WoW Rookie: What's "move out of the fire" in your language?

If you use the Dungeon Finder with any regularity, you're likely to eventually find yourself grouped with a player who speaks a different language. World of Warcraft is localized (translated) to nearly a dozen different languages, including two versions of English (USA and EU), French, German, Spanish, Russian, Korean and two versions of Chinese. While U.S. and Oceanic players can generally count on groupmates to speak English, things can be quite different elsewhere in the world. Individual Latin American and EU realms tend to attract groups of players from particular areas -- Brazilians on one server, Hungarians gathered on another, Italians dominating still another.
Many players welcome the language barrier as an opportunity to polish their language skills. Still, how do you coordinate your way through a tricky pull with someone who doesn't speak a word of your language?
Let's crowdsource this issue. We've compiled a list of common terms you might use in a PUG. We'd like you to list your translations in the comments, if you are fluent in another language. We're not going to cover Russian, Korean or Chinese, since those players generally do not cross paths with Western players. Please keep your suggestions brief; simplicity trumps elegance. If you'd like to see phrases we didn't include, feel free to suggest them, but keep in mind we're sticking with the basics. We'll compile the list and create a starter guide in next week's Rookie column.
In search of translations
- Hello
- Goodbye
- Please
- Thank you
- Yes
- No
- I don't know.
- I'll tank.
- I'll heal.
- Can you share quests?
- Buffs
- Fortitude
- Divine Spirit
- Mark of the Wild
- Arcane Intellect
- Blessing of Kings
- Blessing of Might
- Please turn off Aspect.
- Ready?
- Ready!
- AFK
- BRB
- Wait, please.
- Follow me.
- Go.
- Stop.
- Which way?
- Right
- Left
- Straight
- North
- South
- East
- West
- Up
- Down
- Let the tank pull.
- Don't pull aggro.
- Move!
- Wait here.
- Need heals.
- Need
- Greed
- Need on items you want for any reason.
- I need this quest.
- I need to kill [X].
- I need to gather [X].
- Let's run back from the graveyard together so we don't get lost.
- Would you like to run another?
Thanks in advance for all your translations! If you'd like to volunteer as an expert resource to review our final translations, drop us a line (including which language you're volunteering to fact-check and why you're qualified [native speaker, etc.]) to lisa (at) wow (dot) com.

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Reader Comments (Page 5 of 15)
Dreamstorm Mar 11th 2010 11:39AM
"I'll tank. Ik ga wel tanken" = correct.
"I'll heal. Ik ga wel genezen" = incorrect. Though correctly translated, 'genezen' will never be heared in WoW. It should be "I ga wel healen"
Dreamstorm Mar 11th 2010 11:42AM
Also, "Would you like to run another? - Zullen we nog een keer gaan?"
should be "Zullen we er nog één doen?"
("Zullen we nog een keer gaan?" suggests doing the same one again.)
staffan.johansson Mar 11th 2010 11:29AM
Here are some translations for Swedish, with some commentary.
Hello
Hallå or Hej
Goodbye
Hejdå
Please
No direct translation. "Could you please pass the milk" would be "Kan du vara vänlig och skicka mjölken?" or "Kan du skicka mjölken, tack?" If used on its own in exasperation, it would be "Snälla!"
Thank you
Tack
Yes
Ja
No
Nej
I don't know.
Jag vet inte.
I'll tank.
Jag tankar
I'll heal.
Jag helar.
Buffs
Fortitude
Divine Spirit
Mark of the Wild
Arcane Intellect
Blessing of Kings
Blessing of Might
When speaking to Swedish players about any of these, they generally use the English terms (though "buffs" can become "buffar", using Swedish pluralization of an English word). If they were to be translated, some suggestions would be: Förstärkningar, Ork, Gudomlig ande, Det Vildas Märke, Magiskt Intellekt, Kungsvälsignelse, and Kraftvälsignelse
Please turn off Aspect.
Stäng av din Aspekt, tack.
Ready?
Redo?
Ready!
Redo!
AFK
BRB
The abbreviations are used even in Swedish conversations (at least online). If written out, translations would be "Inte vid tangentbordet" and "Strax tillbaka."
Wait, please.
Vänta lite, tack.
Follow me.
Följ mig.
Go.
Kör.
Stop.
Stopp.
Which way?
Vilket håll?
Right, Left
Höger, Vänster
Straight
Rakt
North, South, East, West
Nord, Syd, Öst, Väst. When used as directions (e.g. "go south"), they become Norrut, Söderut, Österut and Västerut.
Up, Down
Upp, Ner.
Let the tank pull.
Literally, "Låt tanken dra." But again, "pull" often becomes "pulla" when talking with Swedes, which can sometimes become awkward because that word can also have a naughtier meaning.
Don't pull aggro.
Dra inte aggro.
Move!
Rör på dig!
Wait here.
Vänta här.
Need heals.
Behöver helning.
Need, Greed
Behov, Girighet. But again, the English words are used when talking about the game.
Need on items you want for any reason.
Needa på saker du vill ha oavsett varför.
I need this quest.
Jag behöver det här uppdraget. Though usually it becomes Jag behöver den här questen.
I need to kill [X].
Jag behöver döda X.
I need to gather [X].
Jag behöver samla X.
Let's run back from the graveyard together so we don't get lost.
Låt oss springa tillbaka från kyrkogården [or "graveyarden"] tillsammans så vi inte går vilse.
Would you like to run another?
Vill du/ni (single/plural) köra en till?
lisapoisso Mar 11th 2010 11:29AM
Thank you!
Elmo Mar 11th 2010 11:32AM
/kram
xD
Muse Mar 11th 2010 11:37AM
Ser inte lite löjligt ut.... But they're good translations, and I agree with poster's comments, swedish players will use english expressions as the appear in-game for the most part. Use 'tack' (thank you) in the place for please, but in swedish, it's not rude to not add it.
Move out of the fire: Ut ur elden!
Svenne Mar 11th 2010 11:51AM
"pulla" = "scrolling" a girl's mouse button
Muse Mar 11th 2010 12:59PM
Can't help it, it's perfectly rule-proof. To tank: Tanka. To heal: heala. To nuke: nuka. To pull: pulla.
...although if it's all the same, lets just use 'dra'.
Zinn Mar 11th 2010 6:51PM
I totally agree with your translations although the way "move!" is used in WoW it's probably better to translate it into "akta!" which means "Watch out!", which in swedish often is used as the same as "move, because something bad will happen where you are now".
begedinnikola Mar 11th 2010 11:31AM
Croatian:
Hello: Zdravo, Bok
Goodbye: Dovidjenja, Zbogom, Bok
Please: Molim, Molim te
Thank you: Hvala
Yes: Da
No: Ne
I don't know: Ne znam
I'll tank: Ja sam tenk
I'll heal: Ja sam healer (we use english terms for most stuff strictly game related)
Can you share quests?: Mozes li podijeliti questove?
Buffs: Bafovi, Bufovi, or just Buffs
Fortitude: Just use the english term
Divine Spirit: same here
Mark of the Wild: same here
Arcane Intellect: same here
Blessing of Kings: same here
Blessing of Might: same here
Please turn off Aspect: Molim te iskljuci aspekt
Ready?: Spreman?
Ready!: Spreman!
AFK: no translation needed
BRB: same here
Wait, please.: Cekaj molim te (sing.), Cekajte molim vas (plural)
Follow me.: Slijedi me (sing.), Slijedite me (pl.)
Go.: idi, kreni
Stop.: stani
Which way?: kojim putem?
Right: Desno
Left: Lijevo
Straight: Ravno
North: Sjever
South: Jug
East: Istok
West: Zapad
Up: Gore
Down: Dolje
Let the tank pull.: Pusti tenka da vuce/Pusti tenka da pulla
Don't pull aggro.: Nemoj ukrast aggro
Move!: Mici se, Pomakni se
Wait here.: Cekaj ovdje
Need heals.: Trebam heal.
Need: Potreba (closer to necessity in meaning)
Greed: Pohlepa
Need on items you want for any reason.: Needaj na predmet ako ga trebas iz nekog razloga
I need this quest.: Trebam ovaj quest
I need to kill [X].: Trebam ubiti [X]
I need to gather [X].: Trebam skupiti [X]
Let's run back from the graveyard together so we don't get lost.: Trcimo zajedno od groblja da se ne izgubimo
Would you like to run another?: Jeste li za jos jednu partiju? (plural)
Is someone up for another?: Jel netko za jos jednu partiju?
Val Mar 11th 2010 11:35AM
I'd just like to note that this pretty much works for bosnian and serbian players as well
lisapoisso Mar 11th 2010 11:39AM
Awesome addition. /thank
Yoteukilaine Mar 11th 2010 11:32AM
french
Hello: Bonjour/Salut
Goodbye: Au revoir
Please: S'il vous plait
Thank you: merci
Yes: Oui
No: non
I don't know: Je ne sais pas
lisapoisso Mar 11th 2010 11:37AM
Merci.
We still need help with the more colloquial/game-specific French.
Oscar Mar 11th 2010 11:33AM
I did a Norwegian translation. Any terms that aren't translated is the same in both languages or doesn't have a term in Norwegian.
* Hello - Hei
* Goodbye - Ha det
* Please - Vær så snill
* Thank you - Takk
* Yes - Ja
* No - Nei
* I don't know. - Jeg vet ikke
* I'll tank. - Jeg tanker
* I'll heal. - Jeg healer
* Can you share quests? - Kan du dele quests?
* Buffs
* Fortitude
* Divine Spirit
* Mark of the Wild
* Arcane Intellect
* Blessing of Kings
* Blessing of Might
* Please turn off Aspect. - Skru av Aspect, er du snill.
* Ready? Klar?
* Ready! Klar!
* AFK
* BRB - Straks tilbake
* Wait, please. - Vent, er du snill.
* Follow me. - Følg meg
* Go. - Gå.
* Stop. - Stopp.
* Which way? - Hvilken vei?
* Right - Høyre
* Left - Venstre
* Straight - Rett (frem)
* North - Nord
* South - Sør
* East - Øst
* West - Vest
* Up - Opp
* Down - Ned
* Let the tank pull. - La tanke pulle
* Don't pull aggro. - Ikke ta aggro
* Move! - Flytt deg!
* Wait here. - Vent her.
* Need heals. - Trenger heal!
* Need
* Greed
* Need on items you want for any reason. - Need på items du trenger av hvilken som helst grunn.
* I need this quest. - Jeg trenger dette questet.
* I need to kill [X]. - Jeg trenger å drepe [X].
* I need to gather [X]. - Jeg trenger å samle [X].
* Let's run back from the graveyard together so we don't get lost. - La oss løpe fra kirkegården sammen så vi ikke går oss vill.
* Would you like to run another? - Vil du gjøre en (instance) til?
lisapoisso Mar 11th 2010 11:37AM
Takk.
Saidear Mar 11th 2010 11:33AM
Just curious. I recall Danke being used more as 'no thanks' from my German class, the more correct term being Danke schön
Frenariel Mar 11th 2010 11:39AM
No thanks is "Nein Danke or Danke, nein". Thanks is "Danke" or "Danke schoen"
galestrom Mar 11th 2010 11:35AM
How about this; the response to any of the above is not 'L2P'.
Take some time to teach those unfamiliar with basic mechanics how they work, what they do, and why. All of us started somewhere, and while the act of avoiding pixelated madness may come as second nature to us, our new community members aren't as death-hardened as we are.
In summary, take a few moments to share and impart your knowledge. It can only help everyone. =)
Marita Mar 11th 2010 3:25PM
sound well... in theory
but, if you find someone who DOESN'T know ENGLISH, and you (typically) know ONLY english... what would you do?
it's like talking with a wall
hope you are lucky trying to talk with walls :P