Romanian Language your first ten easy words

Romanian Flag.

The name Romania comes from the word Roman.  Wikivoyage phrasebook romanian says that the language is more like Italian than French. I recognize plurals formed by adding the letter i as used in the Italian language. 

But I speak French so I recognize lots of Romanian words as being similar to French. For example, the Romanian word for thank you is mersi, like the French word merci. So to me, the Romanian language is more like French than Italian.

Where can you start to learn? It's easy to start for free on Duolingo. The system has several features which I like. Pictures are matched with everyday words. A simple grammar guide and list of phrases starts each set of exercises. 

Two words for you, several of which sound similar to French. 

English (alphabetically) - Romanian

are (they are) - sunt (like the french nous sommes in we are and elles sont in they are) 

cocoa - cacao (proounced cack - ow as in howl or owl. The English word has the letter o twice, but the Romanian has the letter a twice)

honey - miere (me air ay or me air er, like the French word miel)

I - eu (pronounced yo)

thanks -  mersi (like the French merci)

the - la (as in French)

two - doi (notice the letters d and o like the English word duo)

unt - butter (notice the letters u and t in the Romanian and the English)

You - tu, voi (the same as the French tu, and similar to the French vous, which also has the letters v and o)

we - noi (similar to the French nous which has the letters n and o)

Romanian (alphabetically) - English

butter - unt

cacao - cocoa

doil - two (like the English word duo)

eu (pronounced yo) - I

la - the

mersi - thanks

miere - honey

noi - we (like the French word nous)

sunt - are

tu - you

voi - you

Numbers[edit]

1

unu (OO-noo)

2

doi (doy)

3

trei (tray)

4

patru (PAH-troo)

5

cinci (cheench)

6

șase (SHAH-seh)

7

șapte (SHAHP-teh)

8

opt (ohpt)

9

nouă (NOH-uh)

10

zece (ZEH-cheh)

Useful Websites

Duolingo

https://www.duolingo.com/

Wikivoyage Romania phrasebook

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Romanian_phrasebook

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More Swedish Words - More Travel Triumph

 I spent a lot of time travelling on trains today. But I also learned a few more Swedish words.

Swedish - English

fisk - fish

Morgon - morning (like the German word morgen)

pasta - pasta

vi - we

vin - wine

English - Swedish

fish - fisk

morning - morning

pasta - pasta

We - vi

wine - vin (the same as the French)

I've read several articles about the shortcomings of Duolingo. But it does what I want. It gets me started. It keeps me learning. Yes, I could make more progress later by going on to do other things. Meanwhile, it's better than nothing and it relieves the tedium of travel and relieves the stress of delays.

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

https://visitsweden.com/

 

 So many Swedish words are similar to English. Here are a few which I have learned this week using Duolingo on the train and 

whilst waiting for friends.

Revision

English - Swedish

1 a/an - en

2 barnet - child (like the Scottish bairn)

3 book - bok 

4 Lemon - citron

5 Man - man

6 meny - menu

7 Pepper - peppar (Both words start the same, but Swedish changes the second e to an a)

8 rice - ris 

9 Salt - salt

10 The - et (two letters from the word the; also et looks like it)

11 we - vi

12 You - du

Now let's try it the other way around.

Swedish English

1 barnet - child

2 bok - book

3 citron - lemon

4 du - you

5 en - a/an

6 et - the

7 man - man (NB men and man look the same but one has a double dot about the a to make the sound change)

8 meny - menu

9 peppar - pepper

10 ris - rice

11 salt - salt

12 vi - we

Just an update on this article from 2019 which Google found for me. Since the time of writing Duolingo has introduced the feature which asks you to repeat the words and gives you feedback on whether you have pronounced the words correctly or should try again. duolingo also offers two buttons, to listen to the words said at normal speed or hear phrases and sentences said slowly and distinctly so that if you miss one essential word you can hear it again.

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/04/smarter-living/500-days-of-duolingo-what-you-can-and-cant-learn-from-a-language-app.html

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Portuguese words to learn fast

Problem
I am using Duolingo but sometimes get confused.

Answer
In Duolingo, if you have time, read the forums. Click on Discussion - even if you get the right answer.

Portuguese - English
diario - diary
(o) jornal - (The) newspaper (like the word journal which is a daily record)
(a) maçã - the apple (not an apple)
na verdade - in fact /that's true
nos falamos - we speak (same word origin as tell a fable)

English - Portuguese
(the) apple - a maçã
diary - diario
in fact - na verdade
(the) newspaper - o jornal
magazine - revista, periodico

Brazilian Portuguese
gente - one (we) unlike one in English which is formal, gente is used in conversation in Brazil.

Also see Tinycards by Duolingo.

Buy a course in Portuguese

TRAVEL

Brazil (Portuguese)
visitbrasil.com
Note that the website spells the country the way it is spelled in their language with an s.

Cuba (Spanish)
visitcuba.com

VISIT France
http://us.france.fr
https://en.parisinfo.com

Study Italian in Italy
Perugia in Umbria has language courses and a university.

Useful Websites and Links
http://umbriatourism.it
https://twitter.com/UmbriaTourism
@UmbriaTourism  
#loveUmbria
Many websites offer courses, eg:
https://www.studytravel.com/learn-italian-in-perugia.html

Visit Portugal
www.visitportugal.com

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and teacher of English, public speaking and foreign languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How To Master The Basics of Brazilian Portuguese Plurals

Problem
All the words seem separate things to learn.

Answer
No, they are easier than you thought at first sight. Add an s for plurals, like in English.  So you get these plurals:

os - the, masculine plural
as - the, feminine plural
nos - we, a plural, like nous in French, like a combination of the plural with n for us (N is upside down U)

After you grasp which word is which instantly, you no longer need the memory aid, the repetition reinforces the learning.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, learner and teacher of languages.

Asian Points of View: Koreans Using We: Japanese and Yes

Problem
Korean Confusion
The Koreans use our when the British and Americans use I.

English - Korean
My country - our country
my house - our house
my mother - our mother

Japanese Yes
The Japanese avoid using the word no, which sounds rude.

English Question and Answer  - Japanese Question and Answer
Can we meet on Monday? No, but Tuesday is OK. - Can we meet on Monday? Yes, but Tuesday would be better.

Useful Websites
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20171217-why-south-koreans-rarely-use-the-word-me

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

How to remember and recognise Welsh words for butterfly, see and swim - Revision

Problem
How do you remember Welsh words?

Answers
Find similar sounds, spellings or sentences mixing Welsh words and English words.

New Words

Welsh - English
g w e l d - to see (Remember, your spectacles are welded together.  G starts a verb, like the German past tense)
n i  - we (Combine the N of the French word for we, Nous, and the EE sound of the English We.   Turn the n upside down and you have the start of the letter W for we.)
nofio - to swim (Remember: I am not afraid to swim.)
pili-pala - butterfly (Remember a butterfly with double letters, L, will fly from pillar to pillar, and be your pal.)

English - Welsh
butterfly -  p i l a - p a l a
(to) see - g w e l d
(to) swim - nofio
we - n i

Revision
Welsh - English
oren - orange
soiled - chocolate

Tips
duolingo.com (free on line learning website for many languages from English and from several languages to learn English)
google translate
http://mymemory.translated.net/en/Welsh/English/mae%27r

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages. You will find several more posts on learning Welsh and other languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Learning Romanian Words Memory Aids

Problem
How do you remember Romanian words?

Answers
1 Check which letters both the Romanian and the English word have in common.
2 If none, check tother languages which are similar.
3 Make up a link between the two words, such as a sentence using syllables from both.
4 Write the words in a notebook and keep looking at them.
5 Instead or in addition keep repeating the words.
6 Teach somebody else.
7 Set a target before a trip to Romania. Count the number of days. Aim to finish the course before arrival in Romania or after arriving.

Today's Words:

English - Romanian
beef - vita (life in the bull, life in the beef; notice the little bowl on top of the a)
fish - peste - (note the comma or cedilla under the s turns the sound into SH)
of - de (same as French)
meat - carne
turkey - c u r c a n (urk in the English word, u r c in the Romanian.
we - n o i (like the French word nous)

Romanian - English
carne - meat
c u r c a n - turkey
de - of
noi - we
peste - fish
vita - beef

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and teacher of English and other languages. Please share links to posts.

Easy German words - we read a book by the door

Problem
How can I remember easy words.

Answer
Remember words which are similar in sound or appearance.

Story
I used to keep a list of French words in columns in a pocket book.
But in German so many words are similar that the words which are nearest in spelling are even more confusing and cause mistakes.

Answer
Note the differences.

Tips
English - German
book - Buch (notice the capital letter for a noun in German) . In church Germans read a hymn book. In German book sounds the same but its spelling is Buch. Last two letters same as church.

German - English
Buch - book

German - English
Wir - we

English - German
we - Wir Both words start with W. the e and I sound and look similar.

English - German
door - Tür
German - english
Tür - door
T and D are similar sounds. U and oo are similar sound. The English has a double oo, like a double door, but the German has double dots above the ü. To find the font with the dots, hold down the u key for a few seconds. The choice of symbols over the U appears. You want the second for the two dots. The Germans have a towering door. Tür=Door.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages.
Please like my posts and other blogs. Find me and follow me on Blogger.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube. Books by Angela Lansbury poet/author/ travel writer. There are four people called Angela Lansbury: two writers, one actress, one other. Look for my photo in the hat or a book cover with a caricature. Please share my posts.

Remembering German words such as window and colours

Today, as usual I am learning German on Duolingo. I am also learning Italian. Just two different languages.

German I find very easy. So many words sound like English. I look for the same or similarly shaped consonants and same or similar vowels.

GERMAN - ENGLISH

beide - both (both words start with b, and b and th are similar sounds with tongue in the roof of your mouth

Blau - blue (Same initial letters, in fact three letters are the same blu bl.u . Two colour words are similar, blau is blue and grau is gray. In British English we spell it grey.)

Fenster - window (Capital letter means a noun or name, an object. Similar to the French word fenêtre. In French the little hat on the e means a missing s follows the letter so the word would come from old French or Latin fenestra.)

Flasche - flask or bottle (More usually bottle but remember flask and you've got the word and image. Remember the capital letter for nouns in German.)

haben - have (Same initial letter and b and v are the same letter in languages such as Hebrew.)

gelber - yellow (g and y are letters with a hanging part below the line; second and third letters are the same, el; word ends with a vowel sound er and ow - "er - it's yellow!) Another member of my family remembers gelb like gold or golden yellow; gelt is German-Yiddish slang for money.

Leute - people (Capital letter for nouns, people or places or objects, people loitering, people)

Weiss - white. (Look at the appearance of the word. Initial letter the same; third letter I is the same. Both include the vowels e and I. Think, ST, why - ST . But the Germans pronounce W as V as worsht pronounced VER sht which is sausage. if you are still having trouble remembering, make up a sentence: Your vice is wearing white clothes which aren't clean. Weiss is white.)

Wir - we (Initial letter is the same; i and e are similar, and I recall the spelling rhyme i before e.)

Angela Lansbury, English teacher and tutor.

Learning and remembering Italian Verb endings

I was having trouble remembering which verb ending means I, which means we and which means they. All of them end in o and I kept thinking whenever I saw an o ending that it meant I. Then I started to remember that the o m o ending was we. After not which means we. But the ending for they is o n o.

I now have a memory aid. o on its own at the end means I, alone. o m o means mean and you, we. o n o means another group of people, they.

succedo - (I succeed Oh!)
succediamo - we succeed (I am - oh!)
succedono - they succeed (oh no!)

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