Archive

Dive into a collection of past posts and rediscover timeless content.

Word of the week

Oct 19, 2026

•

1 min read

There's a Finnish word for drinking at home in your underwear

In 2017, the Finnish government published a set of official national emoji.

Learning languages

Most language apps fail for the same three reasons

Oct 15, 2026

•

1 min read

Most language apps fail for the same three reasons

Somebody has a 500-day streak and still can't order a coffee.

Word of the week

There's a Russian word for missing something that never existed

Oct 12, 2026

•

1 min read

There's a Russian word for missing something that never existed

Vladimir Nabokov was fluent in Russian, English and French. He translated Eugene Onegin into English across four volumes.

Linguistics

Some languages put the verb last. Yours isn't the normal one.

Oct 8, 2026

•

1 min read

Some languages put the verb last. Yours isn't the normal one.

That order feels like logic itself. Who did it, what they did, what it was done to. How else would you say it?

Word of the week

There's an Inuit word for checking the window again

Oct 5, 2026

•

1 min read

There's an Inuit word for checking the window again

You've already looked out of the window. Nothing. You sit down. Ninety seconds later, you're up again, looking out of the same window, at the same empty road.

Linguistics

You could hear every sound on Earth once. Then you lost it.

Oct 1, 2026

•

1 min read

You could hear every sound on Earth once. Then you lost it.

You were born a better listener than you are now.

Word of the week

There's a German word for weight you gained from sadness

Sep 28, 2026

•

1 min read

There's a German word for weight you gained from sadness

The excess weight a person puts on from emotional overeating: the biscuits after a breakup, the takeaway after a bad month.

Learning languages

Why you understand your teacher but not real people

Sep 24, 2026

•

1 min read

Why you understand your teacher but not real people

Linguists call it foreigner-directed speech. A register native speakers slip into automatically when they think the listener is struggling

Hieroglyphs were unreadable for 1,400 years. One man broke them in 14.

Sep 21, 2026

•

1 min read

Hieroglyphs were unreadable for 1,400 years. One man broke them in 14.

Everyone was looking for symbols. He was the only one listening for sounds.

There's a British way of saying no that sounds exactly like yes

Sep 17, 2026

•

1 min read

There's a British way of saying no that sounds exactly like yes

"That's very interesting" is not a compliment. Here's the translation table.

Archive

Dive into a collection of past posts and rediscover timeless content.

There's a Finnish word for drinking at home in your underwear

Most language apps fail for the same three reasons

There's a Russian word for missing something that never existed

Some languages put the verb last. Yours isn't the normal one.

There's an Inuit word for checking the window again

You could hear every sound on Earth once. Then you lost it.

There's a German word for weight you gained from sadness

Why you understand your teacher but not real people

Hieroglyphs were unreadable for 1,400 years. One man broke them in 14.

There's a British way of saying no that sounds exactly like yes

Language Learners Hub