Are you trying to learn a new language, but you struggle to communicate? You hesitate to speak in front of people because you can’t form complete sentences. You don’t know the words for things that come up in conversation, so you give up and switch to English.
There are so many words you don’t know. You might wonder if you should stop mid-sentence and look up words on your phone every time you get stuck. I understand your challenge. I have been where you are.
Forget about speaking sentences and holding a conversation; it becomes impossible to understand what the other person is saying. A limited vocabulary in a foreign language you are trying to learn is a challenge everyone goes through. You are not alone.
If you have lived in a foreign country as I have, you will notice that native people face a similar challenge with English as you do with your target language (French, in my case). Other people understand your struggle because they share it too. They can help you if you let them.
I found the French people were super helpful because they could see I was genuinely trying to learn their language, immerse in their culture, and assimilate. In this article, I am sharing a language-learning tip that will save you a lot of time and effort while minimizing the need to interrupt conversations to look up words. Here goes!
When conversing in your target language with someone fluent, and you don’t know a translation for a word, just ask them, “How do you say _______ in [your target language]?”
Knowing how to say the sentence “How do you say X?” is one of the first things you should learn when learning a foreign language. You will use this sentence more often than you can imagine. I found, as you will that knowing this comes in handy.
Using this tactic is much faster than pulling up Google Translate on your phone, typing the word, and then continuing to speak. While you do all that, the other person watches you struggle amid awkward silence. It is much easier to ask your conversation partner to fill in the blank.
The reverse is also true. If you don’t understand something the other person says, you can politely interrupt them and ask them how to say a particular word in English. In my experience, it’s much harder to do all this when you are in a group conversation with a bunch of people, but it works wonders in small groups and private conversations.
By now, you may wonder if you should interrupt the other person in such a manner. It may feel uncomfortable at first if you are naturally hesitant like me. I didn’t want to interrupt anyone initially. I would just let things go and pretend I understood everything. But in the long run, it is better for your progress if you overcome your tendency.
Here’s how? First, as I mentioned before, you must realize that people understand your struggle more than you think. Second and more importantly, it is one moment of discomfort for you, which will be over soon. Once you move past it, you will have learned a new word and follow the rest of the conversation much better. Now, that’s worth it, IMO.
| Language | How do you say X in [Language]? | The word for English |
| French | Comment dit-on X en français? | Anglais |
| Spanish | ¿Cómo se dice X en español? | Inglés |
| Italian | Come si dice X in italiano? | Inglese |
| German | Wie sagt man X auf Deutsch? | Englisch |
| Portuguese | Como se diz X em português? | Inglês |
| Dutch | Hoe zeg je X in het Nederlands? | Engels |
| Japanese | X wa nihongo de nantoiu?(Xは日本語で何と言う？) | Eigo英語 |
| Chinese (simplified) | X zhège zài zhōngwén lǐ zěnme shuō?(X 这个在 中文 里怎么说?) | Yīngyǔ英语 |
| Korean | Xleul hangug-eolo mwolago habnikka?(X를 한국어로 뭐라고 합니까?) | Yeong-eo영어 |
| Russian | Kak skazat’ KH po-russki? (Как сказать Х по-русски?) | AngliyskiyАнглийский |
| Arabic | kayf taqul “s” bialruwsiati?(كيف تقول X باللغة العربية؟) | ‘Iinjiliziunإنجليزي |
| Hindi | eks ko hindee mein kya kahate hain?(एक्स को हिंदी में क्या कहते हैं?) | Angrezeeअंग्रेज़ी |
Now you know how to ask for word translations in 12 languages. Just replace the term for X with the word whose meaning you want to know and your conversation will continue smoothly. If you want to know what a particular word means in English just replace the language with a translation for English from the second column.
This will take some practice particularly if you are not familiar with the script of your target language, but you should be able to get the hang of this. This is simpler than you might feel right now. You will see the difference soon if you incorporate this technique when learning a foreign language.
Let me conclude by saying that the more you speak your target language, the more progress you will make. Using the technique described in this article will help you avoid frustration, maintain motivation, and help you take small steps in building your vocabulary.
Happy language learning!