Camino de Santiago lingo
Heading to the Camino de Santiago routes soon? We have put together a short and fun guide to the most useful Camino de Santiago lingo, a few sentences in Spanish and Galician to help you along the way!:
- Buen Camino! – This is the one sentence you will always remember. It is the meet and greet between pilgrims, and between pilgrims and locals.
- Bo Camiño / Bon Camiño – Once you are in Galicia you might hear this instead! as it is in Galician language. As you enter Galicia, you’ll see the Camino is referred to as: Camiño de Santiago.
- Ultreia! – It is a less known version of ‘Buen Camino!’ but the sentiment remains the same: safe journey to Santiago!
- Peregrino: male pilgrim / Peregrina: female pilgrim
- Bicigrino: male bike pilgrim / Bicigrina: female bike pilgrim
- Me gusta… el pulpo (Spanish): I like… octopus. Of course you can replace ‘octopus’ with any other food of your choice! calamares (squid), pollo (chicken), caldo gallego (galician stew), ensalada (salad), sopa (soup), pan (bread)… Gústame … o pulpo (also ‘polbo’) would be the lingo in Galician language.
- No me gusta… el pulpo: I don’t like… octopus. Non me gusta … o pulpo would be the same in Galician.
- Me encanta … el pulpo: I love… octopus. Encántame … o pulpo in Galician.
- Concha: shell, so you can refer to your Camino scallop shell
- Me duelen los pies (Spanish) Dóenme os pés (Galician): my feet are sore
- Necesito… un café: I need … a coffee but you can easily replace coffee with…
- Un descanso: a little rest or break
- Por favor: please
- Venimos de… Sarria (Spanish) / Vimos de … Sarria (Galician): you can replace Sarria with your starting point: St Jean, Tui, Lugo, O Cebreiro, Ponferrada, Ribadeo…
- Muchas gracias (Spanish) Moitas grazas (Galician): thank you very much!
You might also want to read:
- Useful Spanish for your Camino trip
- Useful French for your Camino trip (if you are travelling the Camino routes in France)
- Useful Portuguese for your Camino Portugues trip
- Useful Galician for your Camino trip
Depending on your chosen route, you will encounter different languages: Galician in Galicia but also Basque (Euskera) along the Northern Camino, Catalan on the Camino Catalan, French on the French routes and Portuguese on the Portuguese and Portuguese Coastal Camino.
For more information about the Camino de Santiago or to book your Camino trip, contact our travel specialists.
