Translate Spanish Menus and Maps

Flag of Spain

When I return from holiday I often have the advertising flyer, the business card or the menu of the day from a restaurant. I now have so much paper that I have to select some to discard. But before I do so, I try to translate the Spanish or French or Italian or Portuguese. Some words I recognize because they are similar to English, others I know, and a few have to be translated and added to an alphabetical list like the one below which I am sharing with you. 

Spanish Hotel Menus

adobado - pickled

ajo - garlic

anguila - eel

agua - water

arroz - rice

calamares - squid

caldo - broth / soup

cálida/o - warm

caliente - hot

cerdo - pig

charasko - steak

chuleta - chop

churrasco - steak (churrasco de ternera - beef steak)

combinados - combinations

con - with

croquetas - croquettes

del - of the

empanada - pie

ensalada - salad

entremeses - appetisers

espanola (note sign over the n) - Spanish (style of cooking)

especial - special

filete - fillet / steak

frita - fried

galeras - 

gallego - Galician (in Spanish and Italian you do not have capital letters at the start of a country or country style

hamburguesas - burgers

huevos - eggs

lomo - back

lubina - sea bass

marisco - seafood

menu - menu

merluza - hake

Meso 

meson (accent on the on for emphasis) - house (like the French word maison)

mixta - mixed

o - or

pan - bread

parillada - barbecue

pasteles - pastries / cakes

patatas - potatoes

pechuga - poultry breast

plancha - griddle, iron, plate

plato - plate or dish

platos - plates / dishes

pollo - chicken

postre - dessert

Primer - first / starter

pudin - pudding

quesadilla - tortilla (omelette or wrap) covered in cheese

queso - cheese

rusa - Russian

Segundo - second

spaguetis - spagetthi

tartas - tarts

ternera - veal / beef 

tomate - tomatoes

tortilla - thin omelette containing slided potatoes and onions cooked in olive oil

ternera - veal

variados - varied

vino - wine

y - and

Addresses, Directions, Maps 

avda - short for avenida or avenue

avenida - avenue

C abbreviation for carreta

carretas

catedral - cathedral

de la - of the

hospedaje - accommodation

peregrino - pilgrim

pza - short form

Santiago - Saint James

telf - tel / telephone

tenemos - we have

Useful Websites

Translate google

Many more similar websites.

Italian language learning - quick tips

I use Duolingo daily.

When travelling to New Zealand, I watched a film in English, then In Italian with English subtitles.

PAST

 When you hear the letter v in a verb it is like the word have in English and means the past tense. For example, 

Italian - English

amici - friends

ancora - still

broccoli - broccoli

cerco - I'm looking for

e - and

Frutti - fruit

frutti di mare - seafood (literally fruit of the sea)

(al) funghi - (with, literally at) mushrooms

ho bisogno - I need

il poliziotto - the police (officer)

lei - she

letto - bed

non posso - I can't (In Italian the negative comes first, before the verb, as in the Enlish phrase, not possible.

non sono felice - I am not happy 

ospiti - guests

insalata - salad

pesce - fish

pollo - chicken

posso - I can (like the English word possible)

regali - gifts

ritardo / in retardo - late

rosa - pink

salmone - salmon

sono felice - I am happy

sono stanco - I am tired

sono malato - I am ill

souvenir - souvenirs 

sto aspettando (per) - I am waiting for

sto vomitando - I am vomiting

tavola - table

torta - cake

troppo - too

urgente - urgent

vino bianco - white wine (the adjective is after the noun)

vitello - veal

CONFUSING WORDS

compormento - behavious

For a useful set or grouped phrases see the Phrasebook in Wikivoyage.

English - Italian

and - e

bed - letto

(the) breakfast - (la) colazione 

cake - torta

chicken - pollo

(the) dining room - la sala da pranzo

fish - pesce

(the) flu - l'influenza

friends - amici

gifts - regali

guests - ospiti

I can - posso

I can't - non posso

I'm looking for - cerco

I need - ho bisogno

late - ritardo / in ritardo

Long - lunga

(the) manager - il direttore

my husband - mio marito

My wife - mia moglie (my is mia, not mia, because the word my agrees with or or a to match the thing or person being described - which sounds nicer, don't you think?)

our group - il nostro gruppo

pink - rosa

(the) police officer - il poliziotto

salad - insalata

salmon - salmone

she - lei

souvenirs - souvenir

table - tavola

troppo - too

urgent - urgente

veal - vitello

where is - dov'è (accent on the e for the verb to be. no accent on e meaning and)

White wine - vino bianco

Useful Websites

https://www.duolingo.com/

Quick guide to Indonesian words - mostly the same as Malaysian

Flag of Malaysia, which is almost the same as Indonesian.

Starting Indonesian on Duolingo is easy.

Indonesian - English

air - water (pronounced aye er, as it is written in the Singaporean placename and MRT underground railway station, Telok Ayer)

apple/ apples - apel

dan - and (the same letters in a different order)

jeruk - orang/oranges (juicy oranges, letter er, then UK)

kamu - you (I think of 'come here, you')

makan - eat

minum - drink

punya - possess/have

saya - i/My (remember the letter y in both words)

susu - milk

English - Indonesian

and - dan

apple/apples - apel

drink - minum

eat - makan

I - saya

milk - susu

orange/oranges - jeruk (remember JEruk not juruk, je like the GE in orange)

possess/have - punya

water - air

you - kamu 

False Friends

air meaning water looks like air but it isn't air, it's water, unless you think of H2O

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

Please share links to your favourite posts

Common Albanian conjunctions

 When translation a place name or menu or a bilingual leaflet, it is easier to make sense of it if you know the common small link words or conjunctions.

Albanian - English 

dhe -and

e - of

per - for

por - but

te - to

teh - the 

Drinks

caj - tea

kafe - coffe

English - Albanian

and - dhe

but - por

for - per

of - e

te - to

the - teh

Drinks

coffee - kafe

tea - caj

Useful Websites

translate google

https://translate.google.co.uk/

Set 7 Handy Albanian words - Getting around, bills and payment

 

MAPS & SIGNPOSTS - Hartat dhe shenja

BEACH - plazhi

old city - qytet y vjeter

old - e vjetër

new - i ri

city/town - qytet

quarter - tremujori

village - fshati

street - rrugë

north - veriu

south - jug

east - lindja

Useful Websites

Easy to recognize Malay and Indonesian words in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore

Flag of Malaysia.

In Malaysia and Indonesia and the Food Courts of Singapore you will see lots of Malay words for food and drink. Makan (verb) means eat and food for short, and makanan for food. Miniman means drink. Indonesian and Malay are similar with a few differences in vocabulary, with Portuguese words or derived words added in Indonesia. 

In Singapore you see signs and hear announcements on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) trains, in the four national languages, English, Chinese (Mandarin), Malay and Tamil. The easiest language to pick up quickly is Malay, because the script is one which English speakers recognize, and what you see is what you say. (Technical term, a phonetic language.)

I looked at the English language and Malay language versions of a health leaflet about vaccinations and found lots of similar words. You will easily recognize:

Malay - English

aktif - active

aktiviti - activity/activities

doktor - doctor

fizikal - physical

kronik - chronic

program - programme

serius - serious

sistem - system

sosial - social

vaksin - vaccine

vaksinasi - vaccination/vaccinated

Some common words (with my memory aid hints)

Malay - English

anda - you/your (I'm fine - and you?)

atas - above (at the top, like a hat)

atau - or

bagi - for

boleh - can

dan - and (same letters in a different order)

di - at

diri - self (direct it back to yourself)

ini - this (in, inside or on or is this, isn't it innit?)

orang (as in orang utan) person

orang-orang (plural is doubled) people

rumah - home (room at home, letter m in both languages)

selamat - safe (Letters s a a and e in both words)

wanita - woman/women (initial letter w in both words,  and the e in women is pronounced like i, it is a woman)

Malay is very similar to Indonesia.

Useful web sites

duolingo.com Indonesian

Facebook Polyglot groups

translate google

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Learning Spanish from Household Products - 20 words for you to recognize

 I looked at a tube of metal polish and learned some new words in Spanish.

Spanish - English

aplicar - apply

bronce - bronze

como - such as

crema - cream

cristal - crystal

de - of

del - of the

esta - this

excelente - excellent

excepto - except

fibrar de cristal

frotar - rub

instructionnes - instructions

las (feminine)/los - the (plural as in the US place name Los Angeles which means the angels)

metal - metal

Miracle - miracle

no - do not/don't

para - for

protege - protects

seco - dry

todo - all

un - a/an

y - and

English - Spanish

all - todo (plural todos)

a/an - un

and - y

apply - aplicar

cream - crema

crystal - cristal

dry - seco

excellent - excelente

except - excepto

for - para

instructions - instructionnes

of - de

of the - del 

metal - metal

Miracle - miracle

protects - protege

rub - frotar

such as - como

the - el, los, las (feminine plural)

this - esta

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

facebook polyglots group to ask questions and discuss

https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/

memrise.com

translate google

WORDS WRITTEN THE SAME IN BOTH LANGUAGES (Pronunciation and meaning could be different)

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English%E2%80%93Spanish_interlingual_homographs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-ing#-ing_words_in_other_languages

Angela Lansbury is VP PR of Braddell Heights Advanced club and Tampines Changkat Advanced club.

https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/00009689-braddell-heights-advanced-club

https://www.facebook.com/tampineschangkatadvTMC/

How To Read German When Travelling and Travelling Around The Internet. Also Swiss, Austrian and French areas which speak German

I just tried to credit a photographer with a German name (Petermueller12) for his photo. His first name must be Peter.

I knew that the English surname Miller translates into Muller with an accent above the U in German. I did not know the spelling mueller but guessed it was a variation or dialect.

Wikipedia says this:

The German word Müller means "miller" (as a profession). It is the most common family surname in Germany, Switzerland, and the French départements of Bas-Rhin and Moselle (with the spelling Müller, Mueller or Muller) and is the fifth most common surname in Austria (see List of most common surnames in Europe).

I thought that the most common name must be the translation of the British most common name, Smith, which becomes Schmidt. Never mind. I now know two easy to remember words and surnames in German. Words which make surnames. Surnames which remind you of words.

I linked back to his page but got a German message. It started:

Diese Benutzerseite existiert noch nicht.

Nicht is not. It was clearly saying this page no longer exists. I looked at the words and tried to decipher them. At school I learned French and Latin and have never learned German, although I completed the Duolingo German first course on my laptop and mobile phone. The Duolingo course is free.

Today, from the text  I could easily recogninize these words:

German - English
bitte - please
diese - this

Du - you (Like tu in French. If it helps, think f the phrase Do you? Du is German for you.)

existiert - exist
kannst - can
Kontakt - contact
kurz - short
mit - with
mueller - miller/surname Miller
neu - new (The first two letters of both English and German are the same. U and w (double u) are similar.)

Smith - Schmidt
und - and

wenn - when/if




English - German
and - und
can - kannst
contact - Kontakt
exist - existiert
miller - mueller / Müller
new - neu
please - bitte
short - kurz
smith (as in black smith)  Smith - Schmidt
This - diese (sounds a bit like like these)
when/if - wenn
with - mit
you - du

I first translated the entire paragraph from German into English to get whole sentences which made sense.

German Grammar
German sentences, as well as Japanese sentences, end with the verb or doing word or action word. Tha last word in a sentence is English as well  is most memorable and should be the word for emphasis.

English sentences are structured noun (subject), verb, object, for short SVO. German and Japanese and other languages are structured Subject Oject, Verb (for short SOV).

I am compiling this post in my coffee breaks from work and will come back later. You, too, come back later to see more.

Angela Lansbury

Aspiring polyglot.

Benutzer:Petermueller12

Zur Navigation springenZur Suche springen

Diese Benutzerseite existiert noch nicht.

Wikipedia stellt jedem angemeldeten Benutzer eine Benutzerseite zur Verfügung, um sich kurz vorzustellen.

• Wenn du Benutzer Petermueller12 bist und dich angemeldet hast, dann kannst du diese Seite über den Reiter „Erstellen“ neu anlegen.
• Um Kontakt mit Petermueller12 aufzunehmen, schreibe eine Nachricht auf der Benutzerdiskussionsseite.

Falls du diese Seite bereits gerade erstellt hast, kann es sein, dass die Aktualisierung der Datenbank verzögert wurde. Bitte erstelle die Seite nicht nochmals neu, sondern warte ein bisschen und lade diese Seite erneut.

I received this translation from Google and made a list of the individual words English to German and German to English.

This user page does not yet exist.

Wikipedia provides every registered user with a user page to introduce themselves briefly.

If you are user Petermueller12 and have logged in, you can create a new page using the "Create" tab.
To get in contact with Petermueller12, write a message on the user discussion page.
If you've just created this page, the database update may have been delayed. Please do not create the page again, but wait a little and reload this page.


Then I took the time and trouble to translate word by word, simply starting a new line after each German word.

Useful Websites

translate google

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_expressions_in_English

duolingo.com

About the Author

Angela Lansbury Aspiring polyglot. Travel writer and photographer. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Why and where to learn Malay and Indonesian - thirteen easy words to remember

Flag of Malaysia.

Bahasa means language. Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Indonesia means language of the country, as opposed to the people of the country. When I went into a bookshop in Malaysia and asked for a book about 'Malaysian', the assistant queried, 'Bahasa Malaysia?'. Not only that, the dictionary cover used the phrase 'Bahasa Malaysia'.

If you are looking for a phrasebook or dictionary, it helps to be familiar with the national flags.

Flag of Indonesia

The white does not show against a white background so I have added another picture.

Why would you want to learn the language, when you are there or plan to go there? Or even if you just what to know about about it for general knowledge?

Wikipedia explains (with my additions): 
Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia, [baˈha.sa in.doˈne.sja]) is the official language of Indonesia. It is a standardised variety of Malay, a language that has been used as the lingua franca (everyday spoken language) in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago (group of islands) for centuries. Indonesia is the fourth most populous (biggest population) nation in the world. Of its large population, the majority speak Indonesian, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.

Flag of Singapore

Malay is one of the four languages of Singapore, so government leaflets have English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. The tube (underground railway) station maps are also in four languages. So are the notices on the stations. So are the recorded announcements.

Malay and Indonesian are the same languages with variations in vocabulary, like British English and American English. Near enough for you to be understood in the capital cities of either.

This week, August 2020, my family in Singapore was posted seeds from the Singapore National Parks, seeds which I requested in June. The seeds were so popular that the numbers available to be sent out had to be increased, hence the delay.
The seeds arrived with four languages and I looked at the English and the Malay translations below.

Some words were immediately obvious. Others I had to look up. Here's a handy set of translations:

English - Malay (and Indonesian)
active - aktif
and - dan
bag - beg
centimetre - sentimeter
cm - sm
food - makanan
germination - germinasi
organic - organik
plastic - plastik
plastic bag - beg plastik
therapeutic - terapeutik
three - tiga
two - dua

Malay - English
aktif - active
beg - bag
beg plastik - plastic bag
dan - and
dua - two (looks like dual or duo)
germinasi - germination
makanan -food
matahari -
organic - organik
plastik - plastic
sm - cm (centimetres)
sentimeter - centimetre
terapeutik - therapeutic
tiga - three

You can get a good overview for free from Wikipedia including word endings, common phrases, numbers.

Incidentally, the Singapore national anthem is sung in Malay. Singapore National Day is every year August 9th.

Indonesian Independence day is August 17th.
Malaysian independence day is August 31st.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_language

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Malay and Indonesian - practical words from school to sea

Problem
I pick up leaflets in a Singaporean Community Centre. By mistake I have picked up the Malay version.

Solution
Later I find an English version. By comparing the two, or copying words from the Malay leaflet into Google translate, I can find words on subjects which interest me and are practical.

Spelling and Pronunciation
Double words are plurals. For example, anak is child and anak-anak is children. There are no double letters. Every vowel is pronounced.

Malay - English
a i r / a y e r - water
anda - your
bank - bank
dan - and
i n s u r a n s - insurance
 j a n u a r i - January
Kredit - credit
laut - sea
p o l i t e k n i k - polytechnic (looks like polite  - k - nik !)
p r o f e s i o n a l - professional
p r o g r a m - programme
sekolah - school
skim - scheme
u n i v e r s i t i - university
w a n i t a - woman

English - Malay
and - dan
bank - bank
credit - K r e d i t
Politeknik - polytechnic
programme - p r o g r a m
sea - laut
university - universiti
water - a  i r / ay e r
woman - w a n i t a
your - anda

AUTHOR
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages.

Malay Words Made Easy - Yes!

Problem
How do you learn Malay?

Answer
Start with the easy words. I looked at a survey on SilkAir airline. The first word I saw was:
s u r v e i - survey!

I have inserted spaces mainly because the spell checker tries to change words into recognizable English words. The spaces provide the additional advantage of enabling you to spot which letters are the same and which have changed in Malay.

Note that plurals are made by doubling the word, connecting with a hyphen. Malay, like many other languages, uses a k where English would use c or CK. (Compare the English word Kick.)

Malay - English
anak-anak - children (my memory aid is children have a knack for being amusing/annoying)
anda - you (think of  'and - er you?')
bisnis - business
check-in - check-in
dan - and (same letters, initial letter the same, next two letters reverses)
efisien - efficient
ekonomi - economy
kabin - cabin
kelas - class
kiosk - kiosk
makanan - meal / food (think 'Ma, can you make me another meal?')
minuman - drink (think in Malaysia we drink the minimum, man)
p a k e t - package / packet
s u r v e i - survey!
terima kasi - thanks (think terribly grateful)
tiket - ticket

English - Malay
and - dan
business - bisnis
cabin - kabin
check-in - check-in
children - anak-anak
class - kelas
drink - minuman
economy - ekonomi
efficient - efisien
food / meal - makanan
kiosk - kiosk
no - tidak
package - p a k e t
survey - survei
thank you (terribly much) - terimah kasi
ticket - tiket
yes - ya
you - anda

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages. See next post for more. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Easy To Remember German Words from the Poem Bridge on the Tay (railway disaster 1789)

Problem Translating German

I found a German poem about the Bridge on the River Tay. The disaster happened Dec 28 1879. Scottish poet immortalised the event and himself in the poem he wrote.

Wikipedia told me that a German poet had written a poem on this event. Was it a different poem, or a translation?

Die Brück’ am Tay

(28. Dezember 1879)

When shall we three meet again? The three witches in Macbeth, making predictions.

GERMAN

»Wann treffen wir drei wieder zusamm?«
   »Um die siebente Stund‘, am Brückendamm.«
     »Am Mittelpfeiler.«
         »Ich lösche die Flamm.«

5

 »Ich mit«

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
When will we three meet again? (Literally: when meet we three again together)
On/around the seventh hour, on the (bridges dam/ Google gives Bridge of Bruck?)
On/at the pillar /pier (middle pillar)
I'll erase/lose/extinguish/kill the flame (metaphor for life?)
I with (Me with, Me too, I also, I'm with you, I'll be with you)

         »Ich komme vom Norden her.«
»Und ich vom Süden.«
             »Und ich vom Meer.«

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
I come from (the) North
And I from (the) South
And I from (the) sea

»Hei, das gibt einen Ringelreihn,

10

Und die Brücke muß in den Grund hinein.«

»Und der Zug, der in die Brücke tritt
Um die siebente Stund’?«
             »Ei, der muß mit.«
»Muß mit«

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Hey, here is a ring
And the bridge must (go) in the ground (fall/go in/enter)

And the train, which in/on the bridge goes
At the seventh hour
Oh, it must (go) with
(It) Must, (go) with (or too)

Ringel is ringlet
sieben is seven

15

        »Tand, Tand

Ist das Gebilde von Menschenhand!«

Auf der Norderseite, das Brückenhaus —
Alle Fenster sehen nach Süden aus,
Und die Brücknersleut’ ohne Rast und Ruh

20

Und in Bangen sehen nach Süden zu,

Sehen und warten, ob nicht ein Licht
Übers Wasser hin »Ich komme« spricht,
»Ich komme, trotz Nacht und Sturmesflug,
Ich, der Edinburger Zug.«

25

Und der Brückner jetzt: »Ich seh’ einen Schein

Am anderen Ufer. Das muß er sein.

[586]

Nun, Mutter, weg mit dem bangen Traum,

Unser Johnie kommt und will seinen Baum,
Und was noch am Baume von Lichtern ist,

30

Zünd’ alles an wie zum heiligen Christ,

Der will heuer zweimal mit uns sein, —
Und in elf Minuten ist er herein.«

Und es war der Zug. Am Süderturm
Keucht er vorbei jetzt gegen den Sturm,

35

Und Johnie spricht: »Die Brücke noch!

Aber was tut es, wir zwingen es doch.
Ein fester Kessel, ein doppelter Dampf,
Die bleiben Sieger in solchem Kampf.
Und wie’s auch rast und ringt und rennt,

40

Wir kriegen es unter, das Element.

Und unser Stolz ist unsre Brück’;
Ich lache, denk’ ich an früher zurück,
An all den Jammer und all die Not
Mit dem elend alten Schifferboot;

45

Wie manche liebe Christfestnacht

Hab’ ich im Fährhaus zugebracht
Und sah unsrer Fenster lichten Schein
Und zählte und konnte nicht drüben sein.«

Auf der Norderseite, das Brückenhaus —

50

Alle Fenster sehen nach Süden aus,

Und die Brücknersleut’ ohne Rast und Ruh
Und in Bangen sehen nach Süden zu;
Denn wütender wurde der Winde Spiel,
Und jetzt, als ob Feuer vom Himmel fiel’,

55

Erglüht es in niederschießender Pracht

Überm Wasser unten... Und wieder ist Nacht.

»Wann treffen wir drei wieder zusamm?«
   »Um Mitternacht, am Bergeskamm,«
     »Auf dem hohen Moor, am Erlenstamm.«

[587]

60

 »Ich komme.«

     »Ich mit«
         »Ich nenn’ euch die Zahl.«
»Und ich die Namen.«

        »Und ich die Qual.«

65

 »Hei!

   Wie Splitter brach das Gebälk entzwei.«
        »Tand, Tand
Ist das Gebilde von Menschenhand.«

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
And I (am)the torment
Hey!
So (in) splinters broke the (building/entablature) in two
(a) (tiny) fragment, (a) tiny fragment
Is the structure /construction (building or rebuilt literally has been built ge means past/gone/done) of (the) men's/ mankind's hand (the hand of a man but German makes one word from the double word phrase)

Looking at the German poem, I have picked out words which I can easily recognize and remember. I am recording them alphabetically. 

GERMAN - ENGLISH

Only one or two letters change to something which sounds similar. Same letters in caps.

Brücke - bridge (BR..E ck -dg)

dezember - December (DE.EMBER z-c)

drei - three (.RE. d-t) 

hand - hand

haus - house (H ..S au-ou)

ich - I (I..)

ist - is (IS. st-s)

komme - come (.OM.E k-c)

Mensch - man (M.N...)

nacht - night (N.cH. ch-gh) 

Norden - North / northern area (NOR.... d-th)

und - and (.ND u-a)

von / vom - from (..O. v-f n-m)

Wasser - (.A..ER water SS-t)

It's easy to work out the English from the German, in context, and once you know, especially with the help of Google translate.

ENGLISH - GERMAN

and - und

bridge - Brücke

come - komme

December - dezember

from - von / vom

hand - hand

house - haus

I - ich

is - ist

men - mensch

night - nacht

North / northern (area) - Norden

three - drei

water - Wasser

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages. I have several more posts on European languages, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Welsh and Romanian. Also destination guides and stories. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Translation of An Italian Restaurant Menu

Problem
What are the dishes at my nearby Italian restaurants?

Answer
FOOD MENU
Italian - English
affumicata - smoked
aglio - garlic
agnello - lamb
Antipasti - starters
bistecca - beefsteak
bufalo - buffalo
burro - butter
Carne - meat (as in English words carnivore noun meaning meat eater, carnivorous, adjective)
(della) casa - (literally of the house) house style / home made / house speciality
con - with
di - of or from
e - and
Fiorentina - Florentine (style of Italian city of Florence) with spinach
fritti - deep fried
funghi - mushrooms
giorno - day (as in soup of the day and good day)
griglia - grill
Insalata - salad
limone - lemon
marinate - marinated
Milanese - style served in Italian city of Milan
Mozzarella - Mozzarella cheese
olio - oil
pane - breads
Pasta all 'Italiana - Pasta Italian Style
pescatora - with seafood
Pesce - fish
pollo - chicken
ricotta - a type of cheese, the word literally means recooked
risotto - rice dish, usually made with sticky rice which sticks together rather than long grain Basmati rice used in Indian restaurants
rosmarino - rosemary (herb)
rugatta - from Latin meaning wrinkle
salvia - sage
scaloppa - escalope (French) or slide ; plural escallopine
Scozzese - Scottish style - (menu says Scotch - does this mean Scottish style or with whiskey?)
smoked - affumicata
spinaci - spinach
steak - bistecca (not necessarily beef - check with staff)
tonno - tuna
tradizionale - traditional style
tricolore - triple colour (the three colours of the Italian flag: red, white, green, usually white cheese, red tomato and a green vegetable)
vitello - veal
zucchini - courgette
Zuppa - soup

English - Italian
and - e
(beef) steak - bistecca
buffalo - bufalo
butter - burro
chicken - pollo
courgette - zucchini
day - giorno
escalope (slice) - scaloppa
fegato - calves' liver
fish - pesce
(Deep) fried - fritti
garlic - aglio
grill - griglia
lamb - agnello
lemon - limone
liver (calves' liver) fegato
marinated - marinate
meat - carne
Milan style - Milanese
mushrooms - f u n g h i
oil - olio
rosemary (herb) - rosmarino
sage - salvia
salad - insalata
soup - zuppa
three colour - tricolore
traditional / classic - tradizionale
tuna - tonno
veal - vitello
with - con

DRINKS
Italian wines you may wish to order
Asti
chianti
doppio - double - as in double espresso
Prosecco - the area and the grape
Lambrusco
spumante - sparkling
rosso - red

CONVERSATION
Italian greetings
English - Italian
hello / good day - bon giorno
goodbye - arrivaderci
thank you - g r a z i e
not at all - p r e g o
please - per favore
'bye / so long - ciao

WORDS YOU MAY HEAR OR SEE
(la) tavola - (the) table

Tips
duo lingo
google translate
https://dreamdiscoveritalia.com/2015/06/23/italian-101-how-to-ask-where-is-the-toilet/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and foreign languages. I have several more posts on foreign languages, restaurants, food, drink and destinations. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Fruit is Fruit - and Five More Easy Romanian Words For Food

Problem
How do you remember them?

Answer
Look for similar letters.

English - Romanian
and - si (note cedilla or comma shape which should be under the s converts the sound to sh)
banana - banana
coffee - c a f e a
fruit - f r u c t (plural is f r u c t e )
knife - c u t i t (looks like cut it!)
with - cu (short version of the Latin word for with, cum as in magna cum l a u d a an academic term meaning with great honour)

Romanian - English
banana - banana
c a f e a - coffee
cu - with
c u t i t - knife (spell checker preferred cutie)
f r u c t - fruit

For more see www.D u o l i n g o .com (no spaces)
www.romaniatourism.com
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and speaker and teacher of English and learner of languages such as Romanian.
I have several more posts on Romanian, French, Italian, German, Hebrew, Greek and other languages. Please share posts.

Today's Ten Easy Indonesian and Malaysian Words

Problem
How to learn Malay or Indonesian (both the same) in a hurry.

Answer
Start with
1 Words which are the same or nearly the same in English.
2 Learn phrases or sentences consisting of two words.
3 Learn useful sentences.

Story
I raided my own bookshelves for old CDs and phrase books. I found two phrase books and two discs from long ago travels when I bought them but did not have the time and energy to learn.

Indonesian (and Malay)- English

a n d a - your
b a l k o n - balcony
bis - bus
b u k u - book
b u k u a n d a - your book
c i n a - China
c o k l a t - chocolate
d a n - and (same letters, mixed up)
k a m e r a - camera
k a r p e t - carpet
m u s i k - music
p a s a r - bazaar (it looks different, but p and b and the same upside down, remove the double a from the English and it is almost the same word) also when you say it the sound is very similar)

English - Malaysian /Indonesian
and - dan
balcony - b a l k o n
bazaar - pasar (it looks different, but p and b and the same upside down, remove the double a from the English and it is almost the same word) also when you say it the sound is very similar) Bazaar or market
book - b u k u
bus - bis
camera - kamera
carpet - karpet
China - cina
chocolate - c o k l a t
music - m u s i k
your - a n d a
your book - b u k u a n d a

Easy ways to remember
Child is anak ; children - plurals just double the word, anak-anak. How do you remember. Children create anarchy. a n a k.

Spaces are inserted to prevent the words being changed by an automatic spell checker.
However, the spaces also help you concentrate on each letter of a new word.


Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, English teacher and tutor.