Language

Albanian is an Indo-European language with a 36-letter alphabet; like the country itself it is one of a kind. There are distant links with Romanian, and many words are on loan from Turkish, Greek and Slavic languages. An increasing number of Albanians speaks a foreign language: Italian is extremely widespread (thanks to satellite dishes and emigration), English is catching on fast, and many Albanians in the south understand Greek.

Pronunciation
a as in father
c as in pizza
ç as in church
dh as in that
e as in set
ë as in term
gj as in dodge
i as in machine
j as in year
II as in still
nj as in union
q as show
r as in rope
rr is a trilled r
x as in judge

Niceties & Necessities
Yes Po
No Jo
Good Mirë
Please Ju lutem
Thank you  Faleminderit
Sorry!  Më vjen keq!
Good morning  Mirëmëngjes
Good day  Mirdita
Hello ç’kemi
Good night  Natën e mirë
Good luck with your work!  Punë e mbarë!
Cheers! Gëzuar!
All the best!  Gjithë të mirat!
Excuse me!  Më falni!
How are you?  Si jeni?

Practicalities
When? Kur?
Where? Ku?
Who? Kush?
Why? Pse?
What? Çfarë?
I have...  Kam...
I am...  Jam...
What’s your name?  Si quheni?
My name is...  Quhem...
I’m from...  Une jam nga...
...UK ...Anglia
...USA ...Amerika
...Germany ...Gjermania
I don’t understand  Nuk kuptoj
I don’t speak Albanian  Nuk flas shqip
A ticket, please  Një biletë, ju lutem
How much does this cost?  Sa kushton?

Signs
Open Hapur
Closed Mbyllur
Entrance Hyrje
Exit Dalje
Push Shtyj
Pull Terheq

Numbers
0 zero
1 një
2 dy
3 tre
4 katër
5 pesë
6 gjashtë
7 shtatë
8 tetë
9 nentë
10 dhjetë
20 njëzet
50 pesëdhjetë
100 njëqind
1000 njëmijë

Days
Monday E Hënë
Tuesday E Martë
Wednesday E Mërkurë
Thursday E Enjte
Friday E Premte
Saturday E Shtunë
Sunday E Dielë

Months
January Janar
February Shkurt
March Mars
April Prill
May Maj
June Qershor
July Korrik
August Gusht
September Shtator
October Tetor
November Nëntor
December Dhjetor

Time
Now Tani
Later Më vonë
Today Sot
Tomor row Nesër
Yesterday Dje
In the morning  Në mëngjes
In the afternoon  Masdite
In the evening  Në darkë
At night  Natën