Asia Phrasebook | Travel With Confidence

Roxy has spent 18 years traveling the world in search of meaningful connections. Her key takeaway: even a few words in the local language can change everything - leading to warmer welcomes, deeper connections, more memorable experiences; all while building her confidence.

This book is her personal collection of the most useful, real-world phrases, translated into 42 languages covering every country in Asia.

The guide is organized in a clear, consistent structure, with each chapter mirroring the last. This uniform layout makes it easy to move through the material quickly and confidently. Every chapter is divided into five color-coded categories:

Orange - Greetings
Green - Travel Basics
Yellow - Food and Drink
Turquoise - Days of the week
Blue - Numbers

Each section is arranged into three columns:

English: The first column shows the English phrase
Translation: The second column provides the translated version
Pronunciation: The third column offers a pronunciation guide to help you understand how each phrase sounds.

This book is the first of its kind, created to instill confidence and inspire the traveling community.

Countries and Languages covered in this book:

Afghanistan: Persian (Dari, Farsi), Kyrgyz, Pashto, Turkmen, Uzbek
Armenia: Armenian, Kurdish, Russian
Azerbaijan: Azerbaijani, Georgian, Kurdish, Russian
Bahrain: Arabic
Bangladesh: Bengali
Bhutan: Dzongkha
Brunei: Malay
Cambodia: Khmer
China: Cantonese, Kazakh, Mandarin Chinese, Mongolian
Cyprus: Greek, Turkish
Georgia: Azerbaijani, Georgian, Russian
India: Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Tamil, Urdu
Indonesia: Indonesian, Malay, Mandarin Chinese
Iran: Azerbaijani, Persian (Dari, Farsi), Georgian, Kurdish, Turkmen
Iraq: Arabic, Kurdish
Israel: Hebrew
Japan: Japanese
Jordan: Arabic
Kazakhstan: Kazakh, Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek
Kuwait: Arabic
Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyz, Russian, Uzbek
Laos: Lao
Lebanon: Arabic
Malaysia: Malay, Mandarin Chinese
Maldives: Dhivehi
Mongolia: Kazakh, Mongolian
Myanmar (Burma): Burmese
Nepal: Hindi, Nepali
North Korea: Korean
Oman: Arabic
Pakistan: Persian (Dari), Hindi, Pashto, Punjabi (Shahmukhi), Urdu
Palestine: Arabic
Philippines: Filipino, English
Qatar: Arabic
Russia: Azerbaijani, Georgian, Kazakh, Mongolian, Russian, Ukrainian
Saudi Arabia: Arabic
Singapore: Malay, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil
South Korea: Korean
Sri Lanka: Sinhala, Tamil
Syria: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Kurdish
Taiwan: Mandarin Chinese
Tajikistan: Persian (Dari, Farsi), Kyrgyz, Russian, Uzbek
Thailand: Khmer, Lao, Malay, Thai
Timor-Leste (East Timor): Tetum, Portuguese
Turkey: Azerbaijani, Georgian, Kurdish, Turkish
Turkmenistan: Russian, Turkmen, Uzbek
United Arab Emirates (UAE): Arabic
Uzbekistan: Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian, Turkmen, Uzbek
Vietnam: Khmer, Vietnamese
Yemen: Arabic

How the book works:

Read this quick guide to learn the most efficient way to navigate your new language phrasebook.

The phrasebook is organized in a clear, consistent structure, with each chapter mirroring the last. This uniform layout makes it easy to move through the material quickly and confidently. Every chapter is divided into five color-coded categories:

Orange - Greetings
Green - Travel Basics
Yellow - Food & Dining
Turquoise - Days of the Week
Blue - Numbers

Each category is arranged into three columns:

The first column shows the English phrase
The second column provides the translated phrase
The third column offers a pronunciation guide to help you understand how each phrase sounds

The same set of phrases are translated into each language, with the languages presented in alphabetical order.

To help you get started, take a look at the following tables. Here you will find all of the English phrases which we have translated in this phrasebook in the left-hand column. The right-hand column shows you how to pronounce each English phrase based on the pronunciation system we have used throughout this book. The middle column has been left empty for this exercise.

Take your time to become familiar with the pronunciation table. A strong understanding of these will greatly improve your ability to correctly pronounce each language included in this phrasebook.

You should now understand that the pronunciation column breaks each word into syllables and shows exactly how it sounds. Start by reading each syllable slowly, then gradually increase your pace, blending the sounds together to form the correct pronunciation of each word. Starting slow and building speed is the best way to build your confidence over time.

The following abbreviations are used throughout the phrasebook:

Sg = Singular
Pl = Plural
Inf = Informal
Form = Formal
M = Male or masculine
F = Female or feminine

In addition, we have included a comprehensive list of countries and the language(s) spoken in each, as covered in this book. While it is not possible to include every language, as there are over 7,000 worldwide, we have determined a list of 114 languages that ensures coverage for every country.

The “List of Countries” page is the quickest way to identify which language you may need and explore your available options. Please note that some languages listed are official languages of a country, while others are spoken by a significant portion of the population.

When you navigate to a specific language page, you will also find a list of countries where that language is spoken. The first country or countries shown are those where the language holds official status. If additional countries are listed after the word “also” these indicate places where the language is widely spoken but not officially recognized.

This approach ensures you have clear, reliable language options at your fingertips, giving you the confidence to communicate effectively wherever your travels take you.

For additional pronunciation tips, click here!