As a city, Barcelona is very cosmopolitan, but at the same time, it has traditions that are so deep-rooted within life in Barcelona, that they feel like a second skin to its locals. One of these traditions is Catalan, the regional language. Catalan is spoken by roughly 9,000,000 people around the world and has been around since the 7th century. It was then that the first literary text was written in Catalan: Las “Homilies d’Organyà”.
You’ll find that everyone in Catalonia speaks Spanish (or Castellano), so you’ll have no problem communicating using this language. But if you really want to impress the locals, we suggest you learn a few words of Catalan as well. Below are some key words and phrases that you can use during your stay in Barcelona.
-Greetings:
• Hello – Hola
• Good Morning– Bon Dia
• Good Afternoon – Bona Tarda
• Goodnight – Bona nit
• My name is__ – Em dic __
• How are you? – Com estàs?
• Goodbye – Adéu
-Phrases and useful words:
• Please – Si us plau.
• Thank you! – Merci!
• You are welcome – De res.
• I’m sorry – Ho sento
• Do you speak English? – Parles anglès?
• Street – Carrer
• Ok – D’acord
• How do I get to…? – Com arribo a…?
• A ticket to ___, please – Un bitllet per a ___, si us plau
• I don’t understand – No ho entenc
• Where is the toilet? – On és el bany?
• Open – Obert
• Close – Tancat
• Police – Policia
• I need your help – Necessito el seu ajut
• It’s an emergency – És una emergència
• I’m lost – Estic perdut
• I’ve lost my suitcase – He perdut la meva maleta
• I‘m sick – Estic malalt
-Eating and Dining….
• Cheers! – Salut!
• One beer please! – Una cervesa, si us plau!
• The bill – El compte
• How much is it? – Quant costa?
• Breakfast – Esmorzar
• Lunch – Dinar
• Dinner – Sopar
• A table for two, please – Una taula per a dos, si us plau
• I’m vegetarian – Soc vegetarià
• I do not eat pork – No menjo porc
• Water – Aigua
• Beer – Cervesa
• Wine – Vi
• Fork – Forquilla
• Knife – Ganivet
• Spoon – Cullera
• Sal and pepper – Sal i Pebre
• Will you accept a credit card? – Accepta targeta de crèdit ?
-Numbers:
• One – Un
• Two – Dos
• Three – Tres
• Four – Quatre
• Five – Cinc
• Six – Sis
• Seven – Set
• Eight – Vuit
• Nine – Nou
• Ten – Deu
-Time:
• Today – Avui
• Yesterday – Ahir
• Tomorrow – Demà
• This week – Aquesta setmana
• Last week – La setmana passada
• Now – Ara
• Late – Tard
• After – Després
• Morning – Matí
• Afternoon – Tarda
• Night – Nit
If you are interested in finding out more about culture in Barcelona, you can read our article “How to Get By in Barcelona With Little Spanish and Catalan”. And if you think your friend can get some use out of this article, why not share it with them as well!
