Many people have asked us how the language barrier impacted our ability to communicate in Southeast Asia. For the most part, it was easy to get around without knowing the native tongue. Most signs had pictures which didn’t require translations and busting out our pantomime skills helped in most other cases.
While Sean and I learned various phrases throughout our trip, knowing how to say “hello” and “thank you” was most useful.
Here are all the ‘hellos & thank yous’ we learned in Southeast Asia:
Cambodia (Khmer)
hello – jum-reap soo-a
thank you – or-koon
Malaysia (Malaysian)
hello – hello (so simple!)
thank you – terima kasih
Myanmar (Burmese)
hello – mingalaba
thank you – ché zu ba
Thailand (Thai)
hello – sawat-dee khrab (if you are male); sawat-dee kha (if you are female)
thank you – khob khun khrab (if you are male); khob khun kha (if you are female)
***Oh, and don’t forget to smile!!! 🙂
We are sure the mix of pantomine and some phrases of local language helps. And there are still lots of people who are willing to extend a helping hand. Enjoy the journey. Its priceless!
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Love your photography, so can’t wait to head to your Instagram page and check it out. Thanks for following Oh, the Places We See. It’s great to have you traveling with us! Best wishes for always seeing the picturesque in life!
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Thank you! Best wishes to you as well 🙂 Your blog name is amazing, btw!
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