Test your vocab knowledge in a foreign language

[hwhatting]

My attempt at English, for the record - 11 out of 15

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1 lung(s)
2 ?? – actually, I had seen "windpipe" before, but just didn’t remember it
3 liver
4 ??
5 ??
6 ovary
7 uterus
8 penis
9 testicles
10 bladder
11 ?? – same as for 2 – I just didn’t remember that it was "kidney(s)"
12 stomach
13 heart
14 ear
15 brain

Russian - 12 out of 15

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1 лёгкие
2 дышательный тракт
3 печень
4 кишечник is intestines in general, but I didn’t know the specific word, it‘s толстая кишка
5 кишечник is intestines in general, but I didn’t know the specific word, it‘s тонкая кишка
6 ?? - яичники
7 матка
8 член (official), хуй (very vulgar)
9 яйца - that's the colloquial word (pl.), offically it's яичко, pl. яичка , which I didn't know before
10 (мочевой) пузырь
11 почки
12 желудок
13 сердце
14 ухо
15 мозг

Comments on Imralu's German:

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2. die Luftröhre (Atemröhre) [?] both exist, but Luftröhre is the official word
#? die Milz
4. Dickdarm
5. Dünndarm
9. der Hodensack (einzeln, der? Hoden ... sonst sage ich einfach Eier) yes, it's male - sometimes even German is logical
15. das (Ge)hirn ... haha, oder der Bregen Bregen is only used for brain as a dish, so only a zombie or a cannibal would use it for a human brain.

[Rui]

Do Japanese really call "testicles" 金玉? LOL. The standard word in Chinese is 睾丸 as far as I know. I also Googled and found that that's the hanja for Kim Ok who was Kim Jong Il's secretary

[M Mira]

Do Japanese really call "testicles" 金玉? LOL. The standard word in Chinese is 睾丸 as far as I know. I also Googled and found that that's the hanja for Kim Ok who was Kim Jong Il's secretary

Yes, and AFAIK the manga Kintama is named so to sound like "testicles".

[finlay]

Do Japanese really call "testicles" 金玉? LOL. The standard word in Chinese is 睾丸 as far as I know. I also Googled and found that that's the hanja for Kim Ok who was Kim Jong Il's secretary

OK, it's not the "standard" word, but it's the one I know. 睾丸 or 精巣 are listed as "anatomical terms" in my dictionary.

[din]

Russian: карандаш (для глаз) lit. "(eye) pencil"

Hah, reading that, I thought the word might have come from the pencil company Caran d'Ache (like the French word bic, which comes from the brand name), but it turns out to be the other way around.

--

Anyway, whenever I go to a French speaking doctor, I look up the part that hurts beforehand, and how to describe whatever I'm feeling. I learned a lot from that (I go to the doctor more often than I'd like), so I don't usually bother studying lexical sets like these. Though they can be helpful in telling you in which domains there are gaps in your vocabulary

[Yng]

Yes well you can offer up an image

Alright, I'll try:

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I have no idea what all of these are in MSA, but:

a) I think this is called a مفتاح انجليزي miftāḥ inglīzī 'English key', i.e. a wrench. Though I guess this is actually perhaps just a spanner, which is a مفك mfakk 'unscrewer' (from the verb used for taking things apart in general, but I guess here specifically in the sense of 'unscrewing'

b) What is this even? A funnel?

c) خرّازة xarrāze from خرز xaraz 'staple'

d) god knows. I guess I would call it a nabbūt 'cudgel'

e) I would instinctively call this kuḥl like kohl or just mikyāj 'make-up', assuming it's the eyeliner that's meant, and none of my male friends seem to know any other name for it. Eyelashes are هداب hdāb (sing. hidb) or rmūsh (sing. rimsh). Eyelids are jfūn, sing. jafn. At one point I knew the words for iris and pupil, but I can't remember them off the top of my head (apparently iris is ḥadaqa). Apparently the scientific term for eyeball is sawād al-ʿayn.

f) i don't know what this is. is it corn on the cob?

g) I don't know this either, how embarrassing. Apparently it's رغوة raghwe or raghāwe, which is also one of the terms, perhaps unsurprisingly, for the thing you make Turkish coffee in.

h) This is a hexagon, I suppose - I thiiiink the term would be سداسي الأضلاع sudāsī al-aḍlāʿ 'six of sides'. Wikipedia supports me here.

i) If this is a claw - I learnt the word برثون barthūn the other day, but this is a v MSA word. I would just say, and I think this is normal, ضفر ḍafr (or in MSA ظفر ẓafr), meaning 'fingernail', 'toenail', and also 'claw' and 'talon'.

[Rui]

Do Japanese really call "testicles" 金玉? LOL. The standard word in Chinese is 睾丸 as far as I know. I also Googled and found that that's the hanja for Kim Ok who was Kim Jong Il's secretary

OK, it's not the "standard" word, but it's the one I know. 睾丸 or 精巣 are listed as "anatomical terms" in my dictionary.

The only slang word I know for 'testicle' in Mandarin is 蛋 (which literally means 'egg', usually in the context of an egg that you eat, not like ova which is 卵)

[Dewrad]

Can you do the organs of the human body in a foreign language? I took out a few that I thought were a bit tough to identify from this not so great drawing.

Surprised to discover that I can actually do the French for this without recourse to a dictionary, and even provide some register-conditioned alternatives:

le poumon
la trachée
le foie
le gros intestin
l'intestin grêle (les boyaux for both here)
les ovaires
l'utérus
les testicules/les couilles
le pénis/la bite
la vessie
les reins (or les rognons if you're going to eat them)
l'estomac/le ventre
le cœur
les oreilles
le cerveau

The gardening equipment though? Not a chance. I don't even know what some of those are called in English.

[Vijay]

I've realized lately just how much vocabulary one has to acquire if one wishes to become fluent in a second language. So I thought it would be interesting to post a diagram of some common but obscure vocabulary items and see if you can name them in a second language you've learned. [...]

What are those things, though? I think I better try in English first to make sure I know what they even are.

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1. Wheelbarrow
2. Garden hose?
3. What is this? A pickaxe?
4. I would've called these "clippers" (and honestly almost forgot what these were called) but apparently the correct term is "hedge/shrub/bush trimmer" or "hedge clipper"?
5. Saw?
6. ...Axe...?
7. ...Wait...a pitchfork can't be that small, right? But it can't be a rake, either...so then what the hell is it???

No, seriously, what is it? EDIT: It wouldn't be a "grass stitcher," would it? I've never heard of that before, but I tried to look it up on Wikipedia just because I have literally no idea what this could even be.
8. Pail? EDIT: OK, a watering can, I guess. Pfft.
9. ...Is that a rake? Seriously?? Wow, lol. OK.
10. Um, a shovel?
11. What on Earth...a paint remover???? Idk. Lol!
12. A lawnmower. This I know.

[Viktor77]

What are those things, though? I think I better try in English first to make sure I know what they even are.

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1. Wheelbarrow
2. Garden hose? Yes a hose or garden hose
3. What is this? A pickaxe? Yes a pickaxe
4. I would've called these "clippers" (and honestly almost forgot what these were called) but apparently the correct term is "hedge/shrub/bush trimmer" or "hedge clipper"? Or shears
5. Saw? A machete
6. ...Axe...? Yes an ax or a hatchet
7. ...Wait...a pitchfork can't be that small, right? But it can't be a rake, either...so then what the hell is it??? A pitchfork yes, this is the typical size used for hay baling.

No, seriously, what is it? EDIT: It wouldn't be a "grass stitcher," would it? I've never heard of that before, but I tried to look it up on Wikipedia just because I have literally no idea what this could even be.
8. Pail? EDIT: OK, a watering can, I guess. Pfft. A watering can, yes.
9. ...Is that a rake? Seriously?? Wow, lol. OK. That is a rake, one of two major types.
10. Um, a shovel? Yes a shovel.
11. What on Earth...a paint remover???? Idk. Lol! It's a hoe.
12. A lawnmower. This I know.

[clawgrip]

Finlay, I'm not quite sure what the hostility is about. I think this is just meant to be a fun challenge. I agree that the farm/garden/etc. equipment one is a bit ridiculous, but for the internal organs, you will learn a bunch of them over time. I've promptly forgotten them multiple times until I started remembering more and more of them.

[jal]

English:
1 - no idea
2 - garden hose
3 - pick axe (pickaxe?)
4 - I bet "garden scissors" isn't right; pruning scissors?
5 - machete
6 - axe
7 - pitch fork
8 - no idea
9 - rake?
10 - spade (or is it a shovel?)
11 - no idea
12 - moterized lawn mower (motor mower?)

In no other foreign language I know any of these implements.

Xephyr's image:
A - wrench?
B - no idea
C - stapler
D - bludgeon?
E - eye / eye lashes / eye shadow
F - empty corn ... things?
G - foam of an unidentified source
H - hexagon
I - eagle's claw (or of another raptor / bird of prey)

Body parts:
1 - lungs
2 - tracheae
3 - liver
4 - bowls, intestines? lower intestines?
5 - small intestines? upper intestines?
6 - overy
7 - womb
8 - glans penis
9 - testicle
10 - bladder
11 - kidney
12 - stomach
13 - heart
14 - ears (a bit too basic? do you mean something else?)
15 - brain

Of these, I know "Mage" and "Gehirn" in German, and perhaps "Lunge". I'm embarrassed to say I don't even know "ears" in German. My guess would be "Ohr".


JAL

[Viktor77]

English:
1 - no idea Wheelbarrow
2 - garden hose
3 - pick axe (pickaxe?) Mozilla thinks "pickax/e" is wrong but it isn't. It's a compound.
4 - I bet "garden scissors" isn't right; pruning scissors? With "pruning" it becomes shears so pruning shears.
5 - machete
6 - axe
7 - pitch fork (One word, pitchfork)
8 - no idea Watering can
9 - rake? Yes
10 - spade (or is it a shovel?) It's a shovel. A spade is considerably smaller
11 - no idea A hoe
12 - moterized lawn mower (motor mower?) A lawnmower will do just fine, there's no need anymore to point out the fact it's motorized, though people do say gas or electric lawnmower to clarify the fuel source.

In no other foreign language I know any of these implements.

Xephyr's image:
A - wrench?
B - no idea A funnel
C - stapler
D - bludgeon? A mace
E - eye / eye lashes / eye shadow
F - empty corn ... things? Corncobs
G - foam of an unidentified source
H - hexagon
I - eagle's claw (or of another raptor / bird of prey) Known specifically as a talon

Body parts:
1 - lungs
2 - tracheae More commonly trachea
3 - liver
4 - bowls, intestines? lower intestines? Large intestine
5 - small intestines? upper intestines? Small intestine
6 - overy Ovary
7 - womb Or uterus
8 - glans penis Adding glans makes it very medically sounding
9 - testicle
10 - bladder
11 - kidney
12 - stomach
13 - heart
14 - ears (a bit too basic? do you mean something else?) Nope, ears
15 - brain

Of these, I know "Mage" and "Gehirn" in German, and perhaps "Lunge". I'm embarrassed to say I don't even know "ears" in German. My guess would be "Ohr". Ohr is correct.


JAL

[Pole, the]

My attempt in English:
1. loadmover
2. watersnake
3. sharphammer
4. wirescissors
5. flatsword
6. axe
7. hayfork
8. waterpot
9. grasscomb
10. spade
11. hooker
12. lawnmower

[Imralu]

My attempt in English:
1. loadmover
2. watersnake
3. sharphammer
4. wirescissors
5. flatsword
6. axe
7. hayfork
8. waterpot
9. grasscomb
10. spade
11. hooker
12. lawnmower

<3 I love these. Particularly "hooker"

[hwhatting]

Of these, I know "Mage" and "Gehirn" in German, and perhaps "Lunge". I'm embarrassed to say I don't even know "ears" in German. My guess would be "Ohr".

It's der Magen. And yes, "ear(s)" is Ohr(en).

[Salmoneus]

Viktor: although the square shape suggests a shovel, you'll notice that there's an exposed metal strip at the end, presumably sharpened. Combined with the flattish profile and lack of either concavity or flanges, that's almost certainly a spade (earth-cutting-into-implement) rather than a shovel (material-transporting-implement, as used with coal, snow, etc). Of course, in practice many people use shovels as spades and vice versa, but I think that looks like it was designed to be a spade.

I'd also call it a fork or garden fork, rather than a pitchfork, which to me is a much longer and usually two-tined implement, but that might just be me overspecifying. Also, I wouldn't call either of those a hatchet, which to me is a shorter implement, usually one-handed, but again that might be me.

[Vijay]

Viktor: although the square shape suggests a shovel, you'll notice that there's an exposed metal strip at the end, presumably sharpened. Combined with the flattish profile and lack of either concavity or flanges, that's almost certainly a spade (earth-cutting-into-implement) rather than a shovel (material-transporting-implement, as used with coal, snow, etc). Of course, in practice many people use shovels as spades and vice versa, but I think that looks like it was designed to be a spade.

I had no idea spades could be so small, but it looks like you might be right.

I'd also call it a fork or garden fork, rather than a pitchfork, which to me is a much longer and usually two-tined implement, but that might just be me overspecifying.

No, that's exactly my problem with that, too. Also I thought a machete was way smaller than that.

[Viktor77]

Viktor: although the square shape suggests a shovel, you'll notice that there's an exposed metal strip at the end, presumably sharpened. Combined with the flattish profile and lack of either concavity or flanges, that's almost certainly a spade (earth-cutting-into-implement) rather than a shovel (material-transporting-implement, as used with coal, snow, etc). Of course, in practice many people use shovels as spades and vice versa, but I think that looks like it was designed to be a spade.

I'd also call it a fork or garden fork, rather than a pitchfork, which to me is a much longer and usually two-tined implement, but that might just be me overspecifying. Also, I wouldn't call either of those a hatchet, which to me is a shorter implement, usually one-handed, but again that might be me.

Dang, you know your garden tools! I stand corrected on a spade. I have only ever used the small handheld spade and always referred to any larger tool where standing is required, or footwork, as a shovel. Also the difference between hatchet and ax seems to be related to handedness. And pitchforks appear to be pitchforks, just defined by their use ie. hay (pitch)forks and garden (pitch)forks. The numbers of prongs is indeed the difference, though hay pitchforks appear to actually be 3-pronged tools (and garden pitchforks thus 4-pronged).

[Pole, the]

I just typed “spade” because I couldn't remember the name of the other one.

[Vijay]

I just don't know how to garden.

[Pole, the]

Also, according to Wikipedia, spades are just a subset of shovels. So, both answers count.

[Salmoneus]

Without seeing a picture I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but I think you mean by 'a small, handheld spade that doesn't require standing or footwork' might be a trowel? These come of course in a variety of forms - a trowel for sowing is noticeably different from an ordinary gardening trowel, and both are different from the implements of the masonry and plastering trades, which I think they also call trowels.

While we're at it, I don't think that's actually a pickaxe, I think that's probably a mattock. But I'll admit, the meanings have so blurred in common parlance than 'pickaxe' was what came to mind when I saw it.

I would probably call them clippers if the picture is accurate as regards blade length; I'd normally call that sort of thing 'shears', but shears to me normally have longer blades relative to handle length. And if the handle was much longer and the blades were curved, they'd be loppers. And if the blades were curved and the whole thing was small enough to fit in one hand, they'd be secateurs - but I have also heard people use 'secateurs' for longer, more shears-like implements, so...



And for extra credit, what are these people using?


Hint: this is a photograph from day three of one of the largest and most popular sporting events on earth. Not kidding.

[jal]

1 - no idea Wheelbarrow

Right, so that's a wheelbarrow. I knew the word, just not what is was supposed to mean :).

pruning scissors? With "pruning" it becomes shears so pruning shears.

"Shears", I had passive knowledge of that. And the verb "to shear" of course.

7 - pitch fork (One word, pitchfork)

The rules about when an English term is one word and when two still elude me... Memorizing...

8 - no idea Watering can

Really, that simple? Ha!

10 - spade (or is it a shovel?) It's a shovel. A spade is considerably smaller

It seems I was correct :). Though that might be accidental, as Dutch makes the same distinction (even though small shovels/spades are shovels, never spades).

11 - no idea A hoe

I'm pretty sure I've never heard of that word.

12 - moterized lawn mower (motor mower?) A lawnmower will do just fine, there's no need anymore to point out the fact it's motorized, though people do say gas or electric lawnmower to clarify the fuel source.

Well, in Dutch we make the distinction, since hand mowers are stll pretty common (Dutch gardens typically don't have large lawns).

B - no idea A funnel

Right, so that's a funnel. Knew the word, but didn't associate it with this tool, only in sales jargon and the like.

D - bludgeon? A mace

Mace, right, should've known.

F - empty corn ... things? Corncobs

Cobs, yeah, passively knew that word.

I - eagle's claw (or of another raptor / bird of prey) Known specifically as a talon

Also passively in my vocab.

2 - tracheae More commonly trachea

I was referring to the left/right split as well, so I used the plural.

4 - bowls, intestines? lower intestines? Large intestine
5 - small intestines? upper intestines? Small intestine

Singular? Realy? One learns every day :)

7 - womb Or uterus

Yeah, knew that.

8 - glans penis Adding glans makes it very medically sounding

Isn't that the common term for the tip?

Also, why don't you try Dutch? :)

It's der Magen. And yes, "ear(s)" is Ohr(en).

I can't get used to those German words looking like plurals :). Thanks.


JAL

[Vijay]

The rules about when an English term is one word and when two still elude me... Memorizing...

Us, too!

Literally the only one of those words I know in Malayalam is 'axe', which is കോടാലി [koːˈɖaːli]. I should look these words up just to learn them. My dad grew up in a pretty agricultural environment, after all.