# Do you speak ...



## raptor

How do you say "Do you speak [insert your language]?"

Here are some I know to start:

English : Do you speak English?
French : Parlez-vous Français?
German : Sprechen sie Deutsch?
Spanish : ¿Hablas español? [or Dices?]
Latin : Dices lingo Romi? [not sure about this one]

Hopefully this isn't a previous thread!


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## 0stsee

*Indonesian*:
_Kamu_ bisa Bahasa Indonesia?

_Kamu _can be replaced by _kau, loe, anda, bapak, ibu, etc. _Depending on who you're talking to.


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## Setwale_Charm

Russian: Вы говорите по-русски?
Estonian: Kas te räägite eesti keelt?
Latvian: Vai jūs runajat latviski?
Lithuanian:Ar jus kalbate lietuvişkai?
Azeri: Azэrbaycanca danişa bilirsinizmi?
Georgian: tkven saubrobt kartulad?

Chechen: Хьуна нохчийн мотт бийца хаьий?
H`un nokhchi muot bits ha`i?

Irish Gaelic: An bhfuil Gaeilge agat/agaibh(pl)?
Scottish Gaelic: A bheil Gaidhlig agad?

Welsh: Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg?


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## deine

Lithuanian:

_Ar jūs kalbate lietuviškai_?   or just    _Kalbate lietuviškai? _(formal)
_Ar tu kalbi lietuviškai?_    or just    _Kalbi lietuviškai?   _(informal)


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## maggi.82

Hindi : Kya aap Hindi main baat karte hain?


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## Kraus

Italian: parli italiano? (informal), parla italiano? (formal)


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## deine

raptor said:


> How do you say "Do you speak [insert your language]?"
> 
> Here are some I know to start:
> 
> English : Do you speak English?
> French : Parlez-vous Français?
> German : Sprechen sie Deutsch?
> Spanish : ¿Hablas español? [or Dices?]
> Latin : Dices lingo Romi? [not sure about this one]
> 
> Hopefully this isn't a previous thread!


 
Spanish:
_¿Hablas español?_ (informal)
_¿Habla usted español?_  (formal)


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## GEmatt

Swedish: Pratar Du svenska?


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## deine

Setwale_Charm said:


> Russian: Вы говорите по-русски?
> Estonian: Kas te räägite eesti keelt?
> Latvian: Vai jūs runajat latviski?
> Lithuanian:Ar jūs kalbate lietuviškai?
> Azeri: Azэrbaycanca danişa bilirsinizmi?
> Georgian: tkven saubrobt kartulad?


 
Little correction


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## Setwale_Charm

deine said:


> Little correction


 
Thanks Lithuanian is a tough language with regard to orthography and pronunciation.


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## Henryk

GEmatt said:


> Swedish: Pratar Du svenska?



Or: Talar du svenska?



> German : Sprechen sie Deutsch?


Almost. The level of politeness is unbalanced in the translations given by you. 

Formal: Können/Sprechen Sie Deutsch? _(the capitalized "s" in "Sie" is very important, otherwise it means "they")_

Informal: Kannst/Sprichst du Deutsch?

"Können" is much more likely to be used than "sprechen".


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## mimi2

Vietnamese:
Do you speak Vietnamese: Bạn nói được tiếng Việt không?


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## Woland

Romanian *Vorbeşti */(you,singular)*Vorbiţi*(you.plural) *romîneşte?*

Hebrew:
*Ata medaber ivrit?*

*אתה מדבר עברית*​


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## robbie_SWE

Woland said:


> Romanian *Vorbeşti */(you,singular)*Vorbiţi*(you.plural) *romîneşte?*


 
According to the changes made by the Romanian Academy in 1993 the only (!) correct ways of using *î* and *â* are as follows:

*â* in the middle of words (e.g. _când_)

*î* at the beginning (e.g. _începe_) and end of words (e.g. _omorî_)

N.B. the only exceptions is if the word consists of a prefix + a separate word. E.g. _reîncheia_. 

The only correct form would in this case be *româneşte*. 

Best Regards, 

 robbie


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## dn88

*Polish:*

Do you speak Polish? _- Mówisz po polsku?_


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## Setwale_Charm

Clumsily butting in....

Tatar: Sez tatarca soileshesez me?


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## jana.bo99

Slovenian: Ali govoriš Slovensko? (to younger person)
               Ali govorite Slovensko?(older person or somebody, you respect)

Croatian:   Govoriš li hrvatski?
               Govorite li hrvatski? (the same as above)

Like in Spanish: Tu o Usted


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## Joannes

Dutch: *Spreek jij Nederlands?*

(formal: *Spreekt u Nederlands?*)


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## kiyama

Catalan: Parles català?


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## TarisWerewolf

Icelandic: Talarðu íslensku?


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## Setwale_Charm

TarisWerewolf said:


> Icelandic: Talarðu íslensku?


 
Probably, Talar ðu íslensku?


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## raptor

> _¿Hablas español?_ (informal)
> _¿Habla usted español?_ (formal)


 


> Formal: Können/Sprechen Sie Deutsch? (the capitalized "s" in "Sie" is very important, otherwise it means "they")
> Informal: Kannst/Sprichst du Deutsch?
> "Können" is much more likely to be used than "sprechen".


 
Thanks, I wasn't sure of these, I have very little formal language education...

Thanks already for everyones replies!

raptor


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## linguist786

I'm sure we have had this exact same thread before. Infact it was me that made it


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## Setwale_Charm

We do tend to be slightly sclerotic on this forum after a while, linguist.


Portuguese: Fala portugues?


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## raptor

> I'm sure we have had this exact same thread before. Infact it was me that made it


 
I searched before I posted this thread, but didn't find it.
Also, (I just found it), it says "I do not speak ..." not "Do you speak ..."

We don't seem to have very many Asiatic or Middle Eastern languages.  Anyone?



> Kya aap Hindi main baat karte hain?


 
How is this written in the Hindi script?

raptor


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## Setwale_Charm

I will try to post some Asian languages I know for you but I lack fonts to spell those correctly, I can only transliterate:

Lao: Jao paak phaasaa laao dai baw?
Khmer: Niak jeh phiasaa khmer te?
Uzbek: Uzbekcha bili sizmi?
Tadjik: Shumo ba zaboni tojiki gap mezaned?
Qirgiz: Siz kyrgyzcha süylöy süzbü?
Kazakh:Siz kazaksha söyleysiz be? (pronounced: Sz kazaksha soyleysz be)
Nepali: Tapai nepaali bolna saknu hunchha?


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## HistofEng

In *French* it can also be:

_Est-ce que tu parles Français?_



which is similar to *Haitian-Creole*:

_Eske ou pale Kreyól?
_


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## Chazzwozzer

*Turkish: *Türkçe biliyor musunuz?


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## Nizo

In *Esperanto*:  _Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?_


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## TarisWerewolf

Setwale_Charm said:


> Probably, Talar ðu íslensku?



Nope. The second person singular pronoun þú is joined at the end of the verb in interrogative sentences.

Talarðu íslensku?
Hvað heitirðu?
Ertu frá Þýskalandi?

If you separate the pronoun from the verb, it effectively stresses it. So

Talar þú íslensku? = Do _you_ speak Icelandic? (as opposed to another person)


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## Setwale_Charm

Thanks for the clarification, I wasn`t sure.


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## linguist786

maggi.82 said:


> Hindi : Kya aap Hindi main baat karte hain?


 


raptor said:


> How is this written in the Hindi script?
> 
> raptor


What maggi has posted literally means "Do you talk in Hindi?". To simply ask "Do you speak Hindi?", it would be:

क्या आप हिन्दी बोलते हैं? (kyaa aap Hindi bolte haiN?)

*Urdu:*
(same as Hindi, but with Urdu instead)

*كيا آپ اردو بولتے ہيں؟ *(kyaa aap urdu bolte haiN?)

*Gujarati:*

શું તમે ગુજરાતી બોલો છો? (Shu tame gujaraatii bolo Cho?)


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## BlackWizard

Korean: 

한국어 하실 줄 아십니까? (Han-gook-uh hahl-jool ah-ship-nee-kka?)
한국어 할 줄 아세요? (Han-gook-uh hahl-jool ah-seh-yo?)
한국어 할 줄 알아/아니? (Han-gook-uh hahl-jool ahl-ah/ah-nee?)

... top is the most formal, bottom is most informal. The one in the middle is just formal enough to cover just about every situation.


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## Henryk

Setwale_Charm said:


> We do tend to be slightly sclerotic on this forum after a while, linguist.
> 
> 
> Portuguese: Fala portugues?



You forgot the circumflex accent.

Fala Português? (formal in Portugal and both formal and informal in Brazil)
Falas Português? (informal in Portugal)


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## J.F. de TROYES

raptor said:


> How do you say "Do you speak [insert your language]?"
> 
> Here are some I know to start:
> 
> English : Do you speak English?
> French : Parlez-vous Français?
> German : Sprechen sie Deutsch?
> Spanish : ¿Hablas español? [or Dices?]
> Latin : Dices lingo Romi? [not sure about this one]
> 
> Hopefully this isn't a previous thread!


 
Latin : Latine loquerisne ?


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## Maja

Serbian:

Da li pričaš (pričate) / govoriš (govorite) srpski?


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## Pteppic

Norwegian:

Snakker du norsk?

You can also replace "Snakker" with "Kan".


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## J.F. de TROYES

Chinese

*你会不会讲中文 *

*ni3 hui4 bu2 hui4 jiang3 zhong1wen2*


*( "jiang" may be replaced by "shuo1" )*


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## kusurija

I tend to be slightly sclerotic on this forum after a while too (especialy if I came here long time after).
In Czech: (Informal/formal)
Mluvíš/Mluvíte česky? (this is translation word-by-word, it is usual, but not most)
Umíš/Umíte česky? (to translate the verb umět to English precisely is rather difficult: to be familiar with, have perfect experience with, master, [speak fluent])
0/Hovoříte česky? (mluvit and hovořit are synonyms; hovořit is slightly more literal)
In Japanese:
日本語を話せますか。[nihongo/nippongo (w)o hanasemasu ka] (As I'm not native Japanese, repair my mistakes, please)


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## kusurija

Setwale_Charm said:


> Russian: Вы говорите по-русски?
> Estonian: Kas te räägite eesti keelt?
> Latvian: Vai jūs runajat latviski?
> Lithuanian:Ar jus kalbate lietuvişkai?
> Azeri: Azэrbaycanca danişa bilirsinizmi?
> Georgian: tkven saubrobt kartulad?  (What about: "kartulad laparakob?")
> But I don't speak Georgian, so somebody else could comment it...
> 
> Chechen: Хьуна нохчийн мотт бийца хаьий?
> H`un nokhchi muot bits ha`i?
> 
> Irish Gaelic: An bhfuil Gaeilge agat/agaibh(pl)?
> Scottish Gaelic: A bheil Gaidhlig agad?
> 
> Welsh: Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg?


 
Georgian: tkven saubrobt kartulad?  (What about: "kartulad laparakob?")
But I don't speak Georgian, so somebody else could comment it...


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## Tjahzi

I'd just like to add that "du" in "Pratar du svenska?" *shouldn't* be capitalised.


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## jonquiliser

Tjahzi said:


> I'd just like to add that "du" in "Pratar du svenska?" *shouldn't* be capitalised.



You can capitalise it, if you want to be particularly courteous (in writing). It's not that uncommon (though among young people I'd say it's rare)


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## kusurija

In Sorbian-Lusatian: Rěčaće serbsce?


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## Mac_Linguist

Macedonian:

*Зборувате ли македонски?* ("Do you speak Macedonian?" — plural and formal)
*Зборуваш ли македонски?* (singular and informal)


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## bb3ca201

in Gaelic / anns a’ Ghàidhlig
Tha e comasach a ràdh “Am bheil thu (/sibh) a’ bruidhinn Gàidhlig?” ach bidh sinn ag ràdh nas trice “Am bheil Gàidhlig agad (/agaibh)?”
It is possible to say “Am bheil thu (/sibh) a’ bruidhinn Gàidhlig?” but we more often say "Am bheil Gàidhlig agad (/agaibh)?”


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## MinaDidi

Setwale_Charm said:


> I will try to post some Asian languages I know for you but I lack fonts to spell those correctly, I can only transliterate:
> 
> Lao: Jao paak phaasaa laao dai baw?
> Khmer: Niak jeh phiasaa khmer te?
> Uzbek: Uzbekcha bili sizmi?
> Tadjik: Shumo ba zaboni tojiki gap mezaned?
> Qirgiz: Siz kyrgyzcha süylöy süzbü?
> Kazakh:Siz kazaksha söyleysiz be? (pronounced: Sz kazaksha soyleysz be)
> Nepali: Tapai nepaali bolna saknu hunchha?


 
Some help with the Nepali script...

तपाई नेपाली बोल्न सक्नुहुन्छ? (tapaai nepaali bolna saknuhunchha?)

This literally means "Are you able to speak Nepali?" (with a slight twinge of "Are you physically able to speak Nepali?"). I've heard it used in this way before though. I might suggest...

तपाईलाई नेपाली बोल्न आउन्छ? (tapaailaai nepaali bolna aaunchha?)

This literally means "Does speaking Nepali come to you?" but has the meaning of "Do you speak Nepali?"


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## guymelef

literally, "Nakakapagsalita ka ba ng Filipino?"

but normally, someone would ask you "Marunong ka bang mag-Filipino?" or use the term "Tagalog" (also referring to the language), as in "Marunong ka bang mag-Tagalog?". << literally this is "Do you know Filipino (language)?", but basically implies "do you speak...?"

if you're in other parts of the Philippines, you'll be experiencing a whole lot more, as there are several dialects spoken in the country, here're some that I know (please correct me if i'm wrong)...

if you're in Cebu, Philippines: "Kabalo/Kamao ka mag-Cebuano/Bisaya?"
if in Iloilo/Bacolod: "Kabalo ka mag-Ilonggo/Hiligaynon?"
if in Leyte or Samar: "Ma-aram ka mag-Waray?"
if in Antique: "Kama-an 'kaw mag-Kinaray-a?"


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## chriskardos

Hungarian:
Do you speak Hungarian? - Beszél Ön magyarúl? (formal)
Do you speak Hungarian? - Beszélsz Magyarúl? (informal)


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## Encolpius

chriskardos said:


> Hungarian:
> Do you speak Hungarian? - Beszél Ön magyarúl? (formal)
> Do you speak Hungarian? - Beszélsz Magyarúl? (informal)


 
Beszél magyarul? (formal)
Beszélsz magyarul? (informal)


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## bb3ca201

Setwale_Charm said:


> Russian: Вы говорите по-русски?
> Estonian: Kas te räägite eesti keelt?
> Latvian: Vai jūs runajat latviski?
> Lithuanian:Ar jus kalbate lietuvişkai?
> Azeri: Azэrbaycanca danişa bilirsinizmi?
> Georgian: tkven saubrobt kartulad?
> 
> Chechen: Хьуна нохчийн мотт бийца хаьий?
> H`un nokhchi muot bits ha`i?
> 
> Irish Gaelic: An bhfuil Gaeilge agat/agaibh(pl)?
> Scottish Gaelic: A bheil Gaidhlig agad?
> 
> Welsh: Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg?


 
In regard to the Scottish Gaelic translation (it's fine), just remember you can use the formal "sibh" as well: Am bheil Gaidhlig agaibh (which you can emphasize by adding "se", making it "agaibhse")


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## mcibor

dn88 said:


> *Polish:*
> 
> Do you speak Polish? _- Mówisz po polsku?_



This is informal, to ask somebody on the street you need to know gender and amount of people you are speaking to:

You can start question with Czy (Est-ce in French, there's no English word) or without.

Czy mówi Pan po polsku? - to one man
Czy mówi Pani po polsku? - to one lady
Czy mówią Panowie po polsku - to more men
Czy mówią Panie po polsku - to more ladies
Czy mówią Państwo po polsku - to group consisting of at least one man


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## walterhartmann

guymelef said:


> if you're in other parts of the Philippines, you'll be experiencing a whole lot more, as there are several dialects spoken in the country, here're some that I know (please correct me if i'm wrong)...
> 
> if you're in Cebu, Philippines: "Kabalo/Kamao ka mag-Cebuano/Bisaya?"
> if in Iloilo/Bacolod: "Kabalo ka mag-Ilonggo/Hiligaynon?"
> if in Leyte or Samar: "Ma-aram ka mag-Waray?"
> if in Antique: "Kama-an 'kaw mag-Kinaray-a?"



These are not dialects. They're languages. Dialects are variations of a language, for example: _Tagalog ng Bulacan_ and _Tagalog ng Batangas_ are dialects of the language Tagalog.


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## elroy

Arabic:

ٍStandard: هل تتكلم/تتكلمين العربية؟ (_hal tatakallamu [m.]/tatakallamiina [f.] 'l-`arabiyyata?_)
Spoken Palestinian: بتحكي عربي؟ (_btiHki `arabi?_)


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## chifladoporlosidiomas

Haitian Kreyol: Apa/Eske ou pale Kreyol ye? Sorry I can't find the accent marks. KOREAN: Hangugeo-reul mal-hashimnikka? or Hangugeo'l mal-hae? TAGALOG: Sinasalita po ninyo ang Tagalog?<really formal> also used as plural without 'po'. Sinasalita mo ba ang Tagalog? <less formal> Portuguese: Fala voce portugues? <informal> E que o senhor/a senhora fala portugues? <very formal> Sorry no accent marks!


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## Polak2008

Czy muwi Pani/Pan po polsku?
Polish (polite form). pani = female pan = male


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## walterhartmann

chifladoporlosidiomas said:


> TAGALOG: Sinasalita po ninyo ang Tagalog?<really formal> also used as plural without 'po'. Sinasalita mo ba ang Tagalog?



It's grammatically correct, but you won't hear anyone say that. It sounds weird. Better: Marunong ka bang magtagalog? or Nagtatagalog ka ba?


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## mcibor

Polak2008 said:


> Czy mówi Pani/Pan po polsku?
> Polish (polite form). Pani = female, Pan = male



Small orthographic correction


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## jartesm

Galego: ¿Falas galego?


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## ateaofimdomar

Greek:
Μιλάς ελληνικά; (Milás elliniká?) - Informal, to one person
Μιλάτε ελληνικά; (Miláte elliniká?) - Formal, either to one person or to more than one persons.


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## Kanes

говориш ли Български - govorish li B'lgarski
говорите ли Български - govorite li B'lgarski - formal/plural


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## ramzi adico

هل تتكلم العربية ؟


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## vindy

Chinese:您(formal)or 你（informal)会说中文吗？


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