The Camino de Santiago is one of the most inspiring, and famous, long-distance walks in the world. Every year thousands of pilgrims, walking enthusiasts and explorers embark on their own personal Camino journey.
For centuries, the trail has been a place for encounters and cultural exchanges between people from all over the world. For this reason, the Camino has been recognised as the first UNESCO-listed heritage trail. This Camino Phrasebook eBook is designed for anyone heading to the Camino de Santiago and looking to learn a few words and phrases that might help you along the different routes. We hope you find it useful!
CaminoWays.com is a walking and cycling holiday specialist with in depth knowledge on the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St James across France, Spain and Portugal. We are a truly international, friendly and well-travelled multicultural team of travel professionals. Talk to our team and we will help you plan this very special journey.
In addition to the Camino we organise walking holidays on the Camino to Rome (Via Francigena) and St Francis Way (from Florence to Rome) at FrancigenaWays.com; as well as exciting walking and cycling holiday at IrelandWays.com and more trekking adventures at TrekkingBug.com
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For centuries, the Camino de Santiago has been a place of cultural exchanges between pilgrims. That spirit of the Camino remains today… and while English will be widely spoken among pilgrims, that might not be necessarily the case with locals (particularly in remote and rural areas). Learning a few words of the local language before your trip will go a long way… not only to help you communicate (the very essence of every language!) but also to get closer to the culture of the places you will visit.
Many countries and regions, each with their own distinctive culture, traditions and, in many cases, languages.
If you are finishing in Santiago you will be walking or cycling for at least a week across Galicia’s countryside, whether you are taking the famous French Way or the off the beaten track Via de la Plata or Camino de Invierno. One thing is for sure, as well as Spanish, you are very likely to see and hear Galician spoken, particularly in the rural
areas. Most place names will be also written in Galego (as opposed to Spanish). For instance, Fisterra (Galician) as opposed to Finisterre (Spanish).
There are many other languages on the different Camino routes (Portuguese, French, etc…), see the following section for details related to each specific routes.
These are the most popular routes and their languages
CAMINO FRANCES:
Languages encountered will include: French (section from St Jean Pied de Port), Basque (and Spanish) in the Navarra región (Pamplona); Spanish in the middle sections of the route; Galician (and Spanish) from O Cebreiro to Santiago.
CAMINO PORTUGUES: Languages encountered will include: Portugues up to Tui and Galician and Spanish from Tui to Santiago.
CAMINO DEL NORTE: Languages encountered will include Basque (in the Basque Country from San Sebastian to Bilbao), Spanish in Cantabria, Asturian dialect as well as Spanish in some parts of Asturias (mainly in place names); Galician and Spanish from Ribadeo to Santiago.
CAMINO PRIMITIVO: Languages you are likely to encounter on the Camino Primitivo, which is the oldest Camino, include Asturiano (mainly in place names) in Asturias (from Oviedo to the mountains), as well as Spanish and the Galician from A Fonsagrada onwards.
CAMINO INGLES: The full route is in Galicia therefore the two languages you will hear spoken are Galician and Spanish.
VIA DE LA PLATA: The route starts in Seville, Andalucia, and is one of the longest Camino trails. From Seville to the Galician border you’ll encounter just Spanish spoken, albeit with very different accents!
CAMINO IN FRANCE: As well as French, you will encounter other languages along some of the French Camino routes, such as Occitan on the Le Puy Way and Basque as you enter the French Basque region.
CAMINO CATALAN: If you are walking the Camino Catalan or Jaume Way (Jaume means St James in Catalan) you will definitely encounter Catalan spoken, as well as Spanish.
Here is a short and fun guide to the most useful Camino de Santiago lingo, a few sentences in Spanish and Galician to help you along the way!
Buen Camino!
This is the one sentence you will always remember. It is the meet and greet between pilgrims, and between pilgrims and locals.
Bo Camiño / Bon Camiño
Once you are in Galicia you might hear this instead! As it is in Galician language. As you enter Galicia, you’ll see the Camino is referred to as: Camiño de Santiago.
Ultreia!
It is a less known version of ‘Buen Camino!’ but the sentiment remains the same: safe journey to Santiago!
Peregrino
Male pilgrim / Peregrina: female pilgrim
Bicigrino
Male bike pilgrim / Bicigrina: female bike pilgrim
Me gusta… el pulpo (Spanish)
I like… octopus. Of course you can replace ‘octopuses with any other food of your choice! Calamares (squid), pollo (chicken), caldo gallego (Galician stew), ensalada (salad)…
No me gusta… el pulpo
I don’t like… octopus. Non me gusta … o pulpo; would be the same in Galician
Me encanta … el pulpo
I love… octopus. Encántame … o pulpo (in Galician)
Me duelen los pies (Spanish) Dóenme os pés (Galician)
My feet are sore
Necesito… un café
I need … a coffee but you can easily replace coffee with…
Un Descanso
A little rest or break
Por favor
Please
Muchas gracias (Spanish) Moitas grazas (Galician): thank you very much!
ENGLISH SPANISH
I’m looking for… Estoy buscando
Where is…? Donde está…?
How much is …? Cuanto cuesta…?
Where are the toilets? Dónde están los servicios?
Does anyone here speak English? Hay alguien que hable inglés?
Hello Hola
Good morning Buenos días
Good evening Buenas noches
Bye/See you Adiós
Please Por favor
Thank you Gracias
You are welcome De nada
Sorry/Excuse me Perdone
What’s your name? Como te llamas?
My name is Me llamo
It’s a pleasure to meet you Encantado/a
Where are you from? De dónde eres?
I am from… Soy de…
Can I have a … beer please? Una cerveza por favor?
Could you help me please? Puede ayudarme, por favor?
I’m allergic to… Soy alérgico/a a…
ATM Cajero
How do I get to…? Como puedo llegar a…?
Is it far? Está lejos?
Go straight ahead Vaya derecho
Turn left Tuerza a la izquierda
Turn right Tuerza a la derecha
I am lost Estoy perdido/a
Where is the …hospital? post office? Dónde está… el hospital? correos? estación bus station? de bus?
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia, as such you will encounter many signs and businesses using Galician (galego), as well as native speakers. Plenty of ‘X’ are used in Galician, pronounced as ‘sh’
ENGLISH GALEGO
I’m looking for… Estou buscando…
I’d like to… Gustaríame…
Where is…? Onde está…?
How much is …? Canto custa…?
Where are the toilets? Onde están os servizos?
Does anyone here speak English? Alguén fala inglés?
Hello Ola
Good morning Bos días
Good evening Boas tardes
Bye/See you Chao / Ata logo
Please Por favor
Thank you Grazas
You are welcome De nada
Sorry/Excuse me Perdoe
What’s your name? Cómo se chama?
My name is Chámome…
It’s a pleasure to meet you Encantado (male) / Encantada (female)
Where are you from? De onde eres?
I am from… Son de… Irlanda (Ireland), Estados Unidos (US)…
Can I have a … beer please? Unha cervexa, por favor?
Could you help me please? Poderíame axudar, por favor?
I’m allergic to… Son alérxico (male) / alérxica (female?
ATM Caixeiro automático
How do I get to…? Cómo podo chegar ata…?
Is it far? Queda lonxe?
Go straight ahead Siga todo recto
Turn left/right Pille á esquerda/ á dereita
I am lost Estou perdido (male) / perdida (female)
Where is the …hospital? post office? bus Onde está … o hospital? Correos? A station? estación de autobus?
ENGLISH PORTUGUESE
I’m looking for… Estou à procura de…
Where is…? Onde é…? (for a place) Onde está…? (for someone)
How much is …? Quanto custa…? Quanto é…?
Where are the toilets? Onde é a casa de banho?
Does anyone here speak English? Alguém fala inglês?
Hello Olá
Good morning Bom dia
Good evening Boa noite
Bye/See you Tchau / Até logo
Please Por favor
Thank you Obrigado
You are welcome De nada
Sorry/Excuse me Desculpe / Com licença
What’s your name? Como é que se chama? Qual é o seu nome?
My name is Meu nome é…
Where are you from? De onde você é?
I am from… Sou de…
Can I have a … beer please? Posso ter uma cerveja, por favor?
Could you help me please? Poderia ajudar me por favor?
I’m allergic to… Sou alérgico/a a…
I’m looking for the… Estou a procura de…
How do I get to…? Como chego ao…..?
Is it far? Fica longe?
Go straight ahead Siga em frente
Turn left Vire à esquerda
Turn right Vire à direita
I am lost Estou perdido/a
Where is the …hospital? post office? Onde é … o Hospital? Correios? Estação bus station? de ônibus?
ENGLISH FRENCH
I’m looking for… Je suis à la recherche de…
Where is…? Ou se trouve…?
How much is…? Combien coute…?
Where are the toilets? Où sont les toilettes?
Does anyone here speak English? Quelqu’un parle Anglais?
Hello/ Good morning Bonjour
Good evening Bonsoir
Bye/See you Au revoir
Please S’il vous plait
Thank you Merci / Merci beaucoup
You are welcome De rien
Sorry/Excuse me Désolé/Excusez-moi
What’s your name? Comment vous appelez-vous?
My name is Je m’appelle
It’s a pleasure to meet you Enchanté
Where are you from? D'où êtes-vous?
I am from… Je viens de…
Can I have a … beer please? Je voudrais… une biere s’il vous plait?
Could you help me please? Pourriez vous m’aider, s’il vous plait?
I’m allergic to… Je suis allergique
ATM Distributeur/Banque
How do I get to…? Comment faire pour aller à…?
Is it far? C’est loin?
Go straight ahead Tour droit
Turn left Tourner a gauche
Turn right Tourner a droite
I am lost Je suis perdu
Where is the …hospital? post office? bus Où se trouve… l'hôpital? La poste? La station? station de bus?
ENGLISH CATALAN
I’m looking for… Estic buscant...
Where is…? On és...
How much is…? Quant costa…
Where are the toilets? On està el bany?
Does anyone here speak English? Algú parla angles?
Hello Hola
Good morning Bon dia
Good evening Bona tarda
Bye/See you Adeu
Please Si us plau
Thank you Gràcies
You are welcome De res
Sorry/Excuse me Perdona
What’s your name? Com et dius
My name is Em dic
It’s a pleasure to meet you Un placer coneixe’t
Where are you from? D’on ets?
I am from… Soc de
Can I have a… beer please? Puc demanar… una cervesa
I’m allergic to… Soc alergic a…
ATM Caixer
How do I get to…? Com arribo a…
Is it far? Està lluny?
Go straight ahead Segueix recte
Turn left Gira a la esquerra
Turn right Gira a la dreta
I am lost Estic perdut
Where is the …hospital? Post office? Bus On es.. l’hospital? Correus? Estacio de station? bus?