Benny Lewis's Blog, page 9

October 20, 2023

How to Say “Thank You” in Arabic

There are so many different ways to say “thank you” in Arabic. And I want to tell you all about them!

Keep reading for a list of all the different ways you can express your appreciation in Arabic and impress your Arabic speaking friends. Arabic is known for its creativity and the way it can express the same things in different ways, each one competing with the other to win your heart.

I’ll be covering all the possible ways to say “thank you” in both Modern Standard Arabic and the different Arabic dialects, so keep an eye out for that.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

function runSplitTest(){var randomNumber = Math.floor(Math.random() * 2) + 1console.log(randomNumber)var copy = "";if (randomNumber == 3){ copy = 'A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in a new language for at least 15 minutes with the "Fluent in 3 Months" method. All it takes is 90 days. <a href="https://www.fluentin3months.com/other... this link to find out more.</a>'} else { copy = 'A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the "Fluent in 3 Months" method. All it takes is 90 days. <a href="https://www.fluentin3months.com/other... this link to find out more.</a>'}var copyToChange = document.querySelector("p.copyText").innerHTML = copy;}runSplitTest();

Table of contentsQuick Guide on How to Say “Thank You” in Arabic Common Ways to Say “Thank You” in Arabic Religion and Saying “Thank You” in Arabic “Thank You Very Much” in Arabic “Thank You for the Food” in Arabic Thanking Someone for Doing Something for You in Arabic “Thank You” in Different Arabic Dialects “You’re Welcome” in Arabic Other Arabic Words for “Thanks” and “Appreciation”Quick Guide on How to Say “Thank You” in Arabic

Here’s a quick overview of some different ways to say “thank you” in Arabic:

شكرا (shokran) – “thank you”شكرا لك (shokran lak) – “thank you”أشكرك (ashkorok) – “thank you” (formal)شكرا جزيلا (shokran jazeelan) – “thank you very much”جزيل الشكر (jazeela shokr) – “thank you very much”ألف شكر (alf shukr) – “a thousand thanks”متشكر أوي (motchakeer awi) – “many thanks” (in Egypt)

Read on for more details about all of these (and more).

Common Ways to Say “Thank You” in Arabic

Depending on the country you’re visiting (or the dialect you’re learning), there will be different Arabic variations of “thank you” they’re using. Fret not! There are many ways to express thanks widely used across all Arabic-speaking countries.

The first and most common ones are شكرا (shokran) to say “thank you.” This is the most basic, and the one used in both formal and informal settings.

Whenever the situation arises when you need to thank someone, say شكرا (shokran) or شكرا لك (shokran lak). لكَ (laka) or لكِ (laki) is “you” in English; one is masculine and the other is feminine, respectively. Yes, the difference depends on the position of the little line.

Additionally, you can say أشكرك (ashkorok). It’s similar to the previous ones except it’s used in formal settings.

Religion and Saying “Thank You” in Arabic

It is common knowledge that Arabic, as a language, existed many centuries ago. Yet, since it’s the language of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, a lot of Arabic expressions integrate prayers as part of the language.

Having said that, let’s explore some ways we, as Arabs, use prayers as a way to express gratitude.

For example, we say بارك الله فيك (baraka Allahu feek) and جزاك الله خيرا (jazaka Allahu khayran) as a way to say “thank you so much for helping me”. خير (khayr) means “good” in Arabic, so جزاك الله خيرا (jazaka Allahu khayran) translates to “may God reward you with goodness”.

We also say جعله الله في ميزان حسناتك (ja’alaho Allah fi mizan hasanatek) to say “may Allah accept it in your favor.”

“Thank You Very Much” in Arabic

A formal way of saying “thank you very much” is شكرا جزيلا (shokran jazeelan) or جزيل الشكر (jazeela shokr) (both mean the same thing). These are understood in all Arabic-speaking countries and the typical response is أهلا و سهلا (ahlan wa sahlan). جزيل (jazeel) means “a lot.”

If you want to express your gratitude even more, you can say ألف شكر (alf shukr), which translates to “a thousand thanks”. Using this expression clearly conveys the immense appreciation you’re feeling.

In Egypt, you can say متشكر أوي (motchakeer awi) to say “many thanks.” أوي (awi) means “a lot.” You can say this when you’re very grateful to someone because they’ve been quite generous to you.

“Thank You for the Food” in Arabic

Imagine you’ve been invited to have dinner with your Arab friend, the food was delicious and now you want to thank them. Or, imagine the opposite, you’re the host.

The most common one is صحة (sahha), or the longer version بالصحة و العافية (besseha wa al afya) which means “may this bring health to you”. The reply would generally be الله يسلمك (Allah ysalemk).

You can also say بالهناء و الشفاء (bilhana’e wa shifa’e), “with blessing and healing” in English when serving, to which the answer is تسلم/تسلمي (“teslam/teslami”).

Note: In Arabic, adding ي (pronounced i) at the end of words makes them feminine.

Sometimes, you may want to say “sorry for bothering you” if you feel a bit overwhelmed and really grateful for the food prepared for you. In this case, say عذبناك (aadabet halak_. The reply is usually هذا واجب (hada wajeeb).

Thanking Someone for Doing Something for You in Arabic

People in Arab countries are very welcoming, especially to visitors. They’ll go out of their way to make you feel at home because it’s actually something that we’ve been accustomed to since a very young age.

So, if you want to thank someone for something specific they’ve done for you. I have a simple script you can use.

All you have to do is add ي to the thing they’ve done and add it to “thank you for”, which شكرا على (shokran aala).

For example, to say “thank you for helping me prepare for the exam”. You can say شكرًا لك على مساعدتي في التحضير للامتحان (shokran aala mosa’adati altahdir lil’imtihan).

Another example: “Thank you for the valuable advice” would be شكرا على النصيحة القيمة (shokran aala alnassiha alqayyima).

In this example, we didn’t add the ي because there isn’t a verb like in the first example. Also, keep in mind that you can add laka or laki after shokran to make it even more personalized.

Depending on who you’re addressing, choose the appropriate one:
“You” masculine: لكَ (laka)
“You” feminine: لكِ (laki)
“You” dual: لكما (lakoma)
“You” plural feminine: لكن (lakonna)
“You” plural masculine: لكم (lakom)

“Thank You” in Different Arabic Dialects

As I mentioned earlier, each Arabic-speaking country has its own variation of saying “thank you.”

Starting with Egypt, متشكر (moutashakir) is used in any situation to say “thanks.” If you’re male, you say متشكر (moutashakir), but if you’re a female, you say متشكرة (moutashakira). You can also say شكرا جزيلا (shokran gazeelan) as a way to say “thank you very much.”

This is in fact from Modern Standard Arabic, but it differs from the Egyptian dialect in the pronunciation. In MSA, it sounds like jazeelan. But, in Egyptian Arabic, it’s pronounced gazeelan.

Additionally, please keep in mind that Egyptians sometimes add the a sound at the end of words to differentiate between masculine and feminine.

In the regions around Lebanon and Syria, they also say مرسي (merci) to say “thank you,” which is a word adopted from French. يسلمو (yeslamo) is another great way of saying “thank you” in Levantine Arabic (or even Arabic in general). It means “may your hands be protected”, which is a lovely thing to say when someone gives you something.

In Morocco Darija Arabic, we say يعطيك الصحة (ya’atik sahha), which translates to “bless you” in English.

In Gulf Arabic, they say ما قصرت (ma qassart) to let the person know that they’re grateful for what they’ve done for them. It literally means “you didn’t limit your favor to help me”. They also say يعطيك العافية (yaatik al afye), which translates to “may God give you health”.

Fun fact: When I was younger (around 8~10 years old), whenever I heard يعطيك العافية (yaatik al afye), I would think it was an insult. Why? Well, I’m Moroccan, and عافية (afye) for us means “fire”, so I would think they’re saying it hoping to get someone on fire. It isn’t. I’ve long since corrected this wrong assumption of mine. But it’s wonderful (and a reminder to proceed with caution) to see how dialects differ even though we all essentially speak the same language.

“You’re Welcome” in Arabic

Now that you know how to express your appreciation in Arabic, it’s time to learn some common ways to reply to a “thank you” in Arabic.

Generally, you’ll reply with one of these three:
عفوا (afwan) – “you’re welcome”
العفو (al aafw) – “you’re welcome”
على الرحب والسعة (ala arohb wa si’aa) – “you’re welcome”

As you can see, they all mean the same thing and are accepted as responses to “thank you.” They’re also used regardless of whether the setting is formal or informal.

Sometimes, though, we tend to reply with لا شكر على واجب (la shokra ala wajeeb), which is an MSA phrase that translates to “no need to thank me, it’s my duty”. This is a pretty casual way to convey that it’s not a big deal.

In case you’re trying to say “you’re welcome” as in welcoming someone to a place, you say either مرحبا (marhaba) or أهلا (ahlan). Similarly, you can say أهلا و سهلا (ahlan wa sahlan).

If the country you’re in is Egypt, you can say مفيش مشكلة (maheesh moshkeela), which translates to “no problem” in English. You can also say ولا يهمك (wala yehemak) as in “never mind.”

Moreover, if you’re staying in or learning Moroccan Darija, just say ماشي مشكل (machi mochkil), “no problem” in English. Or say هذا واجب (hada wajeeb), basically an iteration of la shokra (ala wajeeb).

Other Arabic Words for “Thanks” and “Appreciation”

Before you go and flex those Arabic mental muscles in front of your new Arab friends, let us see some other words for “thanks“ and “appreciation” in Arabic.

Appreciation in Arabic has two meanings. It is either تقدير (taqdeer) as in understanding the value of something (or someone) or امتنان (imtinan) as in feeling grateful for something. You can probably see now where أنا ممتن لك (ana momtan lak) comes from.

Feeling and expressing appreciation for someone is a universal experience. In fact, you don’t always need words to show your gratitude for an act that meant so much to you. But, you can use your words to voice your thanks and to deepen the bonds between you and your friends, especially if you take time to learn it in their language. That will surely mean a lot to them (and you too!).

16 Different Ways to Say “Thank You” in French 136 Core Arabic Words – Basic Arabic Words to Get You Familiar With The Language Learn Arabic Online for Free: 33 Resources and Online Arabic Classes Black Friday Deals for Arabic Language Courses How to Learn Arabic Right the First Time

The post How to Say “Thank You” in Arabic appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 20, 2023 04:11

October 13, 2023

In-Depth Guide to Germanic Mythology and Folklore

If you’ve ever read the Grimm’s fairy tales, browsed through comics, or watched any recent action movies, you’ve likely heard about Germanic mythology and its many deities and creatures. Some names that got their start in Germanic mythology and folklore include Thor, Baldur, Frigg, and Odin.

Germanic myths and folktales are important to cultures around the world, because of the wide scattering of peoples among Europe and the Americas. Folktales focus on entertaining the audience more than myths, but both folktales and myths tell cultural stories and lessons.

Fairy tales, folktales, and myths are a part of folklore, because folklore is a genre or type of oral tradition. The literal translation of the English word “folklore” means “lore of the people” and denotes the cultural importance of collecting such tales.

Germanic folklore includes a wide range of topics and a vast number of places. In this article, I will focus on Eastern and Continental Germanic folklore while referencing Northern Germanic or Norse folklore as necessary.

Table of contentsNorse Mythology vs. Germanic Mythology The Germanic Languages Sources of Germanic Mythology and Folklore Cosmology and Germanic Myths of Creation Gods, Goddesses, and Other Deities Uolla (Volla)Sinthgunt Uuodan (Odin)Donar (Thor)Frija (Frigg)Balder (Baldur)Sunna (Sol)Idisi (Dis)Germanic Creatures in Folktales and Myths

function runSplitTest(){var randomNumber = Math.floor(Math.random() * 2) + 1console.log(randomNumber)var copy = "";//csakamasodikif (randomNumber == 3){ copy = 'A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in German for at least 15 minutes with the "Fluent in 3 Months" method. All it takes is 90 days. <a href="https://fluentin3months.com/challenge... this link to find out more.</a>'} else { copy = 'Before we get started, if you’re looking for an online German course, here’s the course I recommend: <a href="https://www.fluentin3months.com/olly-... Uncovered - Learn German Through the Power of Story</a>, a course with a fascinating new method by my friend Olly. You can try it for free for 7 days!'}console.log(copy)var copyToChange = document.querySelector("p.copyText").innerHTML = copy;}runSplitTest();Norse Mythology vs. Germanic Mythology

We have myth collections for Norse mythology, but not for Continental Germanic mythology, so our data is more complete for Scandinavian areas. The Northern Germanic or Norse deity list is also longer than the Continental and Eastern mythological deities due to their many minor deities. Continental Germanic folklore mostly consists of Saxon myths and legends, while Eastern Germanic folklore shares lots of features with Norse mythology.

The Brothers Grimm – die Gebrüder Grimm – compiled some information about the Continental and Eastern varieties of Germanic mythology. Yet they are more famous for collecting folktales and fairy tales.

It’s tradition in my family to receive a copy of Grimm’s fairy tales on the 10th or 11th birthday, but I wouldn’t recommend uncensored or full copies for children. Several publishers offer versions more suitable for children with lower reading levels and milder content. For adults, complete editions include more than 200 tales usually in one book. Here is an example of mine, which has seen some use over the years:

Many folk tales, legends, stories, and myths change depending on location, so there are many varying versions of each entry. People passed down most myths orally for hundreds to thousands of years before writing them down. The foundation of Norse mythology and the form it exists in today are the Prose and Poetic Eddas, which were recorded in Iceland during the 13th century. These myths tell the tales of creation, destruction, and rebirth of the world. Norse mythology is mostly synonymous with Germanic, and sometimes even Anglo-Saxon, mythology as a result of such detailed Norse records.

The Germanic Languages

The Germanic language family breaks into the Germanic languages, which formed while the Germanic tribes moved around the European continent. The Germanic tribes involve peoples of the ancient European ethnic group that spoke a long-lost Germanic-based language. Germanic languages thus include German, English, Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish. Dutch, Yiddish, and the no longer spoken Gothic are related as well.

All these languages link to the unrecorded common language of the ancient Germanic peoples – Proto-Germanic. How well do you know the Germanic languages? Try testing your knowledge of the differences between Dutch and German.

Sources of Germanic Mythology and Folklore

A traditional myth features deities because it aims to explain a social or natural occurrence (why something is), and a folktale originates from a people group and is widely distributed or popular among the common people. Both myths and folktales are spoken traditions and cultural stories.

The Merseburg Charms, referred to in German as die Merseburger Zaubersprüche, are two interesting medieval spells written in Old High German. They come from continental Germanic myths focusing on six deities and multiples of three. Each charm describes a myth, which is then followed by a spell. The first Merseburg Charm, called MZ I or the blessing of release, focuses on the concept of freedom and valkyrie-like beings called Idisi.

The second Merseburg Charm, called MZ II or the horse-healing spell, focuses on six deities and the wonder of healing. The deities mentioned include Uuodan (Odin) and Frija (Frigg), the sister of Uolla (Volla). Balder (Baldur) and Phol. Sunna (Sol) and the mysterious Sinthgunt, sister of Sunna, are also present. You can find the two Merseburg Charms here at the Germanic Mythology website.

Cosmology and Germanic Myths of Creation

Germanic mythology follows multiple gods and goddesses, one of which is the primal cow. The primal cow goes by the names die hornlose Ur-Kuh, Audhumbla, Audhumla, or die Milchreiche. The Old Norse poem found in the Poetic Edda, the Völuspá, describes the creation, death, and rebirth of the world caused by this cow.

The origin myth of the primal cow explains that the glacial waters of the icy north (Niflheim) and warm winds of the fiery south (Muspellsheim) met in a magical space of power, so the first two living beings, the primal cow and the giant Ymir emerged.

Ymir birthed a race of giants, but the primal cow had the power of earth and gave birth to the first god, Buri the producer. Buri fathered Borr (Burr), and Boelthorn fathered Bestla. Borr and Bestla had three sons who became the first Asengötter (Aesir) – Odin, Vili, and Vé. Afterwards, Odin and his brothers destroyed Ymir, made the heavens and Earth, and created the first man (Ashr or Ask) and the first woman (Embla). Odin then led the gods to fight the giants.

The concept of fate was most important to Germanic mythology and folklore. The norns of fate affect all beings in the universe and live near one of the roots of the great ash tree Yggdrasill. Would you like to see how Japanese folklore addresses the concept of deities, nature, and creation?

Gods, Goddesses, and Other Deities

Due to the localized nature of Germanic myths and folktales, you can address deities in Germanic mythology using many different names and spellings. Grimm’s Teutonic Mythology explains that the gods and goddesses of Norse mythology have Continental and Eastern German counterparts with the exceptions of Phol and Sinthgunt. Here is a list of deities that we have records that state their presence in Continental and Eastern Germanic mythology:

Uolla (Volla)Old High German: Uolla, VollaOld Norse: Fulla, FollaRoles: Uolla is the servant maid and sister of Frija. Her name roughly translates to “bountiful” or “fullness,” so she could possibly hold power over harvests or fertility.SinthguntOld High German: Sinhtgunt, SinthguntOld Norse: not mentionedRoles: Sinthgunt is only mentioned in the second Merseburg Charm as the sister of the sun goddess, Sunna. Some believe that she is a goddess, and others believe she may be a valkyrie. Sinthgunt seems to have healing powers, and some possible translations of her name include “raid fight” or “the night-walking one.”Uuodan (Odin)Old High German: Uuôdan, Wuotan, UuodanOld Norse: ÓðinnOld Bavarian: WûtanRoles: Uuodan has many names – over 170 – and most translate to “lord of frenzy” or “leader of the possessed.” Old Norse texts testify that he is the son of Bestla and Borr, and brother of gods Vili and Vé. He is the goddess Frija’s husband, and associates with magic, charms, healing, and incantations. He is frequently portrayed in early sources as frantic, wild, or unpredictable due to the power he holds over rage.Donar (Thor)Old High German: DonarOld Norse: ÞórrRoles: Donar controls thunder, holds great strength, and excels at wielding weapons, such as axes and maces. Narratives featuring him are only recorded in the Old Norse language, but his legacy appears all over Germanic-speaking Europe in other forms, such as word choice and artifacts.Frija (Frigg)Old High German: Frīja, Frîia, Friia, FrijaOld Norse: FriggRoles: Frija is Odin’s wife and the mother of Balder. Her name can roughly translate to “free,” “related,” or “one’s own.” She holds some power over healing, and has a close relationship to her maid servant, Uolla. Old Norse sources portray her as having the gift of prophecy and knowledge of many other deities and beings.Balder (Baldur)Old High German: Balder, PalterOld Norse: BaldrRoles: Balder is the son of Odin and Frija, and his name translates to “hero,” “brave,” or “prince.” The second Merseburg Charm describes how his young horse hurt its leg. Everyone around him mended the horse’s wound, and some scholars believe that Balder might also be the other figure mentioned in the charm– Phol. Balder seems to be an approachable deity, resembling humans in many ways. Frija maintained a close relationship with him, and many beings in Old Norse sources spoke highly of him.Sunna (Sol)Old High German: SunnaOld Norse: Sól, ÁlfröðullRoles: The second Merseburg Incantation attests that Sol is Sinthgunt’s sister. Many Old Norse sources claim that she is the moon god Máni’s sister. They also sometimes refer to her as Álfröðull, which means “elf beam” or “elf glory.” She is a fast warrior talented at driving chariots, and goes by many names and kennings.Idisi (Dis)Old High German: Itis (sg.), Idisi (pl.)Old Norse: Dís (sg.), Dísir (pl.)Roles: Idisi are female deities that might be related to the Northern Germanic dísir, who associate themselves with fate. If not, then they may be closely connected to the valkyries of Norse mythology who represent the fortunes of war. They have the ability to restrict and impede armies.Germanic Creatures in Folktales and Myths

Eastern and Continental Germanic creatures are more often malevolent than benevolent, but they have specific goals in mind when interacting with humans and other beings. You can refer to many of these creatures by more than one name due to the localized nature of Germanic folklore.

Wechselbalg
A Wechselbalg, or changeling, is a fairy-like being left in the place of a stolen human child. They tend to have huge necks and heads, which may help to identify them as imposters. Once identified, there are several ways to get the stolen child back. A famous case of a changeling sighting in Germany occurred in Hessloch near Odernheim in the Gau.

Nachzehrer
A Nachzehrer transforms into an undead monster like a ghoul, but devours energy like an uncivilized vampire. It associates itself with somber deaths and disease, but does hunt living people, especially family members, as well.

Elwetritsch
An Elwetritsch looks like a chicken with scales and antlers, but it cannot take flight very well. It lives in underbrush and vines, and its personality is curious and unassuming like a cat. It is frequently hunted like a game bird.

Nachtkrapp
Often used as an excuse to convince children to sleep, a Nachtkrapp resembles a large bug, bear, and raven combination. Looking into its eyes or at the holes in its wings may cause death. It eats people, especially children, and hunts at night. The Wütender Nachtkrapp is kinder than the usual ones you may hear of, since it simply intimidates children into silence.

Tatzelwurm
The Tatzelwurm resembles a dragon or lizard with a cat-like face. It is often venomous, breathes poison, and makes a hissing or high-pitched screaming sound. In Switzerland, this creature is usually referred to as the Stollenwurm and usually lives in the mountains. The side-effects of coming across this creature include headaches, dizziness, or death, but many have lived to tell the tale of their experience.

If you’d like to read about old Germanic values and warriors in action, then I recommend checking out the Hildebrandslied, which is the only surviving heroic poem written in Old High German.

All About Japanese Folklore: Cool Creatures, Spirits, and Yokai from Folktales Dead Languages: How (and Why) to Learn a Dead Language Why are Speakers of Scandinavian Languages so Damn Good at English?Old English Writing: A History of the Old English Alphabet What are the Most Spoken Languages in the World?

The post In-Depth Guide to Germanic Mythology and Folklore appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 13, 2023 04:00

October 9, 2023

“I Love You” in Portuguese (+ 50 More Romantic Phrases)

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.

Table of contents“Love” in Portuguese “To love” in Portuguese “I love you” in Portuguese “Beautiful” in Portuguese “Cute” in Portuguese “I miss you” in Portuguese “Heart” in Portuguese “Sweetheart” in Portuguese “Boyfriend/girlfriend” in Portuguese “Fiancé/fiancée” in Portuguese “Husband/wife” in Portuguese “Love” in Portuguese is a Beautiful Thing

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Benny Lewis | Language Hacker (@irishpolyglot)

“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.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 09, 2023 03:00

October 6, 2023

40+ Ways to Say “Thank You” in Vietnamese (Comprehensive Guide)

Question: What do you call a cat that knows how to say “Thank you”?
Cat-titude! This is my cat, Vinyasa, aka Vinny.

This is my wife giving me a strange upward left jab to the head. I must have forgotten to say cảm ơn em the night before…

Cô Thuý, my Vietnamese teacher and friend. She helped edit this post. Cảm ơn Cô nhé!

Doing my Vietnamese homework with a view. Learning Vietnamese is a lot like growing rice: it takes patience & dedication. But the end result is nourishing.

Anh rất là biết ơn vợ anh (“I am very grateful for my wife.”).

Table of contentsOther Related Words & Expression Of GratitudeThe Importance of Expressing Gratitude: How to Say Thank You in Vietnamese

One could argue that “thank you” is the most important word you should learn when you are just beginning to learn a language. At the very least, you can express your appreciation to others! I believe that being polite is usually a good choice wherever I find myself and whatever language I am learning.

Like many cultures, saying “thank you” is an essential part of daily life in Vietnam. Whether you’re planning to visit Vietnam or interact with a friend in Vietnamese, it’s essential (and useful!) to learn how to say “thank you” properly.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover the basics of how to say “thank you” in Vietnamese, including some pronunciation tips, common scenarios, and cultural norms.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of how to show appreciation in Vietnamese and the cultural significance behind these expressions. Hopefully, you’re Vietneamese will improve greatly by the end of this post. And of course, you can thank me later (in Vietnamese), because by the end of this piece, you’ll certainly know how to! 🙂

How to Say Thank You in Vietnamese: Basic Phrases and Pronunciation Guide

The easiest and shortest way to say “thank you” in Vietnamese is cảm ơn. This expression can be used in both formal and informal settings and is appropriate for a wide range of scenarios.

The phonetic spelling for cảm ơn is “kahm uhn.”

Another way to say “thank you” in Vietnamese is xin cảm ơn. This phrase is slightly more formal and polite than cảm ơn and is typically used in business or professional settings. Cảm ơn is widely used in daily life: at cafés, restaurants, hotels, shops, etc. It’s the most common way to say “thank you” when you’re dealing with someone you don’t know and the encounter is transactional.

With friends and family, it’s a bit different. While you could get away with saying cảm ơn to a friend or a family member, it’s actually not the most respectful way to say “thank you”. Why is this? Without including a pronoun, it makes it far less personal.

It took me a while to understand this, but the difference can be best illustrated through a texting example. When someone writes “Thank you, Jeremy,” to me in a message, it lands differently than if they write “thx” or simply send an emoji. Writing it out fully and using my full name just feels more sincere and personal.

Saying cảm ơn to a Vietnamese person that you know well is like texting “thx” or “ty” instead of writing it out. Sure, you’re saying the words, but it can often come across that you don’t actually mean it. If you want to express your appreciation fully, then it’s best to say xin cảm ơn or to include the pronoun.

Vietnamese language and culture has a unique pronoun system. The word “I” and “you” varies greatly depending on who you are talking to. Next, let’s look at the most common pronouns.

Finding The Pronoun So You Can Say “Thank You” In Vietnamese Correctly

Here are the most common pronouns you will come across:

Tôi – “I, Me” (formal)Bạn – “Friend”Mình – “Me” (informal)Bố/Ba/Cha – “Father”Má/Mẹ – “Mother”Cháu/Con – “Son/Daughter”, “Grandson/GranddaughterGrandaughter”Anh – “Older brother”Chị – “Older sister”Em – “Younger brother/sister”Ông – “Grandfather”Bà – “Grandmother”Bác/Chú – “Uncle”Cô/Dì – “Aunt”

In Vietnamese culture, the use of pronouns is very important as it helps convey respect, hierarchy, and formality in communication. The Vietnamese language has a complex system of pronouns that vary based on the gender, age, social status, and relationship between the speaker and the listener.

When expressing gratitude or saying thank you in Vietnamese, it’s essential to use the appropriate pronoun depending on the person you’re speaking to. Here are some common forms of “thank you” in Vietnamese using different pronouns.

“Thank you” in Vietnamese to a girl if you are a slightly older male: Cảm ơn em.“Thank you” in Vietnamese to a guy that’s slightly older: Em cảm ơn anh (Adding a subjective pronoun, “I thank you”, makes it a little more personal but is not as common).“Thank you” in Vietnamese to an entire family: Mình cảm ơn cả gia đình, literally, “I thank all of the family” or mình cảm ơn cả nhà (“I thank the entire household”).“Thank you, mom” in Vietnamese: Cảm ơn mẹ (Northern) or cảm ơn má (Southern).“Thank you, dad” in Vietnamese: Cảm ơn bố (Northern) or cảm ơn ba (Southern).“Thank you” to both parents in Vietnamese: Cảm ơn bố mẹ (Northern) or cảm ơn ba má (Southern).“Thank you” to a close friend: Cảm ơn mày (North) / mi (South). Note: Be careful with this one. Only use this with VERY CLOSE friends, otherwise, it is an insult!“Thank you” to your older sister or to a woman slightly older than you: Cảm ơn chị.“I thank you” to your Grandma (or a very old woman): Con cảm ơn bà.“I thank you” to your Grandfather (or a very old man): Con cảm ơn ông.The Most Common Examples of “Thank You” In Vietnamese Including Pronouns

If you want to say “thank you” to someone who is older or has a higher social status than you, you can use cám ơn ông/bà for “thank you, sir/ma’am.” This pronoun is commonly used to show respect for elders or people in authority, such as teachers, bosses, or government officials.

If you want to say thank you to someone who is the same age or younger than you, you can use cám ơn bạn for “thank you, friend.”

If you want to say thank you to someone who is younger or of a lower social status than you, you can use cảm ơn em for “thank you, younger sibling.” This pronoun is commonly used to show affection and care for younger people or those who are subordinate to you.

Cám ơn em is what I use at cafés and restaurants unless the staff appears to be significantly older than me. But as I get older, this will soon change to cảm ơn con, which means “thank you, child”.

If you want to say thank you to someone who is of the opposite gender, you can use cám ơn anh/chị for “thank you, brother/sister.”

These pronouns are often used in workplaces or formal settings, where people are not familiar with each other, but they want to show respect. More often than not, a taxi driver who is clearly older than me will still refer to me as anh because I am the customer.

Using the correct pronoun is crucial when saying “thank you” in Vietnamese as it reflects the relationship and social status between the speaker and the listener. By using the appropriate pronoun, you can convey your gratitude and show respect for the person you’re speaking to. Vietnamese people will also appreciate your efforts if you can nail the proper pronoun!

That being said, if you forget the proper pronoun, don’t worry! It’s totally acceptable to use the wrong one as Vietnamese people are very forgiving since they know it’s difficult. Also, Vietnamese people are not as easily offended (at least publicly) about their age as people tend to be in the West.

In American culture, people usually get offended if one assumes they are of a greater age than they actually are. In Vietnam, it’s quite the opposite. For example, it would be considered more polite if I were to address an elder woman as cô (“Auntie”) rather than chị (“older sister”).

If you’re not sure, you can always just say xin cảm ơn. which is also fine.

How To Add A Personal Touch To Your “Thank You” In Vietnamese

There’s another word, nha (Southern accent) / nhé (Northern accent) that you can use at the end of the phrase. English doesn’t really have an equivalent for this, but you can think of it as a word of endearment and also politeness.

So, if you haven’t memorized all of the pronouns yet, saying cảm ơn nhé or cảm ơn nha is very acceptable as a non-native speaker. It’s like saying “thank you, dear/darling/uncle/ma’am”. You can also add the nhé or nha after the pronoun:

Cảm ơn anh nhé : “thank you, older brother”Cảm ơn chú nhé : “thank you, uncle”Cảm ơn em nhé : “thank you, younger sister/brother”

Though, if you are speaking to the elderly, then you should use the following in order to be more polite:

Con cảm ơn ông nhé : “thank you, grandfather” orCon cảm ơn bà nhé : “thank you grandmother”.How to Say Thank You in Vietnamese Based on the Situation

Saying “thank you” is just the foundation. Next, let’s look at some common scenarios and the appropriate expressions to use:

Cảm ơn bạn nhiều – “thank you very much”
[Note: Remember, bạn can be replaced with any of the above pronunciations depending on the situation.]Cảm ơn rất (là) nhiều – “Thank you very much”Xin cảm ơn quý khách. – “Thank you, customer”Cảm ơn bạn đã giúp đỡ tôi – ”Thank you for your help”Cảm ơn bạn đã dành thời gian cho tôi – “Thank you for your time”Cảm ơn bạn vì món quà của bạn – “Thank you for your gift”Cảm ơn cả nhà dẫ mời mình – “Thank you for inviting me (for hospitality)”Cảm ơn bạn đã ủng hộ mình – “Thank you for your support”Cảm ơn bạn đã thông cảm tôi – “Thank you for your understanding/sympthazing”Cảm ơn vì đã hiểu (cho) mình – “Thank you for your understanding (of/about me)”Cảm ơn bạn vì lòng tốt của bạn – “Thank you for your kindness”Cảm ơn bạn vì mọi thứ – “Thank you for everything”Cảm ơn bạn vì món quà của bạn – “Thank you for your gift”Cảm ơn bạn đã chia sẻ – “Thank you for sharing”Cảm ơn bạn đã lắng nghe – “Thank you for listening (deeply)”

Next, let’s look a little closer at some of the phrases above and what situations they may be used in.

Cảm ơn rất (là) nhiều – “Thank you very much”

When you want to express deep gratitude, you can say cảm ơn rất nhiều (pronounced kahm uhn raht nyiew). This phrase means “thank you very much” and is a more formal way of expressing gratitude. You can also include the là, but it’s not required.

Cảm ơn rất (là) nhiều is appropriate for formal situations or when expressing gratitude to someone you don’t know well. It’s also good for the moments where you are feeling especially thankful and you want to express it.

Cảm ơn cả nhà dẫ mời mình – “Thank you for inviting me”

In general, I find Vietnamese people to be very hospitable. It’s not rare that the host will sleep on the floor and give up his/her bed for the guest. Also, they will likely refuse your help in the kitchen and around the house.

The phrase above is more often used in place of “thank you for your hospitality”. If you’ve just finished a delicious meal, you can say: Cảm ơn cả nhà dẫ mời mình. Dồ ăn hôm nay ngon quá! It means: “Thank you to everyone for inviting me. The food today was delicious!”

Cảm ơn bạn đã ủng hộ mình – “Thank you for your support”

If someone has supported you in some way, you can say cảm ơn bạn đã ủng hộ mình (pronounced: kahm uhn bahn dah um hoe minh). This phrase is a great way to express your gratitude when someone has been there for you, offered you encouragement, or helped you achieve something.

Cảm ơn vì đã hiểu (cho) mình – “Thank you for your understanding / Thank you for understanding me

If someone has shown understanding and empathy toward you, you can say cảm ơn vì đã hiểu mình (pronounced: kahm vi dah hiuw min). This phrase means “thank you for your understanding” and is a way to show your appreciation when someone has listened to you, empathized with your feelings or situation, and offered support.

Cảm ơn bạn vì lòng tốt của bạn – “Thank you for your kindness”

If someone has shown you kindness, you can say cảm ơn bạn vì lòng tốt của bạn (pronounced: kahm uhn bahn vee long tote kuwah bahn). This phrase means “thank you for your kindness” and is a great way to express your appreciation when someone has gone out of their way to do something nice for you.

Lòng is a beautiful word that has no direct English equivalent. It describes the compassionate heart that goes out to others and is connected to others. Also, note that the ong in Vietnamese often sounds like an “M” ending in English. To pronounce this well, you will need to puff out your cheeks as well. This can seem silly at first, but it really does the trick!

Cảm ơn bạn vì mọi thứ – “Thank you for everything”

This phrase is a great way to express your deep appreciation for someone who has helped you in many ways. To be honest, I should probably say this to my Vietnamese wife more! 🙂

Cảm ơn bạn vì món quà của bạn – “Thank you for your gift”

Vietnam is certainly a gift-giving culture. If someone has given you a gift, you can say cảm ơn bạn vì món quà của bạn (pronounced: kahm uhn bahn vee mohn kwah koowah bahn). This phrase means “thank you for your gift” and is a great way to show your appreciation for the thought and effort that went into the gift.

Cảm ơn bạn đã chia sẻ – “Thank you for sharing”

This can be used in the context where someone is telling a personal story or revealing something deep about themselves. Or, you can say this to children who simply like to talk a lot. If you heard what they said but have no idea exactly what to respond to because it was a bit all over the place, you can simply say, “thanks for sharing”.

Cảm ơn bạn đã lắng nghe” – “Thank you for listening (deeply)”

This would be an appropriate reply if someone has just listened to your share without interruption and you want to express gratitude for their presence.

How To Say “No Thank You” In Vietnamese

Technically, “no, thank you” is spoken as a literal translation, không, cảm ơn. When I asked my Vietnamese wife about this, she confirmed that this is correct and is often used. However, my direct experience doesn’t exactly line up with this (and no, I swear I’m not just saying this to try to prove her wrong!).

If I offer some food to a Vietnamese person, often they’ll smile and say dạ cảm ơn which is a polite way to say “thank you”. After saying this, they wouldn’t actually take my food or whatever it was I was offering them.

At first, this was a bit confusing to me. If someone offered me something and I said “thanks”, it would mean that I am accepting their gift. However, here it seems that they are saying “thank you” but implying a “no, thank you”.

Basically, it appears that they are thanking me for the offer, but since their body language suggests that they are not accepting the gift, they won’t take it. The rule of thumb that I follow here is that if they say cảm ơn and they don’t lean in or express that they are taking the gift, then it’s their way of saying “no, thank you.”

“You’re Welcome” in Vietnamese

The most common way to say “you’re welcome” in Vietnamese is không có gì which literally translates to “there’s nothing” or “it’s nothing.” This phrase is rather polite and appropriate for most situations.

Other variations of “you’re welcome” in Vietnamese include:

Không sao – “It’s okay”Không sao đâu – “It’s okay”Không có gì hết – “It’s nothing at all”

Instead of saying “you’re welcome” Vietnamese people will often say “thank you” in reply to you saying “thank you.” I’ve noticed that workers at a grocery store or restaurant will often say cảm ơn to me after I say cảm ơn nhé. I think this is also common in Western countries as well where both parties say “thank you” to each other after a transaction has been completed.

So, the conversation looks like this at a convenience store or a market.

Me: Cảm ơn chị nhiều (“Thank you, sister, very much”, as I am leaving).
Woman: Cảm ơn! (“Thanks!”)

Other Related Words & Expression Of Gratitude

Strangely enough, there is no Vietnamese word for “please.” If you look online, you may find some translations for “please”, but trust me when I say that no one ever uses them. Why is this?

At first, I found this to be rather strange and I judged it as impolite. However, recently I was introduced to a new idea while reading a book called “Braiding Sweetgrass”. I now believe that “please” isn’t used because “please” is a word that one uses in order to be polite, and politeness is already embedded in Vietnamese language. By using the proper pronouns and sentence structure, you are already showing respect and being polite (mostly to your elders). Thus, the word “please” isn’t necessary.

Anyhow, here are some other related words that are useful to know:

Biết ơn – “grateful”Sự biết ơn – “gratitude”Vô ơn – “ungrateful”Quý trọng – “to appreciate”Trân trọng – “to respect/show consideration for something”Quan tâm – “to care about something, to take interest“Thông cảm nha – “please, have sympathy”

Thông cảm nha is often used when you are slightly inconveniencing the other person. In English, if I am running late I may say “sorry to keep you waiting” or “thanks for your patience”, or just a simple “sorry.”

In Vietnamese, you could say, anh tới trễ 10 phút, thông cảm nha (“I’m coming ten minutes late, please have sympathy”). Even though the word technically means “sympathy”, the way it is used usually implies some empathy as well.

Here’s another example of thông cảm. During the pandemic, the Vietnamese government would blast announcements through the neighborhood loud speakers twice a day: 5:30 AM & 5:30 PM. As you might imagine, this was not something I enjoyed.

One day, I angrily asked my landlord if she could talk to the local government and see if it was possible to lower the volume of these extremely obnoxious announcements. She explained why the government was doing what they were doing, and ended her response with thông cảm nhé (“please have sympathy”). Funny, because it was actually me who wanted some sympathy!

Truth be told, I did not have much sympathy at the time. But I did learn a new word that day, so I guess I came out ahead. 🙂

Advanced Pronunciation Tip: How To Say “Thank You” Using Southern, Central, & Northern Accents

After living in Vietnam for over 5 years, I am finally grasping the subtle (and not so subtle) differences in each accent.

If you’re interested in the intricacies of pronunciation of the word cảm ơn then you can check out this video I made: How to Pronounce “cảm ơn” (Thank you) in Northern, Southern, & Central Vietnamese Accent

I currently live in Hoi An. Often I’ll use the Central accent, cổm ơn nghe to say “thank you”. When I do, people really appreciate it and often laugh out loud. However, use this one with caution and only with Central speakers! Otherwise, people might look at you like you are crazy.

Conclusion Be Grateful and Express It!

Remember, learning a new language is not just about memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules. It’s about discovering a new culture and way of thinking. In Vietnam, expressing gratitude is an essential part of daily life. Knowing how to say “thank you” in Vietnamese, such as xin cảm ơn, can go a long way in building relationships and showing respect. It’s also likely that you will get rewarded with smiles from native speakers. 🙂

Lastly, did you know that expressing gratitude also has health benefits? Studies have shown that regularly practicing gratitude can boost your mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and even improve your sleep quality. So, saying cảm ơn nhé isn’t just polite; it’s good for your overall well-being!

So, next time someone does something kind for you, big or small, remember to say cảm ơn nhé or xin cảm ơn and show your gratitude. It’s good for both you and the person you’re thanking.

Cảm ơn đã đọc nhé! “Thanks for reading!”

16 Different Ways to Say “Thank You” in French

The post appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 06, 2023 04:00

September 29, 2023

Practicing German Adjectives in Everyday Conversations

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.

Table of contents8 Most Common German Color Adjectives Adjectives List Gespräch 1: Farben – “Conversation 1: Colors”20 German Adjectives for Describing Appearances Adjectives List Gespräch 2: Aussehen – “Conversation 2: Appearances”15 Adjectives to Describe Ability in German Adjective List Gespräch 3: Fähigkeit – “Conversation 3: Ability”Working with Nouns, Numbers, and Grammatical Gender The Grammatical Loyalty of a German Adjective Grammatical Cases and German Adjective Endings Strong Ending Vs. Weak Ending When Should You Conjugate German Adjectives?

Let’s dive right in!

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 AppearancesAdjectives 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” – JungGespräch 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 GermanAdjective 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” – SchwachGespräch 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 EndingsStrong 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.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 29, 2023 03:59

September 22, 2023

How to Succeed in a Long-Distance Relationship During Your Language Learning Journey

If you go abroad, you may inevitably find yourself in a long-distance relationship, also commonly known as an “LDR.” Loving in different cultures is an exciting experience. But you might believe that long-distance relationships do not work because they are difficult. And it can be true–sometimes they do not work. However, sometimes they do.

I myself have been in long-distance relationships multiple times in my adult life. I also have several friends who were successful in their LDRs. So how do you maintain one? Here is our advice for long-distance relationships.

Table of contentsWhat to Do Before Starting Your Long-Distance Relationship What Are the Rules of a Long-Distance Relationship?Helpful Conversations to Have for Long-Distance Relationships What Are Your Love Languages ?How Exactly Are You Going to Communicate?What Language(s) Will You Communicate in?Will You Be Monogamous?How Will You Schedule Visits?Long-Distance Relationship Date Ideas Final AdviceWhat to Do Before Starting Your Long-Distance Relationship

Prepare as much as possible for your long-distance relationship. This includes doing some self-reflection and communicating openly and honestly with your partner. First, think about why you want to be in a relationship despite the distance. It might help to journal your thoughts.

This might be more difficult than you think. Are you just craving some space apart? Are you hoping that this will make it easier for you to break up? Or on the other hand, are you just afraid of being alone? Reasons like these might be a recipe for disaster in a long-distance relationship.

Instead, your relationship has a better chance of surviving long distance if you truly view your other half as a long-term partner, or if you think they have the potential to be. Are you prepared to openly communicate, even when it’s hard? Can you argue in a healthy manner? Sending and receiving love letters are nice, but are you prepared to be upfront and honest with your partner when you can’t physically be in the room? If you are ready or think you will be, then you have a better chance at succeeding in a long-distance relationship.

What Are the Rules of a Long-Distance Relationship?

What should you do in a long-distance relationship? What should you not do? It should come as no surprise that every LDR is different, and so there are no “one size fits all” rules. You can read countless blogs (and I have) about what the writers believe to have been the golden rules for surviving their long-distance relationship. And some of them are great–I gained a lot of great information from them. But others just didn’t feel right to me and my partner.

For example, some couples swear by talking on the phone or voice/video messaging apps every day. This might be for 10 minutes or for an hour. Especially when you are in vastly different time zones and have busy schedules, finding a set time to check in and talk to each other every day might be incredibly important. It can help you feel more connected.

On the other hand, for some people, needing to talk every day could feel like a burden. It might become less enjoyable and more frustrating needing to pencil in speaking with your partner every day, rather than calling when it feels right.

A common thread in self-help information for long-distance relationships is making sure you are in the right emotional space. When you live physically separate lives from your partner, it’s often quite easy to fall into emotional traps. You might become more suspicious of your partner, more easily jealous, or simply more sad than before. This is okay as long as you can manage your emotions well because it’s very natural to experience these feelings.

However, make sure you don’t unfairly take out your emotions on your partner, whether that’s avoiding their texts, instigating fights, or cheating. Practicing self-care and active reflection, such as through journaling or meditating, is a great way to keep your emotions in check. Be open and communicative with your partner in a non-judgmental way.

Therefore, the rules you should make are these: Set your own boundaries and ground rules together, and communicate appropriately (more on these below). Also, be actively self-reflective so you can avoid a lot of the common pitfalls of LDRs.

Helpful Conversations to Have for Long-Distance Relationships

With this in mind, here are some topics to reflect on and discuss before or during your LDR.

What Are Your Love Languages?

How much you believe in the concept of a “love language” isn’t as important as discussing this topic with your partner. This is because it can offer a lot of insight into how to manage your long-distance relationship.

For example, if your partner’s primary love language is physical touch, they might struggle with being apart for longer periods of time. This love language is probably the most difficult to fulfill in an LDR. You may need to plan visits as often as is realistically possible to make the relationship work. If you can’t visit as often as they need, sending them a piece of clothing you’ve worn for them to wear may be helpful. There are also pieces of smart jewelry you can buy that vibrate when you or your partner touches them.

Other love languages can be fulfilled with some creativity as well. If your partner’s love language is “words of affirmation,” speaking and writing letters to each other may help fulfill this. There are also several apps for LDR couples that help with this specifically.

“Gift giving” can become expensive if you ship gifts internationally from your destination, but online shopping with an account in your partner’s locale (Amazon.co.jp or Rakuten.co.jp if they are in Japan, for example) helps whittle shipping prices down.

“Acts of service” can sometimes be tricky from a distance, but see if there are any problems you can help your partner solve remotely. Also, booking professional services for them in their location is another great option.

For “quality time,” this is easiest to fulfill with virtual date nights, as described in a later section.

How Exactly Are You Going to Communicate?

I know I talked about appropriate communication above, but there’s still so much more to discuss. Plan ahead of time how you are going to talk. This covers a large number of aspects.

Communicate with your partner in the way that works for both of you. And this might change with time. When you first start your LDR, maybe talking every day for 30 minutes is what you need, but then later find it’s becoming stressful. That’s okay. Think about how to talk to your partner about it. Explain how you feel to your partner when you have a calm head. Make sure you don’t frame it in a way like they are a burden to you!

On the other hand, for example, what if you want more communication, but your partner wants less? Think about different ways you can come to a compromise. Would texting throughout the day satisfy your needs? Would bringing in new conversation topics help? Or would longer but more frequent calls do the trick? Would doing activities (separately or together) on the phone work better? How will you balance text-based and call-based communication? How frequently should you expect responses?

Also think about what apps or websites you will use to communicate. There are some communication apps designed with LDR couples in mind. Will you try any? Which ones? How much will you use them?

The popular saying “Never go to bed angry” might not work in an LDR if you are in different time zones. Will you argue over text, or wait until the partner can call? Will you journal first to reflect on your feelings, or try to speak to them as soon as possible? If your partner isn’t responding to your messages as well as you’d like, how can you improve the situation to match both of your communication styles? When things aren’t going well, are you going to check in as needed, or will you schedule a specific “check-in” day to talk things through?

Think creatively and talk honestly to find common ground.

What Language(s) Will You Communicate in?

We can’t ignore the potentially multilingual aspect of international relationships. If you are from different language backgrounds, what language (or languages) will you primarily communicate in? You may have already had this conversation, but it might be useful to have again. If you communicate in your partner’s primary language, will your partner make an effort to learn your primary language as well (or vice versa)? If so, will one of you teach the other, or will that add strain to your relationship?

Furthermore, if you have fights, what language will you argue in? This might seem like an odd question, but I know of one English-Japanese bilingual couple that usually communicates in English. However, they feel like they are more respectful of each other arguing in Japanese, so they don’t argue in English.

By the way, learning another language with each other–maybe for a trip to a third country together, as I discuss later–is a great activity to do remotely.

Will You Be Monogamous?

It is not uncommon for relationships to “open” during an LDR. By the same token, it’s also not uncommon to stay completely monogamous (if you currently are). So what will you and your partner do? Even if you don’t expect anything to change, this is still a good conversation to have to make sure your partner doesn’t have opposite assumptions.

If you do decide to have an open relationship, what will the restrictions be? Keep in mind that it is important to self-reflect upon why you want a non-monogamous relationship in an LDR, if this applies to you. If you’re wanting to open up your monogamous relationship because, for example, you’re more interested in someone else than your partner, this can be a red flag for your current relationship. Make sure you don’t use distance as an excuse to cover up other potential problems.

How Will You Schedule Visits?

One of the keys to succeeding in an LDR is knowing when you will see each other again. This doesn’t need to mean knowing when the LDR will end. Knowing the ultimate end date is very helpful, but if you don’t know when that is, or if it is very far off in time, scheduling visits is important.

This is another topic to talk about thoroughly. Will one partner always visit the other’s location, or will you take turns visiting each other’s? Does it make more sense to meet in a third country and take regular trips together?

Especially if there’s a significant geographical distance, this can add up monetarily. Therefore, most likely, you will also need to discuss finances during these conversations. This is not very straightforward if one partner makes more money than the other, or if one has more time off from work or other duties. This may mean that costs are not always split 50-50.

If one partner visits the other, will you take turns paying for flights or other forms of transportation? Or will the hosting partner pay for daily necessities, like food and accommodation?

If you take trips together, will you aim for countries with lower costs of living, or wherever is geographically the most convenient between your two locations? How will you budget traveling costs together? One method could be to calculate how much money you spent on dates within a certain timeframe before you started your LDR, and use that as your budget. Or you might have saved up a travel fund and dip into that. As with the above, how will you share traveling costs between you?

Finally, you might be ecstatic to meet your partner again, but also feel a little awkward at first when you meet after a long time. This might even happen if you talk to each other every day. You might need a bit of time to feel like the couple you were before you started the LDR. This is normal, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Again, if you’re feeling a little awkward, this is a great thing to communicate and work out together.

Long-Distance Relationship Date Ideas

The good news is, this is a great age to be in a long-distance relationship. With the internet and fairly quick physical transportation methods, distances never felt so small.

There are likewise countless websites offering hundreds of ideas for long-distance dates and activities to do together. I will share some of my and my friends’ five personal favorites:

Watch movies and TV shows together. Schedule a time to hop on a virtual call, plug your earphones in, and watch a series or movie with your partner. You can either click the play button at the same time or sync up your devices with an app like Rave. If you’re starting to falter in your conversation topics, it’s also great to discuss what you watched!Cook something together. Make a grocery list and decide on a recipe to cook together over a video call. Cook a personal favorite, or try something totally new! If you have a big time difference, plan ahead when this will work. For example, when my breakfast was my partner’s dinner time, we made brunch. If you’re living in different cultures, this is a great way to introduce new cuisines to each other.Play online games together. This is also a great way to involve family and friends if you’re missing group dates. You can find many free websites, such as Pogo, and many great paid options, like Jackbox Games. If you have a favorite board or video game, see if there is an online, multiplayer option!Learn a language together. More than ever, it’s easy to learn a language online. If you come from different language backgrounds, you can learn each other’s language. Or try another language you’re both interested in! Is your partner moving to Greece? Learn Greek together. Meeting up in Spain? Take a Spanish class together. You can either attend the same virtual lesson or conversation group or join separately and practice with each other later.Journal together. Try to write an entry to each other every day about how you feel or what you did today. How you share this can be up to you. For example, you can make this a private blog, or as a gift for when you see each other again.Final Advice

Long-distance relationships don’t need to feel heavy. Yes, they can be difficult at times. Of course, they might not work out, but many in-person relationships don’t either. LDRs offer new ways to develop as people together and experience new things, so if it feels right to you, go for it!

22 Things I Learned about Russian Culture from 6 Years Living in Russia Multilingual Dating: Should I Date Someone Who Speaks Another Language?Walk like an Egyptian: Why Blending in Matters Language Exchange Partners: The Ultimate Guide Teach Your Loved One a New Language: 9 Easy Strategies

The post How to Succeed in a Long-Distance Relationship During Your Language Learning Journey appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 22, 2023 04:06

September 8, 2023

20+ Basic Portuguese Phrases for Travellers and Tourists

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.

Table of contentsThe First 9 Basic Portuguese Words and Phrases You Should Learn “Hello” in Portuguese – Olá/Oi “Excuse me” in Portuguese: Com Licença Greetings “Good Morning” in Portuguese: Bom Dia “Good Afternoon” and “Good Night”“How are you?” in Portuguese “Yes” in Portuguese “No” in Portuguese “Where is … ?” in Portuguese “Please” in Portuguese “Thank you” in Portuguese “Bye” in Portuguese Why Should You Learn These Portuguese Phrases?

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.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 08, 2023 04:00

August 14, 2023

Guide to Turkish Alphabet: Pronunciation + Example Words

Do you know how important it is to learn the Turkish alphabet as a Turkish learner?
“Turkish is pronounced the same way it’s written,” or Türkçe okunduğu gibi yazılır, in Turkish. This sentence, used so often by primary school teachers, is still the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about my native language.
As a six-year-old learning how to read and write, I would have never imagined that one day I would quote my primary school teachers while writing an article about the Turkish alphabet. The reason why I’m quoting them is simple: they are right!

Indeed, Turkish is a phonetic language. Once you learn the alphabet very well, you will be able to read in Turkish without many surprises.

Table of contentsHistory of the Turkish Alphabet: From Ottoman to Latin Script Turkish Alphabet: All 29 Letters and Their Pronunciations A / a B / b C / c Ç / ç D / d E / e F / f G / g Ğ / ğ H / h I / ı İ / i J / j K / k L / l M / m N / n O / o Ö / ö P / p R / r S / s Ş / ş T / t U / u Ü / ü V / v Y / y Z / z What Letters Are Not in the Turkish Alphabet?Tips for Reading in Turkish and Practising the Turkish Alphabet Frequently Asked Questions about the Turkish Alphabet What Are Ü and Ö Turkish?How Do You Pronounce Ö in Turkish?Why Is C Pronounced as J in Turkish?What Is the Difference Between I and İ in Turkish?How Do You Pronounce Ç?How Do You Pronounce Ş?Is it Easy to Learn Turkish?What Is â in Turkish?First Step: Done!History of the Turkish Alphabet: From Ottoman to Latin Script

One of the reasons why the Turkish alphabet is easy to read is that it’s relatively new. In the 1920s, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded modern Turkey, he introduced a set of reforms to modernise the country. The Alphabet Reform, which introduced Latin Alphabet to Turkish and abandoned the Ottoman Turkish script is part of his reforms.

The Ottoman script was an alphabet derived from Arabic. But Turkish and Arabic are very different languages even though they share some common words. For example, the Arabic script mainly represents consonants but Turkish is a language that is rich in vowels. It has 8 vowels, all with distinct sounds. The writing system that was in place simply was not enough to represent all the Turkish sounds. By using the Latin alphabet, however, we can convey all these sounds where each of them corresponds to one single letter. This also makes Turkish pronunciation consistent and straightforward.

Turkish Alphabet: All 29 Letters and Their Pronunciations

Before we get started with the pronunciation of letters, here is some useful information about the Turkish alphabet: * There are 29 letters in the Turkish alphabet: 8 vowels (A, E, I, İ, O, Ö, U, Ü), and 21 consonants (B, C, Ç, D, F, G, Ğ, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, Ş, T, V, Y, Z).

The letters ç, ş, ğ, ı, ö, and ü are the letters that exist in Turkish but not in English. We will cover their pronunciations, so that you don’t confuse them with the letters they look like, such as ö vs. o, and s vs. ş.Some Turkish letters, such as ç have different pronunciations than what you would expect. Once you learn them, you’re good to go!
Tip: If you’re familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet, you can use it to practise your Turkish pronunciation.A / a

IPA pronunciation: /a/

English equivalent: like the “a” in car.

Example words:

arı (“bee”)at (“horse”)ama (“but”)B / b

IPA pronunciation: /b/

English equivalent: like the “b” in bus.

Example words:

bebek (“baby”)bir (“one”)bazen (“sometimes”)C / c

IPA pronunciation: /dʒ/

English equivalent: The Turkish c does not produce the /s/ or /k/ sound like in English. Instead, it sounds like the “j” in job.

Example words:

cuma (“Friday”)caz (“jazz”)can (“life”)Ç / ç

IPA pronunciation: /tʃ/

English equivalent: ç always sounds like the “ch” in channel.
Example words:

çay (“tea”)çorap (“sock”)çok (“a lot”)D / d

IPA pronunciation: /d/

English equivalent: like the “d” in deal

Example words:

deniz (“sea”)dünya (“world”)dün (“yesterday”)E / e

IPA pronunciation: /e/

English equivalent: like the “e” in red

Example words:

ev (“house”)evet (“yes”)ekmek (“bread”)F / f

IPA pronunciation: /f/

English equivalent: like the “f” in far

Example words:

fikir (“idea”)fark (“difference”)fincan (“cup”)G / g

IPA pronunciation: /g/

English equivalent: like the “g” in great.

Example words:

gün (“day”)günaydın (“good morning”)güzel (“beautiful”)Ğ / ğ

IPA pronunciation: /ɣ/

English equivalent: This is a special letter with no equivalent. It’s also the only letter that is known with a name of its own instead of the sound it makes. We call it yumuşak g which means “soft g.” We can say that it is a silent letter since it makes the previous vowel longer and has no distinct sound.

Example words: There are no words that start with ğ and there is no exception to this rule. It either exists in the middle or at the end of a word. Listen to the pronunciation of a word that has ğ here. Here are some examples:

yağmur (“rain”)dağ (“mountain”)ağaç (“tree”)H / h

IPA pronunciation: /h/

English equivalent: like the “h” in high.

Example words:

hayır (“no”)havuç (“carrot”)hep (“always”)I / ı

IPA pronunciation: /ɯ/

English equivalent: Similar to the “e” sound in open. Listen to the pronunciation of a word that contains ı here.

Example words:

ışık (“light”)ıspanak (“spinach”)ısı (“heat”)İ / i

IPA pronunciation: /i/

English equivalent: like the “ee” in deep.

Example words:

iyi (“good”)iş (“work”)ilk (“first”)J / j

IPA pronunciation: /ʒ/

English equivalent: like the “s” in leisure.

Example words:

jaguar (“jaguar”)jimnastik (“gymnastics”)K / k

IPA pronunciation: /k/

English equivalent: like the “k” in kite.

Example words:

kar (“snow”)kapı (“door”)küçük (“small”)L / l

IPA pronunciation: /l/

English equivalent: like the “l” in language

Example words:

limonata (“lemonade”)lacivert (“dark blue”)lamba (“lamp”)M / m

IPA pronunciation: /m/

English equivalent: like the “m” in meaning

Example words:

marul (“lettuce”)malzeme (“ingredient”)mesela (“for example”)N / n

IPA pronunciation: /n/

English equivalent: like the “n” in near

Example words:

nar (“pomegranate”)ne (“what”)neden (“why”)O / o

IPA pronunciation: /o/

English equivalent: like the “o” in open

Example words:

on (“ten”)olay (“incident”)olur (“sure, that works”)Ö / ö

IPA pronunciation: /ø/

English equivalent: similar to the “i” sound in girl.

Example words:

ördek (“duck”)ödev (“homework”)örnek (“example”)P / p

IPA pronunciation: /p/

English equivalent: like the “p” in party.

Example words:

parti (“party”)pazar (“Sunday”)para (“money”)R / r

IPA pronunciation: /ɾ/

English equivalent: like the “r” in right.

Example words:

renk (“colour”)rahat (“comfortable”)risk (“risk”)S / s

IPA pronunciation: /s/

English equivalent: like the “s” in snake.

Example words:

saat (“clock”)saç (“hair”)sarı (“yellow”)Ş / ş

IPA pronunciation: /ʃ/

English equivalent: like the “sh” in share.

Example words:

şimdi (“now”)şans (“luck”)şapka (“hat”)T / t

IPA pronunciation: /t/

English equivalent: like the “t” in tea.
Example words:

taze (“fresh”)tamam (“okay”)timsah (“crocodile”)U / u

IPA pronunciation: /u/

English equivalent: like the “oo” in boot.

Example words:

uzak (“far”)uçak (“plane”)uzun (“tall”)Ü / ü

IPA pronunciation: /y/

English equivalent: similar to the “u” in cube but the exact sound doesn’t exist in English. Here’s a tip to pronounce this letter: make the “ee” sound in English and slowly close your lips to form a round shape. You will end up saying ü.

Example words:

üzüm (“grape”)üzgün (“sad”)ünlü (“famous”)V / v

IPA pronunciation: /v/

English equivalent: like the “v” in victory.

Example words:

vakit (“time”)valiz (“luggage”)var (“there is/there are”)Y / y

IPA pronunciation: /j/

English equivalent: like the y in yellow.

Example words:

yaz (“summer”)yalnız (“alone”)yarım (“half”)Z / z

IPA pronunciation: /z/

English equivalent: like the “z” in zebra.

Example words:

zarf (“envelope”)zürafa (“giraffe”)zeki (“intelligent”)What Letters Are Not in the Turkish Alphabet?

Q, W, and X are not in the Turkish alphabet. Q and W are never used in Turkish, except for foreign words. As for X, you would often see loan words written with ks instead of “x.”

Example: faks (“fax”)

Tips for Reading in Turkish and Practising the Turkish Alphabet

As you can see, Turkish is easy to read once you get used to the letters that are pronounced differently. Their pronunciations are not irregular like in French or English.
You can practise your Turkish pronunciation by watching videos, reading books out loud, and speaking as much as possible to familiarise yourself with the sounds of the language.
For additional resources, make sure to check the best Turkish learning resources recommended by Fluent in 3 Months.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Turkish AlphabetWhat Are Ü and Ö Turkish?

Ü and Ö are both different letters in Turkish. Often considered difficult to pronounce by English speakers, these letters sound different from each other, also from u and o.

How Do You Pronounce Ö in Turkish?

Ö is pronounced similarly to the vowel sound in girl or burn.

Why Is C Pronounced as J in Turkish?

In Turkish, every letter corresponds to a single sound. C’s corresponding sound is /dʒ/, similar to the English J.

What Is the Difference Between I and İ in Turkish?

I and İ are two different letters with different sounds. I sounds like the “e” sound in the word open, whereas İ sounds like the English “ee” sound. So if you want to write Istanbul in Turkish, you would write it as İstanbul.

How Do You Pronounce Ç?

Ç is always pronounced like the ch in chocolate or channel.

How Do You Pronounce Ş?

Ş is always pronounced like the “sh” sound in shop or shake.

Is it Easy to Learn Turkish?

It depends. But many learners, including Benny Lewis, the founder of Fluent in 3 Months have said that Turkish is easier than they expected.
Firstly, Turkish pronunciation and grammar are very regular once you learn the rules. There are also many loan words from other languages, especially French, Arabic, and Persian. I’ve actually used some of them in my examples when covering the pronunciations of letters.
Check out the letters Ş and V. Şans (“luck,” chance in French) and valiz (“luggage,” valise in French) are both words of French origin.

What Is â in Turkish?

Although it is not very common, you might occasionally see a written as â. It is not considered a different letter but when it’s written this way, it softens the previous consonant and makes the a sound longer. Besides the pronunciation, it can also change the meaning of the word.

Example: kar (“snow”) – see its pronunciation here vskâr (“profit”) – see its pronunciation here.

First Step: Done!

Now you know how to pronounce Turkish letters. Congratulations! Make sure to practise them by using audio guides and speaking as much as possible. You can use this article as a guide to refer back to the letters’ pronunciations and refresh your knowledge with the FAQs.

How to Learn a Language in 2023 – Ultimate Guide with 40+ Language Hacks Innovative Language Review – Complete Pod101 Language Course Review (with Screenshots and Video Results)Is Babbel Any Good for Language Learners? I Speak 4 Languages Fluently, Here’s What I Think [Babbel Review]Magnetic Memory Method: An In-Depth Review from a Language Learner The Best Way to Learn a Language [Scientifically Proven, Polyglot Tested]

The post Guide to Turkish Alphabet: Pronunciation + Example Words appeared first on Fluent in 3 Months.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 14, 2023 04:00

August 11, 2023

20 Everyday German Slang Words (So You Sound Like A Native)

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.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 11, 2023 04:00

August 7, 2023

20 Russian Slang Words To Help You Speak Like A Local

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.

function runSplitTest(){var randomNumber = Math.floor(Math.random() * 2) + 1console.log(randomNumber)var copy = "";if (randomNumber == 3){ copy = 'A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in Russian for at least 15 minutes with the "Fluent in 3 Months" method. All it takes is 90 days. <a href="https://www.fluentin3months.com/ch?sr... this link to find out more.</a>'} else { copy = 'A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in Russian for at least 15 minutes with the "Fluent in 3 Months" method. All it takes is 90 days. <a href="https://www.fluentin3months.com/ch?sr... this link to find out more.</a>'}console.log(copy)var copyToChange = document.querySelector("p.copyText").innerHTML = copy;}runSplitTest();

Table of contents1. Бабки [babki] – “Money”2. Тусить [tusit’] – “To hang out”3. Чувак/Чувиха [chuvak/chuviha] – “Dude”4. Чёрт [chiort] – “Devil”5. Хавать [havat’] – “To eat”6. Бухать [buhat’] – “To drink”7. Грузить [gruzit’] – “To bore with too much talking”8. Бомба [bomba] – “Amazing”9. Достал/Достала [dostal/dostala] – “To be annoyed”10. Всё ништяк. [Vsio nishtiak.] – “It’s all good.”11. Мне до лампочки. [Mne do lampochki.] – “I don’t care.”12. Мне фиолетово. [Mne fioletovo.] – “I don’t care.”13. Офигеть! [Ofiget’!] – “Wow!”14. Кайфонуть [Kayfonut’] – “To have a pleasant pastime”15. Давай побазарим! [Davay pobazarim!] – “Let’s have a chat.”16. Да не гони! [Da ne goni!] – “Seriously?”\17. Да ну нафиг! [Da nu nafig!] – “ I don’t want it.”18. Нифига себе! [Nifiga sebe!] \ – “Wow!”19. Это полный зашквар! [Ato polnyi zashkvar!] – “This is too much.”20. Ты спалился! [Ty spalilsia!] \ – “You got spotted!”Final Thoughts on Russian Slang

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.

View more on Benny Lewis's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 07, 2023 03:00

← Previous 1 2 … 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 … 98 99 Next →

Benny Lewis's Blog

Benny Lewis's profile
356 followers