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Useful phrases in other languages
    Keywords: Culture & History

For Go players who anticipate meeting other players who don't share a language, it can be useful to know how to ask for a game. Here are the most idiomatic (by consensus of SL patrons) phrases in various languages for:

  • asking someone for a game of Go
  • a likely response to accept a game
  • a likely response to decline a game
  • sportsman-like wishes to begin play
  • resignation
  • thanking the opponent after the game

Please help fill in the blanks and correct errors (or discuss below).

English

English:
Asking: "Would you like a game?"
Accept: "Yes"
Decline: "No thanks"
Begin: "Enjoy"; "Have a good game"
Resign: "I resign"
Thanks: "Thanks for the game"

Eastern languages

Chinese (Mandarin):
Asking: "xia4 qi2 ma1?" ("下棋吗?") ("Want to play chess?") [1]
Accept: "hao3" ("好") ("Sure.")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "wo3 ren4 shu1" ("我认输") ("I resign.")
Thanks: "xie4 xie4" ("谢谢") ("Thank you!")

(See Pinyin for how to read the romanised pronunciation of Chinese Mandarin words.)

TDerz Please check also Conversational Chinese Survival Phrases at [ext] http://www.learn-chinese-language-software.com/phrases/FSChinese.htm which is an advertisement site (WITH PRONUNCIATION!) for a language learning product.

Chinese (Cantonese):
Asking: "jok1 ng4 jok1 wai4 kei5 ah3?" ("捉唔捉圍棋呀?") ("Play Go or not?")
Accept: "hou2 ah3" ("好呀") ("Good")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "dou1 zhei9" ("多謝") ("Thanks")

Note: This is Cantonse intonation, and not hanyu pinyin.

Chinese (Taiwanese/Hokkien):
Asking: "li4 gam1 bei3 sun2 wee2 gee2" ("Are you ok with playing Go?")
Accept: "ho4" ("Good"); "eh3 sai4" ("Sure")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "wo3 shu1 le5" ("我輸了") ("I lost")
Thanks: "gam1 sia3" ("Thanks")

Note: This is in hanyu pinyin (although it shouldn't really work for this dialect)(gimpf: As far as I know pinyin works quite well, it's only a taiwanese preference to use Wade-Giles.)

(Note: Most Taiwanese understand Mandarin Chinese anyway, so you'll probably only need to use this when faced among older-generation Taiwanese or the less educated)

Japanese [2]:
Asking: "<surname>-san, uchimasen ka?" ("Mr/Mrs <surname>, would you like to play?")
Accept: "Hai" ("Yes"); "Ii" ("Good"); "Ee" ("Yeah")
Decline: "Iie" ("No"); "Arigatou, demo..." ("Thank you, but..." i.e. literally not finishing the sentence)
Begin: "Onegaishimasu" ("Please kindly do (this) for me", somewhat formal); "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" ("Please kindly treat me well", *very* formal!)
Resign: "Makemashita" ("I lost"); "Arimasen" ("I have nothing")
Thanks: "Arigatou" ("Thank you"); "Arigatou gozaimash'ta" ("Thank you kindly (for having done this act)")

Korean:
Asking: "Badouk hal-kka-yo?" ("Shall we play badouk?")
Accept: "Ye" ("Yes")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "Ko-map-sseum-ni-da" ("Thank you", polite); "Ko-ma-weo-yo" ("Thanks", informal)

Vietnamese:
Asking: "" ("")
Accept: "" ("")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "" ("")

Western languages

Catalan:
Asking: "Vols jugar una partida?" ("Do you want to play a game?")
Accept: "I tant!" ("Sure!")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "Moltes gràcies" ("Thanks a lot")

Czech:
Asking: "Zahrajeme si?" ("")
Accept: "" ("")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "" ("")

Danish:
Asking: "Har du lyst til at spille Go?" ("Do you want to play Go?")
Accept: "Ja, hvorfor ikke" ("Yes, why not")
Decline: "Nej, ellers tak." ("No, but thanks anyway.")
Begin: "Held og lykke" ("good luck")
Resign: "Jeg giver op" ("I give up.")
Thanks: "Tak for spillet" ("Thanks for the game")

Dutch:
Asking: "Wil je een partij(tje) (Go) spelen?" ("Would you like a game (of Go)?"); "Wil je een potje (Go) spelen?" ("Would you like to play a game (of Go)?")
Accept: "Ja(, graag)" ("Yes(, please)")
Decline: "Nee(, bedankt)" ("No(, thanks)")
Begin: "Veel plezier" ("Enjoy"); "Prettige partij" ("Have a good game")
Resign: "Ik geef op" ("I resign"); "Jij hebt gewonnen" ("You have won"); "U heeft gewonnen" ("You have won", formal); "Ik kap er mee!" ("I quit!", informal, pissed off/jokingly)
Thanks: "Bedankt" ("Thanks"); "Dank je wel" ("Thank you"); "Dank U wel" ("Thank you, formal")

Finnish:
Asking: "Pelataanko?" ("Shall we play?")
Accept: "Pelataan vaan" ("Okay, let's play.")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "Luovutan" ("I resign")
Thanks: "Kiitos pelistä" ("Thanks for the game")

French:
Asking: "Une partie?" ("A game?"); "Voulez-vous jouer?" ("Would you like to play?")
Accept: "Pourquoi pas" ("Why not") "Oui" ("Yes") "Bien sûr" ("Certainly")
Decline: "Non merci" ("No thanks")
Begin: "Bonne partie" ("Good game (to you)")
Resign: "J'abandonne" ("I resign") "J'ai perdu" ("I lost")
Thanks: "Merci pour la partie" ("Thank you for the game") "Merci beaucoup" ("Thank you very much")

Galician:
Asking: "¿Xogamos unha partida?" ("Shall we play a game?")
Accept: "Sí, claro" ("Yes, of course")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "Gracias pola partida" ("Thanks for the game")

German:
Asking: "Hast Du Lust eine Partie zu spielen?" ("Would you like to play a game?"); "Möchten Sie Go spielen?" ("Would you like to play Go?", more formal/respectful, yet shorter)
Accept: "Gerne" ("I would like to")
Decline: "Nein, danke." ("No, thanks.")
Begin: "Viel Spaß!" ("Have fun!"), "Schöne Partie!" ("Have a nice game!")
Resign: "Ich gebe auf" ("I give up")
Thanks: "Danke schön" ("Thank you kindly"); "Danke für das Spiel ("Thanks for the game")

Hungarian:
Asking: "Van kedved játszani?" ("Would you like to play a game?")
Accept: "Igen" ("Yes")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "Feladom" ("I resign")
Thanks: "Köszönöm a játékot!" ("Thanks for the game")

Italian:
Asking: "Facciamo una partita?" ("Shall we play a game?")
Accept: "Sì, perché no" ("Yes, why not")
Decline: "No, grazie" ("No, thanks")
Begin: "Buona partita!" ("Have a good game")
Resign: "Mi arrendo" ("I resign")
Thanks: "Grazie" "Prego (grazie a te)" ("Thank you" "You're welcome (thanks to you)")

Polish:
Asking: "Zagramy?" ("Shall we play?")
Accept: "Tak" ("Yes"); "Chetnie" ("Why not")
Decline: "Nie dziękuję" ("No thanks")
Begin: "Miłej gry" ("Have a nice game")
Resign: "Poddaje sie" ("I resign"); "Nic nie mam" ("I have nothing")
Thanks: "Dziekuje" ("Thank you")
Good day: "Dzien dobry" ("")

Portuguese:
Asking: "Quer jogar um jogo?" ("Would you like to play a game?")
Accept: "Sim, claro" ("Yes, sure")
Decline: "Não, obrigado" ("No, thank you")
Begin: "Bom jogo" ("Good game")
Resign: "Desisto" ("I give up")
Thanks: "Obrigado (pelo jogo)" ("Thank you (for the game)")

Russian :
Asking: "Davaite sigraem" ("Let's play")
Accept: "Davai" ("Let's")
Decline: "Nyet, spasibo" ("No, thank you")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "Sdayus'" ("I resign")
Thanks: "Spasibo za igru" ("Thank you for playing"); "Spasibo" ("Thank you")

Slovak:
Asking: "Dame (si) particku?" ("")
Accept: "Ano" ("Yes"), "Jasne" ("Certainly"), "Samozrejme" ("Sure")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "Nech sa dari" (""); "Drz sa" ("") (but it doesnt have equal meaning like in english... :-), "Prajem zaujimavu hru" ("") (is similar but we dont use it :-)
Resign: "Vzdavam sa" ("")
Thanks: "Vdaka za hru" (""); "Vdaka" (""); "Dik" ("")

Spanish:
Asking: "¿Jugamos?" ("Shall we play?"); "¿Quiere jugar?" ("Do you want to play?")
Accept: "Sí, claro" ("Yes, of course")
Decline: "Lo siento, no puedo." ("I'm sorry, I can't."); "No, gracias." ("No, thanks"); "No, no me interesa." ("No, I'm not interested.")
Begin: "Buena suerte" ("Good luck")
Resign: "Me rindo" ("I resign"); "Me has hecho polvo" ("You crushed me!")
Thanks: "Gracias por la partida" ("Thanks for the game")

Ukrainian:
Asking: "Zihraiem?" ("Shall we play?"); "Zbatsaiem?" ("A fight?", informal)
Accept: "Davai" ("Let's do it")
Decline: "Ni, dyakuyu" ("No, thanks")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "Zdayus'" ("I resign")
Thanks: "Diakuyu" ("Thank you")


Notes:

Chinese (Mandarin)

[1]: (Note: "qi2" means chess in Mandarin Chinese, and normally refers to Chinese Chess (being the more popular game), and not Go. To be more specific (perhaps when faced with a person with both a Chinese chess board AND a Go board?) without pointing or anything, use the term "wei2 qi2" instead of just "qi2"

Example: "xia4 wei2 qi2 ma1" is also acceptable, and in response, "yes" could also be "ke2 yi3", "shi4de", "dui4 le", "yao4", "wo3 yao4")

TDerz Correction: The final particle "de" for expressing the affirmation does not carry the 4th tone. It is toneless - how should I describe it? - none of the second, third or fourth => the tone pitch is not modulated and it is not as high as the first tone. Hence, it is pronounced "shi4de", Same with "dui4le" (which would answer a question with "correct"). I could imagine someone answering happy or in sighing "Na4 hao3 ba!" (s.th. like "OK then, let's go for it!").

The above 'x' in xia is a palatal voiceless fricative, which is produced by raising the front of the tongue near (but not touching) the hard palate and letting the air squeeze out. The vocal cord does not vibrate {from Elementary Chinese Readers, Vol. 1}. Example: 'x' as the English sh in "banshee".

The "q" in WeiQi is a palatal aspirated voiceless affricate. The position and manner of articulation are the same as those of "j", with the only difference, that it is aspirated. Do these explanations really help without the explaining diagrams, where and how the tongue should be located between teeth and palate? Example: 'q' as the English ch in cheese.

The ei in WeiQi is pronounced as eigh in English sleigh. The i in WeiQi is pronounced as ee in English (see, bee, me). (But the i would be silent after c, ch, r, s, sh, sh, z, and zh.)

"Would you like to play (Go)?" "Ni3 qiang3 xia4 (wei2qi2) ma2?" The first word ni3 ("you") can be exchanged against a more respectful nin2 ("you"), i.e. vs. a professional (who might reply in his/her best English: "Never mind, You can say you to me!").

"(Ni3/Nin2) Rang4 wo3 ji(3)zi?" (Give me how many stones? = How much handicap?)

"bai(3)" = white; "hei(1)" = black

For the tone not described by any of the first to fourth tones, there is no number to it, simply "de". However, sometimes "de5" is seen. To be strict, "yin1 yang2 shang3 qu4" is not the actual notation, rather the actual notation is "yīn yáng shǎng qù", but it takes a lot of effort to enter these symbols into the computer!

unkx80: Quite a number of ways to express them, I only gave a short version. I expect the Cantonese version to be similar when written.

Chinese (Cantonese)

Karl Knechtel: Thanks to whoever contributed the Cantonese. Could we possibly get the tones for it too? I understand there are 9 tones in Cantonese to the 4 (5?) of Mandarin...

The tones for the Cantonese version is given above. Enjoy. :)


Japanese

[2]: The vowel sounds are invariant in Japanese, but are often doubled. (This simplicity can be confusing for English speakers, familiar with vowels changing sound often, *especially* when doubled.)

The Japanese vowel sounds are:
a as in "father"
i as in "pin" <-- This should be a long 'e' sound, closer to "bee"
u as in "flute"
e as in "pet"
o as in "owe"

All single vowels are short. When two different vowels appear together, pronounce each one separately; when the same vowel is doubled, simply lengthen the same sound to almost twice the length of a short vowel.

Bill: In Japanese, "--- san, yarimasen ka?" will do nicely. :-) (Omitting the name is a bit abrupt.)

Nando: A japanese friend of mine told me to be careful with this, since this sentence is context-dependant. Before saying that, just make sure you're connected to some online Go server, or standing in front of a Goban. Or else, it could lead to misunderstandings, since it more or less translates to "would you like to 'do' it". As a more explicit alternative, he proposed something like "--- san, uchimasenka?".

Bill: Hehe. That's true. But the question concerned asking on a go server (IGS).
"Uchimasen ka?" is more specific to game playing, but if things are not clear from context, mentioning go is a good idea: "Go o yarimasen ka?" or "Go o uchimasen ka?" One possible meaning for "uchimasen ka" is "Would you like to hit me?" ;-)

Nando: Aha, I see :-) (my friend didn't tell me about this one)
O well, I guess I'll keep it simple : I just won't try to say something in a language I don't know at all :D

splice: Small note: In japanese, it is called "igo", not just Go. So, "igo o yarimasen ka" or "igo o uchimasen ka" should be correct.

Bill: Smaller note: When I was living in Japan, if I said, "igo", to non-go players, they did not understand. It's like referring to chess as "Caissa" in the U. S. When I explained what I meant, they would say, "A! O-go desu ka?" ;-)

splice: Minuscule note: That's very weird. My japanese teacher (native) didn't know what go was until I explained what the game looked like, etc, then she went "Ahh, igo! Sou desu ne.". I guess it might be a regional thing? No idea. Heck, get japanese input working and use the kanji, there won't be any confusion there :)

Bob Myers: Bill, you must have been forgetting to make the little motion with your hand where you pretend you're playing a stone on an invisible board while saying the word "igo". That almost always does the trick.

Richard Hunter: If I go into a Japanese bookshop and ask in Japanese where the igo books are, they assume I meant eigo (English). If I answer the English question: What is your hobby? with "playing go", people always assume I said golf.


French

MrKoala: "Une partie ?" would also do it in French. (Lit. means "A game ?") The phrase is not as informal as it may seem, and will do in 97.3 percent of the cases. (I hate nine-ish numbers like 90% and 99% ;-) ) However, one thing to note is that the person will rarely accept with a "oui" ("yes") but more often with something like "Pourquoi pas ?" ("Why not ?") or "pkwa pa" ("y not" :) ). At the end of the game, you might want to thank your opponent for playing with you with a respectful "Merci pour la partie." ("Thank you for the game") or a "Merci à vous" ("Thank YOU") if he was quicker than you :).


Dutch

Dieter: "Wil je een partij(tje) spelen ?" or "Zin in een spelletje ?" is Dutch.

Spanish

Usted desea jugar?

Jesusin: Simply "¿Jugamos?" (informal) will be ok. The go community is quite friendly so IMHO more formality is not needed.

uxs: Wouldn't "¿Desea jugar usted?" be more grammatically correct too ? I'm not an expert by far, but it's the word order I saw used in my spanish class.

Italian

Desiderate giocare?

AvatarDJFlux: Geee.. This is Italian as found in cheap phrase-books... :-)))

Using the plural second person as formal addressing was obligatory during the fascism (1922-1943) and you may still find it in some remote country villages... Today correct formal Italian uses the singular third: Vuole giocare?. Informal (singular second): Vuoi giocare?.

A phrase such as: Facciamo una partita? is sufficiently neutral to be used on both occasion. It is also what I would use in my go club.

Portuguese: Você quer jogar?

Dieter: Most translation services on the net actually focus on Brasilian Portuguese, which can be said to differ from Portuguese as much as US English does from UK English. Jogamos? or Um jogo? will do or , more formally, O senhor (A senhora) quer jogar?.

Finnish: "Pelataanko?" Translates to "Shall we play?" (Yes, your perception is correct: politeness is not a part of the language. Mentioning names is also considered strange.) After the game you might want to say "Kiitos", or "Kiitos pelistä", which mean "Thank you" or "Thank you for the game", respectively.

German: "Hast du Lust eine Partie zu spielen?" (informal), "Möchten Sie (mit mir) eine Partie spielen?" (formal)

Illich: "Zahrajeme si?" or "Chcete hrát?" in Czech ;)


Discussion

Scartol: These were taken from Alta Vista's Babel Fish ([ext] http://babelfish.altavista.com/), using the phrase "Do you want to play?" Anyone with more sophisticated command of the languages is encouraged to make adjustments.

Question: Is it possible to have voice or sound recording & reproducing on Senseis?

{ Are we allowed to edit by also deleting entries of other contributors? => Barthoze: the former explanations were confusing because 'Tsch' is "ch" in pinyin Tderz You are right. I erased my confusing text. Next time I have a look at the text book before I write how other native speakers should pronounce Chinese. }

unkx80: The above looks okay, but there really is too many possible phrases (not just in Chinese, but in any language), should we really list more?

Anonymous: (a semiserious request) How about Esperanto and Klingon?

Bignose: Feel free to start a new PhrasesInUselessLanguages? page :-)


This is a copy of the living page "Useful phrases in other languages" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.