Questions tagged [language]
A puzzle that heavily depends on linguistic features; for instance it may concern foreign languages, or only work in some particular language, or be built around a peculiarity of the English language.
471
questions
5
votes
0
answers
333
views
+150
What is Scarier than That?
Clues:
Left Side:
Set of 5 groups of spheres.
One of Set 1: 5 yellow spheres arranged in a right angle corner
Three of Set 2 : 3 green spheres arranged in a straight line
One of Set 3: 4 blue spheres ...
- 1,043
9
votes
1
answer
483
views
+250
The Celestial Mr. Harrison
Clues:
Wow! [in red] with red oval encompassing number 2, black circle around 3, and the numbers 1 and 4.
Group of 18 black circles with numbers in a matrix.
Top Row: [6, _, 36, 23, blood drop, 145]
...
- 1,043
-5
votes
1
answer
256
views
What did the Iranian commander order?
It's the fictional Iran-Turkey war.
The Iranian commander is ordering his troops. He encodes his order in their own language:
۶۶۰ ۶ ۲۰۱ ۲۳۳
What did he order?
Note ...
- 509
17
votes
1
answer
2k
views
19-year old me was into geography
My mother recently found an old puzzle I made over 20 years ago. It's a Finnish-language word search with a geography theme. (Note that we have a precedent for allowing non-English puzzles here.) ...
- 79.7k
8
votes
1
answer
469
views
Dessert at Vowelburgers™
Inspired by Avi's Vowelburger™ Riddle
Vowelburgers™ has just announced a new dessert menu, with 12 different varieties of sandwich cookie. Can you figure out the desserts, and what they have in common?...
- 29.2k
4
votes
1
answer
291
views
Translation from Tangkhul to English - Linguistics problem
Background:
Tangkhul is a language spoken in the northernmost district of the Indian state of Manipur. Like Manipuri (or Meitei) and many other languages of Northeast India, Tangkhul is related to ...
- 131
1
vote
1
answer
548
views
This bird is so popular, many countries around the world share a name with it
There's a bird, it's very popular.
Several IRL Earth countries (more than 2) around the world share a name with the same bird, although the relation between the country name and the bird is not ...
7
votes
9
answers
1k
views
Write a sentence that is true in one language and false in another
This "puzzle" is open-ended and I don't have an answer in mind. But it's not a good fit for any other StackExchange, and I bet puzzlers will enjoy it, so here it is.
Reading about nominalism,...
- 2,188
10
votes
2
answers
742
views
Emoticon text code
I found this text on my phone.
Is there a genius out there that is able to tell me what this means?
Edit:
I received a similar message again:
Edit II:
A new message... it's all Greek to me:
- 872
19
votes
1
answer
973
views
Anyone Seen My Snorkel?
This is part 54 of the puzzle series Around the World in Many Days. Each part is solvable on its own.
mqoı ugw7qж ,
zqv qw o h6ım v6ınɔ ugwo7 | zo 78վn £þxm εıqm conxnøqxw v8կox h6ımw , დnɔ þn 7დvn ...
- 79.7k
5
votes
0
answers
765
views
Her upper body is his lower body
He and she are the opposite.
But her upper body is his lower body.
If the upper body is him, the lower body is her.
When they cross the sea, the two become humans with the same tail.
Who are they?
...
- 59
2
votes
0
answers
159
views
What are Relational, Naming and Petite words?
This puzzle is in the spirit of the What is a Word/Phrase™ series started by JLee with a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles.
Relational, Naming and Petite Words™ satisfy some properties that ...
- 1,350
21
votes
1
answer
2k
views
curious inflection of English words
The agent-noun form of lingerie is frank.
The present-participle form of military actions is lying.
The past-tense form of sheep is permanent.
The past-participle form of six-pack is urn.
...
- 12.8k
18
votes
2
answers
965
views
Symmetries – a Quadritaisho puzzle
This is part 43 of the puzzle series Around the World in Many Days. Each part is solvable on its own.
Dear Puzzling,
This is a Quadritaisho puzzle. Divide the grid into rooms by drawing borders along ...
- 79.7k
3
votes
1
answer
218
views
A hive buzzing with words
A turtle that goes into battle on a cart. (16)
That which is overshadowed by the front. (10)
A vital component of gaining speed. (12)
A time measuring device that has gained wisdom through the ages....
- 1,435
-3
votes
1
answer
233
views
Golden Ape Peculiarity
In the wild he reigns, a colossal beast,
From Skull Island, his power unleashed.
Climbing skyscrapers, a towering sight,
This mighty ape, a legendary might.
What is very similar between the ape from ...
- 1,435
3
votes
2
answers
449
views
Futuristic navigation
This is a 3-part puzzle. Parts can be solved out of order, but, in the end, parts must be put together in order they appear (1, 2, 3) to solve the whole puzzle.
Parts are independent from each other. ...
- 1,435
1
vote
1
answer
432
views
Two similar animals
Can you find the 2 similar animals that has it's names scrambled in this text?
laneeatkajswliuotikes
Please take note of the tags.
Hint:
Hint 2:
Hint 3:
- 2,158
14
votes
2
answers
1k
views
A string of letters (M-I)
Your goal is to place a 4-letter English word somewhere in the string of letters below. There's only one word that fits.
...
- 38.9k
-5
votes
1
answer
211
views
This is a message encoded in a rather obscure foreign language. What language is it and what's the riddle's solution?
The following message contains a riddle written in an encrypted form of a rather obscure language lacking a literary standard that is rarely spoken today. What does it mean and what is the solution to ...
- 243
24
votes
1
answer
857
views
A connecting wall for series 1?
This puzzle is part of the Monthly Topic Challenge #12: mobile-friendly puzzles.
Resolve the novel connecting wall below into six groups of four connected words and discover the puzzle's hidden theme....
- 149k
2
votes
1
answer
195
views
You will meet someone, and he will throw your father in a deep fryer
You are going to meet someone special. You'll love him, I swear. But there are some things you need to know about him first.
If he says you're going to be liberated, bring a jacket.
He always has a ...
- 2,411
5
votes
1
answer
600
views
What is the number of ways to spell French word « chrysanthème »?
As many people know, theoretically a lot of words have more than one way to be spelled. I just want to provide a single example from English language: the word "fish". As Bernard Shaw noted, ...
- 605
5
votes
1
answer
313
views
What word am I describing?
Here's a puzzle answerable using only one word in the English language with five letters based on the following text.
स्तैन् ब्लीवस् सैवी
Hint 1:
Yaan ka'ap'éel capas ti' le talamilo'.
Hint 2:
ᐊᐃᑉᐸᖓ ...
- 243
16
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Longest English homophone/heteronym chain
English has many words that have multiple pronunciations for the same spelling (heteronyms) or multiple spellings for the same pronunciation (homophones). What is the longest chain of unique spelling/...
- 279
6
votes
1
answer
586
views
International youth meeting
The following youths participate at the international youth meeting:
John from the USA, 14 years old
Pierre from France, 13 years old
Stefan from Germany, 15 years old
Marten from the Netherlands, 11 ...
- 2,064
0
votes
1
answer
159
views
Word and number connection
Connect these following words/phrases:
Best regards
Hatsune Miku
Unofficial
Miserable
Heaven
Rubber
Meat
To the following numbers:
63
4649
56
152
39
.59
29
- 2,158
4
votes
1
answer
358
views
First Prize: Wisdom of 1972
Clues: [contextual images]
Q: Lei parla inglese?
A: ♂
[25 puzzle pieces with letters inside]
[I] [S] [N] [U] [P]
[N] [R] [I] [S] [N]
[C] [I] [S] [N] [I]
[I] [E] [O] [C] [L]
[L] [E] [O] [C] [L]
...
- 1,043
4
votes
1
answer
470
views
Five element puzzle
Born from water sun stone be B.
Five elements are ki.
The first give three, the rest he.
In five symbols, eight see.
From them form, evidently
That which is written for thee.
- 872
1
vote
1
answer
226
views
Themed Boggle Grids Continued
This puzzle is part of the Monthly Topic Challenge #7: Board games.
Click here for the rules.
Here are some more themed Boggle grids that I created or discovered. Some of these may be references to ...
- 2,689
7
votes
0
answers
904
views
They are all K-verbs
Find the missing verb.
G: Fold, Break, Pry
D: Reduce, Vibrate, Rob
B: Soak, Subtract, Thrash
J: Sleep, Squeeze, ?
Subtle Hint:
Moderate Hint:
Decisive Hint:
Very Decisive Hint:
- 5,417
14
votes
1
answer
497
views
PSE Advent Calendar 2022 (Day 21): Color of the Bells
This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2022. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door >
A Motley ...
- 19.4k
14
votes
1
answer
542
views
PSE Advent Calendar 2022 (Day 9): International Christmas Crossword
This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2022. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door >
Languages
...
- 835
8
votes
0
answers
456
views
Cookie Unionization
My Christmas cookies are gone! When I came into the kitchen this morning, the box was empty. All that remained were a few crumbs and this note:
We absconded.
You never saw that coming, did you? Well, ...
- 400
1
vote
0
answers
242
views
Clues don't lie?
What are we?
I am a b-ball player in a... (9)
My prefix is a French degree,
My infix is in Britain, misleadingly,
My suffix is above you,
But my whole is behind. (6)
A country that recently changed ...
user79541
7
votes
1
answer
360
views
Gathering for fraternities and sororities
This puzzle is part of the Monthly Topic Challenge #4: Cross-*non*-words
I've already got two crosswords for the challenge.
Recently, the fraternities, the sororities and I worked together to make a ...
- 2,689
2
votes
1
answer
331
views
What does the neo-futurist poetry mean?
This puzzle is part of the Monthly Topic Challenge #4: Cross-*non*-words
May 4 be in 6.
May the ...
- 2,689
25
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Strange Glyphs From Another Time
The following glyphs were recently uncovered at a dig site, which have stumped cryptographers and linguists alike. These symbols are guessed to be some sort of ancient language, but nothing is yet ...
- 559
0
votes
1
answer
116
views
Di Ritorno (I think?)
I am return.
In other news, use Eurovision rankings.
Also, here's the weekly spelling list (etymologies inclusive):
psephology, Greek
caixinha, Portuguese
auftaktigkeit, German
gopak, Russ. from ...
user79541
1
vote
0
answers
3k
views
Terminal 00 sacred words / witch id riddle, [closed]
I found this website angusnicneven.com, dug through it and found a page witch requires a witch ID and sacred words. The page I found this text on is https://angusnicneven.com/...
- 11
24
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Formal Languages
This puzzle is part of the Monthly Topic Challenge #1: Restricted Title: xkcd 1xxx
Emmy prefers when you are formal.
Tua’s fathseir
▢▢▢◯▢ ◯▢◯▢▢
They jotú in cheress
▢▢◯▢▢▢◯
Duge where some were ...
- 19.4k
9
votes
1
answer
773
views
Emotional Depth
Clifford in his 35th book? (4 3)
Shrek's pep? (4 6)
So-called "Sidney"'s sadness about cookie inevitability? (Pardon my French) (7 5)
What do these characters display?
...
- 19.4k
8
votes
11
answers
2k
views
Beware of raining cephalopods
The picture depicts a real traffic sign painted in South Africa.
It was intended to be an official traffic sign - but the painter, being unfamiliar with them, painted this according to the brief he ...
- 939
3
votes
3
answers
378
views
Watching out over my domain
What is the word?
Watching out over my domain
Angry, behold my train
Zooming forth with refrain
Oh, I see you
What am I? How many hints can you find?
Hint:
Hint:
Hint:
- 155
-2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
FIND 4 sets of 5-letter words using these non-repeating letters: [closed]
Find 4 sets of 5-letter words using these non-repeating letters:
N, C, A, V, M, S, E, Y, U, R, O, F, G, T, I, L, H, K, P, D
10
votes
5
answers
963
views
An animal, posed in a poem
I might sound fe_ _ _ _
Yet I'm in the opposite.
Do not count my _ _ _ _s
It was one originally.
But you can spell out
A bright star in me!
And please be sure that you're
Going to the right direction!
...
- 5,417
6
votes
1
answer
266
views
An image filled with circles
Here is an image. My question is simple: what is this? (As a side note, I did not invent this, and it was not intended by its creator to be a puzzle.)
PS: If you believe you have solved it, see if ...
- 541
-4
votes
1
answer
168
views
I am the leader of the alphabet [closed]
A simple one-liner:
I am the leader of the alphabet.
What am I?
- 602
7
votes
1
answer
576
views
Reading 2424 in Japanese
Celebrating twenty-four!
The answer is numerical.
Hint:
Ambiguous Hint:
- 16k
4
votes
1
answer
253
views
One in a million: a musical charm
Here's a simple riddle I came up with myself. If this puzzle already exists elsewhere on the Web, please forgive me, I didn't know about it.
As a whole, I'm charmed. Remove two letters from the start ...
