The phrases I'll actually use

Learning twenty useful lines rather than a whole language you won't retain.

Teach me a small set of phrases in this language that I will realistically use, not a textbook list.

Organise by situation:
1. Politeness scaffolding: please, thank you, sorry, excuse me, and the one phrase that softens everything.
2. Ordering food and paying.
3. Asking for help and understanding the answer, including how to say "slowly, please" and "I do not speak much of this language".
4. Transport and directions.
5. Two phrases that will make someone smile because a visitor rarely says them.

For each: the phrase, a plain pronunciation guide written for an English speaker, and when to use it. Mark anything that is too formal or too casual for a stranger. Where a phrase has a politeness level that could cause offence if misused, say so explicitly.

Language, and where I am going:

Food, language and custom. What to eat and how to order it, the phrases you will use, and what reads as rude to a local.