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Europe For Dummies
A tour through Europe can be intimidating to the uninitiated. You may be dealing with different languages, different currencies, different systems of measurement, or all of the above. This handy reference gives you everything from metric conversions to help you navigate the roads to clothing sizes to help you navigate the shops, plus a foreign-language glossary to help you chat up locals along the way.
European Currencies Map
The currency you’ll be using almost exclusively while traveling in Western Europe is the Euro. If your travels take you to the U.K., you’ll also need to learn the ins and outs of pounds and pence. If you travel even farther afield — say into Eastern Europe or Scandinavia — you’ll find many countries that still use their native currency.
This map will help you sort out when and where you’re likely to need to exchange your currency.
European Language Glossary
Most of the locals you encounter as you travel through Europe speak at least a little English. Still, most locals will appreciate being greeted in their native language, and will encourage your efforts to pick up a few new phrases. This chart lists some handy words and phrases in French, Italian, German, and Spanish to help you get the conversational ball rolling.
| English | French | Italian | German | Spanish |
| My name is... | Je m’appelle... (zhuh mah-pell) |
Mi chiamo... (me key-ah-mo) |
Ich heisse... (eek high-suh) |
Me llamo... (male)/ Me llama... (female) (may yah-moe/yah-mah) |
| Thank you | Merci (mair-see) |
Grazie (grat-tzee- yay) |
Danke (dahn-kah) |
Gracias (grah-thee-yahs) |
| Please | S’il vous plaît (seel-vou-play) |
Per favore (pair fa-vohr-ray) |
Bitte (bih-tuh) |
Por favor (por fah-bohr) |
| Yes/No | Oui/Non (wee/no) |
Si/No (see/no) |
Ja/Nein (yah/nine) |
Sí/No (see/no) |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais? (par-lay-vou on-glay) |
Parla Inglese? (par-la een-glay-zay) |
Sprechen Sie Englisch? (zprek-can zee een-glish) |
Habla usted inglés? (ah-blah oo-sted een-glais) |
| Good day | Bonjour (bohn-szourh) |
Buon giorno (bwohn jour-noh) |
Guten tag (goo-tehn tahg) |
Buenos días (bway-nohs dee-hs) |
| Goodbye | Au revoir (oh-ruh-vwah) |
Arrivederci (ah-ree-vah-dair-chee) |
Auf wiedersehen (owf vee-dair-zay-yen) |
Adiós (ah-dee-yohs) |
| Excuse me | Pardon (pah-rdohn) |
Scusi (skoo-zee) |
Entschuldigung, bitte (ent-shool-dee-gung bih-tuh) |
Perdóneme (pair-dohn-eh-meh) |
| I’m sorry | Je suis desolée (zhuh swee day-zoh-lay) |
Mi dispiace (mee dees-pee-yat-chay) |
Es tut mir leid (ehs toot meer lyd) |
Lo siento (lo see-yen-toh) |
| How much is it? | Combien coûte? (coam-bee-yehn koot) |
Quanto costa? (kwan-toh coast-ah) |
Wieviel kostet es? (vee-feel koh-steht es) |
Cuánto cuesta? (kwan-toh kway-stah) |
| 1/2/3 | un (uhn)/ deux (douh)/ trois (twah) |
uno (oo-no)/ due (doo-way)/ tre (tray) |
eins (eye’nz)/ zwei (zv’eye)/ drei (dr’eye) |
uno (oo-noh)/ dos (dohs)/ tres (trays) |
| Where is the bathroom? | Où est la toilette? (ou eh lah twah-let) |
Dov’é il bagno? (doh-vay eel bahn-yoh) |
Wo ist die toilette? (voh eest dee toy-leht-tah) |
Dónde está el servicio/el
baño? (dohn-day eh-stah el sair-bee-thee-yo/el bahn-yoh) |
| I would like this/that | Je voudrais ce/ça (zhuh vou-dray suh/sah) |
Vorrei questo/quello (voar-ray kway-sto/ kwel-loh) |
Ich möchte dieses/das (eek mowk-tah dee-zes/dahs) |
Quisiera éste/ése (kee-see-yair-ah eh-stay/eh-seh) |
| ...a double room for X nights | une chambre pour deux pour X soirs (oou-n shaum-bra pour douh pour X swa) |
una doppia per X notte (ooh-nah dope-pee-ya pair X noh-tay) |
ein Doppelzimmer für X nachts (eye’n doh-pel- tzim-merr fear X nahkts) |
una habitacióndoble por X noches (oo-nah ah-bee-ta- thee-yon doh-blay poar X noh-chays) |
| with/without bath | avec (ah-vek)/ sans (sahn) bain (baahn) |
con/(coan)/ senza (sen-zah) bagno (bahn-yoh) |
mit (miht)/ ohne (oh-nuh) bad (baad) |
con (cohn)/ sin (seen) baño (bah-nyoh) |
| Check, please | La conte, s’il vous plaît (lah kohnt-ah seel-vou-play) |
Il conto, per favore (eel coan-toh, pair fah-voar-ay) |
Die Rechnung, bitte (dee rek-noong bit-tuh) |
La cuenta, por favor (lah kwain-tah por fah-bohr) |
| Is service included? | Le service est-il compris? (luh sair-vees eh-teal coam-pree) |
É incluso il servizio? (ey een-clou-so eel sair-veet-zee-yo) |
Ist die Bedienung inbegriffen? (ihst dee beh-dee-nung in-beh-grih-fen) |
Está el servicio incluido? (eh-stah el sair-bee-thee-yo een-clu-wee-doh) |
European Clothing Size Conversions
Distances, temperatures, and currencies aren’t the only things you may have to convert while you’re traveling in Europe. Clothing and shoe sizes in Europe, the U.K., and the U.S. are all very different from each other. To help you avoid any unpleasant surprises, the following tables list conversions for the most common sizes.
| American | Continental | British |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 36 | 8 |
| 8 | 38 | 10 |
| 10 | 40 | 12 |
| 12 | 42 | 14 |
| 14 | 44 | 16 |
| 16 | 46 | 18 |
| American | Continental | British |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 36 | 4 |
| 6 | 37 | 5 |
| 7 | 38 | 6 |
| 8 | 39 | 7 |
| 9 | 40 | 8 |
| 10 | 41 | 9 |
| American | Continental | British |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 98 | 18 |
| 4 | 104 | 20 |
| 5 | 110 | 22 |
| 6 | 116 | 24 |
| 6X | 122 | 26 |
| American | Continental | British |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 24 | 7 |
| 9 | 25 | 8 |
| 10 | 27 | 9 |
| 11 | 28 | 10 |
| 12 | 29 | 11 |
| 13 | 30 | 12 |
| 1 | 32 | 13 |
| 2 | 33 | 1 |
| 3 | 34 | 2 |
| American | Continental | British |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | 44 | 34 |
| 36 | 46 | 36 |
| 38 | 48 | 38 |
| 40 | 50 | 40 |
| 42 | 52 | 42 |
| 44 | 54 | 44 |
| 46 | 56 | 46 |
| 48 | 58 | 48 |
| American | Continental | British |
|---|---|---|
| 14-1/2 | 37 | 14-1/2 |
| 15 | 38 | 15 |
| 15-1/2 | 39 | 15-1/2 |
| 16 | 41 | 16 |
| 16-1/2 | 42 | 16-1/2 |
| 17 | 43 | 17 |
| 17-1/2 | 44 | 17-1/2 |
| 18 | 45 | 18 |
| American | Continental | British |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 39-1/2 | 6 |
| 8 | 41 | 7 |
| 9 | 42 | 8 |
| 10 | 43 | 9 |
| 11 | 44-1/2 | 10 |
| 12 | 46 | 11 |
| 13 | 47 | 12 |
