Menu
English
РусскийEnglishEspañol

Asking the way in Catalan

28 words in Catalan on the topic “asking the way”: on és? — where is it?, la dreta — right, l'esquerra — left, tot recte — straight ahead. 28 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

28 words on the topic

  • on és?
    where is it?
    Literally 'where is?': the question goes through ésser, not through estar — a difference from Spanish. The verb is never dropped
  • la dreta
    right
    A la dreta — to the right. The word itself is feminine: la mà dreta — the right hand
  • l'esquerra
    left
    A cousin of Spanish izquierda: both most likely come from a language spoken here before Latin. A l'esquerra — to the left
  • tot recte
    straight ahead
    Literally 'all straight': recte is the same word as 'straight' in recta final, the final straight. The final e is written and said: tot recte
  • a prop
    near
    A prop de — close to something: a prop de casa. Without de it is simply 'near'
  • lluny
    far
    Opens with the double ll — one fused ly sound: lyoon. Lluny de — far from something
  • aquí
    here
    Catalan splits space three ways: aquí is here by me, allí is there by you, allà is out there in the distance
  • allà
    there
    The far 'there', out of reach. The nearer 'over there, by you' is allí
  • per on s'hi va
    how do I get there?
    Literally 'through where does one go there': an impersonal — the road is not yours or mine, it simply is
  • arribar-hi
    to get there
    Arribar + hi: to arrive there — hi stands for the place. S'hi arriba en bus — you can get there by bus
  • a l'altra banda
    on the other side
    Literally 'on the other side', as it reads. La banda — the side
  • a dos passos
    two steps away
    Literally 'at two steps'. El pas — a step: the measuring unit of closeness
  • després del gir
    around the corner
    Literally 'after the turn'. El gir — the turn: girar is 'to turn'
  • a l'esquerra de
    to the left of
    Literally 'to the left of', as it reads. On its own, 'to the left' says itself without the de: take both today
  • a la dreta de
    to the right of
    Literally 'to the right of'. La dreta is the right hand
  • al mig
    in the middle
    Literally 'in the middle'. El mig — the middle, as in mitja hora, half an hour
  • el següent gir
    the next turn
    Literally 'the following turn'. El següent you took today — this is it at work. Gira al següent carrer — turn onto the next street
  • de camí
    on the way
    Literally 'of the road'. De camí a casa — on the way home: you slot the place in between
  • cap amunt
    upward
    Literally 'toward the top'. Amunt! — up! — shouted at children and at teams
  • endavant
    forward
    Literally 'into front'. Endavant! — forward! — and 'come in!': one word, two encouragements
  • cap allà
    that way
    Literally 'toward there': the hand points it, the word confirms it. Allà — out there
  • a algun lloc
    to some place
    Literally 'to some place'. The partner of en algun lloc — somewhere: direction instead of location
  • a peu
    on foot
    Literally 'on the foot'. Anar a peu — to go on foot: the words travel as a pair
  • a part
    separately
    Literally 'in a part', an international word. Servir-ho a part — to serve it on the side: about sauce and garnish
  • amb atenció
    attentively
    Literally 'with attention'. L'atenció — attention: a word of letters and pharmacy counters
  • fluix
    quietly
    The 'weak' word about sound: parla fluix — speak softly. The same scale of strength: fort is loud
  • fort
    loudly
    Fort is 'strong', and loudly is the same word — the strength of a sound. No parlis tant fort — don't speak so loudly
  • en silenci
    in silence
    Literally 'in silence'. El silenci you took today: this is its preposition

Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet

The CSV contains spelling, reading guides, translations and links to word pages. Use the browser menu to save the printable sheet as a PDF.

How it sounds in a sentence

A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.

What is worth knowing about these words

on és? — where is it? Literally 'where is?': the question goes through ésser, not through estar — a difference from Spanish. The verb is never dropped.

la dreta — right. A la dreta — to the right. The word itself is feminine: la mà dreta — the right hand.

l'esquerra — left. A cousin of Spanish izquierda: both most likely come from a language spoken here before Latin. A l'esquerra — to the left.

tot recte — straight ahead. Literally 'all straight': recte is the same word as 'straight' in recta final, the final straight. The final e is written and said: tot recte.

Test yourself

First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.

  1. What is this word?

  2. What is this word?

  3. What is this word?

  4. What is this word?

  5. What is this word?

Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.

  1. How do you say “where is it?” in Catalan?

  2. How do you say “far” in Catalan?

  3. How do you say “on the other side” in Catalan?

  4. How do you say “in the middle” in Catalan?

  5. How do you say “that way” in Catalan?

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.

A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.

Frequently asked

How do you say “where is it?” in Catalan?

«on és?» Literally 'where is?': the question goes through ésser, not through estar — a difference from Spanish. The verb is never dropped. It is one of 28 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.

How many direction words do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 28 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.

Is there audio?

Yes, 28 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.

Next

Open the materialOpen the material