November 2005

The Albanian
Language/
Gjuha shqipe

for Invitees

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 1 of 30

November 2005

Table of Contents
1.

Information About Albanian

p. 4

2.

Albanian alphabet and sounds

p. 5

3.

Greetings

p. 10

4.

Useful phrases

p. 11

5.

Phrases containing adjectives

p. 12

6.

Other phrases

p. 13

7.

Phrases used in a restaurant

p. 14

8.

Directions

p. 15

9.

Drinks

p. 16

10. Food

p. 17

11. Fruits

p. 18

12. Home items

p. 19

13. Clothing

p. 20

14. Colors

p. 21

15. Places

p. 22

16. Family relations

p. 23

17. Numbers 1 - 20

p. 24

18. 10 million

p. 25

19. Months

p. 26

20. Days of the Week

p. 26

21. Saying welcome and responding

p. 27

22. How are you?

p. 27

23. Would you like a cigarette/coffee?

p. 27

24. Whats your name? Where are you from?

p. 27

25. Thanks for coming. Good bye.

p. 27

26. Cheers! Bon appetite!

p.28

27. Exercises

p.29

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 2 of 30

November 2005

The text accompanies the following audio tracks:

AL_Albanian_Lesson_1.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_2.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_3.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_4.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_5.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_6.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_7.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_8.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_9.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_10.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_11.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_12.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_13.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_14.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_15.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_16.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_17.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_18.mp3
AL_Albanian_Lesson_19.mp3

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

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Page 3 of 30

November 2005

Information about Albanian

The Albanian language belongs to the family of Indo-European languages. It is one of the
oldest languages, yet different from the others. Albanian language seems to have kept its
own features from very ancient times. The earliest text in Albanian known so far is the
"Baptizing Formula", written in 1462. Historically, unified national literary Albanian can be
traced to 1908, when the decision was made to accept the Latin alphabet. Since 1972, the
unified literary language remains the only one used in Albania and Yugoslavia.
Albanian language is spelled more or less phonetically. Each letter has a specific sound that
doesn't change in the context, making its reading and writing rather easy. As a rule,
Albanian spelling corresponds to the pronunciation of words quite directly. The alphabet has
36 letters, 29 consonants and 7 vowels. There are two main dialects, the Geg dialect in the
North of Albania and the Tosk dialect in the South. In spite of the differences of the two main
dialects, both spoken and written Albanian are understood by all Albanians. Education and
mass media have facilitated this process. Today Albanian is spoken by about 10 million
people around the world, 3.5 million in Albania, 3 million in Yugoslavia (Kosovo,
Macedonian, Serb and Montenegro), over 1 million in Turkey, as well as large groups of
Albanians in South Italy (known as Arbereshe), Greece, Europe, USA, Canada and
Australia.

Albanian is an inflected language, which means that grammatical endings play an

indispensable role in the language grammatical system.

Nouns can have either a feminine or masculine gender (the neutral gender isnt very
common)

Depending on their role in the sentence (such as subject or object, nouns change
their endings. The different roles they play are called cases. Albanian has five cases:
Nominative (subject), Accusative (direct object), Dative (indirect object), Genitive
(possession) and Ablative (nouns following prepositions).

Nouns can be either definite or indefinite. This is marked by their ending rather than
an article like the English the. Even names of people and places can be definite. The
capital Tirana could then be literally translated as the Tiran.

Adjectives change depending on the gender, number, definiteness and case of the
noun they follow.

Instead of the pronouns (I work, you work, he she/it works, we work, you work, they
work), verbs use endings (punoj, punon, punon, punojm, punoni, punojn). The
pronouns exist (un, ti, ai/ajo, ne, ju, ata/ato) but are used only for emphasis.

Compared to the English 14, Albanian only has 8 tenses whose use is very similar to
their English equivalents.

Another prominent feature or Albanian is its clitics e/i and their forms which have
many different functions. One of the languages functions is the direct object
pronoun: Un e shoh. (I see it.) What may be confusing is that it is used even when
the full object is there: Un e shoh librin. (I see [it] the book.)

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 4 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 1: Albanian alphabet and sounds

Albanian language has 36 letters, each presenting a different sound from the other. Nine
letters are digraphs, which means they are written as a combination of two consonants but
are considered to be a single letter. Sh, th, and others and are considered letters. Words
beginning with them are listed separately in the dictionary.
Letter

Sound

Similar English
sound

Example

Meaning:

Aa

father

anije

(ship)

Bb

boy

babai

(father)

Cc

ts

cats

cop

(piece)

charm

ant

(bag)

Dd

door

der

(door)

DH dh

they

dhom

(room)

Ee

estuary

era

(wind)

around

hna

(moon)

Ff

foot

flamur

(flag)

Gg

ground

goca

(girl)

GJ gj

--------

mngjes

(morning)

Hh

hotel

hotel

(hotel)

Ii

interest

interesi

(interest)

Jj

yesterday

jeta

(life)

Kk

come

kmba

(foot, leg)

Ll

little

lule

(flower)

LL ll

fall, call

llampa

(lamp)

Mm

morning

motr

(sister)

Nn

noon

nna

(mother)

NJ nj

new

nj

(one)

Oo

all, or

ora

(hour)

Pp

party

pun

(work)

Qq

-------

qeni

(dog)

Rr

remember

radio

(radio)

RR rr

--------

kurr

(never)

Ss

sister

seminari

(seminar)

SH sh

shall

shum

(many)

Tt

table

tavolina

(table)

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 5 of 30

November 2005

TH th

thank you

thoni

(speak)

Uu

cook, foot

ura

(bridge)

Vv

very

vera

(wine)

Xx

dz

--------

xix

(spark)

XH xh

joke

xhaxha

(uncle)

Yy

-------

ylli

(star)

Zz

zoo, zero

zogu

(bird)

pleasure

zhurm

(noise)

ZH zh

 Lesson 2: Difficult sounds in Albanian

These pairs of sounds are particularly difficult and often wrongly interchangeably when used:

rr

ll

kur (when)

kurr (never)

pula (hen)

pulla (stamp)

xh

gj

xhaxha (uncle)

gjell (soup)

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

qen (dog)

els (key)

Page 6 of 30

November 2005

Sounds in Albanian Language

(No Audio)

Vowels
Each of the vowels can be either short or long
Case

Name

Phonetic
symbol

Note
It is similar to the first vowel in English around when
short, and to the vowel of burn when long.

[]

pr [pr] for
Aa

hn [h: n]

It is similar to the English sound in cut when it is

short, or cart when it is long.

[a]

mal [mal] mountain

Ee

zan [za :n] fairy

It is very similar to the English sound as in get,

dead, set etc. In Albanian it also has a long
counterpart.

[]

vesh [v ] ear
Ii

blet [bl: t] bee

It is similar to the English sound as in hit, or as in

meet if it is long.

[i]

mik [mik] friend

Oo

pik [pi:k] point

It is similar to the English hot when it is short, and

thought when it is long.

[o]

sot [sot] today

Uu

bot[bo: t] world

It is similar to the English bush when short, and

moon when long.

[u]

mbush[mbush] fill

fush[fu: ] field

Consonants
[Link] following consonants:
b[b],
n[n],

[t],
s[s],

f[f],
sh[],

g[g],
v[v],

j[j],
xh[d ],

m[m],
z[z],

zh [ ]

are like the initial English sounds in the following words: book, church, foot, goal, jet,
moon, note, sheep, vowel, judgement, zipe and pleasure:
buk

[bu:k]

bread

sa

[sa]

how ?

far

[t far]

what?

shikoj

[ ikoj]

to see

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 7 of 30

November 2005

fik

[fik]

fig

vit

[vit]

year

gisht

[git]

finger

xhep

[d p]

pocket

jam

[jam]

to be

zi

[zi]

black

me

[m]

with

zhurm

[ u:rm]

noise

nesr

[nsr]

tomorrow

2.
p[p],

t[t],

d[d],

k[k]

are pronounced like their English counterparts but are not aspirated even when they are in
an initial position. They are similar to p, t, d and k in pen, top, door and skin.
pen

[pn]

pen

der

[dr]

door

tani

[tani]

now

kok

[ko:k]

head

3. nj[] is pronounced like the initial sounds in the English word new.
njeri

[ri]

person

4. h[h]is very similar to the English as in head, heat, etc.

humb

[humb]

lose

5. th[]and dh[]are similar to English in think and they, but in Albanian these two sounds
tend to be more interdentally, that is, you put the tip of your tongue between teeth.
thumb

[umb]

sting

dhe

[]

and

6. c [ts] is pronounce by trying to produce at the same time the sound [t] and [s], whereas
x [dz] is pronounced by trying to produce at the same time the sound [d]and[z]
ca

[tsa]

some

xix

[dzi:dz]

spark

7. q [c] and gj [gj] are two consonants that do not exist in English.
qaj

[caj]

cry

gju

[gju]

knee

[ReguL]

order

8. r[r] is a single trill, whereas rr [R] involves more than one trill.
risk

[risk]

risk

rregull

9. l[l]is pronounced similarly to l in leaf or long, whereas ll[L]is more like the final sound in
bill, hall, etc.
loj

[lo:j]

game

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

lloj

[Loj]

kind

Page 8 of 30

November 2005

Syllables and word stress

According to the number of vowels, Albanian words may consist of one, two, three or more
syllables. In the Albanian language the position of the word stress is not fixed. In some
words the stress falls on the first syllable: Ti=you. In others, it falls on the last syllable: Partia = party. There are words with the stress falling on the middle syllable: Pun-a = work. It is
advisable to pay attention to the stress when memorizing Albanian words. Word stress in
Albanian is more emphatic than in English; the stressed syllable is articulated with much
greater force than the unstressed one, therefore lengthened.
In general, in Albanian the main stress falls on the last word of a phrase, on the last stem of
a compound word, and on the last syllable of a polysyllabic word. Although this holds for the
vast majority of words in Albanian, some of them do not obey this general principle.

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 9 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 3: Greetings

Prshendetje

Welcome!

Mir se vini!

Hello!

Prshndetje

Good morning!

Mirmngjes!

Good afternoon!

Mirdita!

Good evening !

Mirmbrma!

Good bye!

Mirupafshim!

Please!

Ju lutem!

Excuse me.

M falni

Thank you (very much)!

Faleminderit (shum)!

Yes

Po

No

Jo

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 10 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 4: Useful phrases

Shprehje t prdorshme

Where are you from?

Nga jeni ju?

I am from the United States.

Un jam nga Amerika.

I am American.

Un jam amerikan.

Where do you live?

Ku banoni ju?

I live in ...

Un banoj n

How are you?

Si jeni ju?

Fine, thanks!

Mir, faleminderit!

What do you do?

Cfar pune bni ju?

I am a volunteer.

Un jam vullnetar.

I speak only English.

Un flas vetm anglisht.

I don't speak Albanian.

Un nuk flas shqip.

What time is it?

Sa sht ora?

Please, speak more slowly.

Flisni m ngadal, ju lutem,

Please, speak more loudly.

Flisni me z m t lart,ju lutem.

I understand

Un kuptoj

I don't understand.

Un nuk kuptoj

Repeat it, please.

Prsriteni, ju lutem.

Write it down, please.

Shkruajeni, ju lutem.

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 11 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 5: Phrases containing

adjectives

Shprehje mbiemrore

I am...

Un jam...

hungry

i/e uritur

full

i/e ngopur

thirsty

i/e etur

busy

i/e zn

free

i/e lir

tired

i/e lodhur

sick

i/e smur

thirsty

i/e etur

happy

i/e lumtur

sad

i/e trishtuar

glad

i/e gzuar,

angry

i/e zemruar

The prefix i is used when the speaker is a man and e is used for women.

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 12 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 6:

Other phrases

Shprehje t tjera

I need help.

(Un) Dua ndihm.

Look out!

Kujdes!

Listen!

Dgjoni!

Can you help me?

Mund t m ndihmoni?

Can you tell me?

Mund t m tregoni?

I am looking for...

Po krkoj...

I want to go

Un dua t shkoj

I know

(Un) E di.

I don't know

(Un) Nuk e di.

I think so.

(Un) Mendoj kshtu.

I don't think so.

(Un) Nuk mendoj kshtu.

I believe, yes.

(Un) Besoj se po.

I dont believe.

(Un) Nuk besoj.

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 13 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 7: Phrases used in a

restaurant

Shprehje t prdorura n restorant

I want a coffee

(Un) Dua nj kafe.

I don't want ...

(Un) Nuk dua...

I want to eat.

(Un) Dua t ha.

I want to drink

(Un) Dua t pi.

I don't want to eat/drink

(Un) Nuk dua t ha/pi.

I like it.

M plqen.

I dont like it.

Nuk m plqen.

This is good.

Ky/kjo sht e mir.

This is not good.

Ky/kjo nuk sht e mir.

How much is this?

Sa kushton kjo?

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 14 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 8: Directions

Drejtime

Where is the?

Ku sht?

On the left

N t majt

On the right

N t djath

Straight-ahead

Drejt

Near by

Ktu afr

Not far from here

Jo larg nga ktu

Above

Sipr

Down the village

Posht fshatit

Behind

Prapa

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 15 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 9: Drinks

Pije

water

uj

coffee

kafe

tea

aj

milk

qumsht

juice, lemonade

limonat

mineral water

uj mineral

wine

ver

beer

birr

raki

raki

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 16 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 10: Food

Ushqim

sugar

sheqer

salt

krip

bread

buk

salad

sallat

meat

mish

cheese

djath

butter

gjalp

egg

vez

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 17 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 11:

Fruits

Fruta

grape

rrush

fig

fik

watermelon

shalqi

melon

pjepr

peach

pjeshk

pear

dardh

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 18 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 12:

Home items

Artikuj shtpiak

glass

got

cup

filxhan

spoon

lug

fork

pirun

knife

thik

plate

pjat

table

tavolin

chair

karrige

door

der

window

dritare

bed

krevat

bed sheet

araf

blanket

batanije

pillow

jastk

home

shtpi

hotel

hotel

floor

kat

room

dhom

bathroom

banj

toilet

banj

toilet paper

letr higjenike

soap

sapun

towel

peshqir

shampoo

shampo

kitchen

guzhin

bedroom

dhom gjumi

dining room / sitting room

dhom ngrnje / dhom ndenje

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 19 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 13: Clothing

Veshje

pants

pantallona

blouse

bluz

shirt

kmish

dress

fustan

skirt

fund

shoes

kpuc

sandals

sandale

slippers

shapka

boots

izme

jacket

xhaket

coat

pallto

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 20 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 14:

Colors

Ngjyra

red

i/e kuqe

white

i/e bardh

black

i/e zez

yellow

i/e verdh

green

i/e gjelbr

dark blue

blu

sky blue

i/e kaltr

grey

gri

brown

kafe

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 21 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 15: Places

Vende

village

fshat

town

qytet

shop

dyqan

street

rrug

building

ndrtes

flat

pallat

library

biblotek

restaurant

restorant

school

shkoll

student

nxns

cultural palace

pallati i kulturs

municipality

bashki

commune

komun

office

zyr

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 22 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 16: Family relations

Lidhjet familjare

mother

nn

father

baba

sister

motr

brother

vlla

daughter

e bija

son

i biri

grandmother

gjyshja

grandfather

gjyshi

niece

mbesa

nephew

nipi

mother-in-law

vjehrra

father-in-law

vjehrri

sister-in-law

kunata

brother-in-law

kunati

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 23 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 17: Numbers 1 - 20

Numrat 1-20

zero

nj

dy

tre

katr

pes

gjasht

shtat

tet

nnt

10

dhjet

11

njmbdhjet

12

dymbdhjet

13

trembdhjet

14

katrmbdhjet

15

pesmbdhjet

16

gjashtmbdhjet

17

shtatmbdhjet

18

tetmbdhjet

19

nntmbdhjet

20

njzet

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 24 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 18: 10 - million

10 - million

10

dhjet

20

njzet

30

tridhjet

40

dyzet

50

pesdhjet

60

gjashtdhjet

70

shtatdhjet

80

tetdjet

90

nntdhjet

100

nj qind

1000

nj mij

1,000,000

milion

Learning how to count in thousands is especially important because most people still give
prices in the so called 'old Lek' by adding one extra zero.

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 25 of 30

November 2005

 Lesson 19: Months

Muajt

January

Janar

February

Shkurt

March

Mars

April

Prill

May

Maj

June

Qershor

July

Korrik

August

Gusht

September

Shtator

October

Tetor

November

Nntor

December

Dhjetor

(No Audio)
Days of the week

Ditt e javs

Monday

E hn

Tuesday

E mart

Wednesday

E mrkur

Thursday

E enjte

Friday

E premte

Saturday

E shtun

Sunday

E diel

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 26 of 30

November 2005

Dialogs (no audio)

Saying welcome and responding

Mira: Mir se vini!
Beni: Mir se ju gjeta!

How are you?

Mira: Si jeni?
Beni: Mir ,faleminderit! Po ju?
Mira: Mir,faleminderit!

Would you like a cigarette/coffee?

Mira: Doni nj cigare?
Beni: Jo, faleminderit.
Mira: Doni nj kafe?
Beni: Po, faleminderit.
Whats your name? Where are you from?

Beni: Un quhem
Arben Marashi.
Po ju si quheni?

Mira: Nga jeni ju?

Mira : Un quhem Mira

Luca.

Mira: Un jam nga

Tirana,un banoj n
Tiran.

Beni: Un jam nga Lezha.

Po ju?

Thanks for coming. Good bye.

Mira: Faleminderit q erdht.

Shpresoj t shihemi s shpejti.
Beni: Mirupafshim!
Mira: Mirupafshim!

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 27 of 30

November 2005

Cheers! Bon appetite!

Gzuar!
T bft mir! Ju bft mir!

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 28 of 30

November 2005

Exercises
Choose the correct answer.
1. When someone greets you saying Mir se vini what is the correct reply?
a. Faleminderit
b. Mir se ju gjeta
c. Mirupafshim
2. Un jam nga Amerika is the correct reply to:
a. Si jeni?
b. Nga jeni ju?
c. Doni nje kafe?
3. What would you like to drink?
a. Rrush
b. Got
c. Uj
4. Si jeni?
a. Jo shum mir
b. Mir
c. C'ka
5. What do you use to greet someone?
a. Mirmngjes
b. Mirdita
c. Mirmbrma
Fill in the blanks.
Phrases from the dialogue
1. Un ________ John Smith.
2. Doni _____ kafe?
3. Un_____ _____ Tirana.
4. ______, faleminderit!
5. Un ______ n Tiran.
6. ___________ q erdht.
7. T bft _____ !
8. ___________ t shihemi s shpejti.

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

Page 29 of 30

November 2005

Other important Phrases

1. Un nuk _______ shqip.
2. Kjo ________ e mir.
3. ____ kushton kjo?
4. Un ______ vullnetar.
5. Flisni m ngadal, ju ______.
6. Cfar pune ______ ju?
7. Jo _____ nga ktu
8. Un _____ t pi.

Find the word that does not belong to the group:

1. Drinks
a. Ver
b. Qumsht
c. Vez
2. Clothes
a. Fustan
b. Fshat
c. Kpuc
3. Fruits
a. Shalqi
b. Pjeshk
c. Gjalp
4. Weekdays
a. E hn
b. E enjte
c. E kuqe

Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania

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