How to Communicate When You Don’t Speak the Language

Through this year's Solo Traveler Reader Survey, we received a request for a list of phrases one might use while traveling, in a variety of languages. Happy to oblige, we asked members of our Solo Travel Society on Facebook for their most-needed words while traveling in a destination where you don't speak the language.

I do not have an ear for languages. Yet, I do manage to travel places where the language doesn't resemble English at all. It can be done.

We usually recommend that first-time solo travelers go to countries where they can communicate in the local language. After all, language is your lifeline for safety, food, and shelter. However, if you are the adventurous type, you have options.

When you're ready to go a bit further afield and discover the adventure that awaits in less familiar cultures, it's important to have tactics for the foreign language issue. For those times when don't speak the language, here are some of the most-used phrases in some of the most widely-spoken languages, along with some tips to help you communicate without words.

Top Ten Useful Travel Phrases When You Don't Speak the Language

After English, Mandarin is the most-spoken language in the world. It's complicated because you need to know not just the words, but the tone. It will be much more useful for you to seek out a resource where you can practice the sounds, rather than us just providing you with a written version. Likewise, though Arabic would be a useful travel language to know, for English-speakers, it entails learning a new alphabet, which is a bigger project than we can tackle in one article.

Here are some of the most-requested languages from readers.

French

German

It's one thing to travel to a destination where you don't speak the language but have heard it before. It's quite another when you're not at all familiar with the pronunciation. Luckily, there are many resources online to help you out. Here's a great video by a German language teacher.

Hindi

Hindi is the third most spoken language in the world. While English is widely spoken in India, locals will appreciate you making an effort to say a few words.

Italian

Spanish

Tips to Bridge the Barrier When You Don't Speak the Language

Here are 10 tips for travel when you don't speak the language.

1. Advance planning is important. Booking your accommodation and transportation online in English will be much easier than trying to do it with someone who doesn't speak English. Make sure you have the basics of your trip in place before you land.
2. Learn the basics. At minimum, learn to say please, thank you, and hello in the local language before you go. Even this was a challenge for me when I went to Japan. But after I'd heard arigato gosaimasu (thank you very much, in Japanese) dozens of times in the first day alone, it stuck.
3. A lot can be said with your hands and voice. I've ordered lamb by saying “baaaaa”. I've received a hotel refund by explaining with my hands the circumstances for my not keeping the reservation. Have fun with it. Engage your listener and you can usually get your main point across.
4. Draw pictures. Whether on paper or in the dirt, drawing can get you directions and information on what you need when you don't speak the language.
5. Have important details written down. Take the business card of your hotel or hostel. Write basic information such as your name, emergency contact, and insurance information on a card in your wallet. Be sure that it is written in the local language. In Japan, before I left one hostel I had them write down the address of my next accommodation in Japanese script. This was very helpful.
6. Google Translate. If you have the Google Translate app on your phone, you can have a translator with you full time. You don't need to be online to use it but you need to be online to download the language of your destination. Do this before you go. With Google Translate, you can type out words and phrases, point your camera at menus and signs, or speak into the app to get a translation.
7. Be patient, stand back, and observe. Even if you don't have Google translate you can often figure out the meaning of signs, etc., just by standing back and observing what others do when they read them.
8. Ask a young adult. Most students around the world study English. When I'm really at a loss and need some basic help, I'll ask someone in their teens or early twenties, as they will likely have basic English.
9. Learn as you go. There are so many free language apps now that you can use as you travel to expand your vocabulary. I've used Duolingo and it is quite good.
10. Hire a local guide in your language. If you have the budget, hire a local guide or an interpreter for special situations.

If you don't speak the language, maybe it's one worth learning. You may want to build language lessons into your travels. Immersion into a culture and language is the best way to learn any language.