If you want to taste a glass of wine during your travels, you need to know how to ask for it.
In Europe it's quite simple:
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In France you're on the safe side with “vin” (pronounced “va(n)”), although in Brittany and some areas of the north-west some people say “gwin” in the Celtic language. Not surprisingly, the same word is used in Wales (pronounced “guin”).
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In the UK , “wine” . But in Northern Ireland and some parts of the Republic of Ireland it may be necessary to use the term “fíon” (“fí(o)n”).
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Simple even in the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain it is enough to repeat the word "vino" or "vi" , widespread in the south-eastern regions. In Portugal memorize “vinho” (always remembering that the nasal sound “nh” should be pronounced, roughly, like the Italian “gn”). Watch out for the Principality of Andorra where to say "wine" you will have to pronounce the word "ardo" .
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The Germans say “wein” (“vain”), the Dutch “wijn” (“vein”), while the Poles say “wino” , with a pronunciation very similar to the Italian word. In neighboring and Slavic countries it is enough to say “wine”. In Hungary , you have to use “bor” instead.
- In Albania and Greece they are words quite distant from the Italian one. In the first case we say “verë” (“ver(e)”), in the second “krasí” .
- Sweden and Norway use “vin” , while in Finland they say “viiniä” .
- In Latvia and Lithuania “vīns” and “vynas” respectively. Finally, in Russia and neighboring countries the green light is for “vino” (it is written “вино”), while in Turkey you will have to ask for “şarap” (“sciara(p)”).
- In Hawaii , just the word “wine” may not be enough. Here, wine is called “waina” .
- In China you have to learn the word "pútáojiu" which indicates our wine.
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In Korean it is simpler with “wain” (“uain”), as well as in Japan with a very similar word, that is “waìn” to be pronounced “vaìn” with the accent on the “i” which you will have to make heard.
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If you are in Thailand the word to use is “Wịn̒” with a pronunciation very similar to the English one.
- In Arabic it is a little used word due to strict religious restrictions, but it is said "khamr".