Catalan for beginners: build your foundations with First contact
First contact is Loecsen’s Catalan course for complete beginners. You connect useful expressions with their meaning, their sound and the situations where you can use them. Across 17 chapters, you begin preparing introductions, journeys, meals, hotel stays and requests for help.
You can work towards a trip or begin a longer learning project. Voldria un cafè, si us plau — “I would like a coffee, please” — already gives you a purpose, a sentence pattern and a polite way to address someone. You can use the whole expression before learning to explain every part.
The Catalan presented here is the language used in Catalonia, Spain, with pronunciation guidance based mainly on Central Catalan. You do not need to know Spanish first. Some written words may look familiar, but listening and speaking require their own practice: a recognizable word on a screen is not automatically a word you can catch in conversation.
What can this course help you do?
Start with a small, usable set of expressions
Imagine a real situation: entering a shop, meeting a neighbor or buying a ticket. Bon dia, Em dic… and No ho entenc let you greet someone, give your name and say that you do not understand. A small repertoire can already give you a part in an exchange.
Learn a useful phrase rather than an isolated dictionary entry. Tinc set means “I’m thirsty,” although its structure is closer to “I have thirst.” The complete expression teaches you how Catalan describes the need. Later, compare it with Tinc gana (“I’m hungry”) and Tinc fred (“I’m cold”).
Prepare for a trip
Start with transport, accommodation, food and basic questions. Prepare the other half of each exchange too. On és l’estació? becomes more useful when you recognize a la dreta, a l’esquerra and tot recte: right, left and straight ahead.
Keep your address and reservation details in writing. You can show them while greeting someone and explaining what you need. Written support helps you take part without requiring you to pronounce every unfamiliar place name perfectly.
Build a foundation for living in Catalonia
Catalan can become part of shopping, neighborhood conversations, school life and local activities. Gradually add the language of your own routine: checking a time, asking for clarification or describing something simple that happened.
First contact prepares guided everyday exchanges. Following a meeting, a fast phone call or several speakers at once will require more listening and practice. The initial expressions provide a foundation for that wider work, rather than covering every situation on their own.
Understand the A1 goal
A1 concerns simple communication about familiar needs, with support from a helpful speaker. This course introduces that kind of language. Completing the activities is not, by itself, a full assessment of every A1 skill. 1
What will you work on in the 17 chapters?
The themes are grouped into six stages. You can follow the sequence or begin with the situations that matter most to your plans.
| Chapters | Exchanges to prepare |
|---|---|
| Essentials, Conversation, Learning | Greeting people, introducing yourself and asking for repetition or clarification. |
| Colours, Numbers, Time tracking | Identifying something, understanding an amount and recognizing a time or date. |
| Taxi, Transportation, Beach | Giving a destination and preparing situations during a journey or stay. |
| Restaurant, Bar, Hotel | Ordering, asking for the bill and explaining a booking. |
| Family, Feelings, Parting | Talking about relatives, expressing a need and saying goodbye. |
| In case of trouble, Looking for someone | Explaining a difficulty, requesting help and finding a person. |
Choose a manageable unit
A chapter does not have to fit into one session. Take a few connected expressions, listen to them and try to retrieve them without reading. Choose an amount you can revisit the next day without everything becoming a blur.
Connect different themes
Checking into a hotel combines greetings, numbers and times. Eating out may involve directions, a reservation and an order. Build a small scene using expressions from more than one chapter.
The additional examples in this guide illustrate the language and extend these situations. They are not a complete transcript of the course recordings or a promise that every example appears in a quiz.
How much time should you allow?
The course displays 37–60 hours for the full learning path, including reviews. You can use a few expressions from the first session. Working through the whole program involves spreading a much larger amount of practice over time.
Your first session
Try a greeting, a thank-you, your name and a request to repeat. Listen, say the phrases aloud, then look away and retrieve them from the situation. The next day, test what comes back before rereading. Immediate imitation and later recall are different tasks.
If you leave in two weeks
Fifteen to twenty minutes a day gives you 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours 40 minutes over a fortnight. Use that time for a small set of likely situations.
| Days | Suggested focus |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Greetings, your name, courtesy and asking someone to repeat. |
| 4–6 | Numbers, prices, times and directions. |
| 7–10 | Transport, meals and accommodation relevant to your trip. |
| 11–14 | Acting out exchanges without reading and revisiting difficult phrases. |
This is a travel preparation plan. It does not promise completion of the course or a full A1 level in fourteen days. If you leave sooner, narrow the plan to arrival, essential information and asking for help.
For the complete learning path
| Daily practice | Time needed to accumulate 37–60 hours |
|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 222–360 days, approximately 7–12 months. |
| 15 minutes | 148–240 days, approximately 5–8 months. |
| 30 minutes | 74–120 days, approximately 2½–4 months. |
These are calculations assuming practice every day. Confidence also depends on review, previous language experience and opportunities to use Catalan. If you take a break, return to the most useful expressions and adjust your pace rather than assuming you must start everything again.
How should you study from the beginning?
Listen, understand and retrieve
Listen to a short expression while checking its meaning. Listen again without the text, repeat aloud, then hide the Catalan and try to produce it from the situation. This last step shows what you can retrieve without the recording supplying the answer.
A fifteen-minute session could include five minutes of review, five minutes of new expressions and five minutes of speaking without a model. If yesterday’s phrases still need attention, introduce fewer new ones.
Work with complete patterns
Learn Voldria… inside a request and On és…? with a place. Compare Voldria un cafè with Voldria una aigua. The frame stays the same while the request changes. In a café, una aigua commonly refers to a serving or bottle of water.
Change one element at a time: destination, number of tickets or person. This checks whether you understand the pattern. Say the resulting sentence as a whole so that the change does not destroy its rhythm.
Match your review to the difficulty
If you understand a phrase in writing but miss it when listening, practice with the text hidden. If you understand but cannot produce it, attempt the answer before revealing the model. The quizzes and Super Memory can help you identify what still needs attention.
For a phrase you repeatedly forget, add a context: imagine the counter, the station or the person you would address. You can also play both parts of the conversation, then vary the reply.
Prepare an answer you cannot predict exactly
Pair Quant costa? with several prices and A quina hora surt? with different times. Have someone choose a reply, or shuffle your own practice prompts. Listening for changing information is a step beyond repeating a fixed dialogue.
Reading and pronouncing Catalan
Do not read the spelling as English
Catalan uses the Latin alphabet, but its letters do not follow English spelling rules. The u generally has a sound close to the vowel in “food,” without turning it into a long English glide. A final written vowel should not automatically be treated as a silent English “e.”
In Central Catalan, unstressed a and e often share a neutral vowel, while many unstressed o vowels sound like u. English speakers know a similar reduced vowel from the first syllable of “about,” but the Catalan pattern follows its own rules. 2
| Letter or group | A useful starting point |
|---|---|
| ny | A single palatal nasal in Catalunya and any; the middle of “canyon” offers an approximate starting point. |
| ll | A palatal consonant, as in lluna. It is not simply an English “l” written twice. |
| l·l | Two l letters separated by a middle dot, as in col·legi; distinct from ll. |
| j, g before e or i | Often similar to the sound in “measure” in Central Catalan: jove, gent. Other varieties may use an affricate. |
| x, ix | Often like “sh” in Central Catalan examples such as xocolata and peix; other values occur. |
| tx, final ig in vaig | Similar to “ch” in these examples: cotxe, vaig. |
| s, ss, ç | The s in casa is voiced, like “z”; passar and plaça have an “s” sound. |
| r, rr | Made with the tongue tip; the English “r” is not the model. Compare the recordings of short and stronger vibrations. |
| h | Silent in hola and hotel. |
These comparisons are approximations. Use the recording to refine the sound rather than writing every Catalan word in improvised English phonetics.
Stress and written accents
Listen for the prominent syllable: the last one in català, the first in casa. A written accent helps identify stress. The marks on è and ò also indicate open vowels, while é and ó indicate closed vowels in the relevant pronunciation conventions.
Avoid replacing a Catalan vowel with an English diphthong simply because the spelling looks familiar. Repeat a short word, then put it back into the phrase. The goal is a recognizable whole expression, not a sequence of exaggerated isolated sounds.
Final consonants and connected speech
Final consonants matter in words such as gat and cap. On the other hand, the final r of some infinitives, including parlar, is often silent in Central Catalan. Learn the sound of the word instead of treating all final letters in the same way.
Words also connect in speech. A written space is not a pause. Listen to a short recording without the text, check what you missed, then listen again. Gradually identify familiar groups rather than trying to hear an English-style boundary around every word.
Understanding the main grammar patterns
Use these explanations when they help you understand or adapt a phrase. They are reference points, not an entrance exam you must pass before beginning the course.
1. A sentence may leave out the subject pronoun
Parlo anglès means “I speak English.” The verb ending identifies the person, so Catalan often omits jo (“I”). You can say Jo parlo anglès when the pronoun adds emphasis or contrast.
For simple connections, use i (“and”), però (“but”) and perquè (“because”): Parlo anglès, però encara no parlo gaire català means “I speak English, but I don’t speak much Catalan yet.” You do not need to reproduce every English subject pronoun.
2. Nouns have grammatical gender
Learn the article together with the noun: el llibre (“the book”), la taula (“the table”). Grammatical gender is a feature of the word; it does not mean that a table is female. A typical ending can help, but it is not a guarantee: el dia and el problema are masculine.
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| el, la | el carrer, la plaça | the street, the square |
| els, les | els carrers, les places | the streets, the squares |
| un, una | un bitllet, una habitació | a ticket, a room |
| Apostrophe | l’hotel, l’estació | the hotel, the station |
| a + el → al | Vaig al mercat | I’m going to the market. |
| de + el → del | la clau del cotxe | the car key |
| Before an apostrophized article | a l’hotel, de l’estació | to the hotel, from the station |
Many plurals add -s. A final -a usually becomes -es: casa → cases. Other common patterns include pa → pans and mes → mesos. Learn useful plural phrases rather than expecting the English rule to cover everything.
The apostrophe has exceptions: la universitat keeps the full article. Notice the complete written group instead of assuming that every initial vowel requires l’.
3. Adjectives agree with nouns
Compare un carrer petit, una plaça petita and dues places petites: a small street, a small square and two small squares. The adjective changes with gender and number. Some adjectives have the same masculine and feminine form: un hotel gran, una habitació gran.
An adjective often follows its noun, unlike the usual English pattern. To compare, try més… que (“more… than”), menys… que (“less… than”) and tan… com (“as… as”). Aquest hotel és més barat que l’altre means “This hotel is cheaper than the other one.”
4. Choosing a form of “you”
English “you” covers distinctions that Catalan makes explicitly. Tu addresses one person informally. Vostè is a polite form with a third-person verb: compare Parles anglès? and Parla anglès?. The pronoun itself is often omitted.
Vosaltres addresses several people and uses its own verb forms. You may also encounter respectful vós, which takes second-person plural forms. Begin with complete requests: Pots repetir?, Pot repetir? and Podeu repetir?. The setting and the speaker help you interpret them.
5. Useful present-tense verbs
| Verb | Forms to recognize | Useful sentence |
|---|---|---|
| ser | soc, ets, és, som, sou, són | Soc de Londres — I’m from London. |
| estar | estic, estàs, està, estem, esteu, estan | Estic cansat — I’m tired, said by a male speaker. |
| tenir | tinc, tens, té, tenim, teniu, tenen | Tinc una reserva — I have a reservation. |
| anar | vaig, vas, va, anem, aneu, van | Vaig a Girona — I’m going to Girona. |
| fer | faig, fas, fa, fem, feu, fan | Què fas? — What are you doing? |
| poder and voler | puc, pots; vull, vols | Puc pagar amb targeta? — Can I pay by card? |
For regular parlar, compare parlo, parles, parla, parlem, parleu, parlen. Start with the people relevant to your conversations. Learn Voldria… as a polite request before studying the entire conditional tense.
6. “Ser,” “estar” and “hi ha”
English “be” does not map onto a single Catalan verb. Soc de Londres gives an origin; estic cansat describes a state. L’estació és al centre locates a place. The distinction needs more than a simple “permanent versus temporary” rule. 5
Hi ha una farmàcia means “There is a pharmacy.” Compare asking whether one exists nearby, Hi ha una farmàcia aquí?, with asking for a known pharmacy’s location, On és la farmàcia?.
7. Forming questions
| Catalan | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| què | what | Què vols? — What do you want? |
| qui | who | Qui és? — Who is it? |
| on | where | On és l’hotel? — Where is the hotel? |
| com | how | Com et dius? — What is your name? |
| quan | when | Quan surt el tren? — When does the train leave? |
| quant | how much | Quant costa? — How much does it cost? |
| quin, quina | which, what | A quina hora? — At what time? |
| per què | why | Per què? — Why? |
You do not add an equivalent of English “do” to every question. Tens una reserva? means “Do you have a reservation?” Intonation can turn the same word order into a question. Perquè written as one word can introduce “because.”
8. Saying “not,” “nothing” and “nobody”
The basic negative places no before the verb: No parlo català. If a short pronoun is present, it follows no: No ho sé (“I don’t know”) and No ho entenc (“I don’t understand it”).
No tinc cap pregunta means “I don’t have any questions”; No vull res, “I don’t want anything”; No hi ha ningú, “There is nobody there.” These combinations are normal Catalan. Do not remove the negative words because an English sentence would be structured differently.
9. The short pronouns “ho,” “en” and “hi”
Ho can refer back to an idea: Ho entenc (“I understand it”). En can refer to an amount: Vols cafè? — Sí, en vull (“Do you want coffee? — Yes, I do”). Hi can refer to a place: Vas al mercat? — Sí, hi vaig (“Are you going to the market? — Yes”). 6
English may leave part of this information implicit where Catalan expresses it with a pronoun. Learn the question and answer together, and identify what the short word refers to. Avoid translating en or hi as the same English word in every sentence.
You will also see pronouns attached to verbs, as in dir-ho (“to say it”), and apostrophized forms such as M’agrada…. The position and spelling depend on the construction. Start with frequent expressions, then compare their forms.
10. Likes, needs and physical feelings
M’agrada aquest lloc means “I like this place.” With several things, the verb changes: M’agraden aquestes platges (“I like these beaches”). The structure treats the thing as pleasing to the person.
For needs, learn Necessito ajuda (“I need help”), Tinc set and Tinc gana. Catalan also uses tenir for age: Tinc trenta anys means “I’m thirty.” Fa fred describes cold weather; Tinc fred describes how you feel.
11. Possession, pointing and location
Possessives often appear with an article: el meu pare (“my father”), la meva mare (“my mother”), els meus amics (“my friends”). The form agrees with the thing or person referred to, not with whether the owner is male or female.
Aquest bitllet and aquesta targeta mean “this ticket” and “this card.” For location, learn aquí, allà, a prop and lluny: here, there, nearby and far away. Amb means “with,” including in the expression amb targeta (“by card”).
12. Past events and future plans
Vaig parlar means “I spoke.” Here vaig plus an infinitive forms a past tense. Compare vaig a Girona, which describes going somewhere in the present. Do not interpret every vaig as English “going to.” For tomorrow, begin with Demà parlaré…. 3
You will also encounter he menjat and parlava. These place events in different contexts, roughly corresponding to completed actions linked to the present and past background or habits. Learn one useful sentence with ahir (“yesterday”), one with avui (“today”) and one with demà (“tomorrow”).
13. Numbers and telling the time
Practice hearing dos and dotze, then recognize them inside prices. “Two” has a feminine form: dos bitllets, but dues persones. For the time, learn És la una (“It’s one”) and Són les dues (“It’s two”).
| Time | A formulation using quarters |
|---|---|
| 2:00 | Són les dues. |
| 2:15 | És un quart de tres. |
| 2:30 | Són dos quarts de tres. |
| 2:45 | Són tres quarts de tres. |
| 3:00 | Són les tres. |
This system counts towards the next hour. It is common in much of Catalonia, although other systems exist. For an appointment, ask M’ho pot escriure? and confirm the time in digits if necessary. 4
14. Familiar-looking words that need care
| Catalan word | Meaning here | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| actualment | currently | Not normally “actually”; for “in fact,” use de fet. |
| assistir | to attend | Assistir a una reunió means attending a meeting. |
| llibreria | bookstore | A library is a biblioteca. |
| carpeta | folder | A carpet is a catifa. |
| dinar | lunch, to have lunch | Useful for distinguishing the midday meal from sopar, dinner. |
| sort | luck | Bona sort! means “Good luck!” |
Treat these as reminders, not a reason to distrust every resemblance. Keep a small list of differences you actually encounter and include a phrase with each one.
Catalan as used in Catalonia, Spain
Keep a clear starting model
This course and guide focus on Catalan used in Catalonia, Spain. The pronunciation guidance particularly reflects Central Catalan, which you can hear in Barcelona and its surroundings. The practical situations prepare you for everyday exchanges in that setting.
Follow the recording for each course expression, then broaden your listening to people you meet. Speed, age, context and personal habits create differences even within the same region.
Recognize variation without learning everything at once
Catalan has other territorial varieties, with differences in sounds, vocabulary and some verb forms. Those differences are not automatically mistakes. 7 Begin with a consistent model, including expressions such as la meva mare, and explore other usages when they become relevant to you.
Ask for an opportunity to practice
Someone may switch to another language to help you. You can say Estic aprenent català (“I’m learning Catalan”) and ask Podem parlar en català? (“Can we speak in Catalan?”). Keep the exchange comfortable for both people, accepting slower speech and explanations when needed.
Which first conversations should you prepare?
At a café
You: Bon dia. Voldria un cafè amb llet, si us plau. — Good morning. I’d like a coffee with milk, please.
Staff: Per prendre aquí o per emportar? — To have here or to take away?
You: Per prendre aquí. Quant costa? — For here. How much is it?
Practice recognizing amb sucre, sense sucre and a price. Then change the drink. You should be able to choose a reply without restarting the entire scene from its first line.
At the station
You: Un bitllet per anar a Girona, si us plau. — A ticket to Girona, please.
Staff: Només d’anada o d’anada i tornada? — One way or round trip?
You: D’anada i tornada. A quina hora surt el tren? — Round trip. What time does the train leave?
Add a departure time, a platform number and your own destination. Use the written place name to support the exchange if you do not yet recognize its pronunciation.
At a hotel
You: Bona tarda. Tinc una reserva a nom de Taylor. — Good afternoon. I have a reservation under Taylor.
Staff: Per a quantes nits? — For how many nights?
You: Per a dues nits. A quina hora és l’esmorzar? — For two nights. What time is breakfast?
These are additional practice dialogues. Their purpose is to prepare choices within an exchange, including a reply that is different from the one you expected.
| Your question | Useful information to recognize |
|---|---|
| On és…? | a la dreta, a l’esquerra, tot recte, a prop |
| Quant costa? | An amount, euros and possibly a number of cents. |
| A quina hora…? | A time, al matí, a la tarda or al vespre. |
| Puc pagar amb targeta? | sí, no, en efectiu — in cash. |
| Pot repetir més a poc a poc? | The same information repeated more slowly or in different words. |
How can you check whether your foundations are usable?
| Small task | What it checks |
|---|---|
| Introduce yourself without reading | You can retrieve your name, origin and a personal detail. |
| Listen to three prices in a new order | You identify the amounts rather than remembering a sequence. |
| Order a different drink | You can replace one element while keeping the pattern. |
| Ask for and follow a simple direction | You have prepared both sides of the exchange. |
| Recall an expression after several days | It remains available beyond the original session. |
| Say that you did not understand | You can ask for help and keep the conversation going. |
Repeat these tasks in different orders and on different days. A slow answer can still represent progress. Notice whether you need less help from the model. If one detail causes difficulty, focus on that detail rather than restarting the entire course.
What comes after First contact?
Keep a short review of useful expressions while expanding into your routine, plans, experiences and preferences. Add conversations where you do not know the reply in advance, and short listening passages with a transcript you can check afterwards.
Continue with the Independent in 6 months course, and use the Catalan courses page to see the available learning paths. A course name provides a framework; the time needed depends on your practice and the abilities you want to develop.
If you are in Catalonia, note one phrase you hear during the day, check its meaning and try using it yourself. This connects structured study with language that has a place in your own life.
Practical questions
Is the course free?
You can begin online for free with the lessons, recordings and activities provided, subject to the service’s usage limits. Paid options offer benefits such as MP3 and PDF downloads or removing advertising. Check the current terms displayed in the service for details.
Do I need an account?
An account lets you save and return to your progress under the applicable access conditions. This helps you resume expressions from previous sessions.
Can I study offline?
The interactive course runs online. MP3 and PDF files available with the relevant offer let you listen and read offline; they do not reproduce every interactive activity.
Do I need a microphone?
You can listen and repeat aloud without recording your voice. Voice features require a compatible browser and, when they use the microphone, permission to access it. A recognition result is not a complete assessment of pronunciation.
Do I need Spanish first?
No. You can learn directly through English. Spanish can provide similarities, but it also creates possible interference. Catalan has its own sound system, vocabulary and grammar; learn the Catalan expressions on their own terms.
Is Catalan difficult for English speakers?
Some vocabulary is recognizable, but grammatical gender, changing verb endings and short pronouns may be new. Start with complete expressions and notice one pattern at a time. The course does not require you to understand every rule before using a sentence.
Can I learn just by listening?
Listening is essential, but include moments when you retrieve the phrase yourself. Read signs, place names, times and short messages too. Listening, speaking and reading support different practical needs.
Must I learn full conjugation tables?
Begin with forms inside useful phrases: tinc, voldria, puc, és. Compare additional people when your conversations need them. Tables help you understand a system; using a phrase helps you retrieve it at the right moment.
Does a completion certificate prove an A1 level?
A completion certificate concerns a learning path and its completion conditions. A proficiency certificate involves a specific assessment. If an organization requires evidence of language ability, check which qualification it accepts.
Where should I start today?
Open Essentials. Choose a few expressions for greeting someone and asking for repetition, then try saying them without looking. Return the next day and check what you remember before adding more.
Sources and language resources
The dialogues and study plans in this guide are teaching examples. The following resources help explain levels, sounds, grammar and variation; they do not themselves describe everything tested in the Loecsen quizzes.
