A collection of useful phrases in Latin (LINGVA LATINA), an Italic language that was spoken throughout the western Roman Empire until 480 AD. That continued to be used as a language of international communication, scholarship, science and the Roman Catholic Church until the 18th century, and remains the official language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.
See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.
Key to abbreviations: frm = formal, inf = informal, sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person), >m = said to males, >f = said to females
| English | LINGVA LATINA (Latin) |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Salve |
| Hello (General greeting) | Heus (inf) Ave Salve (sg) Salvete (pl) |
| How are you? | Quomodo vales? Quid agis? (sg) Quid agitis? (pl) Quid res tecum sunt? Esne salvus/salva? |
| Reply to 'How are you?' | Valeo (sg) Valemus (pl) |
| Long time no see | Quantum tempus! |
| What's your name? | Quid est nomen tibi? |
| My name is ... | Nomen mihi est ... |
| Where are you from? | Unde es? |
| I'm from ... | ... sum |
| Pleased to meet you | Libens sum Mihi placet Placet |
| Good morning (Morning greeting) |
Quid agis mane? |
| Good evening (Evening greeting) |
Bonum Vesper! |
| Good night | Bona Noctem Bonum Noctem |
| Goodbye (Parting phrases) |
Vale (sg) Aveto (sg) Valete (pl) Avetote (pl) |
| Good luck! | Bona Fortunam! Bone Fortunam! |
| Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) |
Bona sanitatem! Bonum sanitatem! Bone Sanitatem! Bene tibi! |
| Have a nice day | Die dulci fruimini |
| Bon appetit / Have a nice meal |
Bene sapiat! Bona appetitionem! Bone appetition! |
| Bon voyage / Have a good journey |
Bonum cursum! |
| Do you understand? | Intellegisne? (neutral expectation) Intellegistisne? (pl) Intellegis nonne? (positive expectation) Intellegistis nonne? (pl) Intellegis num? (negative expectation) Intellegistis num? (pl) Scisne? Scistisne? Scis nonne? Scistis nonne? Scis num? Scistis num? |
| I understand | Intellego |
| I don't understand | Nullo intellego Nescio |
| Yes | Vero (true) Ita (So, True) Ita Vero (Certainly) Ita Est (It Is So, True) Etiam (Even So) Sane (Surely, No Doubt) Sane Quidem (Yes, No Doubt) Certe (Certainly, Unquestionably) Factum (True, It's A Fact, You're Right) |
| No | Non (not so, no) Non intellego (I don't understand.) Nullo modo (by no means) Minime (not at all, 'in the smallest degree') Minime vero (no, not by any means) Non quidem (certainly not) Non hercle vero (certainly not, by Hercules!) |
| Maybe | Forte Fortasse |
| I don't know | Non intellegio Non scio |
| Please speak more slowly | Sodes, loquere paulo lentius |
| Please say that again | Dic iterum sivis Iterum dicere potes? |
| Please write it down | Sodes, id scribes? |
| Do you speak English? | Dicesne Anglus? (sg) Dicestisne Anglus? (pl) |
| Do you speak Latin? | Loquerisne Latine? Loquerisne linguam latinam? |
| Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?') |
Sic, paululum linguae Latinae dico |
| I'm learning Latin | linguam Latīnam discō linguae Latīnae studeō |
| Do you speak a language other than Latin? |
Dicesne linguam praeter Latinam? (>f) Dicesne linguam preater Latinum? (>m) |
| Speak to me in Latin | Place dices mihi Latine |
| How do you say ... in Latin? | Quomodo ... Latine dicas? |
| Excuse me | Me excusa (sg) Me excusate (pl) |
| How much is this? | Quanti constat? |
| Sorry | Ignosce mihi! |
| Please | Amābō tē |
| Thank you | Gratias tibi ago (inf) Gratias vobis ago (frm/pl) Multas gratias vobis ago |
| Reply to thank you | Precare (sg) Precamini (pl) |
| Where's the toilet / bathroom? | Ubi sunt latrinae? Ubi sunt loca secreta? Ubi est conclave necessarium? Ubi est balneum? |
| This gentleman will pay for everything | Hic dominus toto pendet |
| This lady will pay for everything | Haec domina toto pendet |
| Do you come here often? | Venisne hac saepe? (sg) Venistisne hac saepe? (pl) |
| Would you like to dance with me? | Mecum ballare vis? |
| I miss you | Te desum ("You I am without") |
| I love you | Te amo |
| Get well soon | Convalescas ex aegroto mox |
| Go away! | Cede! (sg) Cedite! (pl) |
| Leave me alone! | Abi! (sg) Abite! (pl) |
| Help! | Adiuva! (sg) Adiuvate! (pl) |
| Fire! | Ignis! |
| Stop! | Siste! (sg) Sistete! (pl) |
| Call the police! | Denuntiatores voca! (sg) Denuntiatores vocate! (pl) |
| Christmas greetings | Natale hilare |
| New Year greetings | Annum faustum |
| Easter greetings | Prospera Pascha sit |
| Birthday greetings | Felix dies natalis Felix sit natalis dies |
| Congratulations! | Gratulationes! |
| One language is never enough | Una lingua numquam satis est |
| My hovercraft is full of eels | Mea navis volitans anguillis plena est Navis volitans mihi anguillis plena est |
| I wish you well | Tibi bene volo |
| Let the good times roll! | Bona tempora volvant! |
Hear some Latin phrases:
There are no exact equivalents of Yes or No. Instead, you just repeat the verb. For example, if someone asks you "Intellegisne?" (Do you understand?), the positive reply is "Intellego" (I understand), and the negative is "Non intellego" (I don't understand). The translations shown here for these words are other ways to answer questions.
Recordings by Phil Stamato. Corrections and additions by Phil Stamato, Bill Darlington and Monique Finley
Download all the sound files (Zip, 840K)
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Latin alphabet | Latin language | Phrases | Numbers | Time | Tower of Babel | Articles | Links | Learning materials
Latin language resources on Amazon
Collections of Latin phrases
http://www.byzantinecommunications.com/adamhoward/latincomm.html
http://www.yuni.com/library/latin.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases
http://latin-phrases.co.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A218882
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