How to Say "Where Is the Bathroom" in Several Different Languages

How to Say "Where is the Bathroom?" When Traveling in North America

Know the primary languages that are spoken at your destination. For example, if you are in Quebec, you will need to know some basic French.

Practice speaking the following translations for "Where is the Bathroom?" before leaving for your trip to a North American country: English (American) = Excuse me, where is the bathroom? French = pardon, où sont les toilettes? (pahr-DAW, oo saw lay twah-LETT?) Papiamento (Caribbean Islands) = Unda e baño ta? (pronounced: Uhn-dah eh ban-yo tah?) Spanish = Perdone/Disculpe, ¿Dónde está el baño?(Formal) (Per-DON-eh, DOHN-deh es-TAH el BAHN-yo?)

How to Say "Where is the Bathroom?" in Central or South America

Prepare by finding out which languages are spoken in the countries that you will visit. In South America, most countries speak Spanish, although in Brazil, Portuguese is the primary language.

Study these translations before you leave for your trip to South America: Esperanto = Pardonon, kie estas la banejo? (par-DOH-nohn, KEY-eh ESS-tahs la bahn-EY-yo?) Portuguese = Com licença, onde fica o banheiro? (com lee-SAY-nsa, OHN-jee FEE-cah oo bah-YAY-roo?) Spanish = Perdone/Disculpe, ¿Dónde está el baño?(Formal) (Per-DON-eh, DOHN-deh es-TAH el BAHN-yo?)

How to Ask "Where is the Bathroom?" in Europe

Prepare to encounter a wide variety of spoken languages. For a Europe trip, you may want to write down the translations for "Where is the Bathroom?" in a notebook and carry your notebook with you.

Use these translations to ask for directions to the bathroom: Austrian = "WC, Bitte?" (Vay-say, bit-ay?) which means "water closet, please?" Bulgarian = Къде е банята? ("Kade e banyata?") Croatian= Oprostite, gdje je kupaonica? (j is pronounced y) Czech = Prosim Vas, Kde jsou toalety? Danish = Undskyld mig, hvor er badeværelset/toilettet? (oon-skool-MYE, voa eh bay-the-VAY-rell-seh / TOY-lett-eh?) Dutch = Pardon, waar is de W.C. ("way say")? English (British) = Excuse me, where is the toilet/loo/lavatory? Esperanto = Pardonon, kie estas la banejo? (par-DOH-nohn, KEY-eh ESS-tahs la bahn-EY-yo?) Estonian = Vabandage, kus on tualett? French = pardon, où sont les toilettes? (pahr-DAW, oo saw lay twah-LETT?) Gaelic (Irish) = Ca bhfuil an leithreas? German = Wo ist die Toilette, bitte? (Vo ist dee toy-LETT-uh, BIT-uh?) Greek = Parakalo, pou ine i tualetta? (Πού είναι η τουαλέτα;) Hungarian= Elnézést, hol (van) a vécé? [Ell-ney-zey-sht, hole vawn aw vay-tsay?] Icelandic = Hvar er salernið / klósettið? (Kvar er sal-erdnith / clow-set-ith? pronounce 'th' like in 'them') Italian = Mi scusi, dov'è il bagno? Latvian = Atvainojiet (sorry), kur ir tualete (Where is bathroom? Lithuanian = Atsiprašau (excuse me), kur yra tualetas? Maltese = Fejn qiegђed it-toilet? [Fe-in qee-ed it toilet] Neapolitan (Southwestern Italy) = scusat', arò stà 'o cesso? Norwegian = Unnskyld meg,(pronounced oon-shyl) hvor er doen/toalettet (No pronunciation of the 't' at the end of toalette't', doen is slang said: doo-uhn) ? Polish = Przepraszam, gdzie jest toaleta? Portuguese = Por favor, onde é a casa-de-banho? Romanian = Unde este toaleta, vă rog? (Oon-day yehs-tay twa-letta, vah rog?) Russian = скажите пожалуйста, где туалет? (Skazhite pozhalusta, gde toalet?) listen Serbian = Izvinite, gde je kupatilo? Sinhalese(Sri Lankan) = Naana kaamaraya koheda? Slovak = Prosím vás, kde sú toalety? Slovene = Oprostite, kje je kopalnica/stranišče? (Kopalnica = bathroom, stranišče = toilet/rest room) Swedish = Ursäkta mig (excuse me), var finns toaletten? (uhr-SHEHK-ta mey, var fins toa-letten?) Spanish (Catalan) = On és el lavabo? Ukrainian = Вибачте, де туалет? (Vybachte, de tualet?) Welsh = Ble mae`r ty bach? (bleh MY-r Tee bach?)

How to Ask "Where is the Bathroom?" in Africa

Memorize how to say "Where is the Bathroom?" in Arabic, English, French and Portuguese. Many Africans speak these languages in addition to their native languages.

Try these translations depending on your location in Africa: Afrikaans (Namibia) = Waar is die badkamer? ("Vaar is dee bat-kah-mer?") Amharic (Ethiopia) = Metatebiya bet yet new? Arabic (North Africa) = Men Fadlak, Fen El Hammam (من فضلك ، فين الحمام؟) English (American) = Excuse me, where is the bathroom? English (British) = Excuse me, where is the toilet/lou/lavatory? French = pardon, où sont les toilettes? (pahr-DAW, oo saw lay twah-LETT?) Hausa (Nigeria) = Don Allah, Ina banɗaki Yake or barka dai, ina banɗaki yake Luna (Congo) = Apresa ez nê pontate? Portuguese = Por favor, onde é a casa-de-banho? Rwandan = AhHo KweetOoMah Nee Hay? (Aho kwituma ni he?) Senegalese= fun moy douche bee? Sesotho (Lesotho) = Ntloaneng ke kae? Somali = Aaway musqusha? Swahili (Kenya) = Ambapo ni bafuni? Tigrigna (Eritrea) = Abey Alo Shnti Bet?

Learn to Say "Where is the Bathroom?" in the Asia-Pacific

Know the language of your area. This is especially important when you're traveling in Chinese-speaking areas.

Say "Where is the bathroom?" in these languages: Chinese (Cantonese) = Mmm-goy, tee-saw hai been-doh-ah? (Translit. Excuse me, where is the washroom?) Chinese (Mandarin) = "Duì bù qǐ, cèsuǒ zài nǎr?" (written: "对不起，厕所在哪儿？) ("cèsuǒ" = "toilet" or "bathroom", and "duì bù qǐ" = "sorry" or "excuse me", so the literal translation is "Excuse me, toilet be where?") The "c" is pronounced like a combination of "t", "s", and "z" in the front of the mouth, and "q" is pronounced like "ch" in the front of the mouth. Remember the tones. Hmong (= honm naj nyob qhov twb os? Indonesian = Permisi, di mana kamar mandi? Japanese = Toire wa, doko? [to-ee-le wa do-ko?] (Add 'desu ka?' after 'doko' for politeness.)(To be even more polite, say "otearai wa doko desu ka?". This is "Where is the restroom?". It is said as [oh-tay-ah-rye wa doe-koh dess kah]. Here is the phrase written in Hiragana [おてあらいはどこですか？]) Korean = Hwa-jang-shil uh-dee-in-ga-yo? Malay = Tumpang tanya, di manakah bilik mandi? Mongolian = Uuchlaarai('ʊ:tʃ|ɑ:ræ ), ene (N)ugaalgiin (u-GAWL-GEEN)oroo (o-ROW)ni (N) haana (HUN) baidag (bæ-dag) yum be? Niuean (Pacific Islands) = ko fe e' fale vau? (pronounced ko-feh eh fa-le vau) Portuguese = Por favor, onde é a casa-de-banho? Samoan = E, 'O fea le faleuila? (Ay, Oh fay-ah lay fah-lay-wee-lah?) Tagalog (Philippines) = Nasaan po ang banyo? Thai = hong naam yuu tii nai Tibetan = chap sang gawa yo rey? Vietnamese = Cho hoi, nha` ve^. sinh o da^u va^.y ?