Words to Know

Now that I have been in Uruguay for 4 months I thought I would make a list of the words that I feel like you should know when you are here. To begin with, I will separate them into several lists.

Note: The pronunciations in [] below are "close" to how the words sound, but not all are exact. You will hear other people say these words and get the hang of it quickly.

Survival: - These words/phrases helped me not die and actually communicate quite well :)
Help - Ayuda[ah-shoe-da] 
Food - Comida [co-me-tha]
Water - Agua [ah-gua]
House - Casa [ka-sa]
Bathroom - banjo [bon-yo]
Bus - omnibus [om-knee-boos]
Please - Por favor [poor - faaavor]
Thank you - Gracias [gra - c - us]
No - No [no]
Yes - Sí [c] (With the accent. Without the accent it means "if")
How much does it cost? - Cuanto cuesta [quant - o quest - a]
Write - Escribe [s-kree-bay poor - fah-vor](This is very good to know when you are trying to figure out what to pay and you have no idea what "dos mil trescientos cuarto ocho" is, but if they write 2348 then there is no problem)
You - Tu [2]
I - Yo [show]
My - [me]
No Spanish - No espanol [no s-pan-yol] (this really doesn't mean anything, but they will understand that you don't speak Spanish)
Name - nombre [nom-bray]
Number - numero [new - ma - row]
Is - es [s]
For - por [poor]
Where - Dónde [dun-de]

Here are some things you can say just using your survival words. Now realize that what you are saying will sound silly and will not be grammatically correct, but people will understand and help you.

Ayuada mi! (If you are in trouble) Help me
Donde es omnibus? Where is bus?
Donde es banjo? Where is bathroom?
Mi casa por favor? My house please. (Enter a taxi say "my house please" and tell them your address.)
Mi nombre es _____. My name is ____.
Agua por favor. Water please.
Mi numero es 888-254-7706. My number is (Give your phone number to someone)
Tu nombre? You name? (You need to say it like it is a question)
Cuanto cuesta por omnibus? How much does it cost for bus?
Comida por favor. Food please.
Cuanto cuesta por comida? How much does it cost for food?
Donde es comeda? Where is food?
Es por mi? Is for me?
Donde es tu casa ? Where is your house?
Escribe por favor. Write, please?
Donde es omnibus por (enter city name here). Donde es omnibus por Punta del Este.

Try and see how many combinations you can make with these few words. And when you learn new words you just replace them in sentences you already know. For instance, you learn the word "pan" = "bread".
Aqua por favor. Water please.
Pan por favor. Bread please.


Caveman (you will sound like a caveman, but it makes life easier):
Where is xxx? - ¿Dónde está xxx? [dun-de s-ta] (We don't have the sound "Dón" in English, but it is similar to "dun". It is a sound between "don" and "dun" ;) )
I need to xxx? -  Necesito xxx? [nes-se-cito]
Do you have xxx? - ¿Tienes xxx? [tea-n-s]
This -Esta (good for pointing at things) [s-ta]
That - Ese (good for pointing at things) [s-a]


Specialty:

Driving (know these things if you don't want to die on the road. People drive crazy.):
Stop - pare [pa-ray]
Traffic light - semáforo [sem-af-for-o]
Toll plaza -peaje [pee-a-hay] (actually means TOLL)
Yield to traffic - ceda del paso [say-da del pass-o] (actually means GIVE WAY or YIELD TO PASSER)
Parking - Estacionamiento [s-sta-c-o-nam-e-n-toe]

Quirks:
In numbers, a comma is a period and a period is a comma.
In English: 2,342.18
In Uruguay: 2.342,18

The dollar sign may mean Uruguayan Pesos (UYU) or USD
Usually, $ is UYU and U$D or something that is not just $ like U$, US, USD is USD. Now there is a catch. If something is always bought in dollars like houses and cars then they may use just the $ sign but it means dollars. They are not going to sell a house to you for $350.000 :) they mean U$D350.000.

In Uruguay, the "ll" and "y" is pronounced "sh". Example: Yo (I) is not "Yo" as in "Yo-Yo" but "Show". Llamar (to call) is not "Lamar" but "Shamar".

Common slang:
Uruguayans like to say "ta" which has no meaning, but what they mean is "esta bien" - it's ok. Translated word for word it means "this good". And they will say it a lot.

"No pasa nada" translates exactly to "nothing happens", but they mean "it's all good, no problem, forget about it"