Can't Speak Diving English Abroad? The Essential Diver's English Guide Part 2 — [Practical Phrases]

Diving English for the Everyday Diver

The cover photo throws my former colleague under the bus.

This article lists some practical conversation phrases that everyday divers are most likely to need. It's divided into two main sections: Before/After a Dive and Possible Problems You May Encounter. Please use it alongside the mind map from Part 1 and adapt the phrases to suit your own situation! This article is again written primarily around the PADI (certification agency) system, though it should be broadly applicable to other systems with only minor differences in wording.

If you haven't read Part 1 yet — Can't Speak Diving English Abroad? The Essential Diver's English Guide Part 1 — [Nouns] — go check it out first.

I also invited my friend Scuba Strider 潛旅·行者 (click to visit the Facebook page) to proofread my English and offer supplementary suggestions. His side notes will appear throughout the article! He was originally an English teacher in Hong Kong who wanted to help students learn English through scuba diving, so all his page content comes in both Chinese and English. Fellow divers who want to improve their English, go follow him now!!

Before / After a Dive

Before you head out, ask about accommodation and diving.

1. I'd like to book a dive trip for ___ people. Are there any spots available from 25th July to 30th July?

I would like to book a dive trip for ____ (number of people). Are there any spots available from 25th July to 30th July?

You can swap out "dive trip" for a few different terms depending on your needs, for example:

Accommodation, Liveaboard, Snorkel trip, Discover Scuba Dive / Intro Dive, Open Water course (for other course names in English, refer to Part 1).

2. How much do you charge per dive? Does it include dive guiding?

How much do you charge for a dive? Does it include dive guiding?

"Per dive" and "dive guiding" can be swapped out for terms like: Equipment rental, Insurance, Food / Meals, Airport transfer.

Jen's Side Note: In Australia, for example, dive guide fees are charged separately — calculated per person per dive, rather than a flat rate for one guide as you might find in Taiwan. When travelling abroad, it's worth checking the local pricing structure in advance, otherwise your actual costs might end up very different from what you budgeted.

A few years ago I went solo to a local island in the Maldives to dive, and I found I could get very reasonable prices by negotiating directly with local operators. I stayed in a large honeymoon suite for five days (sounds a bit sad, I know) with diving included — if I recall correctly, it came to just over NT$10,000. However, when I arrived, the island had fewer than ten tourists total, and the dive shop tried to go back on our agreed price and charge me more. Fortunately, I had screenshots of all our messages — so I'd strongly recommend getting everything confirmed in writing before you travel. Also, a word to the wise: solo female travellers, please stay alert, and be a little cautious if you encounter a dive guide whose behaviour seems off.

3. Is there any extra cost for Nitrox?

Is there any extra cost for Nitrox?

4. How many divers will be guided by one dive guide?

How many divers will be guided by one dive guide?

5. Could you find me a dive buddy?

Could you find me a buddy? Could you help me buddy up with other divers?

Jen's Side Note: In Australia, many divers don't dive with a guide at all — after the briefing, they simply jump in with their own partner. But if you're travelling solo, don't worry about being forced to pay for a guide. You can ask the shop to pair you with someone, and it's actually a great opportunity to meet new people! Once I met a Chinese gentleman (I generally encourage Mandarin-speaking divers to go with a guide, since most are used to that model from their training), and after I explained he could find his own buddy, he said, "Fine, find me one then!" My manager paired him with an American diver who had thousands of dives under his belt. I looked down at the Chinese gentleman's dive record form in my hand — "AOW, 50 dives" — and quietly panicked. When they surfaced after the first dive, I sidled over to the American: "Hey! XXX, how was your dive?" To my surprise, he raved about how great the Chinese gentleman was — excellent buoyancy, had a fantastic time — and the two of them dove together for the remaining three days. Afterwards, the Chinese gentleman let me in on a little secret: he was actually an SDI (certification agency) instructor who liked to travel incognito.

6. Could you explain the dive plan again?

Could you explain the dive plan again?

7. I'd love to see some nudibranchs. Could you try to find me some?

I would like to see some nudibranchs. Could you try to find me some?

Feel free to swap "nudibranchs" for whatever marine life you're hoping to spot. Here's a partial list (without scientific names):

Whale Shark, Reef shark, Hammerhead Shark, sea turtle, Sea slug, Frogfish, Stonefish, pygmy seahorse, leafy seadragon.

Jen's Side Note: I used to be confused about the difference between "nudibranch" and "sea slug" until a passenger explained it to me while sharing photos. The word "nudibranch" comes from Latin for "naked gills" (click to read the Wikipedia entry) — so when you can see the gills exposed on the outside, use the word "nudibranch." I found a really well-written, easy-to-understand article where the author explains: "all nudibranchs are sea slugs, but not all sea slugs are nudibranchs" — click through if you're interested.

8. Which dive site(s) will we visit?

Which dive site(s) will we visit?

9. Do you know where I can buy some seasick pills?

Do you know where I can buy some seasick pills?

Seasickness medication can be called Motion sickness tablets or Seasick pills.

Jen's Side Note: When I first went to a pharmacy, I always asked for "seasick pills," but for some reason the pharmacists never understood me. I eventually learned the term "motion sickness pills / tablets" from a pharmacist directly. In Australia, many boat operators don't sell conventional pharmaceutical seasickness tablets — possibly to avoid liability issues — and instead sell something called Ginger tablets, as ginger is said to help with seasickness. My Australian housemate, who worked as crew on another dive boat, also told me that cold temperatures can help settle an upset stomach, which is apparently why the air conditioning on dive boats is often kept so fierce. When I volunteered with Mike Ball, I spent all seven days aboard fighting seasickness. By the end I was so far gone that even though I knew going underwater would help, I genuinely couldn't manage it — earning me the reputation of the most seasick dive instructor they'd ever met.

10. What is the best way to enter the water? Giant stride or back roll?

What is the best way to enter the water? Giant stride or back roll?

Situations You May Encounter

Set up the gear, Self-checking

Tank:

I cannot turn the tank on.

I forgot to turn my tank on.

This tank is leaking.

The O-ring needs to be replaced.

This is not a full tank.

I need a Nitrox tank / an analyser.

Jen's Side Note: Speaking of scuba tanks / cylinders, some divers habitually crack the tank valve to blow out the dust cap on the first stage regulator — that sharp "psst!" sound seems to be standard practice in many Asian dive shops. In Australia, however, almost no instructor does this. The usual method is simply to wipe the dust cap dry carefully. If you loudly blast your tank to dry the cap, you may well be firmly told off.

Scuba Strider's Side Note: On the topic of forgetting to turn your tank on and asking someone for help — here's a fun one: no matter how much of a rush you're in to get in the water, do not say "Can you turn me on," because "turn someone on" means to arouse someone — in a very adult sense of the word. Jen: That's genuinely hilarious — scuba diving turned into flirting!

BCD:

My BCD bladder is leaking.

This BCD doesn't fit me. / The BCD is not my size.

This BCD has a broken Velcro / broken buckle.

I cannot inflate this BCD.

The BCD is self-inflating.

The tank strap is loose. Can you tighten it for me?

Regulator / reg:

Can you help me check my reg? I cannot breathe through this regulator.

I have a broken mouthpiece on my second stage. Can you change me a new one?

Jen's Side Note: You can shorten "regulator" to "reg" for short.

Mask:

Do you have any defog / anti-fog solution?

My mask gets foggy easily.

Do you have a prescription mask? I think I need a -4.5D (minus four point five diopters) mask.

Buddy Check:

The buddy check acronym seems to be particular to PADI (certification agency), and I've found that many Chinese-speaking students struggle to remember it reliably. In the textbook, the buddy check mnemonic is:

BWRAF, Begin With Review And Friend.

I'd recommend using Bring Women Roses And Flowers instead — the words are simpler and easier to remember.

B: BCD — Inflate / Deflate / Orally inflate / Dump valves (checking again for leaks or self-inflation)

W: Weights — Whether you have the weights? / Whether you have the right amount of weights? / Right-hand release.

R: Releases — Fasten your straps and the buckles.

A: Air — Full tank / breathe smoothly. Check that both you and your dive buddy can breathe comfortably through your regulators. (At this stage, also note the location of your buddy's octopus / alternate second stage.)

F: Final check — Camera, Mask, Fins, Dive computer, Streamlining, etc.

Hand Signals

OK.

Problem.

Going up / Going down.

Cannot equalize.

Check your air (How much air do you have left?).

Numbers.

Low on air (usually below 50 bar).

Out of air (usually 0 bar).

Safety stop — 5 metres for 3 minutes.

Awesome.

Scuba Strider's Side Note: Some instructor abroad who had way too much time on their hands wrote two pages of hilarious alternate dive signs — the humour in there even veers into adult territory. Seasoned divers with time to kill can look it up online. Guaranteed to completely change your diving life.

Others and Emergency

Too far from the boat.

Uncontrolled / runaway ascent.

Lost direction.

Lost buddy: search for no more than one minute and reunion on the surface.

Man overboard.

Abandon ship.

In the next article I'll be writing about dive briefing English for Divemaster-level and above. "Time permitting," I'll also add commonly used English phrases for the Open Water Diver course and the Advanced Open Water Diver course.

I hope you found this useful!

• Can't Speak Diving English Abroad? The Essential Diver's English Guide Part 1 — [Nouns]

• 'If You Can't Think Like an Instructor, You Don't Belong Here' — The Journey from Divemaster to Dive Instructor

• Diving Safety Can't Be Compromised — The Diver's Guardian: the Lookout

• Tired of Diving the Great Barrier Reef? Head to Melbourne and Swim with pipefish and Seals

• Exploring Australia's Mysterious Shipwreck in Strong Currents — S.S. Yongala

• Travelling on a Backpacker's Budget? The Complete Guide to Liveaboard Diving in Australia for Next to Nothing!

• Looking for Your Purpose in Life? Come Do an Unforgettable Dive Working Holiday in Australia!

• Encountering a Minke Whale on the Great Barrier Reef — Australia's Dream Voyage of a Lifetime

• Jen's series of articles on Medium