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Lesson 5 of 10

Shops and hotels in Latin

Open, closed, a bag, the wifi password: the checkout and the front desk. Play the ten Latin words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.

Piazza Navona in Rome
Shops and hotels
10 words · 20 seconds each · 8 of 10 to pass
What it meansHow to say it
Guillaume Buret, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

All 10 Latin phrases in this lesson

Habesne...?HA-bes-neh
Do you have...?

Habeo means I have. Habesne? is do you have? Common market inquiry phrase, though markets displayed goods openly for browsing.

Ubi est...?OO-bee EST
Where is...?

Ubi (where) est (is). Ubi estne butcher, baker, etc. Romans navigated markets by visual inspection and asking neighbors.

Apertuma-PER-tum
Open
ClausumKLOW-sum
Closed
Sacculum?SAK-koo-lum
A bag?

Sacculus (little sack) or saccus (sack/bag). Romans used cloth bags and baskets for market shopping; no plastic bags existed.

Nimis carumNI-mis KAH-rum
Too expensive
Locum reservaviLO-kum re-ser-WAH-wee
I have a reservation

Literally "I have reserved a place".

Estne ientaculum inclusum?EST-neh yen-TAH-ku-lum in-KLOO-sum
Is breakfast included?

Ientaculum was the light Roman breakfast of bread and cheese.

Quod est verbum arcanum retis?kwod est WER-bum ar-KAH-num REH-tis
What's the wifi password?

Literally "what is the secret word of the net?".

Licetne mihi...?LI-ket-neh MEE-hee
Can I...?

Literally "is it permitted to me ...?".

Next lesson: Cafe and restaurant →