VERY IMPORTANT LINGUISTICS POST About Petting Dogs
Over on Twitter, I started a Very Important Linguistics thread about how to ask to pet someone’s dog in other languages.
I took several years of French in high school, and yet when I went to a French book fest/convention last year, I lacked this vital knowledge!
Here are the results so far, sorted by language. Pronunciation is included where provided. I can’t vouch that these are 100% accurate, and for most languages there are multiple ways of asking. Hopefully these should at least be good enough to get your point across so you can get on to the more important task of petting the dog.
Feel free to add additional languages or refinements in the comments, and I’ll update as things come in. I’m particularly interested in feedback/suggestions from native speakers. Pronunciation guidelines and assistance are also welcome.
Thanks to everyone who contributed!
Arabic
ممكن ألمس كلبك؟ (Moomkin almas kalbek?)
يمكنني أن داعب كلبك؟ (“Yumkinuni an da’aeb kelbik?” Or “kelbak” if asking a man.)
Chinese – Simplified
我可以宠你的狗吗
Danish
Må jeg gerne klappe din hund?
Dutch
Informal: Mag ik je hond aaien?
Formal: Mag ik Uw hond aaien?
Filipino
Pwede ko ba siyang hawakan?
Finnish
Saanko silittää koiraasi? And to thank if the answer is yes, Kiitos.
French
Puis-je caresser votre chien? (Or “votre chiot” if it’s a puppy)
Alternate version: “Pardon?” *Indicate dog.* “Je peux?” *mime petting* “Il-est gentille?”
German
Darf ich bitte deinen hund streicheln?
Beißt er? (“Does he bite?”)
Ilonggo/Hiligaynon
Pwede ko siya matandog?
Italian
Posso per favore coccolare il tuo cane?
Posso accarrezzare il suo cane?
Japanese
Inu o sawate mo ii desu ka? (Vowels follow the same phonetics as Spanish.)
Inu wo nadete yoroshii desu ka?
Korean
(개를) 쓰다듬어도 될까요?
(The (개를) part means dog, but since that part would be obvious from context you don’t actually need to say it.)
Latin
Licetne mihi, quaeso, canem tuum mulcere?
Polish
Czy mogę pogłaskać pana/pani pieska? (Che (very short e sound) moga po-gwa-ska-ch pani (female)/panna (male) pye-ska?)
To say thank you: Dziękuję bardzo. (dyjen-koo-yuh.)
Portugese (Brazilian)
Posso fazer carinho no seu cachorro?
Pulaar
Tinno mbodo yidi tuche rawandumaa.
Russian
Могу ли я погладить вашу собаку, пожалуйста? (Mogu li ya pogladeet vashu sobaku, pahzhaloosta?)
Можно погладить вашу собаку? (Mozhno pogladit’ vashu sobaku?)
Scots Gaelic
Tha mi airson do chù a’ shlìobadh? (Ha me air-son doh hyu ah shleeohpehk?)
Am faod mi an cù agaibh a sliobadh?
Spanish
¿Puedo acariciar al perrito?
Swedish
Får jag klappa din hund? And “Tack,” if the answer is yes.
Alex
July 3, 2018 @ 2:26 pm
For a transliteration of the Korean, I’ve got “ne gaeleul tolbwa sulka”. Since not everyone can read Hangeul.
Arlene
July 3, 2018 @ 3:34 pm
Ah, I consulted a native speaker
“Tha mi airson do chù a’ shlìobadh”
Ha me air-son doh hyu ah shleeohpehk (roughly)
Stephanie K
July 3, 2018 @ 3:56 pm
For “Inu o sawate mo ii?” is good, but it’s lacking in politeness – I’d add “desu ka” at the end, which makes it a standard level of polite that is acceptable at large – “Inu o sawate mo ii desu ka?” (the ‘u’ in desu often falls off and isn’t heard much when spoken)
dazyndara
July 3, 2018 @ 5:50 pm
Alternate italian version: “posso accarrezzare il suo cane”
Jim C. Hines
July 3, 2018 @ 7:51 pm
Thanks, all! Updates added.
Deborah Makarios
July 3, 2018 @ 9:59 pm
Much more useful than the old “the pen of my uncle’s gardener is in the basket of my aunt” sort of foreign phrasebook!
I would attempt to provide the Tok Pisin (“inap mi…?”) but generally speaking, you shouldn’t try to pet a PNG dog. They will assume you are going to give them a clip around the ear and either dodge away or bite you.
Carpe Librarium
July 4, 2018 @ 6:48 am
In Finnish/Suomi the emphasis is always on the first syllable of each word, so the pronunciation would be:
Saanko silittää koiraasi?
SAAHN-ko SIL-it-tää KOY-raah-si?
Kiitos (thank you) / Kiiti (thanks)
KII-tos / KII-ti
Notes:
ä is pronounced at the front of the mouth, as in ‘cat’.
a is pronounced at the back of the mouth, as in ‘car’.
When there are doubled consonants (tt in silittää) each is pronounced distinct from the other, when there are there are doubled vowels (ää, aa, ii etc) the sound is dragged out a little longer.
Markus
July 4, 2018 @ 2:48 pm
Comment on the German:
“Kann ich deinen Hund streicheln bitte?”
would be better as:
“Kann ich bitte deinen Hund streicheln?”
or possibly:
“Kann ich deinen Hund streicheln? Bitte?”
But that last one sounds very pleading, almost desperate.
David
July 4, 2018 @ 3:02 pm
Wouldn’t the German be “Darf ich…” (May I) rather than “Kann ich…” (Am I able to…)?
Jim C. Hines
July 4, 2018 @ 3:03 pm
@Markus – Tweaking that now, thank you.
Lise Andreasen
July 5, 2018 @ 10:13 am
“Kan jeg få klappe hunden din?” isn’t Danish. Maybe Swedish?
Eppu
July 5, 2018 @ 12:25 pm
A small correction to Carpe Librarium’s contribution:
Kiitos (one t) is correct, but Kiitti needs a second t before the syllable boundary. KIIT-ti.
Also, the most helpful comparison to double consonants (tt in silittää) I’ve found is that they are pronounced as at a word boundary in English. Compare the difference between “geT Told” and “get old”.
Andrew Hoover
July 5, 2018 @ 1:21 pm
I agree with Lise. Danish option three is the best (more polite).
Hanneke
July 6, 2018 @ 4:03 am
Methinks it would also be good to get the translations for yes and no in each language, so you can understand the basic part of the answers…
and putting in “thank you” for your reaction seems useful as well.
I only know a few:
Dutch:
Yes = Ja
No = Nee
He/she (doesn’t) bite = Hij/zij bijt (niet)
Please = Alsjeblieft
Thank you = Dank je / Dank u (informal / formal)
German:
Yes = Ja
No = Nein
Please = Bitte
Thank you = Danke
French:
Yes = Oui [We]
No = Non
Please = S’il vous plait [seelvuplay]
Thank you = Merci
Arlene
July 6, 2018 @ 8:19 am
Good idea; Scots Gaelic
seadh = yes (pronounced ‘shuhg’)
tha = yes (‘ha’)
Chan = no (kind of a cough-‘ahn’)
Tapadh leat = thank you (‘tapa laht’)
or
mòran taing! = thank you (‘mow-ran tayng’
HelenS
July 6, 2018 @ 11:32 pm
I am reminded that Pippi Longstocking yells at someone who hasn’t said thank you, “Even the clock says ‘tack’!”
Marie
July 14, 2018 @ 4:29 am
French :
Il est gentil ? (don’t pronounce the ‘l’)
Elle est gentille ?
… if you know if it’s a good boy or a good girl of course 🙂
Otherwise, use ‘il’.
Juliana Mills
July 15, 2018 @ 3:53 pm
One more for your collection. Brazilian Portuguese: Posso fazer carinho no seu cachorro? (Not sure if someone from Portugal would phrase it the same way!)