Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
U
somewhere between the “U” of “put” and “rule”.
Ç
sounds like an English “S”; “plaça” is pronounced “plassa”.
C
followed by an “E” or “I” is soft; otherwise hard.
G
followed by “E” or “I” is like the “zh” in “Zhivago”; otherwise hard.
H
is always silent.
J
as in the French “Jean”.
L.L
is best pronounced (for foreigners) as a single “L” sound; but for Catalan speakers it has
two distinct “L” sounds.
LL
sounds like an English “Y” or “LY”, like the “yuh” sound in “million”.
N
as in English, though before “F” or “V” it sometimes sounds like an “M”.
NY
corresponds to the Castilian “Ñ”.
QU
before “E” or “I” sounds like “K”, unless the “U” has an umlaut (Ü), in which case, and
before “A” or “O”, as in “quit”.
R
is rolled, but only at the start of a word; at the end, it's often silent.
T
is pronounced as in English, though sometimes it sounds like a “D”; as in “viatge” or
“dotze”.
V
at the start of a word sounds like “B”; in all other positions it's a soft “F” sound.
W
is pronounced like a “B/V”.
X
is like “SH” or “CH” in most words, though in some, like “exit”, it sounds like an “X”.
Z
is like the English “Z” in “zoo”.
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
Words and phrases below are given in the following order:
English
- Spanish -
Catalan
.
BASICS
Yes, No, OK
Sí, No, Vale
Si, No, Val
Please, Thank you
Por favor, Gracias
Si us plau, Gràcies
Where? When?
Dónde? Cuando?
On? Quan?
What? How much?
Qué? Cuánto?
Què? Quant?
Here, There
Aquí, Allí/Allá
Aquí, Allí/Allá
This, That
Esto, Eso
Això, Allò
Now, Later
Ahora, Más tarde
Ara, Mès tard
Open, Closed
Abierto/a, Cerrado/a
Obert, Tancat
With, Without
Con, Sin
Amb, Sense
Good, Bad
Bueno/a, Malo/a
Bo(na), Dolent(a)
