First phrase to learn in a new language.

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rdearman
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First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby rdearman » Sun Feb 12, 2023 9:55 pm

Someone just sent me this Pro-Tip for the first phrase to learn in a new language. I thought I would pass it on here. That phrase is:

"My friend is paying."

:lol:

What is the first thing you try to learn? Before, I always learned the word "something" in whatever language, because invariably someone will ask me to "Say something in ..."
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby iguanamon » Sun Feb 12, 2023 10:07 pm

Ok, I'll bite, on the serious side: "How do yo say this (pointing or pantomiming) in "X language".
On the funny side: "My hovercraft is full of eels!"
Assorted silly phrases in languages
ex German: Ich bin kein Teilnehmer dieser Konferenz, dennoch möchte ich einen Pinguin.
I am not a conference delegate, nevertheless I would like a penguin.
Last edited by iguanamon on Sun Feb 12, 2023 10:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby luke » Sun Feb 12, 2023 10:19 pm

"Take me to your leader."
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby rdearman » Sun Feb 12, 2023 10:38 pm

luke wrote:"Take me to your leader."

You should avoid North Korea.
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby kundalini » Mon Feb 13, 2023 12:22 am

My tailor is rich.
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby Lisa » Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:39 am

If I'm going past yes/no/please/thank you/bathroom, the most important one is "I don't speak <language>".
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby tastyonions » Mon Feb 13, 2023 6:01 pm

"Sorry, my [insert language] isn't so good (yet)." :D
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby tungemål » Mon Feb 13, 2023 10:44 pm

- Het spijt me, Ik spreek geen Nederlands.
- Echt waar?
- Sorry hoor, mijn Nederlandsvaardigheden zijn vrijwel nul, jammer genoeg.
- Ben je zeker?
- Ja. Nederlands versta ik niks van.
- Dat is jammer.
- Dat kun je wel zeggen.

To be on the safe side I'm memorizing this dialogue.
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby Sae » Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:48 am

rdearman wrote:Someone just sent me this Pro-Tip for the first phrase to learn in a new language. I thought I would pass it on here. That phrase is:

"My friend is paying."

:lol:

What is the first thing you try to learn? Before, I always learned the word "something" in whatever language, because invariably someone will ask me to "Say something in ..."


When I was in Germany once, a drunk guy noticed we were English and approached and said, "hey, there is only one phrase on German you need to learn to get by in Germany. Ich will ein bier du s******e" (I want a beer you b****h) and he called over his girlfriend to tell me to say it to her... whilst I realise what he said, I still said it and she just laughed and told me to ignore him.

So according to him, this is probably the only phrase I need to learn in a language.


Another story, when online gaming I saw a guy posting in Japanese, so I approached him and wrote "watashi wa sakana desu" (I am a fish) and he apparently found it funny and added me to his friends list and we got chatting.

So I guess language can bring people closer together.

And one of the first things I learned in Mongolian was "Bi Angli khel yaridaggui", which is "I don't speak English" and I don't know why.
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Re: First phrase to learn in a new language.

Postby Kullman » Tue Feb 14, 2023 11:19 pm

"Me pones un tercio, por favor?" or "Me pones un quinto, por favor?"

and "Que se debe?".
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