Airport & Customs

1. Por fabor, mustra bo pasaporte

   Por fa-bor, mus-tra bo pa-sa-por-te

   Please show your passport

   Usage

   Standard phrase used by immigration officers

   Grammar Note

   Papiamentu follows SVO word order

2. Kua ta e meta di bo bishita?

   Ku-a ta e me-ta di bo bi-shi-ta?

   What is the purpose of your visit?

   Usage

   Standard immigration question

   Grammar Note

   "Kua" = what

3. Kuantu anochi bo tin plan di keda?

   Ku-an-tu a-no-chi bo tin plan di ke-da?

   How many nights are you planning to stay?

   Usage

   Commonly asked at immigration

   Grammar Note

   "Kuantu" = how many. An infinitive after the noun "plan" takes "di" ("tin plan di" + verb)

4. Bo tin algo pa deklará?

   Bo tin al-go pa de-kla-rá?

   Do you have anything to declare?

   Usage

   Asked at customs

   Grammar Note

   "Bo tin" = do you have. Latinate verbs of three or more syllables take final-stress -á (cf. konfirmá, reservá)

5. Mi maleta no a yega ainda

   Mi ma-le-ta no a ye-ga ain-da

   My luggage hasn't arrived

   Usage

   Tell baggage claim staff

   Grammar Note

   "No ainda" = not yet

6. Esaki ta maleta di man

   E-sa-ki ta ma-le-ta di man

   This is carry-on luggage

   Usage

   Tell airline staff at check-in or boarding gate

   Grammar Note

   "Man" = hand

7. Mi ta den transit

   Mi ta den tran-sit

   I'm in transit

   Usage

   Used at transit counters or immigration

   Grammar Note

   "Den" = in

8. Unda ta e porta?

   Un-da ta e por-ta?

   Where is the gate?

   Usage

   Ask when looking for your boarding gate

   Grammar Note

   "Unda" = where; the boarding gate is "porta" (same word as in "na porta número sinku")

9. Ki ora e embarke ta kuminsá?

   Ki o-ra e em-bar-ke ta ku-min-sá?

   When does boarding begin?

   Usage

   Ask while waiting at the boarding gate

   Grammar Note

   "Ki ora" = when. "Embarke" (from Spanish "embarque") covers boarding a ship or a plane; the opposite is "desembarke". English "boarding" is also understood at the airport

10. Unda ta e tienda duty-free?

    Un-da ta e ti-en-da du-ty-free?

    Where is the duty-free shop?

    Usage

    Ask after clearing security

    Grammar Note

    The English term is used

Browse all TravelPhrases languages