What are the most essential English phrases for travelers?

Thank you. Sorry, I'm still learning US coins — which one is the quarter?

谢谢。不好意思，我还在学美国硬币——哪个是 quarter？

💡 美元硬币不印数字面值，只印名称：penny (1¢), nickel (5¢), dime (10¢), quarter (25¢)。对外国人来说很容易搞混。

Got it. So I have two quarters, a nickel, and two pennies — that's 57 cents, right?

明白了。那我这里有两个 quarter、一个 nickel、两个 penny——就是 57 美分，对吗？

💡 Nickel 是 5 美分（比 dime 大但面值更小，这点很反直觉）。Penny 是 1 美分的铜色硬币。

Ha, yeah, it is confusing. Thanks for explaining! I'll get the hang of it.

哈哈，是挺混乱的。谢谢你的解释！我会慢慢习惯的。

💡 get the hang of it 是非常地道的表达，意思是「慢慢上手/习惯」。美国人对外国人不认识硬币通常很有耐心。

Excuse me, I think the change might be off. My total was $13.75 and I paid with a twenty.

不好意思，我觉得找零可能不对。我的总额是 13.75 美元，我给了 20 美元。

💡 在美国指出找零错误是完全正常的，不要觉得不好意思。用 might be off 比 is wrong 更委婉礼貌。

I got a five and a quarter — so $5.25 instead of $6.25. I think you missed a dollar.

我收到一张 5 美元和一个 quarter——所以是 5.25 美元，不是 6.25。好像少了一美元。

💡 清楚地列出你收到的零钱有助于快速解决问题。美国收银员出错时通常会很快纠正并道歉。

No problem at all! It happens. Could I also get two quarters instead of this 50-cent piece? Quarters are easier for parking meters.

完全没问题！常有的事。能不能把这个 50 美分硬币换成两个 quarter？Quarter 投停车计时器更方便。

💡 很多停车计时器只接受 quarter。请求换零钱（break change）在美国很常见，大多数收银员都乐意帮忙。