Hitchhiking phrasebook

When hitchhiking it is good to know at least a few phrases of the language of the place where you are, or of your potential drivers. See Tips for hitchhiking for more about hitchhiking in general, and List of phrasebooks for more extensive vocabularies. Here are seven key phrases which will come in handy:

1. Hello!
2. Are you possibly driving to ...?
3. Can I ride with you?
4. Can you drop me off at a motorway service area?
5. Can I get out right here?
6. Thanks for the ride!
7. East, West, North, South

Western Europe

German

1. Guten Tag!
2. Fahren Sie vielleicht Richtung ... ?
3. Könnte ich vielleicht bei Ihnen mitfahren?
4. Können Sie mich an der nächsten Tankstelle rauslassen?
5. Kann ich direkt hier raus?
6. Vielen Dank für die Fahrt!
7. Ost, West, Nord, Süd

French

1. Bonjour
2. Est-ce que vous allez vers ... ?
3. Est-ce que je peux venir avec vous ?
4. Est-ce que vous pouvez me laisser à une station-service ?
5. Est-ce je peux descendre ici ?
6. Merci beaucoup !
7. Est, Ouest, Nord, Sud

Dutch

1. Hallo
2. Rijdt u misschien in de richting van ... ?
3. Mag ik misschien met u meerijden?
4. Kunt u me bij het volgende tankstation afzetten?
5. Kan ik er hier uit?
6. Bedankt voor de lift!
7. Oost, West, Noord, Zuid

Northern Europe

Don't bother to try asking in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or Finnish. Almost all local people speak English, and will be confused when you try to speak their language – and if you do speak it at a reasonable level, you won't need this phrasebook.

Eastern Europe

Russian is probably the most important language to learn, many older people speak or at least understand Russian, especially when their mother tongue is a Slavic language. A lot of young people understand at least a bit of English (of course more in the big cities than in the countryside). German could also be very useful (it is [was?] used for the commercial exchanges).

Russian

1. Zdrastvuite! (Здравствуйте!)
2. Vy edete do ...? (Вы едете до ...?)
3. Mozhno poyehat' s vami? (Можно поехать с Вами?)
4. Mozhete vysadit' menya na avtozapravke? (Можете высадить меня на автозаправке?)
5. Mozhno ya vyidu tut? (Можно я выйду тут?)
6. Spasibo, shto podvezli! (Спасибо, что подвезли!)
7. Vostok, zapad, sever, yug (Восток, запад, север, юг)

Central Europe

Czech

1. Dobrý den,
2. Jedete do ...?
3. Můžu se svést s vámi?
4. Můžete mně vysadit na benzínové pumpě?
5. Můžu vystoupit tady?
6. Díky za svezení.
7. Východ, západ, sever, jih

Hungarian

1. Jó napot kívánok!
2. Nem ... felé megy véletlenül?
3. Elmehetnék önnel?
4. Ki tudna tenni az autópálya melletti benzinkútnál?
5. Kiszállhatnék most?
6. Köszönöm a fuvart!
7. kelet, nyugat, észak, dél

Polish

1. Dzień dobry!
2. Czy jedzie pan/pani do...
3. Mogę się zabrać?
4. Może mnie pan/pani wyrzucić koło stacji benzynowej?
5. Mogę tutaj wysiąść?
6. Dzięki za podwiezienie!
7. Wschód, zachód, północ, południe

Slovak

1. Dobrý den!
2. Idete do ...?
3. Môžem ísť s vami?
4. Môžete ma vysadiť na benzínovej pumpe?
5. Môžem tu vystúpiť?
6. Ďakujem za zvezenie.
7. Východ, západ, sever, juh

South-Eastern Europe

Slovenian

Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian

(Croatian)

1. Zdravo! (or Bok!)
2. Vozite li možda prema ...?
3. Mogu li se povesti s vama?
4. Možete li me ostaviti na odmaralištu?
5. Mogu li ovdje izaći?
6. Hvala na vožnji!
7. Istok, Zapad, Sjever, Jug

Bulgarian

1. Zdraveite!
2. Otivate li do ...?
3. Moga li da patuvam s vas?
4. Shte me ostavite li na purvata benzinostancia (= would you drop me off at a first gasstation?)
5. Moga li da sliaza tuk?
6. Blagodaria za patuvaneto!
7. Iztok, Zapad, Sever, Jug

Romanian

1. Bună ziua
2. Mergeţi în / la / spre ...?
3. Mă luaţi şi pe mine?
4. Mă puteţi lăsa la un service / la o benzinărie?
5. Pot să mă dau jos aici?
6. Mulţumesc mult!
7. est, vest, nord, sud

Albanian

1. Përshëndetje!/ Mirdita!
2. A po udhëton për në....?
3. A mund të udhëtoj me ju?/ A mund të udhëtojmë bashkë?
4. A mund të më zbresësh në një zonë servisi pranë autostradës?
5. A mund të zbres këtu?
6. Faleminderit për udhëtimin!
7. Lindje, Perëndim, Veri, Jug

Greek

1. Ya sas!
2. Piyénete pros .. ?
3. Boríte na me párete ?
4. Boríte na me afícete se éna stathmó ston aftokinitódromo?
5. Boró na katévo edó ?
6. Efharistó ya ti diadromí.
7. Anatolí , Dísi, Vorás , Nótos

Turkish

1. Merhaba! (or Selam!)
2. ... tarafına gidiyor musunuz?
3. Beni de bırakabilir misiniz?
4. Beni bir dinlenme tesisinde bırakabilir misiniz?
5. Burada inebilir miyim?
6. Yolculuk için teşekkürler!
7. Doğu, Batı, Kuzey, Güney

Southern Europe/South America/Caribbean

Spanish (Castilian)

1. Hola
2. ¿Quizá está usted viajando a...?
3. ¿Me permite viajar con usted?
4. ¿Me puede dejar en un área de servicios en la autopista?
5. Quiero salir aquí, por favor.
6. ¡Gracias por llevarme!
7. Este, oeste, norte, sur.

Spanish (Puerto Rican)

1. Hola
2. ¿Va para...?
3. ¿Me da pon?
4. ¿Me puede dejar en un área de servicios en la autopista?
5. Déjeme bajarme aquí, por favor.
6. ¡Gracias por llevarme!
7. Este, oeste, norte, sur.

Portuguese

1. Olá
2. Por acaso você está indo para...?
3. Pode me dar uma carona?
4. Você pode me deixar em uma estação de serviços (BR:posto de gasolina)?
5. Posso descer aqui?
6. Obrigado/Obrigada* pela carona!
7. Leste, Oeste, Norte, Sul You may say obrigado if you are male, and obrigada, if female

Italian

1. Ciao/Buongiorno
2. Per caso stai/sta andando a...?
3. Posso viaggiare con te/lei?
4. Puoi/Può lasciarmi in un'area di servizio?
5. Posso scendere qui?
6. Grazie per il passaggio!
7. Est, Ovest, Nord, Sud

Africa

Arabic

1. Marhaba!
2. inta sayig(male)inti saigeh(female)la...?
3. bagdar atlaa' maak(male)maaki(female)?
4. ibtigdar itnazilni(male)ibtigdari itnazleeni end el...?
5. bagdar ana anzal hoona?
6. shukran lal rakbeh!
7. sharq, gharb, shamaal, janoob

Bambara

Peul

Swahili

Afrikaans

Asia

Japanese

Some knowledge of basic Japanese is near-essential to Hitchhiking in Japan.

Manipuri (Meitei)

1. Hello! — "Khurumjari!"
2. Are you possibly driving to ...? — "Nahaak ...da thouriraa?"
3. Can I ride with you? — "Ei nahaak-ka tongminnaba yaagadaraa?"
4. Can you drop me off at a motorway service area? — "Gaari chenba mapham amada eibu thambiramba yaagadaraa?"
5. Can I get out right here? — "Ei mapham asidagi thok-khiba yaagadaraa?"
6. Thanks for the ride! — "Thinbirakpagi thaagatchari!"
7. East, West, North, South — "Nongpok, Nongchup, Awang, Khaa"

Simplified Mandarin Chinese

1. Nǐ hǎo! 你好！
2. Qǐngwèn nǐ qù ... ma? 请问你去...吗？
3. Kěyǐ ràng wǒ dābiànchē ma? 可以让我搭便车吗？
4. Nǐ néng bùnéng bǎ wǒ fàng zài fúwù qū? 你能不能把我放在服务区？
5. Wǒ kěyǐ zài zhèlǐ xià chē ma? 我可以在这里下车吗？
6. Xièxiè nǐ！谢谢你！
7. dōng, xī, běi, nán 东，西，北，南

Traditional Mandarin Chinese

1. Ni hao! 你好！
2. Ni shi bu shi wang ... qu? 你是不是往...去？
3. Ni neng dai wo dao... ma? 你能帶我到...嗎？
4. Ni neng bu neng ba wo fang zai fu wu qu? 你能不能把我放在服務區？
5. Wo ke yi zai zhe li xia che ma? 我可以在這裡下車嗎？
6. Xie xie ni (zai wo zhe yi cheng)! 謝謝你！
7. dong, xi, bei, nan 東,西, 北, 南

Hindi/Urdu

1. Namaste
2. Kya aap ... jaa rahe hai?
3. Kya mei aapke saath chal sakta hoon?
4. Kya aap mujhe 'motorway service area' pe chor sakte hai?
5. Kya main yahin utar sakta hoon?
6. Chorne ke liye dhanyawaad/shukriya.
7. poorab, paschim, uttar, dakshin

Kannada

1. Hello! <br> ನಮಸ್’ಕಾರ :<br> namas'kAra
2. Are you possibly driving to ...? <br> ನೀವು .... ಕಡೆಗೆ ಹೋಗ್ತ’ಇದ್ದೀರ? :<br> nIvu .... kaDege hOgta'iddIra?
3. Can I ride with you? <br> ನಾನೂ ನಿಮ್ಮ್’ ಜೊತೆ ಬರಲ? :<br> nAnU nimm' jote barala?
4. Can you drop me off at a motorway service area? <br> ನೀವು ನನ್ನ್’ಅನ್ನ ’MOTORWAY SERVICE AREA’ದ ಹತ್ರ [ಕರಕೊಂಡ್’ ಹೋಗಿ] ಬಿಡ್ತೀರ? :<br> nIvu nann'anna 'MOTORWAY SERVICE AREA'da hatra [karakoND' hOgi] biDtIra?
5. Can I get out right here? <br> ನಾನು ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಇಳೀತೀನಿ[/ಇಳಿದು ಬಿಡ್ತೀನಿ] :<br> nAnu illE iLItIni[/iLidu biDtIni]
6. Thanks for the ride! <br> ನೀವು ನನ್ನ್’ಅನ್ನ ಇಲ್ಲಿ’ವರೆಗೂ [ಕರಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದು] ಬಿಟ್ಟಿರಿ, ನಿಮ್ಮಿಂದ ಬಹಳ HELP-ಆಯಿತು [/ಉಪಕಾರ’ವಾಯಿತು] :<br> nIvu nann'anna illi'varegU [karakoNDu bandu] biTTiri, nimminda bahaLa HELP-Ayitu [/upakAra'vAyitu]
7. East, West, North, South <br> ಪೂರ್ವ/ಮೂಡಲು, ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ/ಪಡುವಲು, ಉತ್ತರ/ಬಡಗಲು, ದಕ್ಷಿಣ/ತೆಂಕಲು :<br> pUrva/mUDalu, paSchima/paDuvalu, uttara/baDagalu, dakShiNa/tenkalu

Persian

1. Salâm سلام
2. Masir-e shomâ be samt-e .... ast ? مسیر شما به سمت ... است ؟
3. Momken-e man ro beresunid be ... ?
4. Momken-e man ro ta yek jây-gâh-e ta-mirât-e otomobil bebarid ?
5. Bizahmat inja piade misham.
6. Daste shoma dard nakon-e.
7. šarq, qarb, šomâl, jonub

Thai

1. สวัสดี (sa-wat-dii)
2. ขับรถเป็นมั้ย
3. ขอติดรถไปด้วยได้มั้ย
4. ส่งผมลงที่ถนนซุปเปอร์ได้ไหม
5. ผมลงตรงนี้ได้ไหม
6. ขอบคุณที่ขับมาส่ง
7. ตะวันออก (tà-wan ok), ตะวันตก (tà-wan tòk), เหนือ (nǔea), ใต้ (tâi)

Vietnamese

Korean

1. 안녕하세요. (RR) Annyeonghaseyo_._
2. 혹시 ...(으)로 태워다 주실 수 있으세요? (RR) Hoksi ...(eu)ro taewoda jusil su isseuseyo?
3. 같이 타고 갈 수 있어요? (RR) Gachi tago gal su isseoyo?
4. 고속도로 휴게소에서 내려 주실 수 있어요? (RR) Gosokdoro hyugeso-eseo naeryeo jusil su isseoyo?
5. 바로 여기서 내릴 수 있나요? (RR) Baro yeogiseo naeril su innayo?
6. 태워 주셔서 감사합니다. (RR) Taewo jusyeoseo gamsahamnida.
7. 동쪽, 서쪽, 북쪽, 남쪽. (RR) Dongjjok, Seojjok, Bukjjok, Namjjok.

RR: Revised Romanization of Korean.

Hebrew

While driving with young people, using English is more advisable and understood widely. Russian is widely spoken as well. On main inter-city roads there are special stops for hitchhikers, designed for soldiers to hitchhike easily (until the government forbade soldiers from hitchhiking, for safety reasons); use them if possible.

1. Shalom
2. Ata Nosea Be-mikreh Le...?
3. Efshar Linsoa itha/itah (m/f)?
4. Ata yachol le-horid oti betahanat ha-delek hakrova?
5. Efshar La-redet kan, be-vakasha?
6. Toda al Ha-tremp!
7. Mizrah, Maarav, Tzafon, Darom

Bengali

1. Hello!
2. Aapni ki ... jachchen?
3. Ami ki aapnar sathe jete pari?
4. Aapni ki amake ekti motorway service area porjonto egiye dite parben?
5. Ami ki ekhanei namte pari?
6. Amake lift deoyar jonno dhonnobad!
7. Purbo, Paschim, Uttar, Dakhkhin

Filipino

1. Kumusta!
2. Papunta ka ba nang ...?
3. Puwede ba akong makisakay sa'yo?
4. Puwede mo ba akong ibaba sa gasolinahan?
5. Puwede po bang dito na lang ako bumaba?
6. Maraming salamat sa pagpasakay sa akin.
7. Silangan, Kanluran, Hilaga, Timog

Bikol

1. Kumusta!
2. Pasiring ka sa ...?
3. Pwede daw akong makisakay saimo?
4. Pwede mo daw akong ibaba sa gasolinahan?
5. Pwede daw tabì digdi na saná ako bumaba?
6. Dyos mábalos sa pagpalunad sakuyà.
7. Sirangan, Sulnopan, Amihanan, Habagatan

Ilocano

1. Kumusta!
2. Mapanka ngata idiay...?
3. Mabalin makikalugan kenka?
4. Mabalin nga idagasnak iti maysa a paggasolinaan?
5. Mabalin a bumabaak ditoy?
6. Agyamanak iti pannakikalugan!
7. Daya, Laud, Amianan, Abagatan

Cebuano

1. Kumusta!
2. Mobiyahe ka ba pa-...?
3. Puyde ba ko makisakáy?
4. Ihatód ko palihog sa kanaogán.
5. Puyde na ba kong monáog dirí?
6. Salamat sa pagpasakáy.
7. Sidlakán, Kasadpan, Amihanán, Habagatán

Hiligaynon

1. Kumusta!
2. Makadto ka sa...?
3. Sarang ko ka sakay upod sa imo?
4. Sarang mo ko mapapanaog sa alagyan sg salakyan?
5. Sarang ko ka panaog diri?
6. Salamat sa pagpasakay.
7. Nasidlangan, Nakatundan, Norte, Sur.

Akeanon

1. Kumusta ka?
2. Nagapaagto ka sa...?
3. Pwede ako makisakay king?
4. Pwede mo ako ipanaog sa gasolinahan?
5. Pwede ako kaguwa iya?
6. Saeamat gid sa pagpasakay!
7. Sidlangan, Katueondan, Ilawod, Ilaya

Chavacano

Waray

1. Kumusta!
2. Magmamaneho ka pakadto ha ...?
3. Puydi ba nga makisakay ak ha im?
4. Puydi ba nga idul–ong nim ak ha lugar hin gasolinahan?
5. Puydi na ba ak lumusad dinhi?
6. Salamat ha sakay!
7. Sidlangan, Katundan, Amihanan, Habagatnon

Capiznon

Oceania

While all countries speak at least one other language other than English, heavy British and US influence have caused most countries in Oceania to have people able to converse in English. For the French speaking islands of Vanuatu, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis & Futuna see the French section at the top. Easter Island is Spanish-speaking having been incorporated into Chile. However, with that said, hitchhiking is not usually standard in most places in Oceania, and in Australia or New Zealand, it would be considered very foreign.

Depending on the island, fluency in the colonial European language varies and it would be a good idea to learn the basics of the native language of the area. Related: Hitchhiking