When you are traveling in the DR, sometimes you hear stuff that is completely different than what you are used to. If you don’t speak Spanish, or at least not much of it, some of the following definitions will really come in handy.

“Dejame” Dejame is the word for leave me here. Especially useful if you don’t truly know where you are going and want to brave walking the rest of the way. Also heard “Me deja” and “Donde puede”

“Cuanto debe pagar” is as simple as could be, “How much should I pay?” It is better to ask someone else that is in the car with you then to ask the public car driver directly, usually if they see that you are white or from Spain, they will raise the prices to double, sometimes triple the usual cost.

“Al (city)” This is meant to be used when trying to find where to go after renting a taxi. For example if you are looking to go to Sosua, you can tell the driver “Al Sosua” or “To Sosua!” See below for more.

“Al ____” The blank spot is meant to be filled with the specific place you are going. For example, “Al Parque” Translation, “To the park!” See above for more

Another thing that people ask is, “How can I find the places that I need to go to get to where I want to?” There is a very simple answer “Donde esta la parada de (city)” literally translated, “Where is the stop for (city)?” This can be very helpful if you are brand new to the country, like to try things on your own, and don’t want to take a tour.

These are the main phrases that you will need to use when traveling the public transportation here in the Dominican Republic, but there are still more that are commonly used phrases if you are planning on staying here for any amount of time.

“Donde puedo comer” Who doesn’t like to eat? This sentence help you get to your food as quickly as possible, translating directly, “where can I eat?” straight. Simple. To the point.

“Donde hay un banco” Once again very important if you are here in the DR. Translated “I need money” or a little more directly “where is there a bank” yes in English it sounds a little funny to be said that way but that’s how they say it in Spanish. Also be careful about how you say this one, make sure that you say it ending with a “O” if you change the way you say it a little bit to “Banca”, you are asking “Where is a lottery” and they might even act like a bank, but putting your money into lottery tickets.

So these are a few of the most commonly used phrases that we use here in the Dominican Republic. If you want to get around and be adventurous, this is one of the best places that you can do it. You will see that the people are tremendously friendly, they will try to help you at any time possible, and that it is much cheaper to travel here.