For International Mother Language Day 🌎

Living in halls is an experience like no other - you meet people from all over the world, share meals, borrow milk (without asking… sometimes), and create lifelong friendships. But wouldn’t it be fun to know how to say some of your most-used student phrases in different languages? Here’s a crash course in the student vocabulary you never knew you needed...

🗑️ Because every flat has that one person who mysteriously never does it.

• French: "À qui le tour de sortir les poubelles?" (Ah kee luh toor duh sor-teer lay poo-bell?)
• Spanish: "¿A quién le toca sacar la basura?" (Ah kyen leh toh-kah sah-kar lah bah-soo-rah?)
• German: "Wer ist dran mit dem Müll rausbringen?" (Vair ist drahn mit dehm mull rowss-bring-en?)
• Mandarin Chinese: "谁该倒垃圾了?" (Shéi gāi dào lā jī le?)

🥛 Because the communal fridge is a jungle and your milk always disappears first.

• French: "Quelqu'un a du lait?" (Kel-kun ah doo lay?)
• Italian: "Qualcuno ha del latte?" (Kwahl-koo-no ah del lah-teh?)
• Dutch: "Heeft iemand melk?" (Hayft ee-mand melk?)
• Japanese: "牛乳持ってる人いる?" (Gyuu-nyuu motteru hito iru?)

🔌 Because your phone is always on 1% when you need it the most.

• French: "Je peux emprunter ton chargeur?" (Zhuh puh om-prun-tay ton shar-jur?)
• Spanish: "¿Me prestas tu cargador?" (Meh pres-tas too car-ga-dor?)
• Portuguese: "Posso pegar emprestado seu carregador?" (Poh-so peh-gar em-preh-stah-do seu ka-he-ga-dor?)
• Korean: "충전기 빌려줄 수 있어?" (Chung-jeon-gi bil-ryeo-jul soo issuh?)

🍕 Because sometimes you just can’t be bothered to cook.

• French: "Qui veut commander un plat à emporter?" (Kee vuh koh-mahn-day uh pla ah om-por-tay?)
• Spanish: "¿Quién quiere pedir comida para llevar?" (Kyén kyeh-reh peh-deer koh-mee-dah pah-rah yeh-var?)
• German: "Wer hat Lust auf Takeaway?" (Vair hat loost owf tay-kuh-way?)
• Hindi: "कोई बाहर से खाना मंगवाना चाहता है?" (Koi baahar se khaana mangwaana chahta hai?)

😴 Because sleep is sacred (even though you definitely won’t make that lecture).

• French: "Chut! J’ai cours à 9h!" (Shut! Zhay coor ah nuv-er!)
• Spanish: "¡Silencio! Tengo clase a las 9." (See-len-see-oh! Ten-go klah-seh ah las noo-evay!)
• Turkish: "Sessiz olun! Sabah 9’da dersim var!" (Ses-siz oh-loon! Sah-bahk dok-za dersim var!)
• Mandarin Chinese: "安静！我早上9点有课！" (Ān jìng! Wǒ zǎo shàng jiǔ diǎn yǒu kè!)

No matter where you’re from, one thing’s for sure: student life is universal! Whether it’s arguing over chores, borrowing stuff from your flatmates, or convincing everyone to order a midnight pizza, we all experience the same struggles - just in different languages.

So this International Mother Language Day, why not impress your flatmates by dropping one of these phrases in their language? Who knows, you might even pick up a new one along the way!

🎓🌍 Happy International Mother Language Day!