In coming to Buenos Aires, Argentina for two weeks I broke my first rule of foreign travel: learn just a little bit of the language. I have not devoted as much time as I like to my Italian studies in recent months and truly, in learning some Spanish phrases, I worried that I might lose too much of the beloved Italian I’ve worked hard to acquire.

However, something fun and unexpected has happened down here in the Southern Hemisphere. I am picking up the tiniest bit of Spanish by remembering their translations in Italian rather than in English.

Why would that be? It wasn’t deliberate, it just happened. One evening, someone posed the one-word question to me, “cansada?” (tired?) and into my memory flashed a similar late-night evening in Italy, a few years back and after a long day of travel, when my “auntie” asked me the same thing, “stanca?” Both times the answers were, naturalmente, “si`.

Here’s a list of the words I’ve collected, in Spanish and in Italian. I’ll bet you know lots of these words too — test your brain! Trovi le risposte inglesi in fondo. Buon divertimento! (Find the English responses below! Have fun!)   

1. Hola = ciao
2. Chau = ciao
3. Buenos dias = buongiorno
4. Que tal = come va
5. Como estas = come sta
6. Bien e vos = sto bene e te
7. Todo bien = tutto bene
8. Cansado = stanco
9. Hasta manana = a domani
10. Hasta luego = a dopo
11. Por favor = per favore
12. Gracias = grazie
13. De nada= prego/di niente
14. Perdon = mi dispiace/scuzami
15. Permesso = permesso/scuzami
16. Dale/vale = va bene
17. Claro = capito
18. La cuenta = il conto
19. Camarero = cameriere
20. Donde = dove
21. Calle = via
22. Cuanto cuesta = quanto costa
23. Ciudad = citta`
24. Collectivo = l’autobus
25. Che lindo = che bello (my personal favorite!)

Answers:

1. hello; hi/bye
2. hello
3. good morning
4. how’s it going
5. how are you
6. fine and you
7. all’s well
8. tired
9. see you tomorrow
10. see you later
11. please
12. thank you
13. you’re welcome/it’s nothing
14. I’m sorry/excuse me
15. excuse me (permesso is used in situations when you are trying to pass by someone, as in a crowded elevator)
16. ok/got it
17. it’s clear/I understand
18. the check/bill (in a restaurant)
19. waiter
20. where
21. street
22. how much does it cost
23. city
24. bus
25. how beautiful!

Please note: Spanish spellings may be missing punctuation so please double check! This post first appeared on Prayers and Piazzas.