A thousand-year-old Romance language, spoken from the Pyrenees to the Balearic Islands, that held its ground and lives on today in the streets, in schools and on stage. Here, we help you discover it, mica a mica.
Your daily dose
Today
dissabte, 24 d’octubre de 2026
Saturday 24 October 2026
In Catalan, days and months are written without a capital letter, unlike in English.
Word of the day
xiuxiuejar
= to whisper
No cal cridar, pots xiuxiuejar.
No need to shout, you can whisper.
Expression of the day
Bufar i fer ampolles
Literally: “to blow and make bottles”
= it’s easy as pie
Fresh off the press
Roast chestnuts, sweet potatoes and pine-nut panellets: on the evening of 31 October, Catalonia celebrates autumn its own way. The history, recipes and words of a tradition that is holding its own against Halloween.
Costa Brava coves, the long golden beaches around Tarragona, the wild sand of the Ebre delta: our pick, with the Catalan words you need for a perfect day by the sea.
Hundreds of people climbing on top of each other up to ten storeys high, a child at the very top raising one hand: castells are Catalonia’s most breathtaking spectacle, and a fine lesson in working together.
Medieval bridges, stone houses clinging to cliffs, white lanes by the sea: ten Catalan villages where time seems to have stood still, from the Empordà to the Ebre delta.
A thousand-year-old language that held its ground, and one you can learn at your own pace. Here’s why I was so keen to give it a website of its own.
Say it in Catalan
The words that open doors, from Perpignan to Tortosa. A “bon dia” always goes down well.
A language with character
A language that’s a joy to discover, and one that needs new voices.
Nearly ten million people understand it. You hear it on the radio, at school, at the market and in songs.
Pushed out of public life during the dictatorship, it was passed down at home, then found its place again. Today its everyday use is slipping in some cities: every new learner counts.
Speaking even a little Catalan lets you see Catalonia from the inside. A simple “bon dia” opens many doors.
Learn as you travel
The micamica app teaches you city by city: the language, the culture and the best places, from Barcelona to Perpignan.
