Day 19 of 46 · 28 days to departure (July 1)
Today's phrases
English ES — Spanish CA — Catalan PT — Portuguese
Can you take me to this address? ¿Me puede llevar a esta dirección?
meh PWEH-deh · yeh-VAR · ah ES-tah · dee-rek-see-ON
Em pot portar a aquesta adreça?
uhm pot · poor-TAR · ah uh-KEH-tuh · uh-DREH-suh
Pode levar-me a esta morada?
POH-duh · leh-VAR-muh · ah ES-tuh · moo-RAH-duh
How much is it to the airport, roughly? ¿Cuánto cuesta al aeropuerto, más o menos?
KWAN-toh · KWES-tah · al ah-eh-roh-PWER-toh · mas oh MEH-nos
Quant costa a l'aeroport, més o menys?
kwan · KOS-tuh · ah lah-eh-roo-PORT · mes oo MENS
Quanto custa até ao aeroporto, mais ou menos?
KWAN-too · KOOSH-tah · ah-TEH ow · ah-eh-roo-POR-too · maizh oo MEH-noosh
Can you turn on the meter, please? ¿Puede poner el taxímetro, por favor?
PWEH-deh · poh-NER · el tak-SEE-meh-troh · por fah-VOR
Pot posar el taxímetre, si us plau?
pot · poo-ZAR · el tak-SEE-meh-truh · see oos PLOW
Pode ligar o taxímetro, por favor?
POH-duh · lee-GAR · oo tak-SEE-meh-troo · por fah-VOR
Can I pay by card? ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?
PWEH-doh · pah-GAR · kon tar-HEH-tah
Puc pagar amb targeta?
pook · pah-GAR · am tar-ZHEH-tuh
Posso pagar com cartão?
POH-soo · pah-GAR · kom kar-TOWNG
Stop here, please. Pare aquí, por favor.
PAH-reh · ah-KEE · por fah-VOR
Pari aquí, si us plau.
PAH-ree · ah-KEE · see oos PLOW
Pare aqui, por favor.
PAH-ruh · ah-KEE · por fah-VOR
Can you call me a taxi? ¿Me puede pedir un taxi?
meh PWEH-deh · peh-DEER · oon TAK-see
Em pot demanar un taxi?
uhm pot · deh-mah-NAR · oon TAK-see
Pode chamar-me um táxi?
POH-duh · shah-MAR-muh · oong TAK-see
Key vocabulary from today
the taxi rank
ESla parada de taxis · pah-RAH-dah
CAla parada de taxis · pah-RAH-duh
PTa praça de táxis · PRAH-sah
the ride / trip
ESel trayecto · trah-YEK-toh
CAel trajecte · trah-ZHEK-tuh
PTo trajeto · trah-ZHEH-too
the fare
ESla tarifa · tah-REE-fah
CAla tarifa · tah-REE-fuh
PTa tarifa · tah-REE-fah
the surcharge
ESel recargo · rreh-KAR-goh
CAel recàrrec · rreh-KAR-rek
PTa sobretaxa · soh-breh-TAH-shah
available (light on)
ESlibre · LEE-breh
CAlliure · YEW-reh
PTlivre · LEE-vruh
the receipt
ESel recibo · rreh-SEE-boh
CAel rebut · rreh-BOOT
PTo recibo · rreh-SEE-boo
What a phrasebook won't tell you about getting a cab

Madrid (ES): taxis are white with a diagonal red stripe and the city crest on the door. There's a fixed €30 flat fare between Barajas airport and anywhere inside the M-30 ring — agree it's the flat rate before you pull away, and you can't be meter-gamed.

Barcelona (CA): taxis are black-and-yellow; locals book them through Free Now or the T-App Taxi rather than hailing. Expect an airport surcharge plus a small per-bag luggage fee — both are legal and posted on the window sticker.

Lisbon (PT): taxis are cream/beige, but Bolt dominates and usually undercuts Uber. A green roof light means free, red means taken — the reverse of what your gut expects.

Rule for the trip: tipping a cab is not expected anywhere on this route — just round up to the nearest euro and say «está bien» / «així va bé» / «está bom».

Why the three diverge — and where they don't

can → poder. ES puede, CA pot, PT pode all descend from Latin POTERE. Catalan does its signature trick — apocope, dropping the final unstressed vowel — so POTET collapses to a one-syllable pot, while Spanish and Portuguese keep the vowel intact.

card → two different roots. ES tarjeta and CA targeta are cognates (same tarja root, just the ES j/CA soft-g sound-split). But PT reaches for cartão, from Latin CHARTA + the augmentative -ONE — and that -ão nasal ending is the regular Portuguese reflex of Latin -ANEM/-ONEM endings you'll meet everywhere (pão, cão, então).

please → a politeness fork. ES and PT both calque Latin per favorempor favor. Catalan refuses it and builds si us plau = literally "if it pleases you," from Latin PLACET — the exact same construction as French s'il vous plaît. Same Latin verb (placere) that gives English "pleasant."

address → dwell vs direct. PT morada comes from morar, "to dwell" (Latin MORARI) — your address is literally "where you linger." ES dirección and CA adreça instead build on Latin DIRECTIONEM, "the direction toward." Two whole different metaphors for the same line on an envelope.

Mark what's sticky vs. slippery

Tap to mark. State persists to localStorage. (Server-side persistence and SRS resurfacing will land via the C3 SRS skill in Sprint 4.)

¿Me puede llevar a…?
take me to…
¿Puede poner el taxímetro?
turn on the meter
¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?
pay by card
Pare aquí
stop here
¿Me puede pedir un taxi?
call me a taxi