🚦 Getting Around

⏱ 14 min read

In this lesson you will learn useful everyday English transportation vocabulary and expressions for getting around by car, bus, train, subway, bicycle, taxi, and other common forms of transportation. Each English word or phrase includes a simple meaning plus translations in several languages.

🟢 Basic Transportation Vocabulary

🚗 Car
a vehicle with four wheels that you drive
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Coche / Carro
🇫🇷 French: Voiture
🇩🇪 German: Auto / Wagen
🇮🇹 Italian: Macchina / Auto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Carro
🚌 Bus
a large vehicle that carries many people
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Autobús
🇫🇷 French: Bus / Autobus
🇩🇪 German: Bus
🇮🇹 Italian: Autobus
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Ônibus / Autocarro
🚆 Train
a vehicle that runs on tracks
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Tren
🇫🇷 French: Train
🇩🇪 German: Zug
🇮🇹 Italian: Treno
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Comboio / Trem
🚇 Subway
an underground city train
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Metro
🇫🇷 French: Métro
🇩🇪 German: U-Bahn
🇮🇹 Italian: Metropolitana / Metro
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Metrô / Metro
✈️ Airplane
a vehicle that flies in the air
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Avión
🇫🇷 French: Avion
🇩🇪 German: Flugzeug
🇮🇹 Italian: Aereo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Avião
🚲 Bicycle
a two-wheel vehicle you pedal
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Bicicleta
🇫🇷 French: Vélo / Bicyclette
🇩🇪 German: Fahrrad
🇮🇹 Italian: Bicicletta
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Bicicleta
🏍️ Motorcycle
a two-wheel vehicle with an engine
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Motocicleta / Moto
🇫🇷 French: Moto
🇩🇪 German: Motorrad
🇮🇹 Italian: Motocicletta / Moto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Motocicleta / Moto
🚕 Taxi
a car you pay to take you somewhere
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Taxi
🇫🇷 French: Taxi
🇩🇪 German: Taxi
🇮🇹 Italian: Taxi
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Táxi

🟡 Travel & Commuting Vocabulary

🚉 Station
a place where trains or buses stop
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Estación
🇫🇷 French: Gare / Station
🇩🇪 German: Bahnhof / Station
🇮🇹 Italian: Stazione
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Estação
🚏 Bus stop
a place where people wait for the bus
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Parada de autobús
🇫🇷 French: Arrêt de bus
🇩🇪 German: Bushaltestelle
🇮🇹 Italian: Fermata dell'autobus
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Paragem de autocarro / Ponto de ônibus
🛫 Airport
a place where airplanes take off and land
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Aeropuerto
🇫🇷 French: Aéroport
🇩🇪 German: Flughafen
🇮🇹 Italian: Aeroporto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Aeroporto
🛣️ Road / Highway
a wide path for cars and trucks
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Carretera
🇫🇷 French: Route / Autoroute
🇩🇪 German: Straße / Autobahn
🇮🇹 Italian: Strada / Autostrada
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Estrada / Autoestrada
🚦 Traffic light
red, yellow, and green lights that control traffic
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Semáforo
🇫🇷 French: Feu de signalisation
🇩🇪 German: Ampel
🇮🇹 Italian: Semaforo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Semáforo
⛽ Gas station
a place to buy fuel for a car
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Gasolinera
🇫🇷 French: Station-service
🇩🇪 German: Tankstelle
🇮🇹 Italian: Stazione di servizio
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Posto de gasolina
🎫 Ticket
a pass that lets you travel
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Boleto / Billete
🇫🇷 French: Billet
🇩🇪 German: Fahrkarte / Ticket
🇮🇹 Italian: Biglietto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Bilhete / Passagem
⏰ Schedule
a list of times when buses or trains run
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Horario
🇫🇷 French: Horaires
🇩🇪 German: Fahrplan / Zeitplan
🇮🇹 Italian: Orario
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Horário

🔵 Useful Transportation Actions

🚗 To drive
to control a car or other vehicle
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Conducir
🇫🇷 French: Conduire
🇩🇪 German: Fahren
🇮🇹 Italian: Guidare
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Dirigir / Conduzir
🚆 To arrive
to get to a place
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Llegar
🇫🇷 French: Arriver
🇩🇪 German: Ankommen
🇮🇹 Italian: Arrivare
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Chegar
✈️ To leave / Depart
to go away from a place
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Salir
🇫🇷 French: Partir
🇩🇪 German: Abfahren / Abfliegen
🇮🇹 Italian: Partire
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Partir / Sair
🚌 To get on
to enter a bus, train, or plane
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Subir
🇫🇷 French: Monter
🇩🇪 German: Einsteigen
🇮🇹 Italian: Salire
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Entrar / Subir
🚏 To get off
to leave a bus, train, or plane
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Bajar
🇫🇷 French: Descendre
🇩🇪 German: Aussteigen
🇮🇹 Italian: Scendere
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Descer / Sair
⏳ To wait
to stay until something happens
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Esperar
🇫🇷 French: Attendre
🇩🇪 German: Warten
🇮🇹 Italian: Aspettare
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Esperar

🧠 Talking About Transportation

💡 English commonly uses by to say how you travel somewhere.
I go to work by bus.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Voy al trabajo en autobús.
🇫🇷 Je vais au travail en bus.
🇩🇪 Ich fahre mit dem Bus zur Arbeit.
🇮🇹 Vado al lavoro in autobus.
🇵🇹 Vou para o trabalho de ônibus.
We're going downtown by subway.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Vamos al centro en metro.
🇫🇷 Nous allons au centre-ville en métro.
🇩🇪 Wir fahren mit der U-Bahn in die Innenstadt.
🇮🇹 Andiamo in centro in metro.
🇵🇹 Vamos ao centro de metrô.
💡 With walking, English normally uses walk or on foot.
I walk to the station.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Voy a la estación a pie.
🇫🇷 Je vais à la gare à pied.
🇩🇪 Ich gehe zu Fuß zum Bahnhof.
🇮🇹 Vado a piedi alla stazione.
🇵🇹 Vou a pé até a estação.
We can walk from here.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Podemos ir a pie desde aquí.
🇫🇷 Nous pouvons y aller à pied d'ici.
🇩🇪 Wir können von hier aus zu Fuß gehen.
🇮🇹 Possiamo andare a piedi da qui.
🇵🇹 Podemos ir a pé daqui.
💡 The word for ticket is the same in most English-speaking places, though you may hear fare when talking about the price of a ride.
I need to buy a bus ticket.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Necesito comprar un boleto de autobús.
🇫🇷 J'ai besoin d'acheter un billet de bus.
🇩🇪 Ich muss eine Busfahrkarte kaufen.
🇮🇹 Devo comprare un biglietto dell'autobus.
🇵🇹 Preciso comprar um bilhete de ônibus.
Where can I buy a train ticket?
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 ¿Dónde puedo comprar un billete de tren?
🇫🇷 Où puis-je acheter un billet de train ?
🇩🇪 Wo kann ich eine Zugfahrkarte kaufen?
🇮🇹 Dove posso comprare un biglietto del treno?
🇵🇹 Onde posso comprar um bilhete de comboio?

💬 Everyday Phrases About Transportation

🚕 We need a taxi to take us to the airport early tomorrow.
a taxi will take us to the airport in the morning
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Necesitamos un taxi que nos lleve al aeropuerto temprano mañana.
🇫🇷 French: Nous avons besoin d'un taxi qui nous emmène à l'aéroport tôt demain.
🇩🇪 German: Wir brauchen ein Taxi, das uns morgen früh zum Flughafen bringt.
🇮🇹 Italian: Abbiamo bisogno di un taxi che ci porti all'aeroporto presto domani.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Precisamos de um táxi que nos leve ao aeroporto cedo amanhã.
🚌 The bus is ten minutes late and still hasn't arrived.
the bus is late and not here yet
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: El autobús lleva diez minutos de retraso y todavía no ha llegado.
🇫🇷 French: Le bus a dix minutes de retard et n'est toujours pas arrivé.
🇩🇪 German: Der Bus hat zehn Minuten Verspätung und ist immer noch nicht angekommen.
🇮🇹 Italian: L'autobus ha dieci minuti di ritardo e non è ancora arrivato.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O ônibus está dez minutos atrasado e ainda não chegou.
🚇 I normally go to work by subway because it's faster.
the subway is my usual and quicker way to work
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Normalmente voy al trabajo en metro porque es más rápido.
🇫🇷 French: Normalement je vais au travail en métro parce que c'est plus rapide.
🇩🇪 German: Normalerweise fahre ich mit der U-Bahn zur Arbeit, weil es schneller ist.
🇮🇹 Italian: Di solito vado al lavoro in metro perché è più veloce.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Normalmente vou para o trabalho de metrô porque é mais rápido.
🚆 Our train leaves at eight, so we should arrive at the station early.
we should get to the station before eight
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Nuestro tren sale a las ocho, así que debemos llegar pronto a la estación.
🇫🇷 French: Notre train part à huit heures, donc nous devrions arriver tôt à la gare.
🇩🇪 German: Unser Zug fährt um acht ab, also sollten wir früh am Bahnhof sein.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il nostro treno parte alle otto, quindi dovremmo arrivare presto alla stazione.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O nosso comboio sai às oito, por isso devemos chegar cedo à estação.

💬 Everyday Conversations

Taking public transportation
asking which bus goes downtown
A: Which bus do I need to take to go downtown?
B: Take number twelve and get off at the third stop.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 A: ¿Qué autobús tengo que tomar para ir al centro?
🇪🇸 B: Toma el número doce y baja en la tercera parada.

🇫🇷 A: Quel bus dois-je prendre pour aller au centre-ville ?
🇫🇷 B: Prends le numéro douze et descends au troisième arrêt.

🇩🇪 A: Welchen Bus muss ich nehmen, um in die Innenstadt zu kommen?
🇩🇪 B: Nimm die Nummer zwölf und steig an der dritten Haltestelle aus.

🇮🇹 A: Quale autobus devo prendere per andare in centro?
🇮🇹 B: Prendi il numero dodici e scendi alla terza fermata.

🇵🇹 A: Que ônibus preciso tomar para ir ao centro?
🇵🇹 B: Pegue o número doze e desça na terceira parada.
Taking a taxi
asking how long the airport trip takes
A: How long does it take to get to the airport from here?
B: About thirty minutes if there isn't much traffic.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 A: ¿Cuánto se tarda en llegar al aeropuerto desde aquí?
🇪🇸 B: Unos treinta minutos si no hay mucho tráfico.

🇫🇷 A: Combien de temps faut-il pour aller à l'aéroport d'ici ?
🇫🇷 B: Environ trente minutes s'il n'y a pas trop de circulation.

🇩🇪 A: Wie lange dauert es von hier zum Flughafen?
🇩🇪 B: Etwa dreißig Minuten, wenn nicht viel Verkehr ist.

🇮🇹 A: Quanto ci vuole per arrivare all'aeroporto da qui?
🇮🇹 B: Circa trenta minuti se non c'è molto traffico.

🇵🇹 A: Quanto tempo se demora a chegar ao aeroporto daqui?
🇵🇹 B: Uns trinta minutos se não houver muito trânsito.

📝 Example Sentences

🚆 We arrived at the station just in time to catch the last train.
we got there in time for the last train
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Llegamos a la estación justo a tiempo para tomar el último tren.
🇫🇷 French: Nous sommes arrivés à la gare juste à temps pour prendre le dernier train.
🇩🇪 German: Wir sind genau rechtzeitig am Bahnhof angekommen, um den letzten Zug zu erwischen.
🇮🇹 Italian: Siamo arrivati alla stazione giusto in tempo per prendere l'ultimo treno.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Chegámos à estação mesmo a tempo de apanhar o último comboio.
🚲 When the weather is nice, I prefer to go to work by bicycle.
I like biking to work on good-weather days
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Cuando hace buen tiempo, prefiero ir al trabajo en bicicleta.
🇫🇷 French: Quand il fait beau, je préfère aller au travail à vélo.
🇩🇪 German: Wenn das Wetter schön ist, fahre ich lieber mit dem Fahrrad zur Arbeit.
🇮🇹 Italian: Quando il tempo è bello, preferisco andare al lavoro in bicicletta.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Quando está bom tempo, prefiro ir para o trabalho de bicicleta.
🚦 We turn right after the second traffic light.
we go right at the second light
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Giramos a la derecha después del segundo semáforo.
🇫🇷 French: Nous tournons à droite après le deuxième feu.
🇩🇪 German: Wir biegen nach der zweiten Ampel rechts ab.
🇮🇹 Italian: Giriamo a destra dopo il secondo semaforo.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Viramos à direita depois do segundo semáforo.
⛽ We have to stop at a gas station before continuing along the road.
we need fuel before we keep driving
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Tenemos que parar en una gasolinera antes de continuar por la carretera.
🇫🇷 French: Nous devons nous arrêter à une station-service avant de continuer sur la route.
🇩🇪 German: Wir müssen an einer Tankstelle anhalten, bevor wir auf der Straße weiterfahren.
🇮🇹 Italian: Dobbiamo fermarci a una stazione di servizio prima di continuare lungo la strada.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Temos de parar num posto de gasolina antes de continuar pela estrada.
🚌 There are a lot of people waiting at the bus stop this morning.
the bus stop is crowded this morning
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Hay mucha gente esperando en la parada de autobús esta mañana.
🇫🇷 French: Il y a beaucoup de gens qui attendent à l'arrêt de bus ce matin.
🇩🇪 German: Heute Morgen warten viele Leute an der Bushaltestelle.
🇮🇹 Italian: C'è molta gente che aspetta alla fermata dell'autobus questa mattina.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Há muita gente à espera na paragem de autocarro esta manhã.
✈️ We leave home with plenty of time because the airport is far from downtown.
we leave early because the airport is far away
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Salimos de casa con tiempo porque el aeropuerto está lejos del centro.
🇫🇷 French: Nous partons de la maison à l'avance parce que l'aéroport est loin du centre-ville.
🇩🇪 German: Wir gehen früh von zu Hause weg, weil der Flughafen weit vom Zentrum entfernt ist.
🇮🇹 Italian: Usciamo di casa con anticipo perché l'aeroporto è lontano dal centro.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Saímos de casa com tempo porque o aeroporto fica longe do centro.

🏆 Final Practice

English in the Real World:

Read the situation. Choose the best word or phrase from the lesson.
Question 1 of 8
✅ Correct: 0
❓ Questions: 0
🎯 Accuracy: 0%