Basic phrases for travelers: 20 words that help everywhere

Twenty words is enough to get through a normal travel day. Greetings, please and thank you, yes and no, sorry and excuse me, plus a small set of nouns and questions: water, food, toilet, how much, where, help, doctor, hotel, left, right, stop, good, goodbye.

You do not need grammar. A single word plus a gesture and a smile handles most exchanges: point at the item, say the word for it, then ask the price. Locals usually meet you halfway, and many will switch to English once they see you are trying.

The order matters less than the effort. Saying hello in the local language before you ask anything in English changes how the conversation goes. Skipping it is the most common mistake English-speaking travellers make.

This applies to any traveller going somewhere they do not speak the language: first-time visitors, solo travellers, families, business travellers with free evenings, and anyone moving between several countries on one trip.

It matters more in some settings than others. In hotels, airports and main tourist areas of most countries, English is usually enough. In local markets, rural areas, small clinics, bus stations and police stations, it often is not. Travellers with dietary restrictions, allergies or medical conditions should treat written phrases as essential, not optional.

If you are travelling with children or older relatives, learn the words for toilet, water, help and doctor first. Those four cover the situations where a delay is most uncomfortable.

Pick the 20 words for your destination, not a generic list. Some overlap everywhere, but the local versions are what people actually respond to. Write them on one card or one phone note, with a rough pronunciation guide in your own spelling.

Practise out loud for five minutes a day in the week before you fly. Say each word ten times. This is enough to make it come out under pressure, which is the only test that matters. Listening to a short audio clip once or twice helps with tones and stress, especially in tonal languages such as Vietnamese, Thai and Mandarin.

On arrival, use the words immediately: at the airport counter, the taxi, the first café. Use them even when the other person speaks English. The point is not to prove you can speak the language; it is to show you tried, which usually gets you a warmer, more patient response.

If you are staying more than a few weeks, add ten more words a week. Numbers one to ten, days of the week and basic food words are the natural next step.

Learning 20 words costs nothing and takes 10–20 minutes of practice before the trip, plus a few minutes a day while travelling. A pocket phrasebook or a paid offline language app is optional; expect roughly US$5–15 (2026 estimate) if you buy one.

The real cost is data. Translation apps need a connection unless you download the language pack in advance, and roaming data is expensive or unreliable in many destinations. Downloading the pack before you fly is free and takes a few minutes.

Time saved is harder to price. A traveller who can ask the price, find the toilet and call for help spends less time stuck, and usually pays less in markets where the first number is not the final one.

Some situations need written text, not spoken words. Allergies, medical conditions, dietary rules and medication names should be on a card or phone screen in the local language, showing the ingredient or condition and stating that it is dangerous, not a preference. Show it before ordering or before treatment.

Tonal languages are a common trap. In Vietnamese, Thai and Mandarin, the same syllable said with a different tone means something else, so a word learned from a list can land wrong. Locals usually work it out from context, but do not be surprised if your first attempt gets a puzzled look. Repeat it, or show the written form.

Non-Latin scripts add another layer. In Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, Cambodia and the Arab world, you may not be able to read signs or menus at all. Photograph the address of your hotel in the local script, and keep it on your phone; this is more useful than saying the name, because drivers can read it.

Finally, some places have rules that no phrase will solve: dress codes at religious sites, photography restrictions, and behaviour that is rude locally but normal at home. Check those before you go.

There is no single best method. Most travellers end up with two: the words in their head for quick exchanges, and a written or offline backup for anything complicated.

Memory alone is fastest and works with no battery or signal, but it fails for anything beyond the core 20. A phone note or app handles more words and can show written script, but needs charge and, for translation, often a connection. Paper never runs out of power and is easy to hand to someone, but it is one more thing to carry and easy to lose.

For most trips, the practical combination is: learn the 20 words, save a phone note with the local script for your hotel address and any medical needs, and download the offline language pack before you fly.

The questions below cover the short answer, who this applies to, and what it costs in time and money. The same points are repeated in the FAQ block for quick reading.