ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Ask for the Toilet in Several Foreign Languages

Updated on January 22, 2015
Daisy Mariposa profile image

Daisy Mariposa, a travel agent for several years, has occupational certificates in Travel Management and International Business.

This public lavatory (WC cottage) in Pond Square, London, United Kingdom was photographed by MattHucke on August 26, 2006.
This public lavatory (WC cottage) in Pond Square, London, United Kingdom was photographed by MattHucke on August 26, 2006. | Source

Bathroom or Toilet?

I traveled to England with a friend several years ago. It was her first visit outside the United States. I had been to England a number of times. We had rented a self-catering service flat—a small apartment with cooking facilities and some maid service. We were in the middle of checking in and signing some papers when my friend Joanne needed to use a restroom.

Joanne interrupted the building manager and asked “Where is the bathroom?” The building manager had a look of horror on her face, which caused Joanne to have a look of puzzlement on hers. I found myself serving as an interpreter, translating American English and British English. In the middle of our renting the apartment (flat), my friend had asked where the room in which one took a bath was located.

To clarify what had happened…

In the United Kingdom (UK), there are usually two separate rooms—one room contains the bathtub and sometimes a shower, and a second room contains the toilet. In the United States (US), the bathtub, shower, sink, and toilet are almost always in the same room, although many homes have an additional room with just a sink and toilet in it.

Where is...?

I have traveled to more than 30 countries, island nations, and island dependencies. One phrase I find essential to know when traveling is “Where is the toilet?” or “Where are the ‘facilities’?” or “Where is the ladies room?” or “Where is the restroom?” or "Where is the lavatory?" or—when I want to get the dirt and dust and grime of traveling off me—“Where is the bathroom?”

This bridge, staircase, and public toilet in Kitzbühel, Austria were photographed by Leitzsche on May 6, 2012.
This bridge, staircase, and public toilet in Kitzbühel, Austria were photographed by Leitzsche on May 6, 2012. | Source

How to Ask for the Location of the Toilet

Where is the toilet?

I have compiled a list of ways in which one can ask in several foreign languages for the location of the toilet when traveling. If you have any translations to add to my list, please post them in the Comments section. Thank you.

Arabic

aynal-hamam

British English

Where's the loo?

Catalan

On és el lavabo? *or* On són els serveis?

Chinese

Cèsuo zài nali?

Croatian

Gdje se nalazi WC? (phonetically pronounced "Gdyeh seh NAH-lah-zee VEH-TSEH")

Czech

Kde je zachod? (phonetically pronounced "Gde ye zaakhot")

Danish

Var ar toaaletten? (phonetically pronounced Vahr ay twa-LETT-en)

Dutch

Waar is het toilet? (phonetically pronounced WAHR is hut twah-LET)

Finnish

Missä on vessa? (phonetically pronounced "MEES-sa ohn VEHS-sah")

French

Où sont les toilettes? (phonetically pronounced "OOH sohng lay twa-LEHT")

German

Wo ist die Toilette? (phonetically pronounced "voh ist dee twak-LET-uh")

Greek

(phonetically pronounced "poo EE-ne ee too-ah-LEH-tah")

Hebrew

aynal-hamam

Hungarian

Hol van a mosdó? (phonetically pronounced "hol vån å MOSH-doa")

Italian

Dov'è il bagno? (phonetically pronounced "doh-VEH eel BAH-nyoh")

Indonesian

Dimana Toiletnya? (phonetically pronounced "DEE muh-nuh TOY-leht-nyuh")

Norwegian

Hvor er toalettet? (phonetically pronounced "Vor ær toa-lett-et")

Polish

Gdzie jest toaleta? (phonetically pronounced "g-jeh yest twa-leta")

Portuguese (Brazil)

Onde é o banheiro?
(phonetically pronounced in Rio de Janeiro "OND-je eh o bahn-YAIR-row")

(phonetically pronounced everywhere in Brazil except Rio de Janeiro "OND-de eh o bahn-YAIR-row")

Portuguese (Portugal)

Onde é a casa-de-banho? (phonetically pronounced "OND eh a KAH-sah de BAH-nyoo"

Russian

GDYE too-ah-LYET?

Spanish

Dónde está el baño? (phonetically pronounced "DOHN-deh ehss-TAH ehl BAH-nyoh")

Swedish

Var är toaletten? (phonetically pronounced "Vahr ay twa-LETT-en")

Turkish

Tuvalet nerede? (phonetically pronounced "Too va let ner eh de")

Reader-Submitted Translations

Many thanks to my readers who were kind enough to provide me with additional translations of Where is the toilet? Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Tamil

Mohan Kumar (Docmo), who was born in Tamil Nadu, India, submitted these Tamil translations. Tamil is the official language of the state of Tamil Nadu.

Toilet Enge ullathu?
or
Podhu kalipperai Enge ullathu?

American English Slang

Linda Bilyeu (Sunshine625) has contributed Where's the can, man? to the list of translations.

Thai

quicksand has provided the following Thai translations.

Horng Naam Yoo Tee Nai?
You add Khrap at the end if you are a male addressing any gender, and Kha at the end if you are a female addressing any gender.

Japanese

Kymberly Fergussen (nifwlseirff) from Leipzig, Germany has provided Japanese phonetic translations.

The simplest translation is Toire wa doko desu ka?

A more polite translation is Otearai wa doko desu ka?
(The 'o' makes 'teari' more polite.)

Canadian English

Miss Mimi has provided Where's the washroom? as what one says in Canadian English.

Scottish English

James (Jimmy the Jock) Paterson has provided four Scottish English versions of this important question.

  • Where's the the bog?
  • Where's the cludgie?
  • Where's the crapper?
  • Where's the pee hoose (house)?

Tagalog

Thelma Alberts submitted two translations in Tagalog, the the Philippine language.

Saan ang inidoro? ... Where is the toilet?
Saan ang kasilyas? ... Where is the restroom?

When you travel, do you carry a card with you that contains "key phrases" in the languages of the countries you will be visiting?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)