50 useful travel words and expressions
Suriname is not simply a Spanish-language stop in South America. Dutch is the official language, and Sranan Tongo is widely spoken. Start with 50 English travel cues and the local expressions that help with directions, food, payment and clarification. This is language practice, not a live report on transport, services or travel conditions.
| No. | English travel cue | Dutch / Sranan Tongo | Meaning or use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hello | Hallo | A neutral greeting |
| 2 | Good morning | Goedemorgen | A morning greeting |
| 3 | Good evening | Goedenavond | A greeting later in the day |
| 4 | Goodbye | Tot ziens | A polite farewell |
| 5 | Please | Alstublieft | A polite request; also said when handing something over |
| 6 | Thank you | Dank u wel | Formal or respectful thanks |
| 7 | Yes | Ja | An affirmative answer |
| 8 | No | Nee | A negative answer |
| 9 | Excuse me | Pardon | Getting attention or apologising briefly |
| 10 | Do you speak English? | Spreekt u Engels? | Politely asking whether someone speaks English |
| No. | English travel cue | Dutch / Sranan Tongo | Meaning or use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | I don’t understand | Ik begrijp het niet | Telling someone you missed the meaning |
| 12 | Could you repeat that? | Kunt u dat herhalen? | Asking someone to say something again |
| 13 | Please speak more slowly | Kunt u langzamer spreken? | Requesting a slower pace |
| 14 | Where is…? | Waar is…? | Locating a place or object |
| 15 | Left | Links | A direction |
| 16 | Right | Rechts | A direction |
| 17 | Straight ahead | Rechtdoor | Continue in the same direction |
| 18 | Entrance | Ingang | The way in |
| 19 | Exit | Uitgang | The way out |
| 20 | Toilet | Toilet | A bathroom sign or request |
| No. | English travel cue | Dutch / Sranan Tongo | Meaning or use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | How much does this cost? | Hoeveel kost dit? | Asking a price |
| 22 | Price | Prijs | The amount charged |
| 23 | Surinamese dollar | Surinaamse dollar (SRD) | Suriname’s official currency |
| 24 | Cash | Contant geld | Physical money |
| 25 | Pay by card | Met een kaart betalen | Card payment; ask whether it is accepted |
| 26 | Receipt | Bon / kassabon | Proof or record of payment |
| 27 | Bill | Rekening | The amount due at a café or restaurant |
| 28 | Water | Water | Water, with suitability decided by the specific source |
| 29 | Without ice, please | Zonder ijs, alstublieft | A drink request |
| 30 | Vegetarian | Vegetarisch | A food preference; check actual ingredients |
| No. | English travel cue | Dutch / Sranan Tongo | Meaning or use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Food allergy | Voedselallergie | A reason to ask exactly what a dish contains |
| 32 | Roti | Roti | A flatbread-based meal in Surinamese food culture |
| 33 | Saoto soup | Saoto | A Javanese-influenced soup; ingredients vary |
| 34 | Moksi alesi | Moksi alesi | A mixed rice dish; recipes differ |
| 35 | Pom | Pom | A baked Surinamese dish associated with pomtajer |
| 36 | Heri heri | Heri heri | A dish often combining root foods and fish |
| 37 | Warung | Warung | A small eatery, a term with Indonesian roots |
| 38 | Taxi | Taxi | A hired passenger vehicle |
| 39 | Bus | Bus | A shared road passenger vehicle |
| 40 | Ferry | Veerboot | A boat carrying people across water |
| No. | English travel cue | Dutch / Sranan Tongo | Meaning or use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Boat | Boot | A watercraft |
| 42 | Departure point | Vertrekpunt | Where a journey begins |
| 43 | Reservation | Reservering | A booking to confirm |
| 44 | Room | Kamer | An accommodation room |
| 45 | Address | Adres | The written details of a location |
| 46 | Pharmacy | Apotheek | A place to ask for medicine-related services |
| 47 | Doctor | Arts | A medical professional |
| 48 | Sranan Tongo | Sranantongo | A widely spoken contact language in Suriname |
| 49 | Hello (Sranan) | Odi | A greeting in Sranan Tongo |
| 50 | How’s it going? (Sranan) | Fa waka? | An informal Sranan Tongo greeting |
Choose a conversation to practise
Greeting and language · Directions · Menus · Travel details · Complete practice
Chapter contents
Chapters 1–5
Chapters 6–10
If you arrive in Paramaribo expecting every encounter to happen in Spanish, Suriname will surprise you. Dutch is the official language here, and Sranan Tongo is widely spoken alongside several other languages. That is not a trivia question for your flight: it changes the first sentence you choose at a counter. A quiet “Spreekt u Engels?” is much more considerate than deciding the other person must understand the language you happen to know.
The useful habit is to keep three layers apart. An English travel cue helps you think; a Dutch phrase helps you make a request; a little Sranan Tongo may help you recognise the social warmth of a greeting. Do not assume that one greeting grants fluency. Listen to the reply, notice the language being used, and ask for a slower explanation when you need one. The journey becomes easier through respectful questions, not guesses.
CHAPTER 2 OF 10
2. Begin with the kind of politeness that gives people room to answer
Some of the strongest travel words are very ordinary: please, thank you and excuse me. In Dutch, alstublieft is a courteous way of saying please, while dank u wel offers respectful thanks. The form u in a phrase such as Kunt u dat herhalen? is a useful formal way to address someone you do not know. You are not performing perfect Dutch; you are making a small exchange more comfortable.
Imagine missing the last word of a receptionist’s explanation. You do not have to nod and hope. Say Ik begrijp het niet, then Kunt u dat herhalen? If the second attempt still rushes past you, try Kunt u langzamer spreken? Each sentence does one specific job. The better your request is defined, the more likely you are to receive an answer you can check against your reservation or written address.
Suriname’s languages tell a story of the people who live there. Sranan Tongo is a contact language heard in everyday life, while Dutch has formal functions in schooling, administration and much of the written environment. Odi is a greeting; Fa waka? is an informal way of asking how things are going. They are useful recognitions, but should not be treated as universal substitutes for every language and every situation.
Practice a tiny scene rather than memorising a paragraph. One person says Odi; the other returns the greeting. One asks Fa waka?; the reply is short and friendly. Then switch to the language both speakers actually understand to ask for a location. This is the difference between a phrasebook that collects colourful words and a traveller who respects the answer: recognising the greeting matters, but knowing when to clarify matters more.
A traveller asking “Is it left or right?” has left out the most important fact: left or right from where? Paramaribo’s streets, riverfront and neighbourhood landmarks offer good practice for spatial language. Use a saved destination name or a map pin before asking Waar is…? If someone says links, rechts or rechtdoor, trace the instruction from your actual starting point instead of trying to remember three isolated words.
Build the conversation around two landmarks, not a maze of instructions. “I am at the entrance. Where is the market?” is more manageable than “Which road should I take through the city?” In Dutch, entrance is ingang and exit is uitgang. They look related, which is exactly why they deserve separate practice. Point to the correct sign and repeat the instruction. Small distinctions are what keep a real exchange useful.
Suriname uses the Surinamese dollar, abbreviated SRD. A number on a handwritten menu or a booking message is not fully understood until you know what it prices, which currency it uses and whether it is per item or for the whole order. Hoeveel kost dit? starts the conversation; prijs names the idea of price; rekening points to the bill when you finish eating.
Try a fictional café exchange. Order water, ask the price, then check whether the bill shows the same item and total. Say the currency aloud as SRD rather than assuming that every symbol resembling a dollar means the same currency. If you would like to pay by card, ask what is accepted instead of treating the word card as proof a particular method works. Vocabulary is the beginning of a verification habit.
Suriname’s food vocabulary is wonderfully revealing. Roti reflects South Asian connections; saoto soup and the word warung point towards Javanese-influenced food culture. These are not merely alternative spellings for a standard global dish. A name suggests a family of preparations, but a cook decides the ingredients, seasoning and accompaniments in that particular kitchen.
Imagine entering a small eatery and seeing three dishes you have never ordered. Ask what comes with the roti, what is in the saoto, and whether a warung is serving the dish you want today. Treat the menu as an invitation to learn rather than a guarantee about ingredients. If someone has dietary restrictions, the exact question is more useful than a guess based on the dish’s name. The conversation starts with curiosity and ends with a checked choice.
Moksi alesi, pom and heri heri are different names worth learning separately. Moksi alesi describes a style of mixed rice dish, while pom is associated with an oven-baked preparation using pomtajer. Heri heri commonly brings together starchy root foods and fish. Recipes and serving styles vary between households and eateries, which is part of the pleasure of learning food vocabulary properly.
Try a mock menu in which a recipe changes one ingredient. Your partner offers pom prepared with one accompaniment, then presents a second version. Ask “What is in this dish?” rather than declaring that pom always contains the same ingredients. Where allergies or dietary preferences matter, repeat the ingredient you need checked. Knowing a cultural term should make you a more attentive questioner, not a more confident guesser.
Suriname has rivers and communities beyond its capital, so words such as boat and ferry can enter a travel conversation alongside bus and taxi. Yet a vocabulary list is not a timetable. Calling a vehicle a veerboot tells you what kind of vessel it is; it does not tell you whether that service operates, where it departs or whether the route suits your plan.
Make a mock travel enquiry with three slots: destination, vertrekpunt (departure point) and the time you have been given. Ask one question at a time. “Where is the departure point?” comes before “Is this the right boat?” A written booking or official confirmation is a better source for actual arrangements than a memorised example. The language habit is to separate transport vocabulary from claims about a real journey.
Two everyday words deserve more care than their size suggests: apotheek for pharmacy and arts for doctor. If you need help, name the task clearly and communicate any food allergy with the actual ingredient rather than a vague label. A vocabulary guide cannot decide which treatment is right or whether a particular service is available. It can, however, help you state what you need and ask someone to clarify the next step.
Use a fictional reception conversation: you show an address, say that you need assistance, and ask where to find a pharmacy. The person answers with a location, and you repeat it back. If the answer is confusing, use Kunt u dat herhalen? There is no prize for sounding perfectly fluent while remaining uncertain. The goal is a short, intelligible exchange that gets a concrete answer.
Picture a fictional morning in Paramaribo. You greet someone, check that you have the correct address, ask the way to a market and find a small place serving roti. You ask what is in the dish, check the price in SRD and request the bill. Later, an imaginary transport counter gives you a departure point. Nothing in the scenario claims that a particular service is running; it is a set of linked language decisions.
Now cover the list and perform the scene twice. On the first attempt, allow yourself to look up a Dutch phrase. On the second, change the restaurant or meeting point and try again. End by naming three things you actually confirmed: a place, a food ingredient and a payment or departure detail. When the questions and answers connect, fifty separate words become a useful little system you can carry with you.
Continue your travel vocabulary practice
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Language and food references
Government of Suriname — country and languages · Central Bank of Suriname — SRD · Suriname Tourism — culinary traditions · Peace Corps — Sranan Tongo lessons