Last year I was traveling quite a lot and I noticed that it’s tricky to go shopping and to find vegan products if you don’t know the language. When you’re lucky the products have more than one language on the back and you just hope you can understand at least one of them. Sometimes that is just not the case. That is why I made a helpful list what hopefully will help you on some of your holidays. And what about ordering food in a restaurant? Unfortunately not all restaurants have an English translation of their menu. If then also the staff can’t talk English very well (or at all) it can be very tricky to order something and be very sure it’s all vegan. There is an app called ‘The Vegan Passport’ what is very helpful when traveling. It’s definitely worth getting. The app (£1,99) has a page written in a lot of different languages (and even pictures to make yourself clear), explaining what vegans do and don’t eat in a polite but serious way. You can show the page to the people and they can read it themselves, to prevent misunderstandings. When I was in Paris once I ordered a pasta somewhere and though I said ‘no cheese’ about a 100 times, I still have the idea I ate dairy cheese that day. If I knew how to say ‘no cheese’ or I already knew about the app, the waiter definitely would of understood me at least.

So that gave me the idea to make a list of the most common things and things you need to know when you’re ordering food or when you’re shopping on your holiday. I asked all my international friends to help me with the translation and I hope it will help you when you’re somewhere in the middle of some beautiful country and you want to order your pasta without cheese!

DUTCH
*eating:
Meat – Vlees
Fish – Vis
Dairy – Zuivel
Milk – Melk
Butter – Boter
Egg – Ei
Honey – Honing
Gelatine – Gelatine
Beeswax – Bijenwas
Whey – Wei

*fashion:
Leather – Leer
Wool – Wol
Silk – Zijde
Fur – Bont

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – Veganistisch
Plant based – Plantaardig
Raw food – Rauw voedsel
Dairy free – Zuivel vrij
Gluten free – Gluten vrij
Nut free – Noten vrij
Animal products – Dierlijke producten
Sustainable – Duurzaam

GERMAN
*eating:
Meat – Fleisch
Fish – Fisch
Dairy – Molkerei
Milk – Milch
Butter – Butter
Eggs – Eier
Honey – Honig
Gelatine – Gelatine
Beeswax – Bienenwax
Whey – Molke

*fashion:
Leather – Leder
Wool – Wolle
Silk – Seide
Fur – Pelz

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – Vegan
Plant based – Pflanzenbasiert
Raw food – Rohkost/ Rohe Lebensmittel
Dairy free – Milchfrei
Gluten free – Gluten frei
Nut free – Nuss frei
Animal Product – Tier Produkt
Sustainable – Nachhaltig

FRENCH
*eating:
Meat – Viande
Fish – Poisson
Dairy – Produits laitiers
Milk – Lait
Butter – Beurre
Eggs – Oeufs
Honey – Miel
Gelatine – Gélatine
Beeswax – Cire d’abeille
Whey – Petit-lait

ITALIAN
*eating:
Meat – Carne
Fish – Pesce
Dairy – Latticini
Milk – Latte
Butter – Burro
Eggs – Uova
Honey – Miele
Gelatine – Gelatina
Beeswax – Cera d’api
Whey – Siero di latte

*fashion:
Leather – Pelle
Wool – Lana
Silk – Seta
Fur – Pelliccia

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – Vegano
Plant based –
Raw food – Cibo crudo
Dairy free – Senza lattosio
Gluten free – Senza Glutine
Nut free – Senza Nocciole-Noci
Animal products – Prodotti Animali
Sustainable – Sostenibile-Sostenibili

SPANISH
*eating
Meat -Carne
Fish – Pescado
Dairy – Lácteos
Milk – Leche
Butter – Mantequilla
Eggs – Huevos
Honey – Miel
Gelatine – Gelatina
Beeswax – Cera de abeja

*fashion
Leather – Cuero o piel
Wool – Lana
Silk – Seda
Fur – Pelo

* other things that be useful:
Vegan – Vegano
Plant based – A base de plantas
Raw food – Alimentos crudos
Dairy free – Sin lactosa
Gluten free – Sin gluten
Nut free – Sin frutos secos
Animal products – Productos animales
Sustainable – Ecológico

ARABIC
*eating:
Meat – الأكل
Fish – لحم
Dairy – سمك
Milk – ألبان
Butter – حليب
Eggs – زبدة
Honey – بيض
Gelatine – جلاتين
Beeswax – شمع النحل
Whey – مصل اللبن

*fashion:
Leather – جلد
Wool – صوف
Silk – حرير
Fur – فير

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – نباتي
Plant based – مصنوع من النباتات
Raw food – أكل ني
Dairy free – أكل من مشتقات الحليب
Gluten free – خال من الجلالين
Nut free – خالي من المكسرات
Animal products – منتجات حيوانية
Sustainable – متجدد

POLISH
*eating:
Meat – Mięso
Fish – Ryby
Dairy – Mleczne
Milk – Mleko
Butter – Masło
Eggs – Jajka
Honey – Miód
Gelatine – Żelatyna
Beeswax – Wosk
Whey – Serwatka

*fashion:
Leather – Skórzane
Wool – Wełna
Silk – Jedwab
Fur – Futro

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – Wegański
Plant based – Roślinny
Raw food – Surowe jedzenie
Dairy free – Bezmleczne
Gluten free – Bezglutenowe
Nut free – Bez orzechów
Animal products – Produkty pochodzenia zwierzęcego
Sustainable – Zrównoważony rozwój

PORTUGUESE
*eating:
Meat – Carne
Fish – Peixe
Dairy – Produtos lácteos
Milk -Leite
Butter – Manteiga
Eggs – Ovos
Honey – Mel
Gelatine – Gelatina
Beeswax – Cera de abelha
Whey – Soro de leite

*fashion:
Leather – Couro
Wool – Lã
Silk – Seda
Fur – Pele

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – Vegan
Plant based – à base de plantas
Raw food – Comida crua
Dairy free – Sem lactose
Gluten free – Sem glúten
Nut free – Sem nozes
Animal products – Produtos animal
Sustainable – Sustentável

PORTUGUESE (Brazil)
*eating:
Meat – Carne
Fish – Peixe
Dairy – Laticinios
Milk – Leite
Butter – Manteiga
Egg – Ovo
Honey -Mel
Gelatine – Gelatina
Beeswax -Cera de Abelha
Whey – Soro do leite

*fashion:
Leather – Couro
Wool – Lã
Silk – Seda
Fur – Pelo

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – Veganismo
Plant based – Baseado em planta
Raw food – Comida crua
Dairy free – Sem laticinios
Gluten free – Sem glutem
Nut free – Sem nozes
Animal products – Produto animal
Sustainable – Sustentavel

CZECH REPUBLIC 
*eating:
Meat- Maso
Fish- Ryba
Dairy- Mlecne vyrobky
Milk- Mleko
Butter- Maslo
Eggs- Vejce
Honey- Med
Gelatine- Zelatina
Beeswax- Vceli vosk
Whey- Syrovatka

*fashion:
Leather – Kuze
Wool- Vlna
Silk- Hedbavi
Fur-Srst

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – Vegan
Plant based- Rostlinne bazi
Raw food- Syrova strava
Dairy free- Bez mlecnych vyrobku
Gluten free- Bezlepkovy
Nut free- Bez orechu
Animal products- Zvireci produkty
Sustainable- Udrzitelny

FINNISH
*eating:
Meat – Liha
Fish – Kala
Dairy – Maitotuote
Milk – Maito
Butter – Voi
Eggs – Munat (kananmunat)
Honey – Hunaja
Gelatine – Gelatiini/Liivate
Beeswax – Mehiläisvaha
Wheat – Vehnä

*fashion:
Leather – Nahka
Wool – Villa
Silk – Silkki
Fur – Turkis

*other things that might be useful:
Vegan – Vegaaninen
Plant based – Kasvipohjainen
Raw food – Raakaruoka
Dairy free – Maidoton
Gluten free – Gluteiiniton
Nut free – Pähkinätön
Animal products – Eläintuotteet / Eläinperäiset tuotteet
Sustainable – Kestävä

Do you know how to translate this list in a language which isn’t in this post yet? Please contact me and I will add it. Or comment below! Let’s help each other to a 100% cruelty free holiday, with lots of yummy food! Thank you! X