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Cheat Sheet / Updated 12-01-2023
Whether you’re planning to visit East Africa for a few days or stay long term, it’s a good idea to have some basic phrases up your sleeve to help you manage conversations in Swahili smoothly. In this cheat sheet, you’ll find useful phrases to use in greetings, asking questions, dealing with numbers, and understanding the calendar days.
View Cheat SheetCheat Sheet / Updated 11-02-2023
As you're studying Italian, either on your own or in a course, keep this Cheat Sheet handy for a quick reference on articles, personal pronouns, tenses, and more.
View Cheat SheetCheat Sheet / Updated 10-02-2023
Si tienes planeado viajar a un país que habla inglés, de vacaciones o por negocio, vale la pena aprender algunos saludos, frases de cortesía y preguntas de carácter general.
View Cheat SheetCheat Sheet / Updated 09-13-2023
Keep this Cheat Sheet handy as you're learning French. It's a great quick reference when you need to check definite, indefinite, and partitive articles; personal pronouns, identify être verbs, and need help with other particulars of French grammar.
View Cheat SheetArticle / Updated 09-07-2023
When you’re eating out at a Spanish-speaking restaurant, knowing some basic Spanish vocabulary can make the ordering process a little easier. Placing your order basically consists of two parts: ordering a beverage and ordering food. But first you need to get the attention of your server. Calling a waiter over to your table If your waiter is a man, the appropriate way to address him depends on where you are. A waiter in Argentina is a mozo (moh-soh) or “young man.” But, calling someone mozo in Chile is offensive. In Chile, you say, garzón (gahr-sohn), which is derived from the French word for “young man.” If you call the waiter by either of these terms in Mexico, he may not react. You can better get his attention by saying joven (Hoh-bvehn), meaning “young,” even if he isn’t so young. In Spain, a waiter is a camarero (kah-mah-reh-roh). When a woman is serving you, call her simply señorita (seh-nyoh-ree-tah), meaning “Miss,” no matter where you are. Ordering a beverage Credit: PhotoDisc, Inc. Many people like to order an aperitif, or cocktail, before dinner. One popular local liquor is aguardiente (ah-gooahr-deeehn-teh), which translates as “fire water,” and is made out of grapes, tequila (teh-kee-lah), and mezcal (mehs-kahl). In Chile and Peru, people like “pisco (pees-koh) sour,” a cocktail made with pisco (another liquor made from grapes), sugar, and lemon juice. Agua (ah-gooah) in Mexico can mean “water,” which is its exact translation, but it can also be a beverage made with water, fruit, and sugar. All fruits, and even some vegetables, make refreshing aguas. In Chile, aguita (ah-goo-ee-tah), meaning “little water,” can be an herb tea served after a meal. Following are a few more phrases you may hear or want to use when ordering beverages: Escoger un vino (ehs-koh-Hehr oon bvee-noh) (choose a wine) ¡Salud! (sah-lood) (Cheers!) Tomar un refresco (toh-mahr oon reh-frehs-koh) (drink a soda pop) Tomar un trago (toh-mahr oon trah-goh) (have a drink [alcoholic]) Un vaso de agua (oon bvah-soh deh ah-gooah) (a glass of water) Un vaso de leche (oon bvah-soh deh leh-cheh) (a glass of milk) Ordering a main course In order to make a selection, you may want to ask questions about various dishes on the menu. Here are a few helpful phrases: ¿Qué nos recomienda? (keh nohs reh-koh-meeehn-dah) (What do you suggest?) ¿Con qué está servido? (kohn keh ehs-tah sehr-bvee-doh) (What does it come with?) ¿Qué ingredientes tiene? (keh een-greh-dee ehn-tehs tee eh-neh) (What are the ingredients?) ¿Qué más trae el plato? (keh mahs trah-eh ehl plah-toh) (What else is in the dish?) Your server may have occasion to use the following phrases: ¿Están listos para ordenar? (ehs-tahn lees-tohs pah-rah ohr-deh-nahr) (Are you ready to order?) Está caliente. (ehs-tah kah-lee ehn-teh) (It’s hot [temperature].) Está picante. (ehs-tah pee-kahn-teh) (It’s hot [flavor/spicy].) Está frío. (ehs-tah freeoh) (It’s cold.) Lamento, no tenemos . . . (lah-mehn-toh noh teh-neh-mohs) (Sorry, we don’t have any . . .)
View ArticleArticle / Updated 08-07-2023
What better way to enjoy what you are going to eat than to start with an empty stomach. Then you can say, "J'ai faim" (zheh fan) (I'm hungry) or "J'ai soif" (zheh swaf) (I'm thirsty), and the glorious world of French gastronomy is yours! French food is probably the most famous and the most praised in the world. And you don't have to go to Paris to enjoy it. In the United States, French restaurants and specialty food shops are often very expensive. But just across the border, you can find total satisfaction at reasonable prices in Montreal. In the United States, people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Wouldn't it be simple if only three words designated les repas (lay ruh-pah) (the meals) in all French-speaking countries? Well, it simply isn't so. Québec has kept some of the seventeenth-century French of its first settlers and uses the words that were used then (as do the people in some parts of the French countryside): The word for "breakfast" is: le déjeuner (luh day-zhuh-nay) in Québec le petit déjeuner (luh puh-tee day-zhuh-nay) in France Le déjeuner (in Québec) is probably a remnant from the days when farm workers ate a big hearty meal in early morning, another big meal at midday, and only hot soup with bread at the end of the day. Then breakfast was more a déjeuner (meal) than a petit déjeuner (little meal). Also, the Quebecois are North Americans and thus more used to a big breakfast than the French are. So, if you're meeting someone for le déjeuner in Montreal, don't wait until lunch time! Unless your hosts invited your for le brunch — no explanation necessary, right? — they won't be expecting you. The word for "lunch" is: le dîner (luh dee-nay) in Québec le déjeuner (luh day-zhuh-nay) in France The word for "dinner" is: le souper (luh soo-pay) in Québec le dîner (luh dee-nay) in France These nouns are also verbs; to have lunch or dinner is déjeuner, dîner, or souper. After coming home from school, children enjoy le goûter (luh goo-tay) (mid-afternoon snack), which usually consists of bread and butter, jam, or chocolate. If you suddenly find yourself hungry between meals, you can always have un casse-croûte (kahs-kroot) (a snack, literally: break the crust) like a crêpe at a stand in Paris, a hot dog sold by a street vendor in Montreal, or anything in between. Even out in the middle of the country, you may be lucky enough to find a café where you can get une omelette (ew-nom-leht) (an omelet) or un sandwich (aN sahn-dweesh) (a sandwich). A note about breakfast As we mention earlier, a Canadian breakfast looks much like its American or British counterpart. The French breakfast, on the other hand, is more like what hotels call a continental breakfast. Many French don't even eat the famous croissant (krwa-sahN) with their morning coffee; they're often satisfied with just a quick espresso before boarding the train or the subway. Nowadays, like North American children, many French children have cereal and milk, les céréales et le lait (lay say-ray-ah-lay luh lay) for breakfast. Still, the traditional French breakfast is usually made up of the following: le café (luh kah-fay) (coffee) le café au lait (luh kah-fay o leh) (coffee with hot milk) le café crème (luh kah-fay crehm) (coffee with a little milk) le thé nature (luh tay nah-tewr) (plain tea) le thé au lait (luh tay o leh) (tea with milk) le thé au citron/le thé citron (luh tay o see-trohn/luh tay see-trohn) (tea with lemon) le pain (luh pahN) (bread) le pain grillé (luh pahN gree-yay) (toast) les tartines (lay tahr-teen) (slices of bread with some kind of spread) le beurre (luh buhr) (butter) la margarine (lah mahr-zhah-reen) (margarine), not as popular as butter but used nevertheless la confiture (lah kohn-fee-tewr) (jam) le croissant (luh krwa-sahN) (croissant — crescent-shaped) le pain au chocolat (luh pan o sho-ko-lah) (same dough as a croissant, but a different shape and with a chocolate bar inside) le chausson aux pommes (luh sho-sohN o pohm) (applesauce-filled danish) le pain aux raisins (luh pahN o ray-zan) (a sort of raisin bread) You can find all of these mouth-watering goodies in any pâtisserie (pah-tees-ree) (confectioner's shop) or boulangerie (boo-lahn-zhree) (bakery) throughout France. If you aren't sure what something is, you can always simply point to it in the window and be delightfully surprised at whatever delicious confection you discover! A note about lunch Until the mid-1960s, lunch was the big meal of the day in France. Fathers came home from work and children came home from school to sit to a four- or five-course meal prepared by the mother. After a two-hour break, everybody went back to their activities. Children still have a two-hour break from lunch, and many of them still go home. But with many women working outside the house, most active people spend much less time on their lunch break and don't have time to come home. They also eat more lightly at midday.
View ArticleVideo / Updated 07-14-2023
The Spanish and English alphabets are almost identical, with just a few exceptions. The Spanish alphabet includes all of the letters in the English alphabet but it adds ñ (eh-nyeh), and sometimes the double letters ch (cheh), ll (ye), and rr (a trilled r) are treated as one letter. When you’re speaking to a native Spanish speaker, correct pronunciation is key to avoiding misunderstandings. The names of the letters in Spanish are pronounced one way, while they have their own sounds within a word (the sounds within a word are generally the same sounds as in English). Here is the Spanish alphabet and how to say the individual letters: a (ah) b (bveh) c (seh) d (deh) e (eh) f (eh-feh) g (Heh) h (ah-cheh) i (ee) j (Hoh-tah) k (kah) l (eh-leh) m (eh-meh) n (eh-neh) ñ (eh-nyeh) o (oh) p (peh) q (koo) r (eh-reh) s (eh-seh) t (teh) u (oo) v (bveh) w (doh-bleh bveh) (bveh doh-bvleh [Spain]) x (eh-kees) y (ee-gree-eh-gah) z (seh-tah)
Watch VideoVideo / Updated 07-14-2023
In general, consonants tend to sound the same in English and Spanish when they are spoken within a word. But you’ll find a few differences in how certain consonants are pronounced in Spanish. Sometimes two letters have the same sound; other times one letter can be pronounced two ways. And in one instance, a letter is always silent! The following sections cover letters that may trip you up. B and V: They share a sound The consonants b and v are pronounced the same, the sound being somewhere between the two letters. This in-between pronunciation is a fuzzy, bland sound — closer to v than to b. If you position your lips and teeth to make a v sound, and then try to make a b sound, you’ll have it. To remind you to make this sound, the letter combination of bv is used in the pronunciation brackets for the sounds for both b and v: bulevar (bvoo-leh-bvahr) (boulevard) verbo (bvehr-boh) (verb) C: The sound depends on the vowel You can pronounce the consonant c in two ways, just like you can in English. It all depends on what letter follows it. A c in front of the vowels a, o, or u or any consonant but h sounds like the English k. The letter k designates this sound the pronunciation brackets: colocar (koh-loh-kahr) (to put) ocaso (oh-kah-soh) (sunset) When the letter c is in front of the vowels e or i, it sounds like the English s. In the pronunciation brackets, this sound is signaled as s: acero (ah-seh-roh) (steel) dulce (dool-seh) (sweet) G: One letter, two sounds The letter g has multiple personalities. When you combine g with a consonant or when you see it in front of the vowels a, o, and u, it sounds like the g in goose: begonia (bveh-goh-neeah) (begonia) gato (gah-toh) (cat) The g changes personality in front of the vowels e and i. It sounds like the Spanish j (or the English h), which is signaled by the capital H in the pronunciation brackets: agenda (ah-Hehn-dah) (agenda) gerente (Heh-rehn-teh) (manager) To hear the sound g (as in goat) in front of the vowels e and i, you must insert a u, making gue- and gui-. To remind you to make the goat sound (not mmehehe, but g), you’ll see gh in the pronunciation brackets: guía (gheeah) (guide) guerra (gheh-rrah) (war) H: Seen, but not heard In Spanish, the letter h is always mute when it’s used in a word. That’s it! hijo (ee-Hoh) (son) huevo (ooeh-bvoh) (egg) J: A bit of a tongue twister The pronunciation of the consonant j sounds like a guttural h. To pronounce the letter j within a word, say your h, but gently raise the back of your tongue, as if you’re saying k. Push the air out real hard, and you’ll get the sound. It's almost like gargling! A capital letter H within the pronunciation brackets signals this sound: Jijón (Hee-Hohn) (the name of a city in Spain) tijera (tee-Heh-rah) (scissors) K: Rare, but mighty In Spanish, the letter k is used only in words that have their origin in foreign languages. More often than not, this letter is seen in kilo (kee-loh), meaning thousand. An example is kilómetro (kee-loh-meh-troh) (kilometer). Q: Quirky, but common The letter q is the substitute for k in Spanish. When the k sound is needed in front of the vowels e and i, it unfolds the letter combination qu (only a handful of Spanish words begin with qua- or quo-). The pronunciation of q is indicated by the letter k in pronunciation brackets: paquete (pah-keh-teh) (package) pequeño (peh-keh-nyoh) (small) S and Z: Two letters, one sound The consonants s and z both sound like the English letter s. The letter s is used in the pronunciation brackets to signal this sound: sorpresa (sohr-preh-sah) (surprise) zarzuela (sahr-sooeh-lah) (Spanish-style operetta)
Watch VideoVideo / Updated 07-14-2023
The letters that are vowels in English are also vowels in Spanish, but they aren't always pronounced the same. Generally speaking, pronouncing vowels in Spanish is a lot less complicated than pronouncing them in English. You’re well aware that one vowel in English can have more than one sound. Look, for instance, at fat and fate. Both words have the vowel a, but they’re pronounced much differently from each other. The good news is that in Spanish, you always say the vowels one way, and one way only. If you want your Spanish to sound like a native’s, you have to concentrate on your vowels. They are a (ah): atacar (ah-tah-kahr) (attack) e (eh): entender (ehn-tehn-dehr) (to understand) i (ee): vivir (bvee-bveer) (to live) o (oh): rojo (roh-Hoh) (red) u (oo): cúrcuma (koor-koo-mah) (turmeric) Spanish sees each of these vowels by itself and makes other sounds by combining the vowels in twos, as in these examples: abuela (ah-bvooeh-lah) (grandmother) feo (feh-oh) (ugly) miércoles (meeehr-koh-lehs) (Wednesday) The letter y, which can be either a consonant or vowel in English, is only used as a consonant in Spanish.
Watch VideoVideo / Updated 07-13-2023
Introducing yourself or someone else in Spanish requires more than "Hola. Me llamo . . ." Spanish has informal and formal greetings and introductions. This video tutorial lets you hear pronunciation and explains the rules for using formal and informal greetings and introductions.
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