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Quiz about Cat Got Your Tongue
Quiz about Cat Got Your Tongue

Cat Got Your Tongue? Trivia Quiz


Travel the world, and you'll see amazing things and meet amazing people -- but you can't do it all in English. Can you say "I don't understand," "Do you speak English?", or "I don't speak _____" in these ten languages ... or has the cat got your tongue?

A multiple-choice quiz by CellarDoor. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
CellarDoor
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
356,534
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
896
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Rizeeve (10/10), Guest 66 (4/10), Guest 60 (7/10).
Question 1 of 10
1. You're standing in front of a beautiful cathedral, admiring the Gothic architecture, when two young women approach you. "Excusez-moi," one of them says. "Pourriez-vous prendre une photo pour nous?" You try to understand, but her meaning just isn't clicking in your mind. How can you tell her you don't speak her language? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. You're at a restaurant in St. Petersburg, about to start on a large bowl of bright pink soup. Suddenly, your waitress appears again - is something wrong? "Prijatnovo appetita!" she says. How do you tell her that you don't understand? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. You're in a station in Delhi, sipping a mango lassi, when a man approaches you. "Yeh tren kidhar jaati hai?" he asks. How can you tell him that you don't speak his language? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. You've just arrived at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and you can hardly wait to get inside. The friendly young man at the ticket booth greets you with, "Marhaban!" How can you ask him whether he speaks English? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. You're on a sidewalk in Rome, craning your neck to take in the whole Colosseum. It's magnificent! You're surprised to be approached by a woman and her child. "Mi scusi," she says, "dove sono i gabinetti?" How will you tell her that you don't speak her language? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. You've finally arrived at Narita International Airport after a very long flight and you're eager to leave the terminal, but there seems to be a holdup. The man in front of you turns and says, "Shosho omachi kudasai." How can you tell him that you don't understand? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. You're at a train station, hoping to travel today, but you're not sure how to go about it. Some electronic booths say "Fahrkarten"; others say "Geldautomat." There's a sign with times and destinations, but also a "Gleis" column you can't interpret. Maybe you can get help from the woman at the Reisezentrum. How do you ask her whether she speaks English? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. You've dreamed of visiting the Forbidden City, and you're finally in Beijing, China - but you need directions. Luckily, there are some friendly-looking passersby. How can you ask them whether they speak English? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. You've just sat down at a restaurant in Zanzibar, Tanzania, weary from your travels. A waiter comes up to you, smiling, and asks, "Utapenda kunywa nini?" How will you tell him that you don't speak Swahili? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. You've just collected your luggage after a long flight to Mexico City, and you're anxious to leave the airport. There's only one person stopping you: an official asking, "¿Tiene algo que declarar?" How can you tell her that you don't understand? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 27 2024 : Rizeeve: 10/10
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 66: 4/10
Mar 01 2024 : Guest 60: 7/10
Feb 14 2024 : Reamar42: 9/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. You're standing in front of a beautiful cathedral, admiring the Gothic architecture, when two young women approach you. "Excusez-moi," one of them says. "Pourriez-vous prendre une photo pour nous?" You try to understand, but her meaning just isn't clicking in your mind. How can you tell her you don't speak her language?

Answer: Je ne parle pas français.

"Je ne parle pas français," you say, apologetically: You don't speak French. You do, however, remember your French pronunciation rules, so what you say sounds something like "Zhihn parl pah frahnsay," where that "ih" sounds like the "i" in the English word "bird."

"Oh!" she says, and repeats herself in English: "Could you take a photo for us, please?" You finally register the camera in her hand. "Of course," you say, taking the camera. The two of them give you big smiles, but you have to crouch down to get all of Notre-Dame de Paris in the frame behind them.

The other phrases also mean "I don't speak this language," but in different languages, of course. Perhaps you'll meet some of them later on ...
2. You're at a restaurant in St. Petersburg, about to start on a large bowl of bright pink soup. Suddenly, your waitress appears again - is something wrong? "Prijatnovo appetita!" she says. How do you tell her that you don't understand?

Answer: Ya ne ponimaju.

When you tell her "Ya ne ponimaju," pronouncing the consonant "j" like a "y", she smiles and repeats herself in French. "Bon appetit!" she says: Enjoy your food! Borscht is a delicious beet soup, served cold with sour cream, so you're very likely to follow instructions.

"Spasibo" (Thank you) is an excellent response to someone serving you borscht. "Kak vas zovut?" (What is your name?) is a good start to a longer conversation; "Do svidanija" (Goodbye) is a good end to one.
3. You're in a station in Delhi, sipping a mango lassi, when a man approaches you. "Yeh tren kidhar jaati hai?" he asks. How can you tell him that you don't speak his language?

Answer: Mujhe hindi nahi aati hai

The language is Hindi, which is a shared language across most of India. The first word is a pronoun; you're talking about yourself, and your grasp of Hindi (the second word). The third word - "no" - is very widely useful, and the sentence ends with the verb. On learning that you don't speak Hindi, the man repeats his question in English: "Where does this train go?"

The other phrases are also in Hindi. "Namaste," or "Hello," is a great way to start a conversation. After you've been introduced to someone, you might try "Apse milkar bahut khushi hui" (Nice to meet you). And, if you need to consult the schedule in order to answer a question, "Ek minat" (Just a minute) will buy you the time you need.

I should note that Hindi is not written in the Roman alphabet used on this site; instead, it's written in the Devanagari script. The sounds of Hindi don't translate perfectly to the sounds of English or of other western languages, so there are many different ways to transliterate the language into English letters; you may have seen these phrases written differently elsewhere. The same applies to any language that doesn't use the Roman alphabet, from Arabic to Japanese to Russian.
4. You've just arrived at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and you can hardly wait to get inside. The friendly young man at the ticket booth greets you with, "Marhaban!" How can you ask him whether he speaks English?

Answer: Hal tatakallam al ingliziya?

"Marhaban" means "Hello" in Arabic, the language of Egypt as well as the rest of North Africa and the Middle East. (Classical Arabic is also the language of the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam.) Someone working in such a well-touristed place is likely to respond affirmatively to your question - in all likelihood, this young man does in fact speak "ingliziya," and you can debate the ticket price in English.

The other choices also mean "Do you speak English?", but in languages that are much less likely to be useful in Egypt. "Praat U Engels?" is in Afrikaans; "Parlez-vous anglais?" is in French; and "¿Habla usted inglés?" is in Spanish.
5. You're on a sidewalk in Rome, craning your neck to take in the whole Colosseum. It's magnificent! You're surprised to be approached by a woman and her child. "Mi scusi," she says, "dove sono i gabinetti?" How will you tell her that you don't speak her language?

Answer: Non parlo italiano.

Her language is Italian, or "italiano" in Italian. Here, you're allowed to drop the subject (I) because the conjugation of the verb (parlo) makes it very clear that you're talking about your own knowledge of Italian. Luckily, the woman is able to repeat her question in English - "Excuse me, where are the bathrooms?" - and you're able to help her, having just noticed the sign.

She might have greeted you with "Buon giorno," or "Good day." If she'd asked you how you were, you might have replied that you were doing well, thank you (Bene, grazie). Even without those pleasantries, though, "Arrivederci" is always an acceptable way to say goodbye - though "Ciao" might be easier!
6. You've finally arrived at Narita International Airport after a very long flight and you're eager to leave the terminal, but there seems to be a holdup. The man in front of you turns and says, "Shosho omachi kudasai." How can you tell him that you don't understand?

Answer: Wakarimasen.

"Wakarimasen," an extremely useful word, means "I don't understand." (If you do understand, try "Wakarimasu" but remember that the final "-u" sound is often dropped, or almost dropped, in spoken Japanese.) You might follow it up with "Eigo ga hanasemasu ka?" ("Do you speak English?"), again dropping the "-u" sound at the end of "hanasemasu".

As it happens, the gentleman in front of you is very politely asking you to wait a little while. Soon enough, people start moving again, and you're on your way. Narita International Airport is only a little under an hour's train ride from Tokyo, Japan, where you may get a lot more practice saying "Wakarimasen."

Of the other choices, "Domo arigato gozaimas" conveys effusive thanks, while "Ohayo gozaimas" means "Good morning." "Ogenki desu ka?" (drop the "-u" on "desu") is another nice way to start a conversation: it means "How are you?".
7. You're at a train station, hoping to travel today, but you're not sure how to go about it. Some electronic booths say "Fahrkarten"; others say "Geldautomat." There's a sign with times and destinations, but also a "Gleis" column you can't interpret. Maybe you can get help from the woman at the Reisezentrum. How do you ask her whether she speaks English?

Answer: Sprechen Sie Englisch?

As it happens, this train station is in Germany; you can tell they speak German from the signs for tickets (Fahrkarten) and for the ATM (Geldautomat). Meanwhile, "Gleis" refers to a train track, and "Reisezentrum" is a travel center where you can often find help from railway employees. In German, "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" is the polite, formal way to ask someone whether they speak English. "Sprechen" is a tough word for most English speakers to pronounce: that initial "spr" is really more of a "shpr", and the "ch" is a voiceless palatal fricative that sounds sort of like a softer "sh". Many English speakers substitute in a "k" instead, which is at least comprehensible. The word "Sie," a polite form of "you," is pronounced "zee" - but luckily, "English" and "Englisch" sound exactly alike.

"Deutsch" is the German word for German; you're almost certain to get a "Ja" if you ask the woman whether she speaks German, so it's not helpful information. "Parlez-vous anglais?" would be more useful in a French train station, and "Taler du engelsk?" in a Danish one.
8. You've dreamed of visiting the Forbidden City, and you're finally in Beijing, China - but you need directions. Luckily, there are some friendly-looking passersby. How can you ask them whether they speak English?

Answer: Ni shuo Ying yu ma?

"Yīng yu" is Mandarin Chinese for the English language; "Ni shuo Ying yu ma?" asks, "Do you speak English?" Luckily, this couple does, and they're happy to practice with you. You're very close: just head west a few blocks to Tiananmen Square. The southern wall of the Forbidden City is at the northern edge of the famous square - just look for the giant portrait of Mao Zedong.

"Ni hao ma?" (How are you?) might have been a nice way to begin this conversation, and "Xie xie" (Thank you), pronounced "shyeah shyeah," is a good way to end it. Save "Zhege duoshao qian?" (How much does this cost?) until you get to the ticket counter!
9. You've just sat down at a restaurant in Zanzibar, Tanzania, weary from your travels. A waiter comes up to you, smiling, and asks, "Utapenda kunywa nini?" How will you tell him that you don't speak Swahili?

Answer: Sizungumzi Kiswahili.

"Kiswahili" is the Swahili word for the language itself, which has only about five million native speakers but is a standard second language across wide swaths of eastern Africa. The waiter has asked you what you'd like to drink. A good Swahili response might be "Nitakunywa chai" (I'll drink tea). You might recognize the verb "kunywa," to drink, from the original question - the prefix "ni-" signifies that you're talking in the first person, about your own preferences, and "-ta-" signifies that you're talking about the future.

"Jambo," a greeting, is a nice way to start a conversation, and "Nimefurahi kukujua" (I'm pleased to know you) is a fine way to continue it. "Sizungumzi Kijerumani" (I don't speak German) may be true, but in this case it would be rather odd to announce it.
10. You've just collected your luggage after a long flight to Mexico City, and you're anxious to leave the airport. There's only one person stopping you: an official asking, "¿Tiene algo que declarar?" How can you tell her that you don't understand?

Answer: No entiendo.

This official is asking, in Spanish, "Do you have anything to declare?" Perhaps you do - perhaps you're carrying a large amount of money for a business transaction, or various items that you'd like to sell on your visit. Whether you do or don't, it's best to make it clear to the customs official whether or not you understand her questions. "No entiendo" means "I don't understand"; as is common in Spanish, the pronoun ("yo", or "I") has been dropped since it's indicated by the conjugation of the verb.

"Buenos días," or "Good day," is a greeting. "Un café con leche, por favor" is an order - "Coffee with milk, please." If you bring someone a coffee and they say "gracias" (thank you), then "de nada" (you're welcome) would be a nice response.
Source: Author CellarDoor

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