Countries in Italian Trivia Quiz

Answer: Italia

Italia, of course! Italy is known as "Il Bel Paese" (means "The Beautiful Country") for its cultural wonders and its beautiful landscapes. Another nickname for Italy is "Lo Stivale" ("The Boot"), due to its peculiar shape.

The origin of the term "Italia" is disputed. Many historians and etymologists argue that the term originated from "vitlo" (ancient name for "vitello", means "calf"). Indeed, a prehistoric tribe lived in the Calabria had a calf for a totem. In other studies, it has been hypothesized that the term "Italia" originated from "Tala", an ancient African city, and that the Talian people migrated overseas for some reason.

Answer: Inghilterra

"Inghilterra" is the correct translation for "England". In Italian "land" is "terra", so we can say that Inghilterra is "la terra degli Angli".

Answer: Spagna

"Spain" is "Spagna" in Italian and its inhabitants are the "Spagnoli".

Answer: Svezia

"Svezia" is the Italian name for "Sweden".
In Italian, letter "w" ("vu doppia") is used only in the commonly used names of foreign origin and untranslatable, for example "watt", "western", "würstel".

Answer: Ungheria

In Italian, "Hungary" is "Ungheria". Italy and Hungary share the same colors in their flags: green, white and red.

Answer: Liechtenstein

Why should we mangle the name of this lovable alpine country? "Liechtenstein", in Italian too?

The capital city Vaduz is not very far from Italy: 185 kilometres as the crow flies from Milan.

Answer: Costa d'Avorio

The country that has Yamoussoukro as its capital city is named in Italy "Costa d'Avorio", that is literally "Coast of Ivory".

Answer: Ghana

The name "Ghana" does not change in Italian. "Costa d'Oro" is literally "Coast of Gold". In fact, during the European colonisation, this territory was known as "Gold Coast", due to the rich deposits of gold, mainly located in the coastal zone.

Answer: India

The second most populated country in the world is "India", as in English, as in Italian; just like the U.S. state remains "Indiana" too.

Answer: Arabia Saudita

Double consonants are frequently used in Italian, but not in this case.
I think "Arrabbia Saudditta" should have been unpronounceable even to us!

Answer: Giappone

In Italian, there is a sporadic use of letter "j" ("i lunga"). Regarding the country names beginning with the letter "j", is used to replace the letter "j" with the letter "g". Consequently: "Japan" is "Giappone", "Jordan" is "Giordania", "Jamaica" is "Giamaica". Something similar happened to the proper names: "John" is "Giovanni", "Justin" is "Giustino", "Julia" is "Giulia".

Answer: Australia

Australia and Austria are part of the large group of countries that do not change their name. Other similar examples with the letter "a" are: Algeria, Argentina, Albania.

Answer: Brasile

"Brasile" is the correct translation for "Brazil". Brasilia is its capital city and does not change its name in Italian.

Answer: Perù

"Peru" is "Perù" in Italian (with the grave accent on the letter "u").
In Italy, there is a famous rock singer called Pelù and he is very good, but not enough to change the name of a country! I hope you did not choose Pelù!

Answer: Stati Uniti

In Italian, United States are called "Stati Uniti", but frequently are called simply "USA", with pronunciation: "oosah".