When I first travelled to Paraguay, I had the most incredible local experiences and avoided a lot of stress just by learning the basics of the Guarani language.
I’m going to give you the step by step guide of how I studied Guarani, useful materials I’ve found along the way and my personal tips for language learning. If you’re planning a trip to Paraguay and you’re not sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place!
Introduction to Guarani – An Indigenous Language with Global Relevance
What is Guarani?
Guarani is an indigenous language of South America, spoken by the Guarani people who have lived in regions of Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia for centuries. Despite its ancient origins, Guarani remains highly relevant today, particularly in Paraguay, where it enjoys the unique status of being one of the country’s two official languages, alongside Spanish.
In Paraguay, bilingualism is deeply ingrained, with Guarani and Spanish interwoven into daily life. What’s fascinating is that around 90% of Paraguayans speak Guarani, either as their first language or fluently as their second.
This makes Paraguay one of the few nations globally where an indigenous language is widely spoken by the general population, regardless of their ethnic background. While Spanish is often the language of business and formal settings, Guarani dominates informal, family, and community conversations, making it an essential tool for those looking to truly connect with Paraguayans on a cultural level.
Why Learn Guarani for Travel to Paraguay?
As a traveller, learning Guarani goes beyond picking up a few useful phrases – it opens doors to a deeper, more meaningful connection with Paraguay’s people and culture.
Paraguayans take great pride in their bilingualism, and many will appreciate your efforts to communicate in Guarani, even if you’re not yet fluent. Learning Guarani shows respect for the local culture and can often lead to warmer, more personal interactions with locals.
In my experience, understanding basic Guarani phrases made my time in Paraguay richer and more enjoyable. Beyond the practical benefits of understanding street signs or menus, speaking Guarani allows you to tap into the heart of Paraguayan daily life, creating bonds with people who might not speak much Spanish or English. Plus, it helps you to navigate local customs and norms, which can often be lost in translation when you rely solely on Spanish or English.
Defining Your Goals: Why Do You Want to Learn Guarani?
Why exactly do you want to learn Guarani? What kind of situations and connections do you want to make by using the language? This is something that I wish I had thought about when I first started studying Guarani. So, have a good think about your answer before diving into your first grammar exercise!
Whether you’re preparing for travel, seeking social connections, or planning to work or volunteer in Paraguay, tailoring your study to your specific goals will help you stay focused and make progress faster. When I started learning Guarani, I tried to learn everything, and ended up doing a poor job of a lot of topics. So don’t make my mistake!
Prioritise the most relevant vocabulary and language structures that you think you’ll need. This will make studying much more simple and effective!
Travel Goals: Focus on Basic Phrases
If your primary goal is travel, you’ll want to focus on learning the most useful phrases for navigating your way around Paraguay. Start with the basics: how to ask for directions, order food, and engage in simple conversations.
Some of the first phrases I learned were:
- Mba’éichapa? (How are you?)
- Moõpa oime…? (Where is…?)
- Aipota… (I want…)
These phrases helped me in countless situations, from getting directions to finding a place to eat. Focusing on these functional phrases allows you to travel more confidently and independently.
Social Goals: Building Friendships in Guarani
For those looking to make friends and build social connections, it’s worth investing time in learning conversational Guarani. Understanding how to introduce yourself, talk about your hobbies, and ask about others’ interests can go a long way in forming relationships.
To break the ice, phrases like:
- Cheréra… (My name is…)
- Mba’épa rejapo? (What do you do?)
- Mba’éichapa ne rembiapo? (How’s your work going?)
These helped me form genuine connections with locals. By showing interest in their lives and culture, I found that people were more open and welcoming, making my travel experience more enriching.
Professional Goals: Using Guarani in Work or Volunteering
If you’re planning to work or volunteer in Paraguay, understanding Guarani can greatly enhance your experience and ability to do your job well.
In professional or volunteer settings, practice Guarani phrases like:
- Apytyvõse ndéve. (I want to help you.)
- Mba’épepa reiko? (How can I assist you?)
These will make you a more integrated and valued member of the community, as it demonstrates a genuine commitment to engaging with the culture and people you’re working with.
Common Guarani Phrases to Help Your Daily Life
Like I mentioned before, to maximise your study time as much as possible it is a good idea to learn the most common phrases first. This will help you breeze through common interactions with locals and build your confidence for later conversations. I’ve put together a list of the most common Guarani phrases that I used on my first trip to Paraguay.
Asking for Directions in Guarani
- Moõpa oĩ pe… (baño, estación de tren, boletería) – Where is the (bathroom, train station, ticket booth)
- Tove – Left
- Akata – Right
- Yvate rapére / Yvyguýre rapére – Up the stairs / down the stairs
- Ko ómnibus piko oho… peve? – Does this bus go to…?
- Mba’éichapa ahata peve…? – How do I get to…?
Phrases for Shopping in Guarani
- Aipota ajogua… – I want to buy..
- Mboypa ovale…? – How much is…?
- For buying, it is also helpful to learn numbers –
- Peteĩ – One
- Mokõi – Two
- Mbohapy – Three
- Irundy – Four
- Po – Five
- Poteĩ – Six
- Pokõi – Seven
- Poa – Eight
- Porundy – Nine
- Pa – Ten
- Ikatúpa cheme’ẽ peteĩ …(vaka, factura)? – Can I have a … (bag, receipt)?
Ordering Food in Guarani
- Pe menú – The menu
- Rojapóta ore rembi’u – We are ready to order.
- Cheguerekóta peteĩ alergia. Ko tembi’u piko oguereko…? – I have an allergy. Does this dish contain…?
- Che ndajapói ko’ãva – I didn’t order this.
- Ikatúpa cheru michĩve … (mbujape, víno)? – Could you bring some more … (bread, wine)?
- Pe factúra katu, aguyje. – The bill, please.
- Tarjéta rupive – With card.
- Viru ryrupe – With cash.
The Best Resources to Learn Guarani for Travel and Daily Use
While resources for learning Guarani are somewhat limited compared to more widely spoken languages, there are still several excellent tools available to help you get started.
Language Learning Apps and Tools for Guarani
- Duolingo’s Guarani Course (Spanish-based)
Duolingo is the go-to for new language learners. While it isn’t effective by itself, it is a great supplement to help you revise structure and vocab.
However, it’s important to note that the Guarani Duolingo course is taught through Spanish. So, this will be most useful if you already have some knowledge of Spanish.
- Clozemaster: Learn Guarani on the go for vocabulary improvement
Another tool I found helpful was Clozemaster, which is ideal for practicing vocabulary on the go. With its gamified learning approach, Clozemaster is similar to Duolingo and helps you build up your Guarani vocabulary in a fun, engaging way – perfect for those times when you’re waiting for a bus or have a few minutes to spare.
Free Courses and Grammar Resources
As much as programs like Duolingo can be helpful for on-the-go learning, at some point you will need to invest some time into grammar exercises to help you get a good grasp on the language. Luckily, I found some free resources to help with this!
- Live Lingua’s Guarani courses (worksheet-based learning)
For more structured learning, I recommend checking out Live Lingua’s free Guarani courses. These are excellent for learners who prefer worksheet-based lessons to build a solid foundation in the language.
- Open access grammar book: “A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani” (free PDF)
Early on in my studies I came across an open-access grammar book called A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani, which is a fantastic resource for those who want to dive deeper into the language’s grammar and structure. I aimed to do 15-20 minutes of exercises a few times a week between listening and writing practice, and this was really helpful!
Online Communities for Learning Guarani
Learning a language can feel isolating at times, especially when it’s as niche as Guarani. That’s why I found online communities to be a lifeline. Subreddits like /r/guarani and /r/languagelearners are great spaces to connect with other learners and share resources, tips, and experiences.Some contributors really go above and beyond in their responses, like they did on this post!
Using YouTube and Video Content
YouTube also offers a treasure trove of Guarani learning materials. I found videos ranging from basic introductions to more advanced lessons, which were helpful for hearing the language spoken naturally. Repeatedly listening to and studying video content helped me better understand pronunciation and conversation flow, even when the content felt challenging at first.
Here are a few good ones to start you off!
Best for learning grammar and vocabulary: Aula De Guarani
Best listening practice (English subtitles available): WIKITONGUES: María speaking Guarani
Best for beginner phrases (English subtitles available): GUARANÍ 🗣️ Momentos del día💥 APRENDÉ FÁCIL
Language Exchange Partners
Finding a good conversation partner gives you a safe, comfortable environment to finally practise speaking after all your hard work with grammar and vocab! Just having a 10 minute conversation can really level up your fluency and make it easier to identify your knowledge gaps.
The most popular platforms for Guarani language exchange are My Language Exchange and Tandem. Here, you can connect with people that are learning English (or another language you’re fluent in) and help each other out via text messages, phone calls or even letters if you’re feeling old school.
When learning Guarani as a beginner, I used tandem and connected with a person from Paraguay. This was an amazing opportunity because I was also able to ask them about their culture, what food I should try and what I should expect when I arrived. Of course, keep in mind that you will also have to dedicate some time to chatting in English and explaining any questions they have for you. It’s definitely a give and take!
Translation and Reference Tools
For word-to-word translations, use Glosbe for translating between English and Guarani. Even though you can also translate from/to Guarani with Google Translate, it can sometimes be inaccurate. That’s why it’s so handy to use Glosbe because it gives examples to help you better understand the context of your search.
Use AI to learn Guarani
In my opinion, AI is a severely underestimated tool for language learning. AI can replicate and build on almost every resource that I have recommended so far and is generally very accurate! Using AI like ChatGPT or Gemini is perfect for learning Guarani as quality learning materials can be difficult to come by. Let me give you a few examples of how I used AI to learn Guarani.
- Correct a passage of text that I have written, with a detailed explanation of all corrections
- Ask it to create exercises around what you need to study, such as present tense verb conjugations
- Ask it to act as a conversation partner and ask you about topics that are most relevant to you, like sport or travel for example. It can also correct any mistakes you make while speaking, and sometimes has a more thorough explanation than a real conversation partner would!
My Personal Tips for Learning Guarani: Proven Techniques
Learning a language as an adult is often seen as difficult because unfortunately, it is all too common that we stop learning once we finish studying in college or high school. Nad as a result, we forget how to learn best.
The truth is, learning a language can be easy if you focus on optimising your study time with methods that will actually work (and no, memorising hundreds of new words without any context is not one of them!).
When I started learning Guarani, I put a lot of time into researching the best way to learn a language, and here’s the top three tips that I learnt.
Focusing on What’s Relevant to You
When learning a new language, especially one with limited resources, it’s crucial to focus on what’s most relevant to your personal needs. For me, I found that tailoring my study to topics I was most interested in – like travel and socialising – helped me stay motivated and feel more connected to what I was learning.
By focusing on the vocabulary and structures that are directly useful to you, you’ll build confidence faster.I call this the “Fake it till you make it” method. You can “fake” a much higher fluency in certain topics that you enjoy by simply prioritising that vocab and the relevant phrases.
For example, even now I don’t know the Guarani word for most tools or animals, because I’m not particularly interested in building or farming. On the other hand, I absolutely love cooking and I put a lot of effort into learning vocabulary for foods and recipes early on in my Guarani study. This has helped me express my interests in many conversations and I was fluent in “cooking” conversation long before I could talk about other simple things (and that’s ok!).
Repetition is Key to Success
One of the most valuable lessons I learned when I started learning Guarani for travel was that repetition is essential. Don’t worry about constantly seeking out new material. Instead, revisit what you’ve already learned and study it again and again. Over time, you’ll notice that phrases and grammar start to stick. This is the method that Illys explains in her video about how she learnt Norwegian (which is notoriously difficult to learn) to a native level, which I’ve linked here!
Repetition helped me become more fluent with fewer resources, which is especially helpful when learning a language like Guarani, where English-language materials are somewhat limited.
Speak from Day One
Learning grammar and vocabulary is fine, but you really need to speak to level up your fluency. I used the same method as Language Lords did in this video, speaking to camera about a story relevant to me or recapping a text that I had read, then reviewing words I didn’t know and trying again with the same story. You can also do this exercise by recapping your day or narrating things as you are doing them throughout the day – eg. “I am cutting onions. I am washing my hands.”
Below, I’ve shared a few videos that I have continuously come back to while learning Guarani. Even though these videos don’t speak specifically about Guarani, the truth is that language learning tips can be applied across most languages.
Key Takeaways
Learning Guarani for your travels to Paraguay is a deeply enriching experience that goes beyond just picking up a few phrases. By approaching it with the right goals, using the best resources, and staying consistent, you’ll not only improve your language skills but also unlock a more personal and immersive connection with the people and culture of Paraguay.
Safe travels, and best of luck with your Guarani journey!
