Lingule
See one word in a mystery language and work out which language it is, in six guesses.
Every day: One mystery word a day, the same for everyone: guess which language it is in six tries, with feedback on area, family, subfamily and direction. New puzzle: Once a day; the site does not state the time.
Lingule shows you a single word, with its romanisation, pronunciation and meaning, and asks which language it comes from. Each wrong guess tells you whether you have the right macro-area, family and subfamily, and in which direction the answer lies on the map. You have six guesses.
About Lingule
Lingule is a daily language puzzle built on one word. Each numbered Lingule shows a word in its own script, with a romanisation, a phonetic transcription and its English meaning. You guess the language, and the game compares your guess with the answer.
Feedback comes in layers: whether your language is in the same macro-area of the world, the same language family and the same subfamily, plus an arrow pointing toward where the mystery language is spoken. A map shows your guesses. You have six tries, and the share line shows how you did. Language data comes from The World Atlas of Language Structures.
The game is available in English, Spanish, French and Chinese, and has a hard mode. It suits players of Langle who prefer reasoning from a single word and from language families rather than reading a whole passage.
How to play Lingule
- Open lingule.xyz to see today's word.
- Read the word, its romanisation, pronunciation and meaning.
- Guess a language.
- Check the area, family and subfamily matches and the direction arrow.
- Find the language within six guesses and share your result.
Tips
- Use the script and pronunciation first: they narrow the region quickly.
- A family match with a wrong subfamily means you are close; stay in that family.
- Follow the direction arrow when you are in the right area but the wrong branch.
Questions
How many guesses do I get?
Six.
Where does the language data come from?
The World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS).
Is it available in other languages?
Yes, in English, Spanish, French and Chinese.
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