BootsnAll Travel Community

After spending a year traveling around Asia I have a much better understanding of what language skills are required to make my trip easier. I have composed a list of words I now memorize when visiting a new country. Some of these aren't necessarily words that I would say but words that people would say to me so being able to understand then was helpful. Anyone have suggestions on additions to my list?

The List:


Hello
How are you?
Fine, and you?

What is your name?
My name is ....

Where are you from?
I'm from ...
How old are you?
I'm 35
Guess how old I am

Can you speak English?
Sorry I don't speak ....
You speak English/... well

Where are you?
What are you doing?
Where are you going?
Have you eaten?

Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?

Excuse me
What is this?
What is that?
How much?
Do you have?

Here
There
Before
After

If
And
But
Because

Today
Tonight
Tomorrow
Yesterday

Last week
This week
Next week

Last month
This month
Next month

First time
Second time
Third time

1st
2nd
3rd

0 - 10000

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

I'm hungry
I'm thirsty
I'm tired
I'm hot
I'm cold
I'm sick

You've missed the most important one..."where's the bathroom?". Never leave home without it!!!

This is the shortest vocabulary from my experience with South America where English is rarely spoken:

Where - donde?
here - aqui
now - ahora
when - cuando
what time - que hora
how much - cuanto
with - con
without - sin
food - comida
sleep - dormir
for, to - par, para, a
open - obierto
closed - cerrado
toilets - baños, servicios, hombres/varones, mujeres,
station - estacion de
basic foodstuff like bread, meat, fish, chicken, drink, etc.
numerals 1-15 and the multiples of 10 and 100
weekdays

I assume that words like chica, chico, cerveza, holá are already known