Travel phrases

Essential Catalan travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 Catalan phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Hola to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a Catalan speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful Catalan travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Hola (hello), Si us plau (please), Gràcies (thank you), and On és el lavabo? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 Catalan phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases Catalan speakers really use, not an English list translated into Catalan, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 Catalan phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

  1. 1 Hola Hello OH-luh The everyday hello at any hour. Hola, bon dia is the full morning greeting
  2. 2 Bon dia Good morning bon DEE-uh Singular, unlike Spanish "buenos días"; used until lunch, and on the way out too: "adéu, bon dia". Opening in Catalan is noticed and appreciated
  3. 3 Bona tarda Good afternoon BO-nuh TAR-duh From about two in the afternoon until dark
  4. 4 Bona nit Good evening and good night BO-nuh NEET Both on arrival after dark and on leaving for bed
  5. 5 Adéu Goodbye uh-DEH-oo Fins després is see you later. Adéu-siau is the old fashioned formal one
  6. 6 Si us plau Please see oos PLOW
  7. 7 Gràcies Thank you GRAH-see-uhs Answered with De res. Moltes gràcies for a real favour
  8. 8 Sí / No Yes / No SEE / NO
  9. 9 Perdoni, em pot ajudar? Excuse me, could you help me? puhr-DOH-nee uhm pot uh-zhoo-DAH Perdona if you are talking to someone your own age
  10. 10 No ho entenc I don't understand no oo uhn-TENG
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All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Hola Hello OH-luh The everyday hello at any hour. Hola, bon dia is the full morning greeting
Bon dia Good morning bon DEE-uh Singular, unlike Spanish "buenos días"; used until lunch, and on the way out too: "adéu, bon dia". Opening in Catalan is noticed and appreciated
Bona tarda Good afternoon BO-nuh TAR-duh From about two in the afternoon until dark
Bona nit Good evening and good night BO-nuh NEET Both on arrival after dark and on leaving for bed
Adéu Goodbye uh-DEH-oo Fins després is see you later. Adéu-siau is the old fashioned formal one

Basics

Si us plau Please see oos PLOW
Gràcies Thank you GRAH-see-uhs Answered with De res. Moltes gràcies for a real favour
Sí / No Yes / No SEE / NO
Perdoni, em pot ajudar? Excuse me, could you help me? puhr-DOH-nee uhm pot uh-zhoo-DAH Perdona if you are talking to someone your own age
No ho entenc I don't understand no oo uhn-TENG
Que parla anglès? Do you speak English? kuh PAR-luh uhn-GLES Many people switch to Spanish or English with visitors, to make things easier

Getting around

On és el lavabo? Where is the toilet? on ES uhl luh-BAH-boo El lavabo in a bar or restaurant, not el bany
Per anar a l'estació, si us plau? Which way to the station? puhr uh-NAH uh luhs-tuh-see-OH see oos PLOW The normal way to ask directions: per anar a plus the place
Quant val el bitllet? How much is the ticket? kwan BAL uhl beet-LYET
És a prop? Is it nearby? ES uh PROP
S'hi pot anar a peu? Can you walk there? see pot uh-NAH uh PEH-oo

Eating out

Què em recomana? What do you recommend? KEH uhm ruh-koo-MAH-nuh Gets you the house dish instead of the tourist menu
Pa amb tomàquet, si us plau Bread with tomato, please PAH uhm too-MAH-kuht see oos PLOW Bread rubbed with tomato, oil and salt. The standard thing to order with a meal
Un tallat, si us plau A small coffee with milk, please oon tuh-LYAT see oos PLOW Espresso cut with a little milk. Cafè amb llet is the big milky one
El compte, si us plau The bill, please uhl KOM-tuh see oos PLOW It will not arrive until you ask. Tipping is small and optional
Bon profit Enjoy your meal bon proo-FEET Said to anyone eating, including the table next to yours

Shopping

Quant costa això? How much does this cost? kwan KOS-tuh uh-SHO
Puc pagar amb targeta? Can I pay by card? pook puh-GAH uhm tuhr-ZHEH-tuh Cards are taken almost everywhere. Small market stalls still want cash
Només estic mirant I'm just looking noo-MES uhs-TEEK mee-RAN
Qui és l'últim? Who is last in the queue? KEE es LOOL-teem Asked where people wait without lining up. You go after whoever answers

Emergencies

Ajuda! Help! uh-ZHOO-duh
Truqui a una ambulància! Call an ambulance! TROO-kee uh OO-nuh uhm-boo-LAN-see-uh 112 is the emergency number for everything
Necessito un metge I need a doctor nuh-suh-SEE-too oon MED-juh
M'han robat la cartera My wallet has been stolen mahn roo-BAT luh kuhr-TEH-ruh Report it to the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan police, for the insurance

Locals say

De res You're welcome duh RES The set answer to Gràcies
Que vagi bé Have a good one kuh BAH-zhee BEH The standard goodbye as you leave a shop. Igualment is the answer
Merci Thanks muhr-SEE The everyday spoken thanks in Barcelona, as common as "gràcies" at a counter; informal, it is not in the dictionary
Salut! Cheers! suh-LOOT The toast. Also said to someone who has just sneezed
Déu n'hi do Wow, that is quite something DEH-oo nee DOH Untranslatable Catalan reaction to anything impressive or excessive

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Hola next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once Si us plau and Gràcies feel automatic, the next step is a real Catalan sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important Catalan phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is Hola (hello), Si us plau (please), Gràcies (thank you), On és el lavabo? (where is the toilet?), and Ajuda! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Catalan locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Catalan for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: De res (you're welcome), Que vagi bé (have a good one), Merci (thanks). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these Catalan phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play Hola and Gràcies a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Catalan?

In Catalan, hello is Hola (pronounced OH-luh) and thank you is Gràcies (GRAH-see-uhs). Add Si us plau (please) and Adéu (goodbye), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in Catalan?

Ask On és el lavabo? (pronounced on ES uhl luh-BAH-boo), which means "where is the toilet?" in Catalan. If you only catch part of the reply, No ho entenc (I don't understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn Catalan before traveling?

No, but a dozen Catalan phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Hola and Gràcies instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real Catalan is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.