My youngest daughter recently posed a devilish question to me (the type that only children seem to do). If you could only learn 10 words of a foreign language what words would they be? It is tricky and I wonder if you agree with our answer or, indeed, if you can improve on it. In the end we distilled it down to 5 words and they are:
“I would like this, please”.
Useful in shops and restaurants and all sorts of situations. You won’t be able to explain the economic situation in Europe, discuss Einstein’s Theory or wax lyrical about Britain’s Olympic achievements – but for five words (working alongside your pointing finger) they are extremely helpful. So if you don’t learn anything else, learn these words. We have translated them into 4 top destination languages below.
English: I would like this please.
French: Je voudrais cela, s’il vous plaît
German: Ich würde dies gerne, bitte
Spanish: Me gustaría que esta, por favor
Italian: Io vorrei questo, per favour
Award Winning Travel Game
On the other hand if you are looking use your trip to really improve your language skills , then take a look at KLOO Language Games. As you play, you learn a language (Spanish or French). In the USA KLOO won the coveted “Best Vacation Product” while Condé Nast Traveler Magazine described KLOO as one of their “7 Must-Pack” items.
Watch the video to see how easy it is to make sentences – even if you’re beginner:
Related articles
- What’s the Best Foreign Phrasebooks for Travel? (languagepie.wordpress.com)
- How To Raise A Multilingual Baby (howtolearn.com)
- Making Time for Language Study (eurolinguiste.wordpress.com)
- Foreign Language Activities for Homeschool (thehappyhousewife.com)
Why is there a que in the Spanish sentence ‘gustaria que esta?’ isnt it just ‘me gustaria esta?’And I thought the esta should be esto if you don’t know what gender the object is? Sorry, not being picky but thinking now that my Spanish is wrong!
Thank you Vicky…Spanish is not my strong card – and this just goes to show the dangers of auto translate tools (Google translate in this instance). I am quite sure you are right and I am wrong. Good eagle eye. Andrew