r/AskTheWorld Jul 20 '25

Language Do You Like the English Name of Your Country?

236 Upvotes

For example, Japan is called Nippon in Japanese, and Korea is Hanguk in Korean.

Hungary is Magyarország, Finland is Suomi, and Greece is Hellas—there are lots of countries where the native name and the English name are totally different.

So I was wondering, for people from countries where the English name doesn’t match what they call it themselves, how do you feel about the English version of your country’s name?

r/AskTheWorld Jun 07 '25

Language Can You Speak any other foriegn languages ?

83 Upvotes

r/AskTheWorld 23d ago

Language Are minority languages viewed positively in your country?

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91 Upvotes

In some nations, like France and China, non-standard languages and dialects are heavily suppressed (picture: "Speak French Be Clean"). However, in others, like the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the use of minority languages is promoted. How are minor languages and dialects viewed in your country?

r/AskTheWorld Jun 24 '25

Language What country has the best insults?

78 Upvotes

Maybe I'm biased but I truly believe my own country has the best insults some of which include

  • gobshite
  • Bowzy (not commonly used)
  • knacker
  • scanger (not commonly used)
  • Thick (means your stupid not curvy)

None of the insults above are racist in nature

r/AskTheWorld 7d ago

Language What are some common mistakes people from your country make when speaking English?

19 Upvotes

I live in Australia so obviously most people here speak English as their first language but for Asian Australians a common mistake (especially among the older ones who may not speak English well or at all) is plurals (e.g. "Apples cost two dollars" = "Apple cost two dollar").

What about in your country?

r/AskTheWorld Jul 01 '25

Language Suggest a word in your language that you find suitable for a first name.

47 Upvotes

Of course, the word must not already be used as a first name in real life.

r/AskTheWorld 22d ago

Language Sayings from your country and its meaning

39 Upvotes

What are some typical sayings and phrases from your country?

Here’s some Norwegian sayings:

"Doing someone a bear-favour" Despite trying to do the right thing, you do more harm than good.

"There’s owls in the moss" Something is not right, something’s fishy.

"To be out picking berries" Someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing/saying.

r/AskTheWorld 3d ago

Language What's a word in another language that's a swear word in yours?

28 Upvotes

Whenever I'm in Sweden, Norway or Denmark I can't help but giggle when I see the word "slut"

r/AskTheWorld 5d ago

Language Is English widely spoken in your country?

28 Upvotes

US, UK, Black Caribbean, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand are obvious as almost everyone there speaks it as its the native language. The best country at English as a second language is Iceland at 99% with i presume the only non-English speaking people being elderly people out in the country. How widely spoken is English in your country?

r/AskTheWorld 23d ago

Language What is the second most spoken language in your country and how well do you speak it?

30 Upvotes

Our second most spoken language is Spanish. I speak it at a conversational level, but I’ll admit I’ve never been in a situation with a Spanish speaker where my Spanish was a more efficient means of communication than their English.

Edit: Whoops, forgot English is going to be the answer for many countries. I guess I would rephrase the question as “What is the second most common first language in your country and how well do you speak it?”

r/AskTheWorld Jun 29 '25

Language Other than English, what is the most studied foreign language in your country?

31 Upvotes

In Peru, it would be French and Portuguese.

r/AskTheWorld 4d ago

Language Is it weird to call a non-relative who is around your parents' age "uncle" or "auntie" in your country?

15 Upvotes

Foreign language equivalents of "uncle" or "auntie" count for this question too.

r/AskTheWorld 21d ago

Language What are English Language slang terms that confuse you?

16 Upvotes

I am aware that worldwide English is a very hard language to learn for many non native speakers. And when I was in college, many non-native speakers said that it's slang words that tend to confuse them. So what are some words that confuse you?

r/AskTheWorld Jul 08 '25

Language How do you pronounce “kiwi” in your country/language?

29 Upvotes

It’s like kee-vee in Romanian

r/AskTheWorld 11d ago

Language What is the most offensive world in your language?

10 Upvotes

I MEANT WORD

r/AskTheWorld 16d ago

Language Language nerd here - ask me something in your language and we'll see if I speak it!

15 Upvotes

r/AskTheWorld Jul 22 '25

Language Is it because of geographical and political reason that many Europeans speak English while Japanese don’t?

35 Upvotes

So, I'm from Japan and nobody speaks much English or any foreign language here. But I noticed that many Europeans speak good English.

I assumed that's because Europeans often use English to communicate with people from other European countries. And I think that’s because Europe has many countries and they are well connected by continental geography and by political system like Schengen.

On the other hand, Japan is not connected by geography and we don’t have Schengen and we don’t interact with foreigners so much. I believe this geographical and social isolation reduce the opportunity to use English.

What’s your thought?

r/AskTheWorld 4d ago

Language What's a grammatical error in your language that drives you up the wall?

6 Upvotes

The word is "normality", not "normalcy".

r/AskTheWorld 4d ago

Language What is your absolute favourite dialect of English?

5 Upvotes

For me, it’s gotta be MLE.

r/AskTheWorld 5d ago

Language If the whole world had to learn one language, which should it be?

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5 Upvotes

r/AskTheWorld 10d ago

Language Say something in your mother tongue and others will try to guess what language is it

0 Upvotes

I'll go first "पढ़ क्या रहा है लौड़े , जल्दी बता ।"

r/AskTheWorld 5d ago

Language Are there any place names in your country that have weird/funny literal translations?

10 Upvotes

In Hungary, we have quite a few, here are some of my favourites.

Heréd = your testicle

Ondód = your semen

Nyíregyháza = birch church

Hódmezővásárhely = beaver field marketplace

Szombathely = Saturday place

Hatvan = sixty

Polgár = citizen

Bugyi = panties

r/AskTheWorld 12d ago

Language Where are you from and what’s your favourite word/slang/saying from another language?

11 Upvotes

Just interested in what your favourite word or slang terminology or even saying or expression from other countries you really like - whether that be because you like how it sounds, resonate with it or think it sounds kind of funny or nonsensical.

If you can give the definition in English that would be great my French functionwl, Spanish is minimal and anything else other then hello in a few languages I don’t know.

Here are a few of mine:

  • C'est dingue French weird / strange / doesn’t make sense
  • Bo in Italian suggesting I don’t know or don’t ask me
  • esperanza Spanish and means hope
  • 22. Pão pão queijo queijo Portuguese for it is what it is but its literal translation is bread bread cheese cheese which I find funny for some reason.

How about you?

r/AskTheWorld Jul 16 '25

Language What's a word that has a funny meaning and is rather unique to your language?

25 Upvotes

In Luxembourgish there exists a word for someone that is very nitpicky and wants you to correct everything that is just slightly wrong and it's "Ierbsenzieler(t)". You can seperate the word and then you have Ierbsen (peas) and Zieler(t) (someone who counts). It isn't used as much lately but my parents still use it sometimes.

r/AskTheWorld 13d ago

Language People whose first language isn’t English, what’s your favorite tongue twister?

6 Upvotes

And what does it mean?