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Literal Place Names Trivia Quiz

Many places in the world have been named in a language other than English. We use their names but do we know what they mean?

A multiple-choice quiz by GroundsKeeper-Willy. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
GroundsKeeper-Willy

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
81,969

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
4482

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This capital city was so named because the air there seemed so fresh and good to breathe. Hint

Nairobi

Buenos Aires

Addis Abbaba

Oslo

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Question 2 of 10

2. This city presumably started out as a significant "white house". So it was named....? Hint

Bloemfontein

Amsterdam

Casablanca

Istanbul

3. This great city was named "River of January" because that is the month the first Europeans saw what appeared to be a river mouth there.
It was actually Guanabara Bay. Thanks for this info goes to Gheafocker.

Answer: (It's in Portuguese)

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Question 4 of 10

4. This U.S. state's name means "coloured red"

Answer: (One word)

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Question 5 of 10

5. The name of this city in Malaysia means "Newcastle". Hint

Putra Jaya

Kuala Lumpur

Kota Bharu

Penang

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Question 6 of 10

6. This country had (has?) so much silver that it was named _______? Hint

Madagascar

Argentina

Bolivia

Mauritania

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Question 7 of 10

7. The Portuguese explorer Pedro de Cintra named this African country what, meaning "Lion Mountains".

Answer: (two words)

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Question 8 of 10

8. This city is set on a strip of land at the convergence of two rivers, which is shaped like an "elephant's trunk". So in the local language its name is ______? Hint

Bombay

Goroka

Ekibin

Khartoum

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Question 9 of 10

9. Somebody thought they saw a lion on this island once and so named the city _____? Hint

Manila

Cairo

Singapore

Bahrain

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Question 10 of 10

10. The explorer Ferdinand Magellan was sailing past this place and saw so many native camp fires on shore that it looked like a "Land of Fire"

Answer: (It can get pretty cold and windy down there.)

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This capital city was so named because the air there seemed so fresh and good to breathe.

Answer: Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.

2. This city presumably started out as a significant "white house". So it was named....?

Answer: Casablanca

"It doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." Casablanca is a great movie. Casa=house, blanca=white. It's original arab name was Dar el-Beida, which also means "white house".

3. This great city was named "River of January" because that is the month the first Europeans saw what appeared to be a river mouth there. It was actually Guanabara Bay. Thanks for this info goes to Gheafocker.

Answer: Rio de Janeiro

I hear it ROCKS! during "Carnival"

4. This U.S. state's name means "coloured red"

Answer: Colorado

Colorado has 54 mountain peaks over 14,000 feet. Rocky mountain high indeed! While 'rojo' means 'red' in Spanish, 'colorado' means to be tinged or coloured red as if blushing or having a flushed face from overheating.

5. The name of this city in Malaysia means "Newcastle".

Answer: Kota Bharu

Kota Bharu was the site of Japan's first attack on the Western Allies (British/Australian forces)in World War II. It was an hour and twenty minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbour in real time.

6. This country had (has?) so much silver that it was named _______?

Answer: Argentina

Its capital city has very "good air', (Buenos Aires) Argentum is Latin for silver.

7. The Portuguese explorer Pedro de Cintra named this African country what, meaning "Lion Mountains".

Answer: Sierra Leone

Sierra means "saw toothed", which mountain ranges do look like. Leone means "lion".

8. This city is set on a strip of land at the convergence of two rivers, which is shaped like an "elephant's trunk". So in the local language its name is ______?

Answer: Khartoum

Bombay is in India. Goroka is in New Guinea. Ekibin is the suburb of Brisbane I grew up in. Khartoum is the capital of Sudan.

9. Somebody thought they saw a lion on this island once and so named the city _____?

Answer: Singapore

Singa=lion, pore (pura) = city
That person who saw the lion is reputed to have been named Sang Nila Utama.

10. The explorer Ferdinand Magellan was sailing past this place and saw so many native camp fires on shore that it looked like a "Land of Fire"

Answer: Tierra del Fuego

Tierra = Land; del Fuego = of fire.
It's very near Cape Horn at the bottom of Chile, South America.

Source: Author GroundsKeeper-Willy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor minch before going online.
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