Asking the way in Valencian
28 words Valencian words on the topic “asking the way”: on és? — where is it?, la dreta — right, l'esquerra — left, tot rect — straight ahead.
28 words on the topic
- on és?where is it?Literally where is it — asked through ésser, not estar, which is one more difference from Spanish. No one drops the verb
- la dretarightA la dreta — to the right. The word is feminine: la mà dreta — the right hand
- l'esquerraleftA Latin word of its own — not the borrowed izquierdo of Spanish. A l'esquerra — to the left
- tot rectstraight aheadLiterally all straight. Recte is the same word as the straight of the final straight
- a propcloseA prop de — close to something: a prop de casa. Without de it is simply near
- llunyfarOpens with the double ll — one soft sound, lyoon-y. Lluny de — far from something
- acíhereThe Valencian ací is one of the giveaways of the norm: central Catalan says aquí. The scale is the same: ací — here by me, allà — over there
- allàthereThe far there, out of reach. The near there, in your reach, is allí
- per on s'hi vahow do I get thereLiterally by where does one go — the impersonal way of asking for a route
- arribar-hito get thereArrive there: the hi is the there already in the conversation
- a l'altra bandaon the other sideLiterally at the other bank — of the street, of the river alike
- a dos passosa stone's throw awayLiterally at two steps — closer than close
- després del girpast the turnLiterally after the turn: gir is the turn of the road
- a l'esquerra deto the left ofThe full preposition: a l'esquerra de la plaça — to the left of the square
- a la dreta deto the right ofThe mirror of a l'esquerra de, all feminine because dreta is
- al migin the middleLiterally at the middle: al mig del parc — in the middle of the park
- el següent girnext turnThe turn after this one — what navigation says
- de camíon the wayLiterally of the way: de camí a casa — on the way home
- cap amuntupwardToward up: puja cap amunt en ascensor
- endavantforwardOnward — also the polite come in: endavant, passeu!
- cap allàover thereToward the far there: la farmàcia és cap allà, a la cantonada
- a algun llocto somewhereTo some place — the motion of an unnamed destination
- a peuon footLiterally on the foot — walking as a means of transport
- a partseparatelyApart: demane l'amanida a part — I ask for the dressing separately
- amb atencióattentivelyWith attention — the local way of building adverbs without -ment
- fluixquietlyThe adverb use of fluix: parla més fluix — speak more quietly
- fortloudlyThe adverb use of fort — strong applies to sound too
- en silenciin silenceIn the silence — working, eating, watching without a word
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.
- On és el metro?Where is the metro?
- La farmàcia queda a la dretaThe pharmacy is on the right
- Gireu a l'esquerra al semàforTurn left at the traffic light
- Seguiu tot rectGo straight ahead
- El mercat és a prop de casaThe market is close to home
- No és lluny, són deu minuts a peuIt isn't far, ten minutes on foot
What is worth knowing about these words
on és? — where is it?. Literally where is it — asked through ésser, not estar, which is one more difference from Spanish. No one drops the verb
la dreta — right. A la dreta — to the right. The word is feminine: la mà dreta — the right hand
l'esquerra — left. A Latin word of its own — not the borrowed izquierdo of Spanish. A l'esquerra — to the left
tot rect — straight ahead. Literally all straight. Recte is the same word as the straight of the final straight
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is it?” in Valencian?
Literally where is it — asked through ésser, not estar, which is one more difference from Spanish. No one drops the verb
- How do you say “far” in Valencian?
Opens with the double ll — one soft sound, lyoon-y. Lluny de — far from something
- How do you say “on the other side” in Valencian?
Literally at the other bank — of the street, of the river alike
- How do you say “in the middle” in Valencian?
Literally at the middle: al mig del parc — in the middle of the park
- How do you say “over there” in Valencian?
Toward the far there: la farmàcia és cap allà, a la cantonada
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.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “where is it?” in Valencian?
«on és?» Literally where is it — asked through ésser, not estar, which is one more difference from Spanish. No one drops the verb. 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?
A dozen is enough. The set of 28 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.