Travel phrases

Essential Galician travel phrases

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

Start here

The first 10 Galician 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 Ola Hello OH-lah Any hour, anyone; Galicians usually add "bos días" or "boas tardes"
  2. 2 Bos días Good morning bohs DEE-ahs Plural in Galician, unlike Portuguese "bom dia". Used until lunch
  3. 3 Boas tardes Good afternoon BOH-ahs TAR-dehs From lunch until dark, then "boas noites"
  4. 4 Que tal? How's it going? keh TAHL The usual follow-up; the answer is "moi ben" and the question back
  5. 5 Ata logo See you later AH-tah LOH-goh The everyday goodbye; "adeus" is just as common leaving a shop or a bar, it is not saved for long partings
  6. 6 Grazas Thank you GRAH-thahs Galician, not Spanish "gracias" and not Portuguese "obrigado". Answer: "de nada"
  7. 7 Por favor Please por fah-BOR
  8. 8 Si / Non Yes / No SEE / NOHN Galician writes "si" with no accent, unlike Spanish
  9. 9 Perdoe, unha pregunta Excuse me, a quick question per-DOH-eh OONG-ah preh-GOON-tah The opener to a stranger; "perdoa" to somebody your own age
  10. 10 Non entendo I don't understand nohn en-TEN-doh
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All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Ola Hello OH-lah Any hour, anyone; Galicians usually add "bos días" or "boas tardes"
Bos días Good morning bohs DEE-ahs Plural in Galician, unlike Portuguese "bom dia". Used until lunch
Boas tardes Good afternoon BOH-ahs TAR-dehs From lunch until dark, then "boas noites"
Que tal? How's it going? keh TAHL The usual follow-up; the answer is "moi ben" and the question back
Ata logo See you later AH-tah LOH-goh The everyday goodbye; "adeus" is just as common leaving a shop or a bar, it is not saved for long partings

Basics

Grazas Thank you GRAH-thahs Galician, not Spanish "gracias" and not Portuguese "obrigado". Answer: "de nada"
Por favor Please por fah-BOR
Si / Non Yes / No SEE / NOHN Galician writes "si" with no accent, unlike Spanish
Perdoe, unha pregunta Excuse me, a quick question per-DOH-eh OONG-ah preh-GOON-tah The opener to a stranger; "perdoa" to somebody your own age
Non entendo I don't understand nohn en-TEN-doh
Fala inglés? Do you speak English? FAH-lah een-GLEHS Galician takes no opening question mark, unlike Spanish

Getting around

Onde está o baño? Where's the toilet? OHN-deh es-TAH oh BAH-nyoh
Este autobús vai ao centro? Does this bus go to the centre? ESS-teh ow-toh-BOOS by ow THEN-troh Ask the driver as you get on
Onde podo coller o tren? Where do I catch the train? OHN-deh POH-doh koh-LYEHR oh TREN "Coller" is the ordinary Galician verb for catching a bus or a train
Está lonxe? Is it far? es-TAH LOHN-sheh The follow-up to directions; locals answer in minutes, not in metres
Por onde se vai ao porto? Which way to the harbour? por OHN-deh seh by ow POR-toh Every coastal town in Galicia is laid out around its harbour

Eating out

Unha ración de polbo, por favor A plate of octopus, please OONG-ah rrah-THYOHN deh POHL-boh por fah-BOR Galicia's dish; a "ración" is a full plate, a "media" is half of one
Hai menú do día? Is there a set lunch? eye meh-NOO doh DEE-ah A cheap three course weekday lunch, wine usually included
Ponme un viño, por favor A glass of wine, please POHN-meh oon BEE-nyoh por fah-BOR Bar register, the tu form and all; albariño on the coast, ribeiro inland
A conta, por favor The bill, please ah KOHN-tah por fah-BOR
Que aproveite Enjoy your meal keh ah-proh-BAY-teh Said to anyone you pass who is eating, and by the waiter serving you

Shopping

Canto custa? How much is it? KAHN-toh KOOS-tah
Só estou mirando, grazas I'm just looking, thanks soh es-TOH mee-RAHN-doh GRAH-thahs
Pódese pagar con tarxeta? Can I pay by card? POH-deh-seh pah-GAR kon tar-SHEH-tah Cards are normal; village bars and market stalls still work in cash
Onde está a praza de abastos? Where's the market hall? OHN-deh es-TAH ah PRAH-thah deh ah-BAHS-tohs Most Galician towns have one; the fish and shellfish counters are why you go

Emergencies

Socorro! Help! soh-KOH-rroh The shout in real danger; "axuda" is for lesser trouble. Emergencies are 112
Chamen unha ambulancia! Call an ambulance! CHAH-men OONG-ah am-boo-LAHN-thyah
Roubáronme I've been robbed rrow-BAH-rohn-meh What you tell the police; they will take a written "denuncia"
Estou perdido I'm lost es-TOH per-DEE-doh A woman says "estou perdida"

Locals say

De nada You're welcome deh NAH-dah The set answer to grazas; "de nada, home" is the friendly version
Malo será! Surely it will work out MAH-loh seh-RAH Galicia's optimistic shrug, roughly bad luck if it does not: asked "chegamos a tempo?", it means we surely will
Saúde! Cheers! sah-OO-deh The toast with glasses raised, and what you say when someone sneezes
Vaia! Wow, or oh dear BY-ah All-purpose reaction; surprise or sympathy depending on the tone
Falo un pouco de galego I speak a little Galician FAH-loh oon POH-koh deh gah-LEH-goh Most locals switch to Spanish with a stranger; this line gets a warm reaction

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Ola 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 Por favor and Grazas feel automatic, the next step is a real Galician 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 Galician 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 Ola (hello), Por favor (please), Grazas (thank you), Onde está o baño? (where's the toilet?), and Socorro! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Galician locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Galician for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: De nada (you're welcome), Malo será! (surely it will work out), Saúde! (cheers!). 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 Galician 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 Ola and Grazas a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Galician?

In Galician, hello is Ola (pronounced OH-lah) and thank you is Grazas (GRAH-thahs). Add Por favor (please) and Ata logo (see you later), 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 Galician?

Ask Onde está o baño? (pronounced OHN-deh es-TAH oh BAH-nyoh), which means "where's the toilet?" in Galician. If you only catch part of the reply, Non entendo (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 Galician before traveling?

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