Albanian Language
Adding another language to my collection
My first language is English and I have a love of languages.Ā My parents encouraged travel from a young age but with that gift came the mandatory requirement of studying the language before I was permitted to go abroad. I have carried that through my entire life and EVERY time I go to a new country I at least learn the basics the best I can.
I speak English and decent Japanese (it used to be very good but it’s been a while since I used it daily).Ā I have been living in Central/South America for 7 months and I studied Spanish in high school, while I am FAR from good enough, I know enough to live and and not die! LOL
Other languages I have studied, but only know basic greetings, Portuguese, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish….and now I will also learn the basics of Serbian because I am spending a month there next.Ā BUT, I really really want to learn Albanian. Since I will be spending 3 months in Albania this summer I have decided that I will start taking lessons from an Albanian teacher now.
I took my first class this week and will continue to take classes twice a week with a wonderful instructor from Tirana, Albania named Luli.Ā I found her contact information on a facebook expat channel and I reached out to her with my interest.Ā I love her already 
and I hope to be able to do classes in person when I arrive in Albania.
Fun Facts
- 36 letters in the Alphabet
- Spoken by around 6 million people
- Countries in the Balkans that speak Albanian: Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Greece
- 500 year old Albanian is spoken by a community in southern Italy
- There are two dialects: Tosk in the South and Gheg in the North. Standard Albanian is based on the Tosk dialect
- Albanian language is an independent branch of the Indo-European language tree, which means there is no other language quite like it
- Your aunt and uncle have multiple names depending on if it is your mother or father’s side
- Every letter is phonetically sound…like Spanish and Japanese
- Albanian word order is relatively free, but the most common sentence structure is subject-verb-object
Wish me luck!!
Albanian
Alphabet
| A a cow |
B b bat |
C c hats |
Ć Ć§ chin |
D d debt |
Dh dh then |
E e bed |
Ć Ć« about, the |
F f far |
| G g go |
Gj gj gear |
H h hat |
I i seed |
J j yes |
K k scar |
L l lean |
Ll ll ball |
M m man |
| N n not |
Nj nj onion |
O o law |
P p spin |
Q q cute |
R r pero |
Rr rr perro |
S s son |
Sh sh show |
| T t stand |
Th th thin |
U u boot |
V v van |
X x goods |
Xh xh jet |
Y y French tu, German LĆ¼ge |
Z z zip |
Zh zh vision |
Albanian
The Basics
- Good morning ā MirĆ«mĆ«ngjes!
- Good day ā MirĆ«dita!
- Good evening ā MirĆ«mbrĆ«ma!
- Good night ā NatĆ«n e mirĆ«
- Hello ā PĆ«rshĆ«ndetje! / Tungjatjeta
- Bye ā Mirupafshim!
- Thank you ā Faleminderit
- Youāre welcome ā Ju lutem
- Yes ā Po
- No ā Jo
- Sorry ā MĆ« fal
- Excuse me ā MĆ« falni
- How are you? ā Si Jeni?
- Nice to meet you ā GĆ«zohem qĆ« ju takoj
- What’s your name? ā Si quheni?
- I donāt understand ā (UnĆ«) nuk kuptoj
- Do you speak English? ā Flisni Anglisht?
- What time is it? ā Sa Ć«shtĆ« ora?
- Can you help me? ā Mund tĆ« mĆ« ndihmoni?
- Where can I find the toilets? ā Ku Ć«shtĆ« tualeti / banjoja?
Albanian
In a restaurant
- Cheers – GĆ«zuar
- Could I please see the menu? ā A mund tĆ« shoh menunĆ«, ju lutem?
- How much is it? ā Sa kushton?
- The check, please ā FaturĆ«n, ju lutem
- It was delicious ā Ishte e shijshme
- Breakfast ā MĆ«ngjes
- Lunch ā DrekĆ«
- Dinner ā DarkĆ«
- A beer/two beers, please ā NjĆ« birre/dy birra , ju lutem
- A glass of red/white wine, please ā NjĆ« gotĆ« vere e kuqe/e bardhĆ«, ju lutem
Albanian
Directions
- Where? ā Ku?
- Here ā KĆ«tu
- Left ā Majtas
- Right ā Djathtas
- How do I get toā¦ ? Si mund tĆ« shkoj te
- Taxi ā taksi
- Bus ā autobus
Albanian
Numbers
- One ā NjĆ«
- Two ā Dy
- Three ā Tre
- Four ā KatĆ«r
- Five ā PesĆ«
- Six ā GjashtĆ«
- Seven ā ShtatĆ«
- Eight ā TetĆ«
- Nine ā NĆ«ntĆ«
- Ten ā DhjetĆ«
- Twenty ā NjĆ«zet
- Thirty ā TridhjetĆ«
- Forty ā Dyzet
- Fifty ā PesĆ«dhjetĆ«
- Sixty ā GjashtĆ«dhjetĆ«
- Seventy ā ShtatĆ«dhjetĆ«
- Eighty ā TetĆ«dhjetĆ«
- Ninety ā NĆ«ntĆ«dhjetĆ«
- Hundred ā NjĆ«qind
- Thousand ā NjĆ« mijĆ«
Please note that I have not received these products for free or at a discounted price in exchange for my opinion.Ā There may be links that are affiliate links but at the time of posting this review, I have not received any monetary kickbacks.