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Someone using the Duolingo app Alamy Stock Photo
Lingo

Quiz: How much do you know about languages?

The Duolingo owl’s death prompts us all to reflect on our language skills.
10.01pm, 15 Feb 2025
30.2k

THE LANGUAGE LEARNING app Duolingo announced the sad news this week that its mascot, the Duolingo owl, has passed away.

The cause of death is not publicly known, but whether it’s a tragic incident or just a marketing ploy, millions of people will no longer have an annoying cartoon owl bullying them into doing their lessons.

Whether you’re a polyglot or a beginner, there are some things everybody should know.

Take the quiz and test your knowledge of the world’s languages.

Which of these languages is spoken by fewer than 10,000 people?
Alamy
Māori
Hawaiian

Chinali
Irish
Parasite (2019) won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. What was the primary language spoken in it?
Alamy
Chinese
Korean

Japanese
Thai
Zimbabwe is the country with the highest number of official languages. Which of these is not one of them?
Alamy
Shona
Ndebele

English
French
Which of these countries doesn't have an official language?
Alamy
United States
Canada

Scotland
Wales
What is cryptophasia?
Alamy
A language developed by dead people
A language developed by twins

A language that involves talking backwards
A language that more than 10,000 people speak natively
Which language has the longest word?
Alamy
Welsh
Hebrew

Finnish
Sanskrit
What does the Swahili phrase "Hakuna Matata" mean?
Alamy
Hello
Sorry

No worries
Take it easy
"Go tobann" is a popular Irish phrase used by Junior Cert students in their essays. What does it translate to in English?
Alamy
At last
Recently

Suddenly
Moreover
Klingon is a fictional language spoken by an alien race in which sci-fi franchise?
Alamy
Star Wars
Dune

Star Trek
Battlestar Galactica
Which of these non-English words does not mean 'thank you'?
Alamy
Merci
Tack

Bedankt
Hyvästi
Answer all the questions to see your result!
You scored out of !
Professional polyglot
You're an expert in all things langauges!
Share your result:
You scored out of !
Silver tongue
You have a pretty good grasp of the world languages!
Share your result:
You scored out of !
Tongue-tied
Languages aren't your forte! (Do you even know what that means?)
Share your result:
You scored out of !
Lingo Loser
You don't have a clue about the world languages!
Share your result:

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