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Indo-European Languages Trivia Quiz

Almost all languages from English to Hindi are descended from a dead language referred to as 'Proto-Indo-European' or PIE. I will give you numbers in various PIE-descended languages and you try to guess which number it is. Have fun.

A multiple-choice quiz by savichal. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
savichal

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
18,714

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
4978

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: christiebohne (9/10), japh (8/10), Guest 47 (6/10).

This quiz has 2 formats: you can play it as a or as shown below.
Scroll down to the bottom for the answer key.

1. Which number is this: zwei, zwee, and tsvei (German, Luxembourgeois, and Yiddish, respectively)? Hint: when translating from other IE languages, forget the vowels, and try replacing 'z' with 't' or 'd'. Hint

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2. Which number is this: kat, ceathair, and keturi (Picard, Irish, Lithuanian)? Hint: try replacing 'k' with 'qu' Hint

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3. Which number is this: fiif, vijf, and vyf (Frisian, Dutch, Afrikaans)? Hint

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4. Which number is this: zene, zing, and das (Central Bavarian, Luxembourgeois, Hindi)? Hint

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5. Which number is this: dez, dos, dos (Portuguese, Parachi, Mayang)? Hint

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6. Which number is this: pumpe, pempe, pet (Umbrian, Gaulish, Bulgarian)? Hint

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7. Which number is this: pendz, panc, panch (Ormuri, Kashmiri, Nepali)? Hint

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8. Which number is this: naw, neu, novi (Kashmiri, Auvergnat, Sicilian)? Hint

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9. Which number is this: acht, otte, okto (German, Danish, Proto-Indo-European)? Hint

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10. Which number is this: oans, aon, un (Central Bavarian, Scots, Welsh)? Hint

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: 2

If you replace 'z' with 't' you get 'zwei'...'twei'...'two.'

2. Which number is this: kat, ceathair, and keturi (Picard, Irish, Lithuanian)? Hint: try replacing 'k' with 'qu'

Answer: 4

Replacing 'k' with 'qu' you get 'kat'...'quat'...'quad' as in 'quadrangle'...'four.'

3. Which number is this: fiif, vijf, and vyf (Frisian, Dutch, Afrikaans)?

Answer: 5

'F' and 'v' are interchangeable. E.g. 'vyf'...'fyv'...'five'.

4. Which number is this: zene, zing, and das (Central Bavarian, Luxembourgeois, Hindi)?

Answer: 10

You could have gone from 'zene' to 'tene' to 'ten', or you could have noticed the similarity between 'das' and the Latin root 'dec' as is 'decimal.'

5. Which number is this: dez, dos, dos (Portuguese, Parachi, Mayang)?

Answer: 10

Again, I hope you saw the similarity with the Latin 'dec.' I hope you weren't thrown by the similarity with the Spanish 'dos.'

6. Which number is this: pumpe, pempe, pet (Umbrian, Gaulish, Bulgarian)?

Answer: 5

This was a little harder. Hopefully, you saw the similarity to the Greek 'pente' as in 'pentagon.' There is also another possibility. When in doubt, you can sometimes replace 'p' with 'f' and you can often replace 'm' with 'n'. 'Pumpe'...'fumfe'...'funf', which is German for 'five'.

7. Which number is this: pendz, panc, panch (Ormuri, Kashmiri, Nepali)?

Answer: 5

Again, there is similarity to the Greek 'pente'. Incidentally, we get the word 'punch' from the Hindi word for 'five'.

8. Which number is this: naw, neu, novi (Kashmiri, Auvergnat, Sicilian)?

Answer: 9

For some reason, a lot of languages have similar words for 'nine' and 'new.' For instance, French 'neuf' and 'neuf'. I can't figure it out, but I'd love to hear from any of you that knows the reason.

9. Which number is this: acht, otte, okto (German, Danish, Proto-Indo-European)?

Answer: 8

From the root 'oct' as in 'octagon'.

10. Which number is this: oans, aon, un (Central Bavarian, Scots, Welsh)?

Answer: 1

That's all. I hope, if nothing else, you learned something about how similar the IE languages are.

Source: Author savichal

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Most Recent Scores

Jun 01 2023 : christiebohne: 9/10
May 23 2023 : japh: 8/10
May 17 2023 : Guest 47: 6/10
May 02 2023 : LauraMcC: 10/10
Apr 25 2023 : Guest 213: 6/10
Apr 14 2023 : Guest 76: 9/10

Score Distribution