FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Esperanto - Some Basic Nouns Trivia Quiz
Don't know Esperanto? You may know more than you think! The words in Esperanto are largely based on European languages. The nouns end in "o", and for plurals, add a "j". See if you can match these Esperanto nouns to their English equivalents.
(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right
side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.
Questions
Choices
1. Pomo
Lake
2. Amiko
City
3. Urbo
Mountain
4. Gepatroj
House
5. Domo
Children
6. Monto
Flower
7. Homoj
Friend
8. Lago
People
9. Floro
Apple
10. Infanoj
Parents
Select each answer
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Pomo
Answer: Apple
In English, a pome is a type of fruit in the rose family, such as apples and pears. The word comes from the Latin "pōmum". The same root is used for apple in French (pomme) and in Catalan (poma). So the word in Esperanto for apples would be "pomoj" with the "oj" combination pronounced as "oi".
2. Amiko
Answer: Friend
The root for "amiko" comes from the Latin "ami" or "amic", which also gives us the English words amiable and amity, among others. Several European languages have a word for friend based on the same root: French (ami), Spanish (amigo) and Italian (amico), for example. The Esperanto word for friendship is "amikeco"; the "eco" suffix denotes qualities or attributes.
3. Urbo
Answer: City
This one is a little tricky, but hopefully you made the connection with "urban". The Esperanto word "urbo" derives from the Latin "urbs" and "urbem" for city, which is also the source of the English words "urban" and "suburbs".
4. Gepatroj
Answer: Parents
"Patro" is father in Esperanto and "patrino" is mother. While "patro" can be used to indicate a single parent, the plural "patroj" means two male parents, as "patrinoj" means two female parents. The prefix "ge" in Esperanto indicates both sexes together.
The root for the words is the Latin "pater" or "parens", which also brings us the Spanish "padre", French "parent", German "Vater" and English "father" and "parent".
5. Domo
Answer: House
Esperanto was developed by a Polish doctor, and here we have a link to the Slavic languages. "Dom" is the word for "house" in Polish, Russian and Slovak and is close to the Czech "dum". The root of the word comes from the Latin "domus", which also gives us the Italian "duomo" and the term "majordomo" which has found its way into English.
6. Monto
Answer: Mountain
The root for "monto" comes from the Latin "mons" also meaning mountain. The word for mountain in several European languages is based on the same root: French (montagne), Spanish(montaņa), Portuguese (montanha) and Italian (montagna), for example. "Mountain range" in Esperanto is "montoĉeno" which links the words "mountain" and "chain".
7. Homoj
Answer: People
The word "personoj" also means "people" in Esperanto; "homoj" can be translated as either "people" or "humans". In the usage of "humans", the Esperanto "homoj" shares a common root with French (humain), Italian (umano), Spanish (humano), and English (human), among other languages. The root of the words is the Latin "homo" meaning "man" or "human being".
8. Lago
Answer: Lake
The Esperanto word "lago" for "lake" is the same as in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and it is close to the word "lag" used in Maltese. All of the words comes from the Latin "lacus" for lake or basin, as do the French "lac", the Scots Gaelic "loch" and the English "lake".
9. Floro
Answer: Flower
The root for "floro" comes from the Latin "flora" for the goddess of flowers; this word itself derives from the Latin "flos" meaning flower. The Romance languages share the common root: Spanish (flor), French (fleur) and Italian (fiore), for example. A flower bouquet in Esperanto is a floro bukedo.
10. Infanoj
Answer: Children
Derived from the Latin word "infans" meaning "infant", the Esperanto word for child is "infano"; adding a "j" for the plural makes it mean "children". Once again, the Esperanto word shares its root with other languages: Spanish and Portuguese (infantil), Italian (infantile) and English (infant). "Bebo" is "baby" in Esperanto, and the Esperanto word for "childhood" is infanaĝo, combining the words for "child" and "age".
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.