Africa phrasebook

This phrasebook aims to list phrases for the major languages in Africa, where English and French are the most important trade languages. After that it depends on which countries you're going to.

English

1. Hello
2. Excuse me..
3. Do you possibly drive in the direction of ...?
4. Could I get a lift to...?
5. - a gasstation / a service area / a parking place? / along the highway
6. Is the lift free? / I can't pay.
7. Do you speak ...? / any other languages / Could you speak slower, please?
8. yes / no / maybe / no thanks /
9. That’s great / perfect / bad / no problem
10. I don't understand. / I don't know.
11. I'm going to ... / Where are you going to?
12. My name is... / What's your name? / I’m from... / Where are you from?
13. I’m ... years old. / How old are you?
14. I study.... / My subjects are... / I’m in my ... year. / I will become a ....
15. I have a boy-friend/a girl-friend. / I'm married.
16. I’m on holiday. / I visit friends in... / I'm hitchhiking around...
17. I will stay for... / I’m going back...
18. Don’t touch me! / Let me out! / Stop! / Help!
19. Can you drop me off here?
20. Thank you! / Have a nice day/trip!
21. Where can I find ...?
22. - the city centre / a map
23. - a toilet / a supermarket / a pharmacy / a campsite
24. - an internetcafe / a cashmachine / a bank
25. - a metrostation / a busstation / a trainstation
26. - the highway to ... / a good hitchhikingspot
27. water / (herbal) tea / hot chocolate / coffee
28. beer / (red, white) wine / juice
29. vegetarian / diner / bread / a cheap restaurant
30. Cheers! / Enjoy your meal!
31. I’m hungry / thirsty / fine / cold / hot / sick
32. north / east / south / west
33. yesterday / today / tomorrow
34. zero / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten
35. eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen / twenty
36. twenty-one / thirty
37. hour / day / week / month / kilometre
38. left / right / straight on / before/ after
39. this / next / last /
40. often / seldom / never / long / short
41. up / down / over / under
42. How far is it (on foot)? / Where are we?
43. How much does it cost? / What time is it?
44. We are looking for a place to sleep.
45. Where can we buy a ticket?
46. Who? / What? / Where? / Why? / When?
47. How? / How much? / How long? / Which?

French

1. Hello / Bonjour. Salut.
2. Excuse me / Excusez-moi
3. Do you possibly drive in the direction of ...? / Allez-vous en direction de ... ?
4. Could I get a lift to...? / Pouvez-vous m'amener jusqu'à ... ?
5. - a gasstation / a service area / a parking place? / along the highway / - une station service / / une aire de repos / / un parking / / le long de l'autoroute / /
6. Is the lift free? / / I can't pay. / Le trajet est gratuit? / / Je ne peux pas payer / /
7. Do you speak ...? / any other languages / Could you speak slower, please? Parlez-vous ...? / / une autre langue / / (Pouvez-vous parler) plus lentement, s'il vous plaît? / /
8. yes / no / maybe / no thanks / Oui / non / peut-être / non merci
9. That’s great / perfect / bad / no problem C'est bien / / parfait / / pas bon / / Pas de problème / /
10. I don't understand. / I don't know. Je ne comprends pas // Je ne sais pas / /
11. I'm going to ... / Where are you going to? Je vais à ... / / Où allez-vous? / /
12. My name is... / What's your name? / I’m from... / Where are you from? Je m'appelle ... / / Comment vous appellez-vous ? / / Je viens de ... / / D'où venez-vous? / /
13. I’m ... years old. / How old are you? J'ai ... ans / / Quel âge avez-vous? / /
14. I study.... / My subjects are... / I’m in my ... year. / I will become a .... J'étudie ... / / Mes matières sont... / / Je suis en (4e,5e,6e) année / / Je veux devenir ... / /
15. I have a boy-friend/a girl-friend. / I'm married. J'ai un petit ami/une petite amie / / Je suis marié
16. I’m on holiday. / I visit friends in... / I'm hitchhiking around... Je suis en vacances / / Je vais voir des amis à ... / / je fais du stop autour de ... / /
17. I will stay for... / I’m going back... Je vais rester pendant ... / / Je reviens le .../ /
18. Don’t touch me! / Let me out! / Stop! / Help! Ne me touchez pas! / /Laissez-moi sortir! / /Stop! / / A l'aide ! / /
19. Can you drop me off here? Pouvez-vous me déposer ici, s'il vous plaît? / /
20. Thank you! / Have a nice day/trip! Merci! / / Bonne journée ! / / Bon voyage! / /
21. Where can I find ...? Où puis-je trouver...?
22. - a toilet / a supermarket / a pharmacy / a campsite - the city centre / a map - une toilette / / un supermarché / / une pharmacie / / un camping / / le centre-ville / / une carte / /
23. - an internetcafe / a cashmachine / a bank - un cybercafé / / un distributeur de billets / / une banque / /
24. - a metrostation / a busstation / a trainstation - une station de métro / / une station de bus / / une gare / /
25. - the highway to ... / a good hitchhikingspot - l'autoroute pour ... / / un bon endroit pour faire du stop / /
26. water / (herbal) tea / hot chocolate / coffee eau / / thé (aux herbes) / / chocolat chaud / / café/ /
27. beer / (red, white) wine / juice bière / / vin (rouge, blanc) / / jus / /
28. vegetarian / diner / bread / a cheap restaurant végétarien / / petit restaurant / /pain / / un restaurant pas cher / /
29. Cheers! / Enjoy your meal! Bon appétit!
30. I’m hungry / thirsty / fine / cold / hot / sick J'ai faim / / soif/ / bien / / froid / / chaud / / Je suis malade / /
31. north / east / south / west nord/ / est / / sud / / ouest / /
32. yesterday / today / tomorrow hier / / aujourd'hui / / demain / /
33. zero / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten zero / / un / / deux / / trois / / quatre / / cinq / / six / / sept / / huit / / neuf / / dix / /
34. eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen / twenty onze / / douze/ / treize/ / quatorze/ / quinze/ / seize/ / dix-sept/ / dix-huit/ / dix-neuf/ / vingt/ /,
35. twenty-one / thirty vingt-et-un / / trente/ /
36. hour / day / week / month / kilometre heure/ / jour/ / semaine/ / mois / / kilomètre / /
37. left / right / straight on / before/ after gauche/ / droite/ / tout droit / / avant / / après/ /
38. this / next / last ce/cette/ / prochain/prochaine/ / dernier/dernière/ /
39. often / seldom / never / long / short souvent/ / rarement/ / jamais/ / long// court//
40. up / down / over / under en haut/ / en bas/ / dessus/ / dessous//
41. How far is it (on foot)? / Where are we? C'est loin comment (à pied) ?/ / Où sommes-nous ?//
42. How much does it cost? / What time is it? Combien ça coûte ?/ / Quelle heure est-il ?//
43. We are looking for a place to sleep. Nous cherchons un endroit où dormir.//
44. Where can we buy a ticket? Où pouvons-nous acheter un billet ?//
45. Who? / What? / Where? / Why? / When? Qui ?/ / Quoi ?/ / Où ?/ / Pourquoi ?// Quand ?//
46. How? / How much? / How long? / Which? Comment ?/ / Combien ?/ / combien de temps ?/ / Lequel : Laquelle ?//

Portuguese

Hello – Olá

Excuse me.. – Desculpe..

Do you possibly drive in the direction of ...? – Vai na direcção de...?

Could I get a lift to...? – Podia-me dar boleia até...? (NOTE: if you are in Brazil, you should substitute the term "boleia" for "carona")

- a gasstation / a service area / a parking place? / along the highway – um posto de gasolina / uma estação de serviço / um parque de estacionamento / ao longo desta auto-estrada?

Is the lift free? / I can't pay. – a boleia é grátis? / não posso pagar.

Do you speak ...? / any other languages / Could you speak slower, please? – Você fala...? / outras línguas / Podia falar mais devagar, por favor?

yes / no / maybe / no thanks – sim / não / talvez / não, obrigado

That’s great / perfect / bad / no problem – Óptimo / perfeito / mau / não há problema

I don't understand. / I don't know – não compreendo / não sei

I'm going to ... / Where are you going to? – Eu vou para... / Para onde se dirige?

My name is... / What's your name? / I’m from... / Where are you from? – O meu nome é... / Como se chama? / Eu sou de... / De onde você é?

I’m ... years old. / How old are you? – Eu tenho(...) anos / Que idade você tem?

I study.... / My subjects are... / I’m in my ... year. / I will become a .... – Eu estudo... / A minha área é... / Estou no meu (...) ano / Serei um (Serei uma, if you are a woman)...

I have a boy-friend/a girl-friend. / I'm married. – Tenho um namorado/uma namorada / Sou casado (Sou casada, if you are a woman)

I’m on holiday. / I visit friends in... / I'm hitchhiking around... – Estou de férias / Visito amigos em... / Ando à boleia por...

I will stay for... / I’m going back... – Vou ficar por... / Vou voltar...

Don’t touch me! / Let me out! / Stop! / Help! – Não me toque! / Deixe-me sair! / Pare! / Socorro!

Can you drop me off here? – Pode-me deixar aqui?

Thank you! / Have a nice day/trip! – Obrigado! / Tenha um bom dia/viagem!

Where can I find ...? – Onde posso encontrar...?

- the city centre / a map – o centro da cidade / um mapa

- a toilet / a supermarket / a pharmacy / a campsite – uma casa de banho (in Brazil: um banheiro) / um supermercado / uma farmácia / um acampamento

- an internetcafe / a cashmachine / a bank – um café com internet (or "cibercafé") / um multibanco / um banco

- a metrostation / a busstation / a trainstation – uma estação de metro / uma estação de autocarro / uma estação de comboio

- the highway to ... / a good hitchhikingspot – a auto-estrada para... / um bom local para pedir boleia

water / (herbal) tea / hot chocolate / coffee – água / chá / chocolate quente / café

beer / (red, white) wine / juice – cerveja / vinho (tinto, branco) / sumo

vegetarian / diner / bread / a cheap restaurant – vegetariano (vegetariana if you are a woman) / jantar / pão / um restaurante barato

Cheers! / Enjoy your meal! – Felicidades! / Bom apetite!

I’m hungry / thirsty / fine / cold / hot / sick – tenho fome / tenho sede / estou bem / tenho frio / tenho calor / estou doente

north / east / south / west – norte / este / sul / oeste

yesterday / today / tomorrow – ontem / hoje / amanhã

zero / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten – zero / um / dois / três / quatro / cinco / seis / sete / oito / nove / dez

eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen / twenty – onze / doze / treze / catorze / quinze / dezasseis / dezassete / dezoito / dezanove / vinte

twenty-one / thirty – vinte e um / trinta

hour / day / week / month / kilometre – hora / dia / semana / mês / quilómetro

left / right / straight on / before/ after – esquerda / direita / em frente / antes / depois

this / next / last / - este / próximo / último

often / seldom / never / long / short – muitas vezes / raramente / nunca / longo / curto

up / down / over / under – cima / baixo / por cima / por baixo

How far is it (on foot)? / Where are we? – Fica a que distância (a pé)? / Onde estamos?

How much does it cost? / What time is it? – Quanto custa? / Que horas são?

I'm are looking for a place to sleep. – Procuro um sítio para dormir

Where can I buy a ticket? – Onde posso comprar um bilhete?

Who? / What? / Where? / Why? / When? – Quem? / O quê? / Onde? / Porque? / Quando?

How? / How much? / How long? / Which? – Como? / Quanto? / Por quanto tempo? / Qual?