🇵🇹 Essential sentences to start learning a language
My phrasebook for travelling to a new country
Dear reader,
We went to a short family trip to Lisbon. It was my first time in Portugal, and fell in love with the city instantly. As soon as I got these, I wished I had taken time to learn the basics of the language. I took time to put together an ideal phrasebook of sentences I needed during these 3 days in a new country.
I made a Notion page so you can easily access the list in English and the 3 romance languages I know: French, Italian, and European Portuguese.
This is the perfect way to start your flashcard deck and practise speaking and listening to the language1. I’ll put a little recap in English below if you’re curious:
Hello! Goodbye!
Yes please. No, thank you.
How do you say this?
One two three four.
Excuse me! Where's the bathroom?
I don't speak English. Sorry, I don't understand English.
Do you speak English?
What's this? I would like this one.
How to go there?
Can you help me? I need help.
Can you repeat, please?
Sir! Madam!
I want to learn English. I like English!
As for drinks, just still water.
It's delicious, perfect!
I come from France. And you, where are you from?
Of course!
I speak a little English.
Are you English? You speak English very well!
This is great. This is really beautiful.
I have a London transport card.
Anything I missed? Let me know! I didn’t add Germanic languages I learnt (German and Dutch) or Korean, but I can update the Notion page if you’d like.
I hope you’re spending a wonderful end of the year with your loved ones.
Best,
Lou
✍️ Dear language learner
Learn your target language with useful sentences! Here are a few to translate to test yourself. If they’re relevant to you, you can add them to your notes or spaced-repetition system.
🌱 Beginner
I have a transport card.
🌿 Intermediate
How much is it with this transport card?
🌳 Advanced
Which transport card is most advantageous if I want to visit these landmarks in the next couple of days?
Thank you for reading “I heard from Lou”. It can be hard to find people who share your passion for learning. If you have friends who might like this letter, let them know.
Apps like Anki allow setting up text-to-speech for each deck. Perfect to practise sentences!
That looks very neat :). I'm much more messy when it comes to learning, but this is perfect. And it's much better IMHO to learn phrases/questions/sentences than just separate words.