Two Hundred Words
Words to Know Before You Go
By David Armstrong
Learning some of the language of your host community will demonstrate that you care about the people you’ve come to serve. It will also make it easier to find your way around and to understand what’s happening. Although you probably don’t have time to become fluent, learning 200 everyday words and phrases is an easy and beneficial first step for your adventure in learning as you go overseas.
Following are specific words and phrases to learn. This list focuses on common phrases, adjectives, prepositions, and nouns. Arm yourself with this list and a bilingual dictionary. Try to find someone who speaks the language you are learning and schedule time to sit down with them. Online resources are also available that offer translation and pronunciation help. Have fun!
Phrases
Greetings and Pleasantries
hellogood morning
good afternoon
my name is …
what is your name?
nice to meet you.
I am from …
how are you?
I am fine.
good-bye
have a nice day.
what time is it?
please
thank you
you are welcome.
excuse me
Going to the Store
what is this?what is that?
how much does it cost?
what do you call this?
how do you say ...?
I would like ...
yes
no
stop
who
what
when
where
why
how
Adjectives
Comparative Adjectives
large
wet
dry
long
short
tall
short
fast
hot
cold
fat
skinny
hard
soft
young
old
Colors
blackwhite
red
green
blue
yellow
orange
purple
Nouns
House
housedoor
floor
window
ceiling
chair
table
bed
blanket
pillow
light
bedroom
dining room
living room
bathroom
Relationships
fathermother
son
daughter
brother
sister
grandfather
grandmother
grandson
granddaughter
Medical
doctornurse
hospital
pain
sick
Food
waterfood
bread
meat
coffee
tea
vegetables and fruit common to the area
People
manwoman
youth
boy
girl
child
baby
police
teacher
Parts of the Body
headhair
hand
finger
arm
leg
knee
foot
eyes
ears
nose
mouth
back
stomach
Transportation
cartruck
bus
street
airplane
train
ticket
passport
visa
taxi
Other
storeschool
church
pastor
Bible
Jesus
God
song
embassy
tree
street
road
help
emergency
paper
pencil
pen
scissors
ball
Days and Time
yesterday, today, tomorrow, early, late, hour, day, month, year, in the past, in the future
(Knowing the days of the week and the months of the year can be helpful as well.)
Numbers, Money
Learn to say and recognize the numbers from 1 to 20 (especially 1 to 10). Numbers allow you to count and to handle money. To practice the numbers, look at license plates and try to say them. Learn the names of the money, bills and coins, as well as how many of one bill it takes to equal the next bill.
Prepositions
in, out, under, above, behind, beside
We’re avoiding verbs because, although important, verbs are often complicated since they change forms. Learning the basic form of 20 to 30 common verbs is good but harder; consider verbs extra credit. It would also be helpful to learn words associated with what you will be doing, e.g., orphanage, construction, teaching, medical, church, VBS.
For more information on language learning, SIL International’s site has a host of language learning links.