Hear Useful Travel Phrases Spoken in French, German, Italian and Spanish

You can read foreign words in a phrase book forever but not recognize a single phrase when you travel and hear the language spoken. Try this travel phrase tool from Fodor's: just click on a word or travel phrase and listen to recordings of useful travel phrases like, "Where is...?", "How much?" and "I'm lost" spoken in French, German, Italian or Spanish. Handy!

Useful Travel Phrase Recordings

Surf to Fodors.com and choose first a language - French, German, Italian or Spanish - and a travel phrase category (Useful Expressions, At the Airport, "Finding Your Way," "Dining Out" and so forth). Up then pops a menu of useful travel phrases; choose the English word you want to hear spoken in another language and see the foreign words spelled out with phonetic pronunciations in the corresponding language:

French: I'm sorry -- Je suis désolé(e) -- Zhuh swee dayzohlay

Click and hear recordings of foreign words or phrases like these, spoken as they oughta be:

• "Please."
• "Thank you."
• "You're welcome."
• "Excuse me."
• "Hello."
• "See you later."
• "Do you speak English?"
• "I'm sorry."
• "I don't speak (French, German, Italian, Spanish)."
• "I don't understand."
• "Please speak more slowly."
• "Could you please help me?"
• "Where is...?"
• "Who?"
• "What?"
• "When?"
• "How much is it?"
• "Can I change traveler's checks?"
• "What time is it?"
• "The bill, please."

Try the Language When You Go

Always give speaking a foreign language a shot (see a tip) while you're traveling. Folks in other countries will be glad to talk with you; even if you can barely follow what they are saying, give the language a try. (I do like to memorize this extremely useful travel phrase in other languages: "Please speak more slowly.")

This cool little language tool is huge in prepping you to follow the fast talk. And the (almost) best part? It's free.

"Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages."
--Humorist Dave Barry