Are These Words of German or Italian Origin?

You got 17 out of 20!

You scored better than 34% of players!
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 Excellent performance! You aced this quiz like a true linguist. Your knowledge of different languages knows no bounds.This quiz was a piece of cake for you!

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6 Comments

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  1. 🎖️ 361MARK MORRALL unlocked 361 badges
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    FELICIA
    · 3w ago

    18 / 20

    13 / 5 / 26

  2. 🎖️ 181desert andy unlocked 181 badges
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    Money Jr
    · 5mo ago

    I got 20 out of 20!
    Excellent performance! You aced this quiz like a true linguist. Your knowledge of different languages knows no bounds.

    There are clues to follow: what looks like a compound English word is from German. Words ending in a vowel are Italian.

  3. 3🥈
    yvonnelawrenson has achieved 3x 2nd place finishes
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    yvonnelawre...'s Labrador
    · 12mo ago

    18/20 True Linguist Don’t think so, maybe just get by in abitof German,Italian,Spanish but certainly not a linguist in any stretch of imagination.

  4. 🎖️ 49olivia unlocked 49 badges
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    olivia's Black Cat
    · 1y ago

    18/20

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    · 2y ago

    17/20

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About This Quiz

English is full of borrowed words from different languages. While it is the most widely spoken language in the world today, it is a more varied melting pot than you think. As much as 80 per cent of the English language is composed of loanwords. They have been blended, moulded, changed, mixed and adopted from a multitude of languages like Latin, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Scandinavian, Japanese, Arabic, amongst others.

And it works both ways too. Many languages of the world have also borrowed quite a few English words. Borrowing and lending of words happens because of cultural contact between two communities that speak different languages. Some of the most common loanwords are related to food, like croissant, dim sum, sushi, and many others. That’s because many foods are closely connected to a particular culture, and other languages often don't always have words for foods from other cultures.

Try this quiz and see if you can figure out which English loanwords originate from German and which ones have their roots in Italian.

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