50 World Languages Quiz Questions and Answers
This page lists 50 real questions from the Quizlino World Languages category, each with four options, the correct answer and, where available, a short explanation. They are arranged from easy to hard, so you can start at the level that suits you. The full category contains 220 questions spread across its levels, so what you see here is a sample to study from, not the whole quiz.
- Cover the answer line, read the question and decide on your option first.
- Check the answer, then read the explanation even if you were right.
- Make a note of the questions you missed and come back to them after a few days.
- When you feel ready, play the timed World Languages to test yourself properly.
World Languages: Easy Questions
Warm-up questions that most players can answer.
Q1. What is the most widely spoken native language in the world?
Answer: B. Mandarin Chinese
Explanation: Mandarin Chinese has the largest number of native speakers.
Q2. Which language primarily uses the Cyrillic alphabet?
Answer: B. Russian
Explanation: Russian is written using the Cyrillic script.
Q3. "Bonjour" is a greeting in which language?
Answer: C. French
Explanation: "Bonjour" is French for "hello" or "good day."
Q4. Which language is primarily spoken in Brazil?
Answer: B. Portuguese
Explanation: Brazil is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world.
Q5. What language family does English belong to?
Answer: B. Germanic
Explanation: English is a West Germanic language.
Q6. "Konnichiwa" is a greeting in which language?
Answer: C. Japanese
Explanation: "Konnichiwa" is Japanese for "hello."
Q7. Which language has the most native speakers in India?
Answer: A. Hindi
Explanation: Hindi has the largest number of native speakers in India.
Q8. What is the official language of Egypt?
Answer: B. Arabic
Explanation: Arabic is the official language of Egypt.
Q9. Esperanto was created to be what kind of language?
Answer: B. An international auxiliary language
Explanation: Esperanto was designed as an easy-to-learn neutral second language.
Q10. Which alphabet does the modern Greek language use?
Answer: C. Greek
Explanation: Greek has its own alphabet, the source of many letters used elsewhere.
Q11. What is the official language of Russia?
Answer: A. Russian
Explanation: Russian is the official language across the Russian Federation.
Q12. Which language is primarily spoken in Mexico?
Answer: A. Spanish
Explanation: Spanish is Mexico's official and most widely spoken language.
Q13. "Ni hao" is a greeting in which language?
Answer: A. Mandarin Chinese
Explanation: "Ni hao" is a standard Mandarin greeting.
Q14. What is the official language of Germany?
Answer: A. German
Explanation: German is the official language of Germany.
Q15. Which language is spoken in the Netherlands?
Answer: A. Dutch
Explanation: Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands.
World Languages: Medium Questions
A step up in difficulty, for players who know the basics.
Q16. Which language is tonal, where pitch changes a word's meaning, spoken in China?
Answer: A. Mandarin Chinese
Explanation: Mandarin uses tones to distinguish word meanings.
Q17. What is the term for a language that has no remaining native speakers?
Answer: A. Extinct language
Explanation: An extinct language has died out entirely.
Q18. Which country has both French and English as official languages?
Answer: A. Canada
Explanation: Canada officially recognizes both French and English.
Q19. What are the two Japanese syllabaries used alongside Kanji characters?
Answer: A. Hiragana and Katakana
Explanation: Hiragana and Katakana are Japan's two native syllabaries.
Q20. Which Indo-European branch does Russian belong to?
Answer: A. Slavic
Explanation: Russian belongs to the Slavic language family.
Q21. What is the term for words borrowed from one language into another?
Answer: A. Loanwords
Explanation: Loanwords are adopted directly from another language.
Q22. Which African country is home to over 500 spoken languages, more than any other on the continent?
Answer: A. Nigeria
Explanation: Nigeria has extraordinary linguistic diversity.
Q23. Which language holds special recognized status in Israel alongside Hebrew?
Answer: A. Arabic
Explanation: Arabic has special legal status in Israel.
Q24. Which Romance language is spoken in Romania, distinct from its Slavic-speaking neighbors?
Answer: A. Romanian
Explanation: Romanian descends from Latin despite the surrounding Slavic languages.
Q25. What sign language is most commonly used in the United States?
Answer: A. American Sign Language
Explanation: ASL is the primary sign language used in the US.
Q26. Which southern African language is known for its distinctive click consonants?
Answer: A. Xhosa
Explanation: Xhosa is famous for incorporating click sounds.
Q27. What is the term for a simplified language that develops from contact between different language speakers?
Answer: A. Pidgin
Explanation: A pidgin arises as a simplified contact language.
Q28. Which is the most widely spoken Dravidian language by number of speakers?
Answer: A. Telugu
Explanation: Telugu has the largest number of speakers among Dravidian languages.
Q29. What is the official language of Iran?
Answer: A. Persian (Farsi)
Explanation: Persian, or Farsi, is Iran's official language.
Q30. What does the word "Esperanto" itself mean?
Answer: A. One who hopes
Explanation: Esperanto translates roughly to "one who hopes."
World Languages: Hard Questions
Challenging questions for confident players.
Q31. What is the world's oldest writing system still in continuous use today?
Answer: A. Chinese characters
Explanation: Chinese characters have been used continuously for thousands of years.
Q32. Which nearly extinct language, indigenous to northern Japan, is considered a language isolate?
Answer: A. Ainu
Explanation: Ainu is unrelated to Japanese or any other known language family.
Q33. Sanskrit is most closely associated with the liturgical texts of which religion?
Answer: A. Hinduism
Explanation: Sanskrit is the classical liturgical language of Hindu scripture.
Q34. Which writing direction do Arabic and Hebrew share?
Answer: A. Right to left
Explanation: Both Arabic and Hebrew are written right to left.
Q35. What is the term for the smallest unit of meaning in a language?
Answer: A. Morpheme
Explanation: A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in linguistics.
Q36. Which language is often cited for having around 18 grammatical cases?
Answer: A. Hungarian
Explanation: Hungarian is well known for its large number of grammatical cases.
Q37. Who created the constructed language Esperanto in 1887?
Answer: A. L. L. Zamenhof
Explanation: L. L. Zamenhof designed Esperanto to be an easy universal second language.
Q38. Which ancient script was used to write both Akkadian and Sumerian?
Answer: A. Cuneiform
Explanation: Cuneiform was a shared writing system in ancient Mesopotamia.
Q39. What term describes a language splitting and diversifying into distinct new languages over time?
Answer: A. Language divergence
Explanation: Divergence explains how related languages evolve apart, like Latin into Romance languages.
Q40. Which language family includes Arabic, Hebrew, and Amharic?
Answer: A. Afro-Asiatic
Explanation: These languages share Afro-Asiatic roots.
World Languages: Expert Questions
The toughest questions in the category, for true fans of the subject.
Q41. What does 'Arigatou' mean in Japanese?
Answer: B. Thank you
Explanation: 'Arigatou' (or 'arigatou gozaimasu') is how you say thank you in Japanese.
Q42. 'Spasibo' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: C. Russian
Explanation: 'Spasibo' (спасибо) is Russian for thank you.
Q43. 'Asante' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: D. Swahili
Explanation: 'Asante sana' means thank you very much in Swahili.
Q44. 'Kamsahamnida' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: A. Korean
Explanation: 'Kamsahamnida' is the formal Korean thank you.
Q45. 'Xièxie' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: D. Mandarin Chinese
Explanation: 'Xièxie' (谢谢) is Mandarin for thank you.
Q46. 'Dank je' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: A. Dutch
Explanation: 'Dank je' is informal Dutch for thank you.
Q47. 'Tack' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: C. Swedish
Explanation: Swedes say 'tack' or 'tack så mycket'.
Q48. 'Efcharistó' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: B. Greek
Explanation: 'Efcharistó' (ευχαριστώ) is Greek for thank you.
Q49. 'Grazie' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: A. Italian
Explanation: 'Grazie mille' means thanks a thousand in Italian.
Q50. 'Obrigado' means 'thank you' in which language?
Answer: B. Portuguese
Explanation: Men say 'obrigado' and women often say 'obrigada'.
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