Useful phrases in British English

A collection of useful phrases in British English, a variety of English spoken in the UK, recorded by Simon Ager, the author of this site. Although I grew up in Lancashire in the northwest of England, my accent is closer to RP (Received Pronunciation), with some regional influences.

If you can provide these phrases and/or recordings in other varieties of English (including regional accents), please contact me.

Jump to phrases

See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.

Key to abbreviations: frm = formal, inf = informal.

Phrase	British English
Welcome	Welcome
Hello (General greeting)	Hello Hi (inf)
Hello (on phone)	Hello
How are you?	How are you? How are things? (inf) How's it going? (inf) Alright? (inf)
Reply to 'How are you?'	Fine thanks, and you? Not bad, and yourself? (inf) Okay, and you? (inf)
Long time no see	Long time no see I haven't seen you for a long time I haven't seen you for ages It's been a while I haven't seen you in donkey's years
What's your name?	What's your name? What are you called?
My name is ...	My name is ... I'm called ...
Where are you from?	Where are you from? Where do you come from?
I'm from ...	I'm from ... I come from ...
Pleased to meet you	Pleased to meet you Nice to meet you A pleasure to meet you
Good morning (Morning greeting)	Good morning Morning
Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting)	Good afternoon Afternoon
Good evening (Evening greeting)	Good evening Evening
Good night	Good night Night night (inf) Sweet dreams Good night, sleep tight Good night, sleep tight, hope the bedbugs don't bite
Goodbye (Parting phrases)	Goodbye Farewell (frm) Bye Bye bye See you See you later later so long cheers cheerio toodle-oo ta-ta tara ciao
Good luck!	Good luck! Break a leg! (said before a musical/theatrical performance)
Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking)	Good health! Cheers! Bottoms up! Down the hatch!
Have a nice day	Have a nice day Have a lovely day Have a pleasant day Have a good day
Bon appetit / Have a nice meal	Enjoy your meal! Enjoy! Bon appetit!
Bon voyage / Have a good journey	Bon voyage! Have a good journey! Have a good trip!
I understand	I understand I see I get it
I don't understand	I don't understand I don't get it
Yes	Yes Yeah (inf)
No	No Nah (inf)
Maybe	Maybe
I don't know	I don't know I dunno (inf) Dunno (inf)
Please speak more slowly	Please speak more slowly Could you speak a bit more slowly? Slow down please
Please say that again	Please say that again Could you say that again? Please repeat that
Please write it down	Please write it down Could you possibly write it down? Could you write it down? Would you mind writing it down?
Do you speak English?	Do you speak English? Can you speak English?
Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?')	Yes, a little
Do you speak a language other than English?	Do you speak a language other than English? Besides English, what languge(s) do you speak? What language(s) do you speak besides English?
Speak to me in English	Please speak to me in English Would you speak to me in English, please? Could you possibly speak to me in English? Would you mind speaking to me in English?
How do you say ... in English?	How do you say ... in English? What's the English word for ...? What's the English for ...?
Excuse me	Excuse me
I would like ...	I want ... I'd like ... I would like ... Can I have ... Can I get ... Could I (possibly) have ...
How much is this?	How much is this? What does this cost? How much does this cost?
Sorry	Sorry I'm sorry Terribly sorry Awfully sorry I apologise
Please	Please
Thank you	Thank you Thank you very much Thanks a lot (inf) Thanks (inf) Ta (inf) Cheers (inf)
Reply to thank you	You're welcome You're very welcome Don't mention it No problem No worries
Where's the toilet / bathroom?	Where's the toilet? Where's the loo? Where's the bathroom? Where's the gents? Where's the ladies? Where's the bog? (inf)
This gentleman will pay for everything	This gentleman will pay for everything
This lady will pay for everything	This lady will pay for everything
Would you like to dance with me?	Would you like to dance with me? Would you like to dance? Would you care for a dance? (vfrm) Do you want a dance? You dancing? (inf)
I miss you	I miss you
I love you	I love you I adore you
Get well soon	Get well soon
Go away!	Go away! Scram! Get out of it! Get lost!
Leave me alone!	Leave me alone!
Help!	Help!
Fire!	Fire!
Stop!	Stop!
Call the police!	Call the police!
Christmas greetings	Merry Christmas
New Year greetings	Happy New Year
Easter greetings	Happy Easter
Birthday greetings	Happy birthday
One language is never enough	One language is never enough
My hovercraft is full of eels	My hovercraft is full of eels

Notes

RP or Received Pronunciation is a prestige accent of English that originates in the south of England and can be heard throughout England and Wales. It is spoken by about 2% of the UK population.
The phrase 'Where's the bathroom?' is more commonly used in American English, however in the UK it might be used when visiting someone's home.

More information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation
http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/received-pronunciation/

Download the audio files (Zip format, 7.85MB)

If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.

Phrases in Germanic languages

Afrikaans, Alsatian, American Norwegian, Bavarian, Cimbrian, Danish, Dutch, Elfdalian, English (British), Faroese, Flemish (West), Frisian (North - Bökingharde), Frisian (North - Sylt), Frisian (Saterland), Frisian (West), German, Gothic, Icelandic, Limburgish, Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, Old English, Pennsylvania German/Dutch, Scots, Stellingwarfs, Swedish, Swiss German (Basel dialect), Swiss German (Chur dialect), Swiss German (Lucerne dialect), Värmlandic, West Jutlandic, Westrobothnian, Wymsorys, Yiddish

Phrases in other languages

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