Challenges & brain teasers

Welcome to our Linguistic challenges section!

Test your knowledge across a wide range of topics, including linguistic history, etymology, riddles, grammar, and more. Let’s see how quickly you can solve them!


Open Challenges

Closed Challenges

“Impôts” is French for:

  1. Taxes
  2. Police
  3. Office work
  4. Refunds

“Cinzento” is Portuguese for:

  1. White
  2. Cyan
  3. Silver
  4. Gray

Which of these languages is NOT a romance language?

  1. Romanian
  2. Portuguese
  3. Dutch
  4. French

What does “oben” mean in German?

  1. Over there; far away
  2. Right here; nearby
  3. Down there; below
  4. Up there; above

What does “marrón” mean in Spanish?

  1. Maroon
  2. Purple
  3. Brown
  4. Burgundy

What does “demeurer” mean in French?

  1. To remain; to stay
  2. To descend; climb down
  3. To disengage; back away
  4. To possess; own

Which language tree does English belong to?

  1. Latin
  2. Western Germanic
  3. Britannic
  4. Greek

Learn more about the origins of English here.


“Meratek” is Hebrew for:

  1. Amazing
  2. Fascinating
  3. Surprising
  4. Disorganized

“Jordgubbe” is Swedish for:

  1. Cookie dough
  2. Sour cream
  3. Strawberry
  4. Artichoke

Fun fact: “Jord” means “soil” in Swedish, and “gubbe” can mean “old man,” or even “young boy,” depending on the context.

Khodahafez” is Persian for:

  1. Please
  2. Thank you
  3. You’re welcome
  4. Goodbye

Fun fact: The farewell word “khodahafez” is actually rooted in religion. Read more about “khodahafez” and its religious association here.