Languages

Script: Hangul

Name: Korean (Hangugeo (한국어), Hangukmal (한국말))

Style: Use of circles in many letters, which sets it apart from most other East Asian scripts

Examples:

• 아
• ㅇㅋ
• ㅜㅜ / ㅠㅠ
• 앙, 잉, 웅, 엥, 옹
• 아, 이, 우, 에, 오

Script: Hebrew (Abjad)

Name: Hebrew (עברית — Ivrit)

Style: Consonant-based script written right to left

Final-form letters (used only at the end of a word): ך ם ן ף ץ

Examples: ישראל (Israel), שלום (peace / hello), בית (house), רחוב (street), חנות (shop), מים (water)

Quick visual giveaway: Right-to-left text with square, disconnected letters (א ב מ ש ת) and no cursive connections = Hebrew.

Script: Latin

Name: Turkish (Türkçe)

Style: Modified Latin alphabet with consistent phonetic spelling

Unique letters (not used in basic English): Ç ç, Ğ ğ, İ i, I ı, Ö ö, Ş ş, Ü ü

How to distinguish from nearby languages:

vs English: English does not use Ç, Ş, Ğ, or the dotted/dotless I pair (İ / ı). Turkish spelling is very regular compared to English.

vs German: German uses Ä, Ö, Ü, but does not have Ş, Ç, or the special dotted/dotless I system. German capitalization applies to all nouns, Turkish capitalizes only proper names.

Quick visual giveaway: Latin text with Ş, Ç, Ü, Ö and the unusual İ / ı contrast = Turkish.

Pay Attention to Contractions

• If you see do, da, no, na, dos, das → Portuguese
• If you see del, de la, de los, de las → Spanish

Quick visual giveaway

• If it look like Spanish but has a lot of ã, õ, ç, lh, nh, or contractions like “do/da/no/na” → Portuguese.
• If it has ñ, ll, del, de la, de los, muchas palabras con j (trabajo, lejos) → Spanish.

The two official languages of Ireland are English and Irish (Gaeilge).

While English is the primary language spoken by the majority, Irish is the national and first official language, visible on all public road signs

You can misunderstood them with Scottish and Welsh but some simple tips can help

On Road Signs:

• in italics -> Irish (Gaeilge)
• in yellow or different font -> Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
• Same font/color as English (Welsh (Cymraeg))

Public signs in Japan use a mix of

• kanji (Chinese characters) and
• the two syllabaries, hiragana and katakana.

The differences are:

• Hiragana has softer, rounded strokes
• Katakana has sharp, angular shapes

Katakana used for:

• primarily for foreign loanwords (like camera → カメラ),
• foreign names, scientific terms (plants/animals), onomatopoeia (sound words), and for emphasis (like italics),
• appearing on menus, ads, in manga, and for stylistic reasons, often mixed with Hiragana and Kanji.

Name: Indonesian

Script: Latin

Origin: Dutch

Indonesian (Dutch Origin) vs Malay (English Origin)**:

Taxi: Teksi (Malay) vs Taksi (Indonesian)

Police: Polis (Malay) vs Polisi (Indonesian)

Office: Pejabat/Ofis (Malay) vs Kantor (Indonesian)

Pharmacy: Farmasi (Malay) vs Apotek (Indonesian)

Bicycle: Basikal(Malay) vs Sepeda (Indonesian)

and etc

Quick check rule:

• If you see many little circles → likely Thai
• If the text looks very plain and open → likely Lao
• If it’s curvy, dense, and ornate → likely Khmer

How to Recognize Khmer Script

• Shape: Khmer letters are round and flowing, with many loops and curves.
• Height: Letters often look tall and “stacked” sometimes with extra marks above or below.
• Density: Text usually looks more packed together compared to Thai or Lao.
• Special detail Some letters have little “tails” or hooks at the top or bottom.

Name: Malay

Script: Latin

Origin: English

Indonesian (Dutch Origin) vs Malay (English Origin):

Taxi: Teksi (Malay) vs Taksi (Indonesian)

Police: Polis (Malay) vs Polisi (Indonesian)

Office: Pejabat/Ofis (Malay) vs Kantor (Indonesian)

Pharmacy: Farmasi (Malay) vs Apotek (Indonesian)

Bicycle: Basikal(Malay) vs Sepeda (Indonesian)

and etc

Name: Hindi

Script: Devanagari

Description: Clean, geometric script with a distinctive horizontal line (shirorekha) running along the top of letters. Characters hang from this top line. Letters are relatively uniform in height and often have rounded curves. Official language of India (alongside English)

Unique symbols: क, ध, ष, ज्ञ

vs Marathi: they're nearly identical visually. Only context and specific vocabulary differences can help you. Some Marathi words use ळ which Hindi doesn't have.

Name: Dzongkha (Bhutanese)

Script: Tibetan script (Uchen style)

Dzongkha is the sole official language. English is also widely used in schools and government

Description: Angular and structured with clear horizontal headline across the top of letters (similar to Devanagari but straighter and more rigid). The printed Uchen style formal and geometric, while handwritten forms can be more flowing.

Unique symbols: ཀ, ཁ, ག, ང, ར, ཨ

Similar scripts & distinctions:

vs Devanagari: both have a top line, but Tibetan letters are more square and often stacked vertically

vs Bengali / Assamese: Bengali has a headline but letters are softer and more curved; Tibetan is sharper and more block-like

Thai writing looks compact, and many letters have tiny circles.

• Khmer writing in Cambodia is longer and often has marks under the letters

Many British place names end with specific suffixes. These can help identify the United Kingdom.

Common English Suffixes: -thorpe (e.g., Scunthorpe), -ton (e.g., Bolton), and -ley (e.g., Barnsley).

Welsh Suffix: The suffix Llan (e.g., Llandudno) is found only in Wales.

Name: Sinhala

Script: Sinhala script

Description: Very rounded and circular with soft flowing curves. Many letters look like spirals or loops, giving the script a “bubble-like” appearance. Sinhala has distinct inner curls and decorative loops, making it visually more ornamental than Tamil or Kannada

Unique symbols: අ, ආ, ක, ඟ, ණ, ළ

Similar scripts & distinctions:

Tamil → also rounded, but Sinhala is more decorative with inner curls and spiral shapes

Telugu → both very circular. Sinhala letters are denser and more spiral-like

Kannada → similar round base shapes; Sinhala has more ornamental loops and unique curl endings

Devanagari → Sinhala has no horizontal top line and is far more circular overall

Word Endings: Look for words ending in -ni. This is common in the Czech language.

Comparison: Slovak words often end in -nie.

Key Word: The word drogerie is also common in Czechia. In Slovakia, it is spelled drogéria.

Name: Mizo

Script: Latin

Description: Mizo uses the standard Latin alphabet introduced by Christian missionaries in the late 19th century.

Unique features:

• Uses 25 letters (no Q, no X)
• Common combinations: ch, ng, tl

Similar scripts & distinctions: Visually identical to English because it uses the Latin alphabet. It is distinguishable only by vocabulary and specific endings like tl and frequent ng at the beginning of words.

Script: Gurmukhi script

Description: Angular and geometric with horizontal and vertical lines. Letters are relatively simple and blocky. Headline and letters are connected along the top

Common: ਨ, ਲ, and ਅ

Unique symbols:ਕ, ਗ, ੜ

Extensive use of diacritical marks: tippi (ਂ), bindi (ੰ), addak (ੱ)

Similar scripts & distinctions:

If you see:

• A strong continuous top line
• Simpler, less stacked letters than Hindi
• Many small nasal dots (ੰ / ਂ/(ਂ) or unique symbols

Name: Manipuri (Meitei)

Script: Meitei Mayek script

Description: An ancient script native to Manipur, with distinctive rounded characters and a unique structural system. The letters have a compact and balanced appearance, often featuring curves, loops, and hooks. The script was revived in the 20th century.

Unique symbols:

ꯀ, ꯃ, ꯄ

Similar scripts & distinctions: Unique

Name: Malayalam

Script: Malayalam script

Description: Curvy and flowing with many loops and circular elements. Letters often have distinctive "tails" and connecting elements.

Unique symbols: ക, ള, ഴ. ം

Similar scripts & distinctions: Can resemble Telugu/Kannada but has more "tails" and connecting strokes. Malayalam letters often extend below the baseline more than Telugu. More compressed appearance overall. Pay attention on unique letters!

Telugu: Telugu

Script: Telugu script

Description: Very rounded, bubbly appearance with circular and curved elements. Letters look like a collection of circles, loops, and curves. Vowel signs create small tick or checkmark like strokes above the letter.

Unique symbols: క, త, ఠ,ఱ

Similar scripts & distinctions: Similar to Kannada but rounder. Telugu is more consistently circular and curvy, while Kannada has more angular elements and straight lines mixed with curves. Telugu vowel signs create small tick- or checkmark-like strokes above the letter

Name: Marathi

Script: Devanagari script

Description: Identical to Hindi's Devanagari script with the continuous horizontal line on top. Visually indistinguishable from Hindi in appearance.

Unique symbols: Uses all Hindi symbols, plus:

ळ distinctive to Marathi,

ऱ — used in Marathi to represent a distinct “r” sound.

ऱ्ह and this conjunct form, not a separate letter

Otherwise identical to Hindi

Similar scripts & distinctions: Identical to Hindi visually. Only distinguishable by vocabulary and the presence of ळ in some Marathi words. You need to read the actual words to tell them apart.

Name: Kannada

Script: Kannada script

Description: Circular and curvy like Telugu, but includes more straight lines and angular elements mixed in. More "balanced" between curves and angles than Telugu's pure roundness.

Unique symbols: ಕ, ಠ, ಳ, ಜ್ಞ

Similar scripts & distinctions: Similar to Telugu but less uniformly round. Kannada mixes angular and curved elements, while Telugu is consistently circular. Look for more "corners" and straight segments in Kannada.

Name: Assamese

Script: Assamese script (variant of Bengali-Assamese/Eastern Nagari)

Description: Nearly identical to Bengali script. Rounded, flowing appearance with curved letters. Visually indistinguishable to non-speakers.

Unique symbols: Same as Bengali, with two additions: ৰ, ৱ

Similar scripts & distinctions: Virtually identical to Bengali. Only the presence of ৰ or ৱ distinguishes Assamese text

The Swedish alphabet includes three special letters: Å, Ä, and Ö. These letters are also found in other Nordic languages.

• Danish and Norwegian: Use Å.
• Icelandic: Uses Ö.
• Finnish: Uses Ä and Ö. Finnish words are often longer and have double vowels, unlike Swedish

Name: Odia (Oriya)

Script: Odia script

Description: Very rounded and curved, similar to Telugu. Letters have a circular "head" with many characters featuring loops. Softer appearance than Bengali.

Unique symbols: କ (ka) - rounded with distinctive shape ଡ(da) - circular with curl ଳ (retroflex la) - unique loop Extensive use of circular diacritics

Similar scripts & distinctions: vs Bengali: More uniformly rounded than Bengali (which has more varied shapes) - Bengali letters look flatter on top. Bengali has a horizontal headline across words.

vs Telugu: Telugu → more flowing and open. Odia → tighter, more circular tops, slightly denser feel

Fun fact: Why Odia is so round? And other South Indian scripts

Historically written on palm leaves. Straight lines could tear the leaf so letters evolved to be round

Name: Gujarati

Script: Gujarati script

Description: Looks very similar to Devanagari but without the horizontal headline (shirorekha). It is slightly more angular than Hindi in some characters.

Unique symbols: ૐ, ઋ, ક, જ, ળ, અં

Similar scripts & distinctions: Most similar to Devanagari/Hindi but immediately recognizable because the continuous top line is absent

In the Philippines, directional and commercial signs almost always include clear English wording alongside Filipino

Uncommon in most of Southeast Asia

Name: Bengali

Script: Bengali-Assamese script (Eastern Nagari)

Description: Flowing, curved script with a horizontal top line (matra). Words are usually connected across the top, but the line may appear lighter or less rigid than in Devanagari

Unique symbols: ক (vs ৰ Assamese), ড, ঙ, র (vs ৱ Assamese)

Similar scripts & distinctions:

Nearly identical to Assamese script.

Main difference: Assamese uses ৰ and ৱ which Bengali doesn't. The overall appearance is almost the same, distinguished mainly by language vocabulary.

The Lao alphabet looks small and rounded, with only a few marks above or below.

It’s similar to Thai, but with fewer straight lines

Script: Cyrillic

Name: Mongolian (Монгол хэл — Mongol khel)

Style: Cyrillic with unique letters not present in Russian. Long vowels are often written as double vowels

Unique letters (not used in Russian): Ө ө — open “O”, Ү ү — “U” with a hook

Examples: Ө, Ү, ӨӨ, АА, ЭЭ, уул (mountain), хүн (person), дэлгүүр (shop)

How to distinguish from nearby languages:

vs Russian: Russian does not contain Ө or Ү, and long vowels written as АА / ӨӨ are extremely rare

vs Kazakh / Kyrgyz: These languages use letters like Ә, Қ, Ң, Ұ, І, which do not appear in Mongolian. Mongolian instead relies heavily on Ө and Ү.

Quick visual giveaway: Cyrillic text with Ө / Ү + frequent doubled vowels = Mongolian.

Posts speeds in kilometres per hour (USA: mile per hour - imperial system)

Spelling: American English uses specific spelling conventions. This helps distinguish the United States from other English-speaking countries. Look for words like "center" (not "centre") or "license" (not "licence").

English-speaking Canada writes centre/colour (in American: center/color)

Signs are mostly in Arabic, but tourist areas almost always include clear English

In Taiwan, the writing on signs is in Traditional Chinese, a script known for its highly detailed characters made up of many strokes.

Japanese, while it also includes Chinese characters (kanji), looks different because it mixes in two additional writing systems: hiragana and katakana. These have simpler shapes and make Japanese text easier to tell apart from pure Traditional Chinese

Since about a quarter of Malaysians are ethnically Chinese, many city signs include Traditional Chinese characters. This is not the case in Indonesia

Name: Tamil

Script: Tamil script

Description: Rounded and flowing with many curves. Letters look smooth and circular. It does not have the horizontal top line like Devanagari. It is generally less complex than Telugu or Kannada and has fewer loops. The pulli dot is very visually noticeable and frequent: (்), க் and so on.

Unique symbols: க, ங, ழ, ஃ, ற, ன

Similar scripts & distinctions:

Telugu → more loops and circles. Small tick or checkmark instead of pulli

Kannada → visually similar in roundness. No pulli dot

Devanagari → Tamil has no horizontal top line

• -nie (vs ni in Czechia)
• -cia

endings are common

Other common words: drogéria (Czechia: drogerie)

Road signs turn fully French in Québec and parts of New Brunswick, while the rest of Canada mixes English with occasional federal French.

Name: Tamil

Script: Tamil script

Description: Rounded and flowing with many curves. Letters look smooth and circular. It does not have the horizontal top line like Devanagari. It is generally less complex than Telugu or Kannada and has fewer loops. The pulli dot is very visually noticeable and frequent: (்), க்

Unique symbols: க, ங, ழ, ஃ, ற, ன

Similar scripts & distinctions:

• Telugu → more loops and circles. Small tick or checkmark instead of pulli

• Kannada → visually similar in roundness. No pulli dot

• Devanagari → Tamil has no horizontal top line

Alphabet: The Greek alphabet has unique letters that are easy to recognize: Δ, Λ, Θ, Ψ, Ω, Σ, Σ, ζ,ξ

Text Style: Signs often use only uppercase letters.

Location: This language is found in Greece and Cyprus. In Cyprus, you might also see English or Russian alongside Greek.

Name: Bengali

Script: Bengali-Assamese script (Eastern Nagari)

Description: Flowing, curved script with a horizontal top line (matra). Words are usually connected across the top, but the line may appear lighter or less rigid than in Devanagari

Unique symbols: ক (vs ৰ Assamese), ড, ঙ, র (vs ৱ Assamese)

Similar scripts & distinctions:

Nearly identical to Assamese script.

Main difference: Assamese uses ৰ and ৱ which Bengali doesn't. The overall appearance is almost the same, distinguished mainly by language vocabulary.