Ladino phrasebook
Ladino (גֿודֿיאו-איספאנייול / judeo-español / Ђудео-Еспањол in the Hebrew, Latin and Cyrillic scripts) is a Romance language spoken by the Sephardic Jews.
It is also spoken by minor Jewish communities in Turkey, Israel, the Netherlands, Greece, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For most of its speakers, today, Ladino is the second language.
A Western Romance language, Ladino is closely related to and mutually intelligible with Spanish. However, there are many loan words from Hebrew, Portuguese, Arabic, and Turkish.
Pronunciation guide
Ladino spelling, like Spanish, has the pleasant characteristic of being very phonetic, with only a few clearly-defined exceptions. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it's relatively easy to sound out the word itself.
Vowels
- a
- like 'a' in "father".
- e
- like 'e' in "met", although often taught as 'a' in "spain".
- i
- like 'ee' in "see".
- o
- like 'o' in "score", especially when stressed.
- u
- like 'oo' in "hoop".
- y
- like 'ee' in "see". Very rarely used at the middle or ending of words.
Consonants
- b
- like 'b' in "bed"
- c
- 'c' is solely used in combination as 'ch'.
- ch
- like 'ch' in "touch": muncho
- d
- like 'd' in "dog"
- dj
- like 'j' in John. Djudezmo
- f
- like 'f' in "fine": faro
- g
- like 'g' in "good": ganyar
- h
- like 'h' in "hit": haham
- j
- like 's' in the "pleasure":judyo
- k
- like 'k' in "kid": kilo
- l
- like 'l' in "love": malo
- m
- like 'm' in "mother": mano
- n
- like 'n' in "nice": noche, ancla
- p
- like 'p' in "pig": Pesah
- r
- is pronounced as 'r' in Spanish: persona
- s
- like 'ss' in "hiss": sopa
- sh
- like 'sh' in "shining": yanashear
- t
- like 't' in "top": Tora
- v
- like 'v' in "valid": bever
- y
- like 'y' in "yes": yuvyar.
- z
- like 'z' in "zoo"
Phrase list
Basics
- Hello/Hi
- Shalom (Shah-lom)
- How are you? (informal)
- Ke haber? (KEH HA-bear)
- How are you? (formal)
- Komo estash? (KOH-mo ehs-TASH?)
- Very well, thank you
- Muy byen, grasyas. (MOOEY BYEHN, GRAH-syahs)
- What is your name? (informal)
- Komo te yamas? (KOH-moh TEH YAH-mahs?)
- What is your name? (formal)
- Komo vos yamash? (KOH-moh VOS YAH-mash)
- Who are you? (informal)
- Ken [eres/sos]? (KEN EH-rehs?)
- My name is ______
- Me yamo ______ (MEH YAH-moh _____ )
- I am ______
- Yo so ______ (YO SO ______)
- Nice to meet you
- Enkantado/a (ehn-kahn-TAH-doh/ehn-kahn-TAH-dah)
- It's a pleasure to meet you
- Muncho plazer. (MOON-choh plah-zehr)
- Please
- Por favor (POHR fah-vOHR)
- Thank you
- Grasyas (GRAH-syahs)
- You're welcome
- De nada (DEH NAH-dhah)
- Yes
- Si (SEE)
- No
- No (NOH)
- Excuse me! (begging pardon)
- [Pardon/Perdon]! (pahr-DOHN/per-DOHN)
- I'm sorry
- Lo syento (LOH SYEHN-toh)
- Goodbye
- Adyo (ah-DYOH)
- I can't speak Ladino (well)
- No (f)avlo (byen) ladino. (NOH (F)AV-loh (BYEHN) la-dee-noh)
- Do you speak English? (informal)
- (F)Avlas inglez? ((F)AH-vlahs een-GLEHZ?)
- Do you speak English? (formal)
- (F)Avlates inglez? ((F)AH-blah-tes oos-TEHD een-GLEHZ?)
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- Ay alguno ke (f)avla inglez? (I AHL-goo-noh KEH (F)AH-Vlah een-GLEHZ?)
- Help!
- Ayuda! (ah-YOO-dah!)
- Good morning
- Buenos diyas (BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs)
- Good afternoon / Good evening
- Buenas tardes (BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs)
- Good evening / Good night
- Buenas noches (BWEH-nahss NOH-chehss)
- I don't understand
- No entyendo (NOH ehn-TYEHN-doh)
- Where is the toilet?
- Ande esta el banyo? (AHN-deh ehss-TAH EHL BAH-nyoh?)
Problems
- Leave me alone.
- Deshame en paz. (DEH-shah-meh ehn PAHS)
- Don't touch me!
- No me tokes! (noh meh TOH-kehs!)
- Police!
- Polis! (poh-lees!)
Numbers
½ - medio
0 - zero
1 - uno
2 - dos
3 - trez
4 - kuatro
5 - sinko
6 - sesh
7 - syete
8 - ocho
9 - mueve
10 - dyez