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Let's face it! You have to use the bathroom every day of your life. If you ever find yourself with people who don't speak the same language as you do, this guide will teach you to say "Where is the Bathroom?" in several different languages.
Steps
Method 1
Method 1 of 6:
How to Say "Where is the Bathroom?" When Traveling in North America
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1Know the primary languages that are spoken at your destination. For example, if you are in Quebec, you will need to know some basic French.[1]
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2Practice speaking the following translations for "Where is the Bathroom?" before leaving for your trip to a North American country:
- English (American) = Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
- French = pardon, où sont les toilettes? (pahr-DAW, oo saw lay twah-LETT?)[2]
- Papiamento (Caribbean Islands) = Unda e baño ta? (pronounced: Uhn-dah eh ban-yo tah?)[3]
- Spanish = Perdone/Disculpe, ¿Dónde está el baño?(Formal) (Per-DON-eh, DOHN-deh es-TAH el BAHN-yo?)[4]
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Method 2
Method 2 of 6:
How to Say "Where is the Bathroom?" in Central or South America
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1Prepare by finding out which languages are spoken in the countries that you will visit. In South America, most countries speak Spanish, although in Brazil, Portuguese is the primary language.
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2Study these translations before you leave for your trip to South America:
- Esperanto = Pardonon, kie estas la banejo? (par-DOH-nohn, KEY-eh ESS-tahs la bahn-EY-yo?)
- Portuguese = Com licença, onde fica o banheiro? (com lee-SAY-nsa, OHN-jee FEE-cah oo bah-YAY-roo?)
- Spanish = Perdone/Disculpe, ¿Dónde está el baño?(Formal) (Per-DON-eh, DOHN-deh es-TAH el BAHN-yo?)[5]
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Method 3
Method 3 of 6:
How to Ask "Where is the Bathroom?" in Europe
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1Prepare to encounter a wide variety of spoken languages.[6] For a Europe trip, you may want to write down the translations for "Where is the Bathroom?" in a notebook and carry your notebook with you.
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2Use these translations to ask for directions to the bathroom:
- Austrian = "WC, Bitte?" (Vay-say, bit-ay?) which means "water closet, please?"
- Bulgarian = Къде е банята? ("Kade e banyata?")
- Croatian= Oprostite, gdje je kupaonica? (j is pronounced y)
- Czech = Prosim Vas, Kde jsou toalety?
- Danish = Undskyld mig, hvor er badeværelset/toilettet? (oon-skool-MYE, voa eh bay-the-VAY-rell-seh / TOY-lett-eh?)
- Dutch = Pardon, waar is de W.C. ("way say")?
- English (British) = Excuse me, where is the toilet/loo/lavatory?
- Esperanto = Pardonon, kie estas la banejo? (par-DOH-nohn, KEY-eh ESS-tahs la bahn-EY-yo?)
- Estonian = Vabandage, kus on tualett?
- French = pardon, où sont les toilettes? (pahr-DAW, oo saw lay twah-LETT?)
- Gaelic (Irish) = Ca bhfuil an leithreas?
- German = Wo ist die Toilette, bitte? (Vo ist dee toy-LETT-uh, BIT-uh?)[7]
- Greek = Parakalo, pou ine i tualetta? (Πού είναι η τουαλέτα;)
- Hungarian= Elnézést, hol (van) a vécé? [Ell-ney-zey-sht, hole vawn aw vay-tsay?]
- Icelandic = Hvar er salernið / klósettið? (Kvar er sal-erdnith / clow-set-ith? pronounce 'th' like in 'them')
- Italian = Mi scusi, dov'è il bagno?
- Latvian = Atvainojiet (sorry), kur ir tualete (Where is bathroom?
- Lithuanian = Atsiprašau (excuse me), kur yra tualetas?
- Maltese = Fejn qiegђed it-toilet? [Fe-in qee-ed it toilet]
- Neapolitan (Southwestern Italy) = scusat', arò stà 'o cesso?
- Norwegian = Unnskyld meg,(pronounced oon-shyl) hvor er doen/toalettet (No pronunciation of the 't' at the end of toalette't', doen is slang said: doo-uhn) ?
- Polish = Przepraszam, gdzie jest toaleta?
- Portuguese = Por favor, onde é a casa-de-banho?
- Romanian = Unde este toaleta, vă rog? (Oon-day yehs-tay twa-letta, vah rog?)
- Russian = скажите пожалуйста, где туалет? (Skazhite pozhalusta, gde toalet?) listen
- Serbian = Izvinite, gde je kupatilo?
- Sinhalese(Sri Lankan) = Naana kaamaraya koheda?
- Slovak = Prosím vás, kde sú toalety?
- Slovene = Oprostite, kje je kopalnica/stranišče? (Kopalnica = bathroom, stranišče = toilet/rest room)
- Swedish = Ursäkta mig (excuse me), var finns toaletten? (uhr-SHEHK-ta mey, var fins toa-letten?)
- Spanish (Catalan) = On és el lavabo?[8]
- Ukrainian = Вибачте, де туалет? (Vybachte, de tualet?)
- Welsh = Ble mae`r ty bach? (bleh MY-r Tee bach?)
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Method 4
Method 4 of 6:
How to Ask "Where is the Bathroom?" in Africa
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1Memorize how to say "Where is the Bathroom?" in Arabic, English, French and Portuguese. Many Africans speak these languages in addition to their native languages.[9]
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2Try these translations depending on your location in Africa:
- Afrikaans (Namibia) = Waar is die badkamer? ("Vaar is dee bat-kah-mer?")
- Amharic (Ethiopia) = Metatebiya bet yet new?
- Arabic (North Africa) = Men Fadlak, Fen El Hammam (من فضلك ، فين الحمام؟)
- English (American) = Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
- English (British) = Excuse me, where is the toilet/lou/lavatory?
- French = pardon, où sont les toilettes? (pahr-DAW, oo saw lay twah-LETT?)
- Hausa (Nigeria) = Don Allah, Ina banɗaki Yake or barka dai, ina banɗaki yake
- Luna (Congo) = Apresa ez nê pontate?
- Portuguese = Por favor, onde é a casa-de-banho?
- Rwandan = AhHo KweetOoMah Nee Hay? (Aho kwituma ni he?)
- Senegalese= fun moy douche bee?
- Sesotho (Lesotho) = Ntloaneng ke kae?
- Somali = Aaway musqusha?
- Swahili (Kenya) = Ambapo ni bafuni?
- Tigrigna (Eritrea) = Abey Alo Shnti Bet?
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Method 6
Method 6 of 6:
Learn to Say "Where is the Bathroom?" in the Asia-Pacific
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1Know the language of your area. This is especially important when you're traveling in Chinese-speaking areas.[11]
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2Say "Where is the bathroom?" in these languages:
- Chinese (Cantonese) = Mmm-goy, tee-saw hai been-doh-ah? (Translit. Excuse me, where is the washroom?)
- Chinese (Mandarin) = "Duì bù qǐ, cèsuǒ zài nǎr?" (written: "对不起，厕所在哪儿？) ("cèsuǒ" = "toilet" or "bathroom", and "duì bù qǐ" = "sorry" or "excuse me", so the literal translation is "Excuse me, toilet be where?") The "c" is pronounced like a combination of "t", "s", and "z" in the front of the mouth, and "q" is pronounced like "ch" in the front of the mouth. Remember the tones.
- Hmong (= honm naj nyob qhov twb os?
- Indonesian = Permisi, di mana kamar mandi?
- Japanese = Toire wa, doko? [to-ee-le wa do-ko?] (Add 'desu ka?' after 'doko' for politeness.)(To be even more polite, say "otearai wa doko desu ka?". This is "Where is the restroom?". It is said as [oh-tay-ah-rye wa doe-koh dess kah]. Here is the phrase written in Hiragana [おてあらいはどこですか？])
- Korean = Hwa-jang-shil uh-dee-in-ga-yo?
- Malay = Tumpang tanya, di manakah bilik mandi?
- Mongolian = Uuchlaarai('ʊ:tʃ|ɑ:ræ ), ene (N)ugaalgiin (u-GAWL-GEEN)oroo (o-ROW)ni (N) haana (HUN) baidag (bæ-dag) yum be?[12]
- Niuean (Pacific Islands) = ko fe e' fale vau? (pronounced ko-feh eh fa-le vau)
- Portuguese = Por favor, onde é a casa-de-banho?
- Samoan = E, 'O fea le faleuila? (Ay, Oh fay-ah lay fah-lay-wee-lah?)
- Tagalog (Philippines) = Nasaan po ang banyo?
- Thai = hong naam yuu tii nai
- Tibetan = chap sang gawa yo rey?
- Vietnamese = Cho hoi, nha` ve^. sinh o da^u va^.y ?[13]
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Community Q&A
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QuestionHow do I say "Can I have water?" in all the languages?
Community AnswerI only speak a few languages, but here's what I know: In French: "Est-ce que je peux avoir de l'eau?" Translation: Can I have water? In Spanish: "Puedo tener agua?" Translation: Can I have water? In ASL (American Sign Language): Take one of your hands and put it into the number 3, then place your hand so your palm is facing out towards one side of you. Then put that hand in front of your chin and tap your chin a few times. That is the sign for water. Now make your hand flat and place your palm to your chest and make a circular motion. That is the sign for please. Translation: Water, please. -
QuestionWhat will most people say when asked where is the bathroom is?
Adri AnzianoCommunity AnswerMost people will tell you where the bathroom is. If it is clear that you don't speak the language, then they will probably point you in the right direction.
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Warnings
- Ask your question courteously, no matter how desperate you are to visit the washroom.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- If you desperately need to relive yourself and have no luck asking for a restroom, try your best to find a secluded place to go, preferably around shrubbery which will conceal you. Or, try communicating through nonverbal gestures to a doorman, homeowner, etc. and hopefully, they will understand your need.⧼thumbs_response⧽
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Things You'll Need
- Phrasebook for traveling
- Smartphone to look up language questions quickly
- Notebook to write down common phrases
References
- ↑ https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g153339-s604/Canada:Important.Phrases.html
- ↑ https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-culture/the-right-way-to-ask-where-is-the-bathroom-in-french/
- ↑ https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/papiamento.php
- ↑ https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/where%20is%20the%20bathroom
- ↑ https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/where%20is%20the%20bathroom
- ↑ https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/european_languages.htm
- ↑ https://www.europa-pages.co.uk/lessons/german-basics.html
- ↑ https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/catalan.php
- ↑ https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/african_languages.htm
- ↑ https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/india-23-languages-counting/
- ↑ https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/OCHA_ROAP_Language_v6_110519.pdf
- ↑ https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/mongolian.php
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYb6vYzsTJk
- Languages of the World
- Wikitravel: Free Travel Guides
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