Travel phrasebook for iPhone and Android
Crossing puts real phrases in 16 languages side by side, lets you hear each one, and walks you through whole conversations: what you'll say, and what you'll hear back.
Free to download, with an optional Premium subscription. Email us and we'll write once, when it's out.
Essentials
Where is the bathroom?
Spanish · Mexico
¿Dónde está el baño?
DOHN-deh ehs-TAH ehl BAH-nyoh
Japanese · Japan
トイレはどこですか
Toire wa doko desu ka
TOY-reh wah DOH-koh dess kah
Arabic · Egypt
فين الحمام؟
Fēn el-hammām?
fayn el-ham-MEHM
Side by side
Choose the languages you need, and every phrase appears in each of them at once: the native script, a romanization where it helps, and a pronunciation guide written for English speakers. Differences stand out, and so do the words languages share.
What you'll hear back
The hard part of asking a question abroad is understanding the answer. Crossing shows the replies you're most likely to hear, so the border officer's question or the pharmacist's instructions don't catch you off guard.
Situation
Landing and passing immigration
How long will you be staying?
滞在期間はどのくらいですか。
tye-ZYE kee-KAHN wah DOH-noh koo-rye dess kah
I'm here for a week.
一週間滞在します。
ish-SHOO-kahn tye-ZYE shee-MAHSS
Situations
Twenty-one real situations, each laid out turn by turn in every language you compare. Eight are free, including every one about your health and safety.
The fallback when a conversation stalls.
Stopping someone in the street and actually understanding the answer.
Agreeing the fare before you set off, and getting out where you meant to.
The ticket window, and the three things they're most likely to say.
Arriving at the desk.
Reporting a problem without an argument.
Leaving the hotel, storing bags, getting to the station.
From the door to the bill.
Describing what's wrong, and understanding the dose you're given.
Getting seen, being understood, and knowing what you were told.
Making sure the kitchen understands, before the food arrives.
Getting help, getting the police, getting to your embassy.
The five questions every border asks, and the short answers that work.
Bags, the official taxi rank, and a fare agreed before you leave.
Buying a local SIM or eSIM and walking out connected.
The till, the terminal, and the replies you need to recognise.
Making sure you're on the right one, and getting off at the right place.
Browsing without pressure, bargaining without offence.
The questions every friendly stranger asks, and the answers that keep it going.
Restaurants, tickets, and the questions you get asked when you travel as a family.
Steps, lifts, seats and being heard, asked before it becomes a problem.
Show this
For allergies, diets and medical conditions, Crossing has cards written to be read by someone else, full-screen in their language. Under each card are answers they can point to, so you know what they meant. Cards are always free.
Cards help you explain, but they don't replace your own care. Always confirm what matters, and carry your medication and medical details.
Show this · Japanese
日本語
In the app, this card fills the screen in Japanese.
I have a severe allergy to nuts and peanuts. Even a very small amount can make me seriously ill. Please make sure my food contains no nuts or peanuts and is not cooked in nut oil or peanut oil.
Private by design
What you save about allergies, medical needs, diet, emergencies or access needs never leaves your device. Neither do the cards you show or the replies people type for you.
Health, diet, emergency and accessibility saves are kept only on this device.
What someone types into Their reply is translated on your device and never stored.
No advertising, no tracking across other apps or websites, and we never sell your data.
Every feature works without signing in. A random ID keeps your other saves in sync.
Questions
No. Crossing is a phrasebook: phrases written for real situations, shown side by side in the languages you choose. For the moment someone answers in their own words, Premium's Their reply translates what they type, right on your phone, and labels it as machine translation.
Phrases, replies, Situations and cards are stored on your phone, so you can read them offline. Audio uses your phone's built-in voices. Their reply needs a one-time download for each language, and then works offline too.
No. Every feature works without one. Crossing creates a random ID in the background so your saves can be kept safe, except anything about health, diet, emergencies or access needs, which stays only on your device. To keep your saves on a new phone, sign in from Profile with Google, email, or Apple on iPhone.
We write every phrase for real travel situations and keep improving them, but language changes with region, context and tone, and a phrase won't fit every moment. For anything about your health or safety, confirm directly and don't rely on the app alone. If something could be better, tell us.
On iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. On Android, open Google Play, tap your profile, then Payments and subscriptions. Cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date and you won't be charged again. Everything free stays yours.
We collect as little as we can, never sell it, and show no ads. The Privacy Policy lists everything, and you can ask us to delete your data at any time.
Free to download, with an optional Premium subscription. Email us and we'll write once, when it's out.
