How to have a conversation when you don’t share a language
Give the other person two ways to understand you. Say a short sentence and point to the object, show the photo you mean or type the place name. Keep watching how they respond.
See how translated captions work on HanashiStart with something you can see
Show a familiar object and explain where you got it. Follow with a question that invites them to show something similar. If you’re talking about a long story, start by agreeing on who did what before explaining why it mattered.
Use a dictionary for an individual word or translated captions for a longer back-and-forth. Agree on a signal either person can use when the meaning goes missing.
Check what you understood
Try “So you took the bus because the train had stopped?” Keep it as a question and give them time to fix the detail. If you cannot repair it after a couple of attempts, agree to move on or switch to text.
Give each person a chance to choose the topic. A conversation is easier to sustain when they can direct it too.