Before I share with you my Spanish knowledge I must distinguish something:
Galicia has two official languages: Galician (Galician: galego) and Spanish (also known in Spain as castellano, i.e. “Castilian”), both of which are romance languages. Galician originated regionally. Galician is recognized in the Statute of Autonomy of Galicia as the lingua propia (“own language”) of Galicia. In Galicia, galego is generally used as a second language for most.
Galician is closely related to Portuguese which makes sense considering Galicia sits right above Portugal. So if you’ve had any experience with Portuguese, you’re in luck. You may be able to understand a little bit of galego!
here is my favorite Galician word:
Many Galician’s use morriña to specifically describe Galicia: how sweet! You feel it when you leave Galicia but know that you’re going to feel it before you even leave. It is marked by a sense of longing and nostalgia for Home.
Another popular word and concept in Galicia culture is the witch: meiga. There’s an old Galician saying: “Eu non creo nas meigas, mais habelas, hainas” which translates to: “I don’t believe in witches, but they do exist”. They are a part of the local folklore and you may see a them in tourist shops as you wander in!
Lastly as a little fun story:
I met a Spanish lady who named her dog Bretima a Galician term which means the ‘the first snow of winter’. It’s usually a very beautiful, clean snow and is associated with a sense of innocence. I thought that was very cute and a good example of how you might find a bit of galego in your day to day in Galicia!
Now on to some Spanish:
Here I have condensed some Spanish phrases and vocabulary to help you navigate Galicia:
| ¡Hola! | Hi! |
| Mi Nombre es Maddie | My name is Maddie. |
| Hola, soy Maddie. | hi, I’m Maddie. |
| ¿Cómo te llamas? | What is your name? |
| (Yo) tengo … años | I am … years old. |
| (Yo) soy de… | I come from… |
| ¡Gracias! | Thank you! |
| ¡Perdon! | Excuse me! |
| ¡Lo siento! | Excuse me! |
| Sí | Yes |
| No | No |
| Claro | Of course |
| Me gusta / No me gusta… | I like / I don’t like… |
| ¿Dónde está el baño? | Where’s the bathroom? |
| Necesito ayuda | I need help |
| ¿Qué tal? | what’s up |
| Hasta luego | See you later |
| Genial | Great or Awesome |
| Entonces | So |
| ¿Sabes? | You know? |
Now, I will share a a piece of cool lingo: if you want to say “I think something is cool”, the hip way to say it is: “Me mola (insert something cool here).” For example Me mola la película (I think the movie is cool). If you use this, the natives will be impressed!
Lastly I recommend downloading either Google Translate or SpanishDict onto your cellphone. They will be a big help when looking things like signs and restaurant menus! I have linked their websites below so you can mess around and look at all their cool features.
