Travel phrases

Essential English travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 English phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Hi 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 English 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 English travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Hi (hello), Please (please), Thanks (thank you), and Excuse me, where's the toilet? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 English phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases English speakers really use, not an English list translated into English, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 English 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 Hi Hello HIGH The default with anyone, shop or stranger; Hello is a shade more formal
  2. 2 Morning Good morning MOR-ning Usually just Morning, no Good; said until about midday, even to strangers
  3. 3 You alright? Hi, how are you? yoo awl-RIGHT British greeting, not a real question; answer Yeah, you? and carry on. Staff may add love, mate, duck or pet: friendly, not forward
  4. 4 How's it going? How are you? howz it GOH-ing Also not a real question; Good thanks, you? is the whole expected answer
  5. 5 See you later Goodbye see yoo LAY-ter Said even to people you will never see again; Bye works everywhere, Cheers in Britain
  6. 6 Sorry Sorry, and excuse me SORR-ee Britain: for bumping someone, for being bumped, and for squeezing past someone in an aisle
  7. 7 Thanks Thank you THANKS The everyday form, Cheers or Ta in Britain; Thank you very much sounds formal over a coffee
  8. 8 Please Please PLEEZ On the end of every request; leaving it off sounds rude, smile or not
  9. 9 Excuse me, sorry to bother you Polite way to stop a stranger ik-SKYOOZ mee SORR-ee tuh BOTH-er yoo The opener before asking anything of someone in the street
  10. 10 Sorry, I don't understand I don't understand SORR-ee eye dohnt un-der-STAND Opening with Sorry is how English softens almost everything
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All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Hi Hello HIGH The default with anyone, shop or stranger; Hello is a shade more formal
Morning Good morning MOR-ning Usually just Morning, no Good; said until about midday, even to strangers
You alright? Hi, how are you? yoo awl-RIGHT British greeting, not a real question; answer Yeah, you? and carry on. Staff may add love, mate, duck or pet: friendly, not forward
How's it going? How are you? howz it GOH-ing Also not a real question; Good thanks, you? is the whole expected answer
See you later Goodbye see yoo LAY-ter Said even to people you will never see again; Bye works everywhere, Cheers in Britain

Basics

Sorry Sorry, and excuse me SORR-ee Britain: for bumping someone, for being bumped, and for squeezing past someone in an aisle
Thanks Thank you THANKS The everyday form, Cheers or Ta in Britain; Thank you very much sounds formal over a coffee
Please Please PLEEZ On the end of every request; leaving it off sounds rude, smile or not
Excuse me, sorry to bother you Polite way to stop a stranger ik-SKYOOZ mee SORR-ee tuh BOTH-er yoo The opener before asking anything of someone in the street
Sorry, I don't understand I don't understand SORR-ee eye dohnt un-der-STAND Opening with Sorry is how English softens almost everything
Sorry, could you say that again? I didn't catch that SORR-ee kud yoo say that uh-GEN What people really say instead of Pardon? or Repeat, please

Getting around

Excuse me, where's the toilet? Where is the toilet? ik-SKYOOZ mee wairz thuh TOY-let Toilet in Britain, the loo among friends; in the US ask for the restroom, toilet sounds blunt
Does this bus go into town? Does this bus go to the centre? duz this bus goh in-tuh TOWN Ask the driver as you get on; town centre in Britain, downtown in the US
Can you tell me when to get off? Tell me when to get off kan yoo tel mee wen tuh get OFF Said to the driver; most will call your stop out for you
Is it within walking distance? Can I walk there? iz it wi-THIN WAW-king DIS-tuns The usual way to ask whether you can walk it; the answer tends to come in minutes, about ten minutes' walk
Single or return? One way or round trip? SING-gul or ri-TURN The ticket clerk's question in Britain; in the US it is round trip

Eating out

Could I have a coffee, please? A coffee, please kud eye hav uh KOF-ee pleez The safe British way to order; Can I get is the American habit, common now but abrupt to some ears
What do you recommend? What is good here? wot doo yoo rek-uh-MEND
Tap water, please Tap water, please TAP WAW-ter pleez Free in Britain and Ireland; say tap or you will be sold a bottle
Could I have the bill, please? The bill, please kud eye hav thuh BIL pleez Bill in Britain, check in the US; catch the waiter's eye, never click
Are you still serving food? Is the kitchen still open? ar yoo stil SUR-ving food In British pubs the kitchen often stops around nine; ask before you sit down

Shopping

How much is this? How much does this cost? how MUCH iz this
Can I pay by card? Do you take cards? kan eye pay by KARD Card is fine nearly everywhere in Britain; small stalls may set a minimum
I'm just browsing, thanks I'm just looking eyem just BROW-zing thanks The answer when an assistant asks Can I help you? or Are you alright there?
Have you got a bag? Could I have a bag? hav yoo got uh BAG Bags are charged for in Britain; Do you have a bag? is the American form

Emergencies

Help! Help! HELP
Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance! kawl an AM-byuh-luns 999 or 112 in Britain and Ireland; 911 in the US, where 112 is not official
I need a doctor I need a doctor eye need uh DOK-ter In Britain A and E is the hospital emergency department, a GP for the rest
I think I'm lost I'm lost eye think eyem LOST I think softens it; a bare I'm lost sounds like an emergency

Locals say

Cheers Thanks, and also a toast CHEERZ Britain and Ireland: thanks, bye and a drinking toast, all in one word
No worries That's fine, no problem noh WUR-eez The answer to both Sorry and Thanks; No problem does the same job
Fancy a cuppa? Would you like a cup of tea? FAN-see uh KUP-uh Tea, offered in any British home or office; the next question is Milk and sugar?
Bless you Bless you BLES yoo What anyone says after a sneeze, strangers too; the sneezer answers Thanks. Some Americans say Gesundheit
Lovely Great, that's perfect LUV-lee British reaction to anything going fine, from a coffee to a whole plan

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Hi 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 Please and Thanks feel automatic, the next step is a real English 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 English 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 Hi (hello), Please (please), Thanks (thank you), Excuse me, where's the toilet? (where is the toilet?), and Help! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do English locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the English for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: Cheers (thanks, and also a toast), No worries (that's fine, no problem), Fancy a cuppa? (would you like a cup of tea?). 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 English 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 Hi and Thanks a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in English?

In English, hello is Hi (pronounced HIGH) and thank you is Thanks (THANKS). Add Please (please) and See you later (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 English?

Ask Excuse me, where's the toilet? (pronounced ik-SKYOOZ mee wairz thuh TOY-let), which means "where is the toilet?" in English. If you only catch part of the reply, Sorry, I don't understand (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 English before traveling?

No, but a dozen English phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Hi and Thanks 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 English is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.