés/engaged.)

If you speak Spanish, beware of the false friend here. In Spanish your novio or novia is your boyfriend or girlfriend, but in Portuguese the cognates noivo and noiva (note the slightly different spelling and pronunciation) mean “fiancé” and “fiancée” respectively. (Your “fiancé/fiancée” in Spanish is your prometido/prometida.) Make sure you don’t mix these words up!

On the day of the casamento (wedding), the words noiva and noivo are still used to refer to the bride and the groom. Portuguese doesn’t have separate words for “bride” and “groom” like English does; you’re still just “fiancés”.

“Husband/wife” in Portuguese

So now that you’re casado (married), what should you call each other? Easy: “husband” in Portuguese is marido and “wife” is esposa. No amigos falsos this time: both words are exactly the same as in Spanish.

Enjoy having an aliança (wedding ring) on your finger. Parabens (congratulations) on your marriage!

“Love” in Portuguese is a Beautiful Thing

As the Beatles sang, tudo o que você precisa é de amor. Well, actually they sang “all you need is love”, but I like how it sounds in Portuguese. Hopefully I’ve given you all the words you need to catch and keep that special someone. Learning another language is, after all, a great way to broaden your potential dating pool. 😉

If you want to hear about someone else’s experience with Portuguese, here is an episode of the Language Hacking podcast that will be a good fit!

Let me know if this post was useful to you, or which was your favourite word or phrase! You can message me on Instagram (@irishpolyglot), TikTok (@irishpolyglot), and Twitter (@irishpolyglot).

• Rocket Languages Review: Can It Launch Your Language Skills To the Next Level?
• 16 Free Online Portuguese Language Classes
• How to Say “Hello” in Portuguese: “Olá!” (plus 15 More Ways!)
• Is Babbel Any Good for Language Learners? I Speak 4 Languages Fluently, Here’s What I Think [Babbel Review]
• 20+ Basic Portuguese Phrases for Travellers and Tourists

The post “I Love You” in Portuguese (+ 50 More Romantic Phrases) appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

Do you want to learn how to count in French? If you’re looking to get a handle on French numbers, I’ve got you and your Eiffel Tower keychain covered.

In this article, I explain everything you need to master counting in French. I’ll walk you through both cardinal French numbers (“one, two, three…) and ordinal French numbers (“first, second, third…”).

Impress your friends. Dazzle your French lover. Have a baguette count-a-thon at the bakery. All this and more is possible. But first, read this article.

Let’s start with a handy-dandy list of French numbers from one to ten. There will be a few cheat sheets in this article. Scroll down for tables on counting up to 100 and ordinal numbers. I’ve also included a video that will help you with French numbers pronunciation. You can use this video for listening and speaking practice.

French Numbers 1-10: How to Count to Ten in French

Let’s start with the basics. Counting from one to ten in French is relatively simple. The French numbers up to 10 are as follows.

French for “One”: Un or Une

Sitting at your favorite Parisian cafe and wanting to order a coffee? Un café, s’il vous plaît will get you properly caffeinated. That’s French for “One coffee, please.”

Later that night, you meet up with some pals for a cold one. Une bière, s’il vous plaît might be useful. It means, “One beer, please.”

Did you notice that there are two versions of “one/a/an” in French? Un is the masculine version and une is the feminine version. To learn more about genders in your target language, read this article by Benny Lewis, founder of Fluent in 3 Months.

French Numbers 1-100: How to Count to 100 in French

Let’s take a look at the first 100 numbers in French. After you’ve reviewed this, I’ll walk you through some hacks for getting them into your long-term memory.

As you can see from the table, everything is hunky-dory from one to 69.

Things get a little tricky for 70, 80 & 90. We’ll look at them closely in a moment. Don’t fret. If Napoleon could handle French numbers, you can, too!

1-100 in French. Whew! That’s a whole lotta numbers. Let’s see if we can find some patterns.

Start by learning the numbers for 1-15. This is the foundation for all other numbers: un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix, onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze.
Memorize the numbers for the multiples of ten: vingt, trente, quarante, cinquante, soixante, soixante-dix, quatre-vingt, quatre-vingt-dix.

Language Hack: Mundane memorization can be helped by incorporating movement into the sessions. I still hear splashing water when I count in French. Years ago, I took my flashcards into the shallow end of a pool. I memorized them out loud while hopping from one side of the pool to the other. Hey, whatever floats your boat!

Once you’ve memorized the above, you can fill in the gaps with a simple formula:

• For numbers from 16-19, take the rightmost digit and say “dix + (digit)”. E.g. 17 = dix + sept = dix-sept. This is like English: 17 is “seven + ten” i.e. “seventeen”.
• It’s pretty simple for 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 and 81. You simply add “and one” which is et un. E.G. 51 = “fifty and one” = cinquante-et-un. (The exceptions to this rule are 71 & 91.)
• The numbers from 22-29, 32-39 and so on get contracted into a single word – so instead of vingt et huit, it’s vingt-huit. You merely add the single number to the tens number.

Two easy wins:

• zero = zéro: Add a fancy accent and you’ve got this one.
• 100 = cent: Just remember that 100 cents make a dollar.

A few tricky numbers to master:

• 70 = soixante-dix which is “60 + 10”
• 80 = quatre-vingts which is “four 20s”
• 90 = quatre-vingt which is “four 20s + 10”

The country of France is where this wacky math comes into play. In Switzerland and Belgium, you can use a simpler version.

• 70 = septante
• 80 = huitante
• 90 = nonante

Folks in France would be able to understand you if you use those numbers. But what fun is speaking in French without a little Parisian calculation?

Because 70 and 90 are 60 and 80 plus 10, they use teens to express their digits from 71-79 and 91-99. For example, 71 is soixante-et-onze (“60 + 11”) while 95 is quatre-vingt-quinze (“80 + 15”). You can scroll back up to the numbers table to practice.

It sounds complicated but it’s not. Once you run through these a few times, you’ll have a solid grasp on the 70s and 90s. Or rather bell-bottoms and flannel plaid shirts.

What’s the Word in French for 100?

We mentioned it earlier but I didn’t want you to miss it. So, here it is again. The word for 100 in French is cent.

Here is an interesting fact. 100 and 1000 (cent and mille) never use the indefinite article (un). Whereas the other larger numbers do. In English, we use the indefinite “a” and “an”. For example, we have a hundred people here. Or we have a thousand people here.

In French, we say, “We have hundred people here.” or “We have thousand people here.” The indefinite article (un) is only omitted when using the numbers cent and mille. When we get to a million, the indefinite article is used again. Let’s look at some examples.

Nous avons cent personnes ici. – “We have hundred people here.”
Nous avons mille personnes ici. – “We have thousand people here.”
Nous avons un million de personnes ici. – “We have a million people here.”
Nous avons un milliard de personnes ici. – “We have a billion people here.”

French Numbers 1-1000: How to Count to 1000 in French

Larger French numbers follow a few simple rules:

For numbers from 100 to 199, use cent followed by the rest of the number:

105 = cent cinq
149 = cent quarante-neuf
181 = cent quatre-vingt-un

For numbers from 200 to 999, you’re going to be happy. They are relatively simple:

200 = deux cents
300 = trois cents
400 = quatre cents
500 = cinq cents
600 = six cents
700 = sept cents
800 = huit cents
900 = neuf cents

To fill in the gaps for the remaining numbers from 200-999, follow the same patterns as 100:

501 = cinq cent un
508 = cinq cent huit
530 = cinq cent trente
531 = cinq cent trente-et-un
565 = cinq cent soixante-cinq
598 = cinq cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit

French Numbers from 1 Thousand to 1 Million

And now, on to the huge numbers.

Great news! You only need to learn two new words to be able to count to 1,000,000. Those essential words are mille (1,000) and un millon (1,000,000).

The only time you’ll see un mille is in numbers like soixante et un mille (61,000). You need to put an un in this number to differentiate it from soixante mille (60,000). When talking about 1,000 with nothing in the “ten-thousands” column, write mille, with no un.

Forming new numbers with mille and un millon is fairly straightforward. It is best illustrated by example:

1,000 = mille
1,001 = mille et un
1,500 = mille cinq cents
1,766 = sept cent soixante-six
2,001 = deux mille un
40,000 = quarante mille
74,000 = soixante-quatorze mille
100,000 = cent mille
415,297 = quatre cent quinze mille deux cent quatre-vingt-dix-sept
1,000,000 = un million
3,000,000 = trois millions
6,492,000 = six millions quatre cent quatre-vingt-douze mille
8,841,932 = huit millions huit cent quarante et un mille neuf cent trente-deux

When you’re using un million or a million with a noun, you must use de. “One million cats” is un millon de chats. Literally, you’re saying “one million of cats”. That would be one serious cat-lady.

Billions and Trillions in French

1,000,000,000 (one billion) = un milliard
1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) = un billion

While English uses the French word for million, billion is not a cognate. A cognate is a word that sounds or looks similar to another word in another language. Sometimes this is because they come from the same family. Other times, it’s because the word is borrowed.

Un billion is French is what we call a false friend. It looks exactly the same as our English word but it means something different. Un billion means a trillion in French. With a little practice, you’ll have it down pat in no time.

French Numbers Pronunciation

Here’s a video I made that will help you pronounce French numbers.

There are two ways to pronounce six “six”, huit “eight”, and dix “ten”.

This bit of information is for intermediate learners. If you’re a beginner, it doesn’t hurt to read this section. Simply let the ideas flow over you for the first time.

The pronunciation of six “six”, huit “eight”, and dix “ten” will depend on the word that follows them in a sentence. Let’s look at a few examples to help you understand the differences.

When Six, Huit or Dix Is the Last Word in the sentence

Let’s start with the easiest pronunciation. This is the one we use when we are simply counting. We also use this pronunciation when the number comes at the very end of a sentence.

Combien de billets avez-vous? – “How many tickets do you have?”

• J’en ai six. (“seese”) – “I have six of them.”
• J’en ai huit. (“weet”) – “I have eight of them.”
• J’en ai dix. (“deese”) – “I have ten of them.”

When Six, Huit or Dix Is Followed by a Consonant

If six is followed by a word starting with a consonant such as chiens (“dogs”), it will be pronounced “see”. This rule applies to all three numbers.

• Six chiens (“see”)
• Huit chiens (“wee”)
• Dix chiens (“dee”)

When Six, Huit or Dix Is Followed by a Vowel

If six or dix is followed by a word starting with a vowel, it will be pronounced with a Z on the end.

• Six oranges (seez)
• Dix oranges (deez)

Ordinal Numbers in French

Let’s wrap this up with ordinal numbers.

What is an ordinal number? It is a number that explains a noun’s place in a sequence (e.g. the first runner to cross the finish line, the second house on the right).

First things first. Here’s a table to give you the most important ordinal numbers. See if any of these words look familiar to you. I bet you’ll see a few words you already know.

Our second tip: In French, adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun it is describing. I have some wonderful news for you! Most ordinal numbers can be used for both masculine and feminine words.

The important exception is first. It’s première for feminine nouns and premier for masculine nouns.

And third but not least, word order for ordinal numbers is similar to English. The ordinal number comes before the word. The majority of adjectives come after the noun in French. So, this is a little freebie for anglophones.

the first dog = le premier chien
the brown dog = le chien brun

the fifth house = la cinquième maison
the clean house = la maison propre

The Napoleon of French Numbers – That’s you!

So, there you have it. You now know how to count from one to infinity in French.

I recommend watching the pronunciation video a few times and repeating the phrases. And don’t forget to habit stack while you’re doing it. Pronunciation videos pair well with mindless tasks like walking or menial chores.

And if the numbers seem too difficult to you, I want to point you towards some French-learning inspiration stories. Check out the Language Hacking podcast, especially episodes like Melanie’s about how she learnt French with her seven children. You will get a lot of great tips on

I hope you enjoyed this article. Á bientôt ! (“See you soon!”)

The post French Numbers: Counting in French from 1 to 100+ appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

Whether you’re simply building your own language skills or doing professional translation work, picking the best Japanese translator can be tricky. Which ones are the most accurate? Which ones have the specialized vocabulary you need? And how reliable are AI and automatic translators?

I’ve worked in Japanese translation in so many different contexts over the years, both in Japan and the US. Professionally, I’ve dabbled in a variety of works, including translating and interpreting TV shows and movie subtitles, executive-level meetings of all levels at a manufacturing company, political news coverage, and cultural heritage sites for tourism.

In this article, I’ll introduce you to some of the most popular translator websites and apps. I’ll also provide guidance on how to find specialized dictionaries and translators if you need them. So let’s get to it!

The Best Japanese Translation Dictionary for English Speakers: WWWJDIC (and Variants)

If you’re looking for a good Japanese translator app or website, look no further than those based on the Australian academic Jim Breen’s amazingly thorough project WWWJDIC. This is a Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionary – and much, much more!

You may know this website by another name. For example, WWWJDIC powers popular dictionaries such as Jisho.org, the imiwa? app, and the Yomiwa app.

(While most Japanese learners I’ve met prefer the interface of Jisho.org, I’m quite loyal to the WWWJDIC website. Maybe I’m a bit of a purist. But it doesn’t matter – either site will basically allow you to do all of the exciting things I’m about to tell you!)

The main dictionary has about 180,000 entries – and that’s a lot! Massive, really! Many vocabulary and phrase entries show multiple ways to read and write the word (for example, if the same word might have multiple possible pronunciations or kanji) and example sentences. This way, you can see how words are used in context or how they might be translated in different ways.

WWWJDIC even includes translations of specialized terminology, such as those in fields such as medicine, engineering, law, and Buddhism. Amazing!

WWWJDIC also has an extensive Japanese surname database. This is incredibly useful since Japanese names often break or bend the rules for kanji readings!

Speaking of which, WWWJDIC also has an extensive overall kanji database. It can even help you break down and identify kanji based on the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) or the most commonly used kanji, for example.

While WWWJDIC isn’t a “translator” at heart, it is an essential tool for anyone working on a Japanese translation. You will always need a good dictionary. I also include it for two more reasons:

First, it has some translation entries for set phrases or idiomatic expressions. This is a great resource for identifying kotowaza, or Japanese proverbs, which might not seem obvious when put into a translation machine!

Also, it also has a handy “text glossing” feature. On this page, you can input a lengthier text, and it will help you identify and translate core words and grammar patterns. This is incredibly helpful if you are translating a passage and don’t want to look up each word one at a time. (This is called “text reading assistance” on Jisho.org, but I honestly feel like WWWJDIC does a better job at this one.)

Notable competitors:

• Honestly, for English speakers, WWWJDIC has none in terms of English-Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries. It powers many websites and apps, so you can choose which one you like the best. Its only real competition is some websites for Japanese speakers like Weblio, which I explain in a later section.

The Best Japanese Machine Translation Site: Google Translate

Over the last several years, Google Translate has become a very accurate Japanese translator. It’s available as both a website and app for iOS and Android.

Google has made some great investments in its translation abilities between English and Japanese, and it has paid off! I remember the days when it would just translate word for word and come up with gibberish. Now, it can translate even complex or relatively nuanced passages!

Not only can it translate relatively long passages very quickly, but it’s also quite accurate! The machine voices can produce audio that sounds relatively human, and the app can also translate text from your camera in real time.

Keep in mind that there are some things Google Translate (and indeed, any machine translation) still struggles with regard to Japanese translation. Since Japanese is a very context-dependent language – for example, it often leaves out the subject of a sentence – there are simply things machine translators won’t get right.

It also works better with structured language. For example, in my experience, it translates news articles (which are often written in quite clear language) better than colloquial speech (which might be the most context-dependent of all)!

So, always double-check the translation it produces. It doesn’t always understand nuances or context!

Notable competitors:

• DeepL is the main competitor for Google Translate. It can translate emails and documents, like PowerPoint files, and offers some CAT tools (or Computer Assisted Translation tools, as discussed a bit further down). However, most of its features are in its paid version, so it’s not as accessible as Google Translate.
• Those loyal to Microsoft may want to use Bing’s Microsoft Translate, but honestly, it’s just not as developed for English-Japanese pairings.

The Up and Coming Japanese Machine Translator: ChatGPT

You’re probably wondering about how AI is going to change the landscape of the Japanese translation world. Honestly, so am I! Even a lot of professional CAT tools and other machine translators are now using AI.

AI and what it can do is changing constantly. As of now, ChatGPT can translate between Japanese and English. Here’s the lowdown of how the free version of ChatGPT does currently.

Pros:

• You can interact with it and give it context to the translation. This is different from Google Translate (although sometimes Google Translate allows you to choose from multiple translation options). This is very important in highly contextual languages such as Japanese, since the meaning of a sentence might vary depending on the context.
• If you think something is wrong in the translation it produces, you can give it feedback and have it edit its translation. This includes asking it to revise things like its vocabulary, fluency, or accuracy.
• Like Google Translate, it’s quick! Enough said.

Cons:

• While paid pro versions are becoming more specialized with translation, ChatGPT was not made with translation explicitly in mind, like Google Translate. It relies on patterns of information it’s fed, and sometimes it produces inaccurate or inappropriate content. Since Google Translate is putting a lot of emphasis on Natural Language Processing, it still might have a slight edge in some cases.
• In relation, ChatGPT’s output is still highly reliant on how you prompt it. Therefore, depending on what you input, the quality of its output may vary significantly. This may be a challenge until you find the right prompting method for your needs.
• While ChatGPT can work with complicated and long translations, it tends to work well with less complex translations. Since it was made with translation in mind, Google Translate still seems to have an edge with longer passages.

So the bottom line here is that ChatGPT is an emerging translation tool. It is promising and worth comparing with Google Translate, but definitely check out our warnings about machine translation later on in the article!

The Best Japan-Based Translator: Weblio

I’ve talked about dictionaries made by native English speakers translating into Japanese. It’s worth mentioning the reverse – dictionaries made by native Japanese speakers translating into English!

Weblio is the winner here. It is a comprehensive Japanese-English pair dictionary made for Japanese native speakers. Like WWWJDIC, it also has a lot of specialized terminology.

Unlike the above, Weblio mostly acts as a dictionary of English words, explaining their meanings and nuances in Japanese. This makes it somewhat more useful for native Japanese speakers translating to or from English. You’ll also need to be comfortable navigating a website in Japanese to use it.

But there’s a part of the website that’s incredibly useful for English-native (or non-Japanese native) speakers, too.

By far, the most useful tool of this site is its ample example sentences. By searching for a key term or phrase, you can usually find several if not hundreds of example phrases and sentences with that word in use, translated into both English and Japanese. As I talked about in a previous section, this is incredibly helpful for seeing how words and nuances are conveyed in context!

The sentences and phrases usually differ from what’s on WWWJDIC, so it’s worth having a couple of dictionaries and translators at hand.

Notable competitors:

• Eijiro (英辞郎) is in my mind Weblio’s main competitor. Eijiro is a tool developed for Japanese speakers translating content into English. Like Weblio, its main sticking feature is its wealth of example sentences and phrases. I actually personally find its example sentences easier to search through and more robust than Weblio.

The downside is that whereas this website used to be free, accessing most of the example sentences now requires a subscription. That’s why Weblio wins this category, since it’s still free.

CATs: Computer Assisted Translation Tools

Now, if you are a professional Japanese translator, you might want to invest in a CAT, or a Computer Assisted Translation, tool. These are widely used by translators to enhance efficiency and maintain consistency in their work.

They often offer features like translation memory, localization glossaries, terminology management, collaborative translation, and quality assurance checks. By storing and streamlining translation information, they can help automate the translation process for the human translator.

These can be important if you are translating a big project, such as a novel or a television series, and need to translate names and terms consistently throughout. This is especially so if multiple people are working on the same project!

For example, I worked on a translation of a Japanese fantasy anime series with another translator (whom I had no direct interaction with and couldn’t discuss terms). We were translating subtitles for the same show but different episodes at the same time. We had to make note of how we translated names, places, and catchphrases in a shared spreadsheet to make sure we both used the same translation consistently. It was easy to mess up, and quite a headache! Having a CAT tool could have helped with these issues.

With the rapid developments of AI, CAT tools are changing at a very quick pace, including pricing. There are also so many on the market it’s difficult to select which one is the best over others. For example, DeepL provides many of the CAT tools above. So it’s best for you to look at what’s on the market and decide what the right one is for your (and possibly your team’s) needs. For a starting point, Benny talks about some in his article about how to become a location-independent freelance translator!

Finding Other Specialized Japanese Translators

When working as a Japanese translator, there are relatively few resources geared for native English speakers. Sometimes you might not find the right specialized dictionary, no matter how hard you search for it in English.

For example, WWWJDIC doesn’t have a significant repository of accountancy words and phrases. This is quite a difficulty if you need to translate or learn how to translate accounting!

Actually, sometimes you might have the best luck looking for Japan-based translation websites or dictionaries meant to support Japanese translators working with English. Weblio might have the phrases you need in its database, but in case it doesn’t, you can do a targeted internet search.

For example, the term “to close an account” means something different in an accounting department at a company compared to its use at a bank. In the former context, it’s a specialized accountancy phrase related to processing financial records (one possible translation is 計算を締め切る, keisan wo shimekiru). In the latter context, it’s completely different and something an average citizen might do – close a bank account (口座を閉じる, koza wo tojiru). You’ll likely find a translation for the latter in dictionaries. What if you don’t know the former?

You can go to your preferred search engine and type in “close accounts” with vocabulary related to the field you are translating in, such as 経理部 (keiribu, “accounting department [of a company]”). You might find some blogs or less-known websites with the specialized translations you need on Japanese websites. AI might also be increasingly helpful for this.

It might also be worth checking Japanese bookstores, since they often have very useful physical dictionaries of specialized fields. These are often to help Japanese employees learn English phrases for their international work environments.

For example, Toyota has streamlined a lot of its translations of its philosophy and work processes for its global hubs and suppliers. When I worked as a translator at one, I found this book to be very helpful.

So it’s worth looking around at multiple sources to find the right specialized translation assistance tools for you!

Human Translators: The Only Way to Get the Nuance Right

Although machines are now becoming more and more accurate Japanese translators, human translators are still very important. This is because AI still has no way to fully understand the context, nuances, and complexity of human interaction. And not understanding your target audience’s language and culture well can cost your business millions!

This is especially important when doing localization projects. These go beyond just direct translation. Localization is the adaptation of content to the cultural and contextual expectations of the target audience. It considers factors such as regional differences, cultural sensitivities, and user preferences. So it’s like combining translating, copyrighting, and editing of the content for the intended culture.

All in all, AI might be able to help with the direct translation, but humans are still absolutely necessary for the most accurate translations and localization! After all, not all accurate translations are direct.

Ready to 翻訳 (Hon’yaku / Translate)?

So if you are going to do Japanese translation, you will probably use a mix of the above tools! Machine translations can often quickly give you an idea of the meaning of the sentence, and dictionaries will help you understand the nuances of words. It’s the human’s job to put everything together.

With these tools, you should be ready to get started with accurate Japanese translations. Good luck!

• The 7 Best Korean Translator Apps for Korean Learners
• How to Learn a Language like Google
• Challenges in the Philippines + video in Tagalog
• How to become a location-independent freelance translator
• My background before becoming a location-independent freelance translator

The post The 9 Best Japanese Translator Tools: Websites, Apps, and Dictionaries appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

You are likely familiar with the Greek alphabet on some level. If you’ve ever used words like “alpha”, “beta” or “omega”, that’s part of the Greek alphabet.

It’s everywhere from American university sororities, to maths, to religious literature and medical sciences. But what about the letter names, Greek alphabet symbols such as tonos, and pronunciation exceptions?

First things first, let’s start with a piece of good news. Almost all the letters are pronounced the way they are written, and there are no silent letters in Greek. There are some special letter combinations you need to be aware of, which we’ll cover once we learn the Greek alphabet in order.

Learning about the Greek alphabet was one of my favourite parts of studying Greek. I took Greek lessons in Cyprus, and as you might have guessed, our first lesson was about the alphabet. A couple weeks later, we started reading road signs in Greek, and were able to decode this beautiful language.

Today, I’ll give a crash course about the Greek alphabet based on my own experience of what helped me learn the language. Let’s get started!

Greek Alphabet in Order from Alpha to Omega

Α / α / Alpha

IPA pronunciation: /a/

English equivalent: like the “a” in car.

Example word: Αγάπη (agapi): “love”

Β / β / Beta

IPA pronunciation: /v/

English equivalent: like the “v” in vote.

Example word: Βιβλίο (vivlio): “book”

Note: Be careful — Β / β in Greek makes the “v” sound, not “b.”

Γ / γ / Gamma

IPA pronunciation: /ɣ/ or /ʝ/

English equivalent: Gamma can be a tricky one! In most cases, it sounds like a softer version of the “g” in green. When it’s before /e/ or /i/, it sounds like the “y” in yellow.

Example words: Γάτα (gata): “cat”
Γεια (yia): “hello”

Δ / δ / Delta

IPA pronunciation: /ð/

English equivalent: like the “th” sound in then. (In Greek, “th” has its own letter!)

Example word: Δρόμος (dromos): “road”

Ε / ε / Epsilon

IPA pronunciation: /e/

English equivalent: like the “e” in pen.

Example word: Ελλάδα (Ellada): “Greece”

Ζ / ζ / Zeta

IPA pronunciation: /z/

English equivalent: like the “z” in zoo.

Example word: Ζάχαρη (zahari): “sugar”

Η / η / Eta

IPA pronunciation: /i/

English equivalent: like the “ee” in meet.

Example word: * Ήλιος (ilios):* “sun”

Θ / θ / Theta

IPA pronunciation: /θ/

English equivalent: like the “th” in think. (Yes, the other “th” sound also has a dedicated letter in Greek.)

Example word: Θάλασσα (thalassa): “sea”

Ι / ι / Iota

IPA pronunciation: /i/

English equivalent: Iota is also pronounced as “ee,” just like eta. There are different letters for the same sound because they originate from the Ancient Greek alphabet. In Ancient Greek, eta, iota, and upsilon (the other “ee” sound) produce different sounds which is no longer the case in Modern Greek.

Example word: Ιδέα (idea): “idea”

Κ / κ / Kappa

IPA pronunciation: /k/

English equivalent: like the “k” in make

Example word: Κύπρος (Kipros): “Cyprus”

Λ / λ / Lambda

IPA pronunciation: /l/

English equivalent: like the “l” in lamp

Example word: Λέξη (lexi): “word”

Μ / μ / Mu

IPA pronunciation: /m/

English equivalent: like the “m” in make

Example word: Μήλο (milo): “apple”

Ν / ν / Nu

IPA pronunciation: /n/

English equivalent: like the “n” in new.

Example word: Ναι (ne): “yes”

Note: Pay attention to the lowercase version of this letter as it looks like the English “v.”

Ξ / ξ / Xi

IPA pronunciation: /ks/

English equivalent: like the “x” in box

Example word: Ξενοδοχείο (xenodohio): “hotel”

Ο / ο / Omicron

IPA pronunciation: /o/

English equivalent: like the “o” in orange.

Example word: Όνομα (onoma): “name”

Π / π / Pi

IPA pronunciation: /p/

English equivalent: like the “p” in play.

Example word: Πόλη (poli): “city”

Ρ / ρ / Rho

IPA pronunciation: /r/

English equivalent: like the “r” in right

Example word: Ρούχα (rouha): “clothes”

Σ / σ (ς) / Sigma

IPA pronunciation: /s/

English equivalent: like the “s” in snake.

Example word: Σχολή (sholi): “school”

Note: The letter sigma has two forms in lowercase: σ when it appears in the middle or at the end of a word and ς when it appears at the end. Here is what both look like:

Μουσική (musiki): “music”
Φίλος (filos): “friend”

Τ / τ / Tau

IPA pronunciation: /t/

English equivalent: like the “t” in train

Example word: Τραπέζι (trapezi): “table”

Υ / υ / Upsilon

IPA pronunciation: /i/

English equivalent: Here’s your third Greek letter that gives the “ee” sound! Similar to eta and iota, upsilon also had a different sound in Ancient Greek, but in Modern Greek, it sounds like the “ee” in meet.

Example word: Υγεία (igia): “health”

Φ / φ / Phi

IPA pronunciation: /f/

English equivalent: like the “f” in free.

Example word: Φωτογραφία (fotografia): “photography”

Χ / χ / Chi

IPA pronunciation: /x/

English equivalent: like the “h” in hue. A better example would be like the “ch” in loch, with a Scottish accent.

Example word: Χάρτης (hartis): “map”

Ψ / ψ / Psi

IPA pronunciation: /ps/

English equivalent: like the “ps” sound in lapse.

Example word: Ψυχή (psihi): “soul”

Ω / ω / Omega

IPA pronunciation: /ɔː/

English equivalent: like the “o” in go.

Example word: Ωκεανός (okeanos): “ocean”

Greek Alphabet Pronunciation Exceptions

Some vowel and consonant combinations in Greek form different sounds when they come together. It’s important to learn about them to read and speak Greek fluently.

Consonant Combinations

In some cases, when two consonants come together in Greek, they form new sounds that are not part of the alphabet. These letters are γγ (two gammas together), μπ (mu and pi together), ντ (nu and tau together), and γκ (gamma and kappa together). Let’s find out more about the sounds they form:

• Αγγλικά (Anglika): “English” — Here we have two gammas, which are pronounced as “ng,” like the “ng” in the word sing.
• Μπίρα (bira): “beer” — When the letters mu and pi come together, they make a sound similar to the “b” in English. This is common in loanwords or foreign words.
• Ντεπόζιτο (depozito): “deposit” — Nu and tau make the “d” sound in Greek, similar to the “d” in the word drum.
• Γκολ (gol): “goal” — Gamma and kappa make the “g” sound, like the “g” in the word green.

The letter tau has two combinations that form different sounds: τζ and τσ. Τζ forms the sound “j” as in jacket.

Τσ stands for the sound “ch,” like in the “ch” the word change. In Greece’s Greek, it sounds more like “ts.” In Cypriot Greek, however, it sounds like the “ch” in change. Here are two example words:

• Τσάι (tsai): “tea”
• Τζατζίκι (tzatziki): “tzatziki,” the famous yoghurt dish with cucumber, mint, and olive oil.

Vowel Combinations (Diphthongs)

A diphthong is when two vowels form a single sound in one syllable. Greek diphthongs are αι, ει, οι, υι, αυ, ευ, and ου. Here are the sounds they make:

• αι makes an “e” sound, like the “e” in pen. For example, the Greek word for “child,” παιδί, is pronounced as pedi.
• ει makes an “ee” sound, like the “ee” in meet. Σειρήνα is read as sirina, and it means “mermaid” in Greek.
• οι is like the “oi” in oil. Ποίημα (poima) is an example word, and it means “poem” in Greek.
• υι sounds like the “ui” in quit. It’s not very common in Modern Greek.
• αυ makes an “av” sound, like the “av” in travel, or an “af” sound like the “af” in after, depending on the context. Αυγό (avgo), meaning “egg” has the “av” sound, and αυτοκίνητο (aftokinito), meaning “car” has the “af” sound.
• ευ sounds like the “ev” in ever or “ef” in effort. Ευρώ (evro) is the Greek word for “euro,” and it has the “ev” sound. Ευχαριστώ (efharisto) has the “ef” sound. It means “thank you” in Greek.
• ου sounds like the “oo” in food. An example word would be πουλί (pouli), which means “bird” in Greek.

What is τόνος (tonos)?

Now, let’s talk about τόνος, which you will see in all lowercase Greek words that contain more than one syllable.

There is τόνος in the word τόνος itself. Have you noticed how the first o in the word has an accent mark on top, and the second one doesn’t?

That’s τόνος. In the Greek alphabet, when vowels have the accent mark on top of them, it means that they are stressed vowels. In other words, these are the vowels you should stress more than others while pronouncing that word. So for example, τόνος would be pronounced as TO-nos, not to-NOS.

Here is another example from a common word: in καλημέρα (“good morning”), the stress is on the letter έ, epsilon. This means that its pronunciation is kali-ME-ra. Make sure to listen to it here.

Is There a Greek Alphabet Song?

You can find many Greek alphabet songs on YouTube if you search τραγούδι αλφάβητο (tragudi alfavito), “alphabet song.” Although most of them are for kids, they would help you memorise the Greek alphabet names. Here is a song that sounds like the English alphabet song.

What is the Ancient Greek Alphabet Like?

The Ancient Greek alphabet is similar to the Modern Greek alphabet we just learned about but it is more difficult, with more complex types of τόνος. Here is how you say I love you in Greek, both Ancient and Modern, for example:

• Ancient Greek: ἐγὼ σ’ ἀγαπῶ (egṑ s’ agapô)
• Modern Greek: Σ’ αγαπώ (S’ agapó)

Pronunciation of some letters is also different in Ancient Greek than in Modern Greek. For example, upsilon sounds like “ee” in Modern Greek, but in Ancient Greek, it’s similar to the “u” in the word duke.

Practice Makes Perfect: It’s Time to Speak Greek!

Now that you’ve learned all the Greek alphabet letters, it’s time to practise reading some words, while paying attention to the letter combinations. You can also try writing your name or your friends’ names using Greek letters — it’s fun!

Watching videos and listening to podcasts in Greek will also help you get used to how words sound.

Καλή τύχη! (kali tihi!) “Good luck!”

• Learn Greek Online: 39 Free Resources and Classes to Learn the Greek Language
• 40+ Cool Greek Words That Will Make You Want to Learn Greek
• Black Friday Deals for Greek Language Courses
• The IPA Alphabet: How and Why You Should Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet (With Charts)

The post The Greek Alphabet – Your Essential Guide (Including Letters, and Pronunciation) appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

Are you looking for the perfect list of practical Korean phrases to help you have your first conversation? Wondering what “aniyo” is in Korean? What’s “thank you” or “hello” in Korean? Look no further – we have the perfect lists of the most commonly used Korean phrases!

No fluff here! All the Korean words and phrases listed below are helpful phrases you’ll actually use when speaking Korean.

15 Basic Korean Words and Phrases

You’ll probably use some of the most basic Korean phrases for any conversation. Here are some words and phrases to get you ready for your first–and any–conversation:

• Hello: 안녕하세요 (annyeong haseyo)
• Yes: 네 (ne) or 예 (ye)
• No: 아니요 (aniyo)
• Maybe: 아마도 (amado)
• Please: 주세요 (juseyo)
• Thank you: 감사합니다 (gamsahamnida) or 고마워요 (gomawoyo)
• You’re welcome: 천만에요 (cheonmaneyo)
• Okay: 예 (ye) or 괜찮다 (gwaenchanhda)
• I’m sorry: 미안해요 (mianhaeyo)
• I don’t know: 몰라요 (mollayo)
• Excuse me (for apologies): 실례합니다 (sillyehamnida)
• Excuse me (for someone’s attention): 저기요 (jeogiyo)
• Good: 좋아요 (johayo) or 좋은 (joheun)
• Bad: 안좋아요 (anjohayo) or 나쁜 (nappeun)
• And: 하고 (hago)*See note below

Pro tip about “and” in Korean: There are many ways to say “and”. The one above is the most colloquial, but you might also come across 과 (gwa) or 와 (wa). These two are also standard, but just a bit more bookish or formal. The two listed here are particles and change depending on the last sound of the word that comes before it.

You use 과 (gwa) if the word before it ends in a consonant. You use 와 (wa) if the word ends in a vowel. Luckily, with the colloquial 하고 (hago), you don’t need to worry about this.

This is common with many Korean particles.

By the way, you can hear Benny using some of these practical Korean words and phrases from day one! Check out his very first Korean conversation here:

10 Korean Greetings to say “Hello” and “Goodbye” in Korean

As in other languages, some of the most common Korean phrases are greetings! You’ll need them to sound polite and friendly, so here are some of the most common greetings in Korean.

You’ll notice that there are a few ways to say “goodbye”. That’s because depending on how you’re leaving, it changes slightly! Don’t worry – I tell you how to choose which one to use.

(But if you ever forget, you can say annyeong. It’s more casual, but it will get the job done!)

• Hi: 안녕 (annyeong)
• Hello on the phone: 여보세요 (yeoboseyo)
• Good morning: 좋은아침이에요 (joeun achimieyo)
• How are you: 어떻게 지내세요? (eotteohge jinaeseyo) or 잘 지내요? (jal jinaeyo)
• Long time no see: 오랜만이에요 (oraenmanieyo)
• Bye: 안녕 (annyeong)
• Goodbye (to the person leaving when you’re staying): 안녕히 가세요 (annyeonghi gaseyo)
• Goodbye (when you’re leaving and the other person is staying): 안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo)
• Take care: 잘 가요 (jal gayo)
• Welcome (to a store or place): 환영합니다 (hwanyeonghamnida)

Want to learn more ways to start a conversation in Korean? Check out this article about Korean greetings.

13 Common Korean Phrases for Everyday Life

There are some common Korean phrases you’ll need to talk with people in different situations. You’ll run into these common Korean phrases all the time. Some even every time you eat!

• Good luck: 화이팅 (hwaiting, literally: “fighting”) or 행운을 빕니다 (haengun-eul bimnida)
• Cheers: 건배 (geonbae)
• Amazing: 대박 (daebak)
• Have you eaten?: 밥 먹었어요? (bab meogeosseoyo?)
• Bon appetit: 잘 먹겠습니다 (jal meokgetseumnida)
• Thank you for this meal: 잘 먹었습니다 (jal meogeotseuminda)
• Congratulations: 축하해요 (chukahaeyo)
• No problem: 문제 없어요 (munje eopseoyo)
• Of course: 당연하죠 (dangyeonhajyo)
• Just one moment, please: 잠시만 기다려 주세요 (jamsiman gidaryeo juseyo)
• Sleep well: 잘 자요 (jal jayo)
• Get home safely: 안전하게 집에 가다 (anjeonhage jib-e gada)
• Don’t worry: 걱정 하지마 (geokjeong hajimaseyo)

We wrote even more Korean phrases for beginners and those preparing to travel to Korea, so check that out, too!

19 Survival Korean Phrases for Getting Around in Korea

Want to avoid getting lost, confused, or otherwise stuck while on a trip to Korea? These are the most helpful phrases for when you’re trying to get by in Korean!

• Do you speak English?: 영어하세요? (yeongeo haseyo?)
• Do you speak Korean?: 한국어하세요? (hangugeo haseyo?)
• I understand: 이해해요 (ihae haeyo)
• I don’t understand: 이해 못 해요 (ihae mos haeyo)
• What did you say?: 뭐라고 했어? (mworago haesseo?)
• Can you speak slowly please?: 천천히 말 해주세요 cheoncheonhi mal hae juseyo?)
• Please repeat: 반복하세요 (banbog haseyo)
• Please write it down: 적어주세요 (jeogeo juseyo)
• I speak a little Korean: 한국어를 조금한다 (hangugeo-leul jogeumhanda)
• What does this mean?: 이것은 무엇을 의미 하는가? (igeoseun mueos-eul uimi haneunga?)
• What is _ in Korean?: _ 한국말로 뭐예요? (hangugmallo mwoyeyo?)
• How much is it?: 얼마에요? (eolmayeyo?)
• Where is _?: _ 어디에 있어요? (eodie isseyo?)
• Where is the bathroom?: 화장실은 어디에 있어요? (hwajangsireun eodie isseyo?)
• Over there: 저기 (jeogi)
• Straight: 직진 (jigjin)
• Right: 오른쪽 (oleunjjok)
• Left: 왼쪽 (oenjjok)
• Can you help me please?: 도와 줄수있으세요? (dowa julsu isseuseyo?)

Related learning: Hear about another learner’s experience with Korean in this episode of the Language Hacking:

12 Basic Korean Phrases for Real Conversations with New Korean Friends

Now, no conversation is complete without a few questions thrown in! You’ll need to know how to ask some simple questions for your first conversation. These basic Korean phrases are a great place to start:

• What’s your name?: 이름이 뭐예요? (ireum-i mwoyeyo?)
• My name is…: 제 이름은… (je ileum-eun)
• Nice to meet you: 반갑습니다 (bangapseubnida)
• Where are you from?: 어디에서 왔어요? (eodieseo wasseoyo?)
• I’m from…: …에서 왔어요 (eseo wasseoyo)
• How old are you?: 몇 살이에요? (myeot sarieyo)
• I’m ** … ** years old: ** … ** 살이에요 (sarieyo)
• What’s your job?: 직업이 뭐에요? (jigeobi mweoeyo?)
• Where do you work?: 어디에서 일합니까? (eodieseo ilhamnikka?)
• What are your hobbies?: 취미가 뭐니? (chwimiga mwoni?)
• And you?: 그리고 너? (geuligo neo?)
• Have a nice day: 좋은 하루 보내세요 (joheun haru bonaeseyo)

[IMAGE: IG. Caption: ‘When Benny started learning his first Korean phrases, he got a webtoon version of himself made!’ Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/Com1IWdSCJ3/ ]

Practical Steps to Having Your First Conversation in Korean

Now that you’ve seen the most common Korean phrases and words to learn for your first conversation, it’s time to prepare!

Having your first Korean conversation can be super nerve-wracking. But the whole point of learning the language is to speak and have conversations with new people, right?

So we have to work past our nerves and do the thing!

That said, what is the best way to get over your nerves?

Come prepared.

I’ve listed some of my favorite tips for getting through your first Korean language exchange. If you do these things, you’ll feel way more confident!

I’ve also included extra resources for each tip, so you can continue to learn Korean and grow your skills.

Learn the Core 111 Korean Words

In every language, there are about 100 words that make up around 50% of all spoken speech.

Crazy, isn’t it?

A lot of these words are small, connecting words like “the” and “in” in English. But there are many common nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs we use all the time. Korean is no different.

So check out this article to learn the 111 core Korean words you need to know.

Keep in mind though, that it’s also important to learn words relevant to you, specifically. That’s where our next tip comes in.

Create a Korean Script so You’re Ready to Start Speaking Korean Today

Take a look at the phrases above we already covered. Let’s say you asked someone what their hobbies are. Then they asked, “What about you?”

Well, do you know how to say your hobbies in Korean?

If not, then it’s time to make a script!

Write out how you think your conversation may go. Script your answers, so when you’re asked questions, you know how to respond. Like this:

“What are your hobbies?” 취미가 뭐니? (chwimiga mwoni?)

“I like to play guitar and watch Star Wars.” 기타를 연주하고 스타 워즈를 보는 것을 좋아해요. (gita-leul yeonjuhago seuta wojeu-leul boneun geoseul johahaeyo)

If you think the conversation may dig deeper into that topic, take it even further:

“Cool! I love Star Wars, too. Which Episode is your favorite?” 대박! 나도 스타 워즈를 좋아해요. 가장 좋아하는 에피소드는 뭐니? (Daebak! Nado seuta wojeu-leul johahaeyo. Gajang johaha-neun episode-neun mwoni?)

“I really love Episode 5: Empire Strikes Back. I didn’t like the latest movie, The Rise of Skywalker.” Empire Strikes Back을 정말 좋아합니다. 최신 영화 The Rise of Skywalker가 마음에 좋아하지 않아요. (Empire Strikes Back-eul jeongmal johahaeyo. Choesin yeonghwa The Rise of Skywalker-ga maeume johahaji anhayo.)

(I’m not speaking from personal preference or anything…)

Boom.

You know how to talk about things you care about during your conversation!

Here are some more tips for creating a language exchange script and how to find a partner.

Start Speaking Korean from Day One

Next step? Start speaking. Today. Right now.

You’ve got this list of phrases. You’re working on your Korean script. Now start saying them out loud and often. Repeat them every day.

Get used to how Korean sounds are formed with your mouth and how they sound rolling off your tongue.

Depending on your native language, that can be quite a change. So to prevent stumbling in-person, get used to saying the things you want to say.

Speaking from day one is the whole basis of our language learning method here at Fluent in 3 Months, and that’s because it works.

Check out more tips for how to speak in your target language.

Master Your Korean Pronunciation

Now that you’re speaking, you’ll need to work on your pronunciation.

Korean pronunciation is a bit different from English and other European languages. It takes some getting used to. It takes even more practice to listen and understand.

The best way to master your Korean pronunciation is to listen often and repeat always.

My favorite way to do that is with KoreanClass101. It’s the best Korean podcast out there, with all kinds of lessons to help you learn Korean fast. They even have lessons on pronunciation.

You can pop in your headphones, and practice repeating while cleaning the house. Or play it in the car during your commute.

The key is getting used to how Korean sounds, learning to understand what is spoken and getting comfortable saying it yourself.

Check out KoreanClass101 here to work on your pronunciation.

Learn How to Read Korean Hangul

Wait… why learn how to read Korean if your goal is to speak?

Well, it’s because the romanization of Korean words is not consistent. If you base the sound on how it’s romanized, you’ll most likely mispronounce the word.

That’s where hangul comes in. If you know how to read hangul, you’ll be able to pronounce Korean better.

You aren’t trying to make Korean fit the limited sounds in English. Instead, you’re learning it as it’s designed to sound.

Besides, when you can read hangul, you can get into all kinds of amazing Korean resources with ease. That’s where the fun really starts!

This is a handy guide to learn Hangul fast. You can also check out these tips to make learning Korean easy.

Ace Your First Conversation with These Korean Phrases

Now you’re ready to have conversations in Korean. Way to go!

To further improve your level, check out these articles:

• Learn How to Say “Thank You” in Korean (Master Your Manners)
• How to Learn the Korean Alphabet and Write in Korean [Step-by-Step Guide]
• 111 Must-Know Korean Verbs
• Easy Korean Numbers: Counting in Korean from 1 – 100+
• Korean Slang: 80+ Everyday Words and Phrases to Sound Like a Native
• Korean Greetings: 10+ Ways to Say “Hello” in Korean
• Innovative Language Review – Complete Pod101 Language Course Review (with Screenshots and Video Results)

Original article by Caitlin Sacasas. Reviewed and updated by the Fluent in 3 Months team on [publish date].

The post 67 Practical Korean Phrases to Ace Your First Korean Conversation appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

Looking for wise or funny Spanish quotes about life? Or what about some inspiring Spanish quotes?

You’ve come to the right place! Whether they are quotes by famous Hispanic personalities or traditional proverbs, Spanish sayings cover all areas of life.

If you’re learning Spanish and looking for a new motto, choose it from this post. I’ve gathered some of the best Spanish quotes to help you.

I went to Mexico in the second half of 2022 to practice my Spanish, so I’ve refreshed this post a little.

PS: Checkout this video if you’re looking for more resources to learn Spanish:

5 Spanish Quotes About Life

Good Spanish quotes about life are easy to find. Here are some of my favourites that Spanish-speakers use when talking about their everyday life.

1. Al Mal Tiempo, Buena Cara – “When the Going Gets Rough, the Tough Get Going”

This saying’s literal translation in English is “to bad weather, good face”.

Whenever you find yourself in a bad situation, remember this Spanish proverb. Face the difficulty with good spirit.

2. Mas Vale Pájaro en Mano Que Cien Volando – “A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush”

As this Spanish saying says, you better hold on to what you already have. Don’t get too greedy, or you might end up holding… nothing.

3. A los Tontos No les Dura el Dinero – “A Fool and his Money Are Soon Parted”

Literally “Money does not last for fools”, this Spanish saying is a reminder that you should spend your money wisely.

No one wants to be a fool, right? I certainly don’t want to be a poor one!

4. La Verdad Adelgaza, pero No Quiebra – “The Truth May Be Stretched Thin, but It Never Breaks”

This quote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the author of Don Quixote, encourages always saying the truth.

It puts forward the fact that some people may try to distort it to their advantage. But in the end, what is true is true and can’t be changed.

5. Errar Es Humano, pero Más Lo Es Culpar de Ello a Otros – “To Err Is Human, but It Is Even More So to Blame Others for It”

Baltazar Gracian, who said this quote, was a Spanish writer who had human nature all figured out, apparently.

What he meant with this quote is that humans are more likely to try to blame others for their problems, than to own up to their mistakes.

3 Motivational Quotes in Spanish

Need a good push to get through your day? Choose one of these good Spanish quotes to use as your mantra.

1. Haciendo y Deshaciendo Se Va Aprendiendo – “It’s By Doing and Undoing That We Learn”

This Spanish saying is about trial and error as a way to learn, and that it’s useful to make mistakes and try again. I agree.

In my school days, I learnt more from the questions I got wrong in exams than those I got right.

It may have stung to get them wrong, but I wanted to make sure it’d never happen again.

2. El Que No Arriesga, No Gana – “He Who Doesn’t Risk Doesn’t Gain Anything”

This is a great saying to remember when you have to face a fear.

Are you too frightened to do it? But you won’t get any results if you hold back.

Go for it. Risk it. Get it.

I should write my own motivational quotes book…

3. La Acción Es la Clave Fundamental para Todo Éxito – “Action Is the Foundational Key to All Success”

This is a quote by famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. Did he take the above saying and put it in his own words? Perhaps.

But hey, it’s a Picasso.

By the way, if these quotes have motivated you to keep advancing your Spanish, you can push yourself to new heights with immersive and interactive lessons at LingQ!

3 Inspiring Quotes in Spanish

Inspirational quotes are similar to motivational quotes. Except instead of giving you a push, they’re about building a positive mindset.

Here are some great inspiring quotes in Spanish.

1. El Hombre Que Se Levanta Es Aún Más Grande Que El Que No Ha Caído – “The Man Who Stands Up Is Greater Than the One Who Hasn’t Fallen”

Concepción Arenal, a Spanish writer and sociologist of the 19th century, left us this important quote.

The words más grande in it could be translated both as “taller” and “greater”. In any case, the point of the quote is to praise those who are strong enough to pick themselves up after a bad moment in their life.

2. El Arte de Vencer se Aprende en las Derrotas – “The Art of Winning is Learnt Through Losses”

Simon Bolivar, the man who played a capital role in South America gaining independence, knew a great deal about winning. This quote was born out of his experience.

3. Tal Vez Sea Verdad: Que un Corazón Es lo Que Mueve el Mundo – “Perhaps It Is True: It Is a Heart Which Moves the World”

This is a beautiful quote by Dámaso Alonso, a Spanish poet.

It’s one of my favourites. Every time I hear it, it inspires me to try and do something for the greater good.

3 Spanish Love Quotes and Proverbs

Spanish is rich in quotes and proverbs about love. After all, it’s a romance language. (See what I did there?)

Check out these romantic Spanish quotes and Spanish love quotes.

1. El Amor Todo lo Puede – “Love Conquers All”

This saying literally translates to “love can anything”. It makes more sense if we define it as “with love, everything is possible”.

2. La Belleza Que Atrae Rara Vez Coincide Con la Belleza Que Enamora – “The Beauty That Attracts Rarely Matches The Beauty That Makes You Fall In Love”

We owe this quote to Jose Ortega y Gasset, a Spanish author. He talked about the truth in love: very often, what attracts you first isn’t what will make you fall in love.

Think of it this way: you may decide to flirt with someone who looks good. But it’s their personality and values that determine if you’ll click or not.

3. El Amor No Respeta la Ley, Ni Obedece a Rey – “Love Laughs at Locksmiths”

Love is stubborn. It “doesn’t respect the law nor does it obey the king”, as Hispanics say.

The heart wants what it wants.

3 Family Quotes in Spanish

Hispanic families tend to be big. Maybe that’s why there are a lot of Spanish quotes and proverbs about family. So check out these famous Spanish quotes to get a better insight into Hispanic culture!

1. Cuando Seas Padre, Comerás Huevos – “You’ll Understand When You’re Older”

This is an interesting saying that comes from the times when people in the working class didn’t have much food. If there were any substantial dishes in the house, most of all proteins like meat or eggs, they would go to the father. The logic behind it was that he was the one maintaining the family and making physical effort outside the house.

Mothers would hence explain to their children why they couldn’t eat the eggs by telling them they would when they grew up. At least, the boys.

The meaning of the sayings has slightly evolved. Nowadays, it is used with children to talk about things that only parents can do.

2. De Tal Palo, Tal Astilla – “Like Father/Mother, Like Son/Daughter”

This saying literally translates to something close to “from the stick comes the splinter”. Another English equivalent for it is “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. Just to keep it in the nature department.

3. Lo Importante En una Familia No Es Estar Juntos Sino Estar Unidos – “What’s Important In a Family Is Not to Be Together, It’s to Be United”

There is a difference between being together and being united. What matters in a family is that no matter what distance separates us from our loved ones, we still support each other.

As I have travelled a lot, I know the importance of maintaining a solid relationship with the people you love who live far from you.

3 Friendship Quotes in Spanish

Friendliness is a core characteristic of Hispanic culture. Here are some cool Spanish quotes and sayings to illustrate this.

1. Dime Con Quién Andas y Te Diré Quién Eres – “You Are the Company You Keep”

This saying’s literal translation is “Tell me who you hang out with and I will tell you who you are.”

The people you surround yourself with have a huge influence on your life. This Spanish saying reminds you of that.

2. La Soledad Es Muy Hermosa… Cuando Se Tiene Alguien a Quien Decírselo – “Solitude Is Very Beautiful… When You Have Someone With Whom to Tell It To”

19th-century Spanish poet Gustavo Adolfo Becquer was onto something when he created this quote.

Humans are a social species. We need to interact with each other to be in a good mental place.

Yes, it’s nice to be alone sometimes. But we still need to interact with someone else, from time to time.

3. Hoy Por Ti, Mañana Por Mí – “You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours”

What’s true of real friends is that they’re always there to support you. No matter the situation, a good friend will have your back. Or scratch it, in this case.

The literal translation of this saying is “today for you, tomorrow for me”. In a way, it means “I know you’ll be there for me, so I’m here for you”.

There’s no counting of favours, though! Real friendships aren’t about numbers.

And speaking of friendship and making friends, you can check out how Peggy did this during her Spanish learning journey! Check out our podcast episode where she shares how she learned to speak Spanish to a conversational level as an adult learner:

We all can learn from Peggy about how to improve our Spanish to speak these quotes with ease!

3 Short Spanish Quotes

If you’re just starting your Spanish journey, you can do two things.

First, check this list of best Spanish resources on the internet. It includes Spanish Uncovered, an awesome course for beginners that our Fi3M team member Elizabeth reviewed right here.

Second, learn these super short Spanish quotes.

1. Más Vale Prevenir Que Curar – “Better Safe Than Sorry”

The literal translation of this saying is “it’s better to prevent than to cure”.

Why wait until something bad has happened to take care of it? It’s better to be prepared in advance and avoid any bad situation altogether.

2. El Tiempo Todo Lo Cura – “Time Heals Everything”

Like in English, Spanish people say that time heals everything. Is it true? It depends if you want to believe it.

3. A Lo Hecho, Pecho – “What Is Done Is Done”

Hispanics advise you to puff your chest at what has already been done. In fact, the chest is associated with shielding.

The saying means that you shouldn’t worry about the past anymore, because it has already happened.

And if you’re motivated to keep boosting your Spanish level, a fantastic resource is with our friends at SpanishPod101.com! You’ll get an exclusive membership deal, no matter if you’re a beginner or advanced learner.

3 Funny Spanish Quotes

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Who said Hispanics aren’t funny? Let me prove them wrong with these famous quotes and sayings.

1. El Amor Es Como Don Quijote: Cuando Recobra el Juicio Es que Está Para Morir – “Love Is Like Don Quixote: When It Regains Its Judgement, It’s About to Die”

This quote is by Jacinto Benavente, a Spanish author of the 19th-20th century. He apparently didn’t think love is very rational. He compared it to the fictional character Don Quixote, known for his craziness.

It makes for a funny metaphor!

2. Si Hay Trato, Pueden Ser Amigos Perro y Gato – “If There Is a Deal, Even a Dog and a Cat Can Be Friends”

This Spanish saying talks about friendship for convenience. It uses the example of cats and dogs because they don’t usually get along unless they have a common interest. (“How about chasing away the neighbour’s cat?”)

3. Dame Pan y Dime Tonto – “Give Me Bread and Call Me a Fool”

Does this saying make much sense to you? I didn’t understand it at first, but now I love it.

Its meaning is something along the lines of: as long as I get what I want out of you, I don’t care what you think about me.

3 Frida Kahlo Quotes in Spanish

The Mexican painter and popular icon Frida Kahlo is known throughout the Hispanic world also thanks to her wise and now famous quotes.

1. Donde No Puedas Amar, No Te Demores – “Where You Can’t Love, Don’t Stay Too Long”

Kahlo didn’t have a smooth romantic life. It’s from her own experiences that she draws this sensible quote.

2. Enamórate de Ti, de la Vida y Luego de Quien Tú Quieras – “Fall in Love With Yourself, With Life and Then With Whoever You Want”

Another one of Kahlo’s sayings related to love that encourages you to be the boss of your own happiness.

3. Si Actúas Como Si Supieras Lo Que Estás Haciendo, Puedes Hacer Lo Que Quieras – “If You Act as if You Knew What You Were Doing, You Can Do Whatever You Want”

I guess what Kahlo was trying to say here is “Fake it until you make it.”

La Historia Nunca Dice “Adiós”. Lo Que Dice Siempre Es un “Hasta Luego” – “History Never Says ‘Farewell’. What It Always Says is ‘Goodbye’”

This famous quote by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano is our goodbye for today.

But hey! Before you go, here’s an idea. Now that you’ve chosen one or several favourite Spanish sayings, learn how to say goodbye in Spanish.

Also, you can practice your new cool quotes and sayings along with some practical Spanish phrases!

Or maybe now you feel like learning some Italian sayings. You can never have too many foreign mottos!

Let me know on Instagram (@irishpolyglot), TikTok (@irishpolyglot), or Twitter (@irishpolyglot) what you decide to do!

And to leave on a good note, I’ll leave this episode of the Language Hacking Podcast here for you as motivation!

• The Ultimate Guide to Body Parts in Spanish
• 15 Romantic Words for “Beautiful” in Spanish
• Spanish Uncovered Review — An Honest, Detailed Review on Learning Spanish with Story
• Spanish Adjectives List: 50 Descriptive Spanish Words [With Sentence Examples!]
• Best Podcast to Learn Spanish? SpanishPod101 In-depth Review With Pros and Cons
• An Introductory Guide to Spanish-Speaking Countries (Fun Facts and Expressions Included!)
• Original article by Benny Lewis. Reviewed and updated on April 12th.

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• 55 Chinese Proverbs, Sayings and Quotes
• Case Study: Learn Spanish in 11 Weeks
• 38 Italian Sayings that Italians Really Use

The post 30 Spanish Quotes and Sayings (with English Translations) appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.