Sheet 01
English c. 1.5bn total
Germanic · Latin script · First language c. 380m, remainder second-language users.
Where spoken. United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and widely as a second language in India, Nigeria, and the Philippines, among many others.
Script. Latin alphabet of 26 letters; spelling preserves six centuries of history at once, which is why though, through, and tough coexist without apology.
“The bus is late again.” — The ordinary sentence of the commuter; gloss: the bus has not arrived on time, as usual.
- Hello
- Hello.
- Thank you
- Thank you.
- Goodbye
- Goodbye.
Sheet 02
Mandarin Chinese c. 1.1bn total
Sino-Tibetan · Chinese characters, Pinyin romanisation · First language c. 940m.
Where spoken. China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and large communities in Indonesia and the United States.
Script. Morphosyllabic characters carrying meaning as well as sound; Pinyin romanisation used for teaching and typing. Tonal: the same syllable carries different meaning at different pitches.
“你好，请给我菜单。” (Nǐ hǎo, qǐng gěi wǒ càidān.) — “Hello, please give me the menu.” The ordinary sentence of the hungry visitor.
- Hello
- 你好 (nǐ hǎo).
- Thank you
- 谢谢 (xièxie).
- Goodbye
- 再见 (zàijiàn).
Sheet 03
Hindi c. 600m total
Indo-Aryan · Devanagari script · First language c. 345m.
Where spoken. India, Nepal, Fiji, Mauritius, and large communities in the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Script. Devanagari, written left to right, with a characteristic horizontal headstroke; closely related to Urdu, which shares grammar and much everyday vocabulary but uses a Perso-Arabic script.
“चाय ठंडी हो रही है।” (Chāy ṭhanḍī ho rahī hai.) — “The tea is going cold.” The ordinary sentence of the host; gloss: drink it now.
- Hello
- नमस्ते (namaste).
- Thank you
- धन्यवाद (dhanyavaad).
- Goodbye
- अलविदा (alvida).
Sheet 04
Spanish c. 550m total
Romance · Latin script · First language c. 470m.
Where spoken. Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and large communities in the United States.
Script. Latin alphabet with ñ and accented vowels; remarkably uniform in writing across continents, while pronunciation varies cheerfully, especially c, z, and ll.
“La cuenta, por favor.” — “The bill, please.” The ordinary sentence of the café table; gloss: we are ready to pay.
- Hello
- Hola.
- Thank you
- Gracias.
- Goodbye
- Adiós.
Sheet 05
Arabic c. 400m total
Semitic · Arabic script, right to left · Many spoken varieties under one written standard.
Where spoken. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq, and widely across North Africa and the Middle East.
Script. Arabic script written right to left, with letters changing shape by position; Modern Standard Arabic is used in writing and broadcast while daily life runs on regional varieties.
“القهوة جاهزة.” (Al-qahwa jāhiza.) — “The coffee is ready.” The ordinary sentence of the household; gloss: come and sit down.
- Hello
- مرحبا (marḥaban).
- Thank you
- شكرا (shukran).
- Goodbye
- مع السلامة (maʿa as-salāma).
Sheet 06
French c. 300m total
Romance · Latin script · First language c. 80m, widely spoken across West and Central Africa.
Where spoken. France, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Canada (Québec).
Script. Latin alphabet with accents and ligatures; spelling is conservative and pronunciation must simply be learnt. The Académie française still pronounces on correctness; the language continues regardless.
“L’addition, s’il vous plaît.” — “The bill, please.” The ordinary sentence of the bistro; gloss: the same errand as in Madrid, with different vowels.
- Hello
- Bonjour.
- Thank you
- Merci.
- Goodbye
- Au revoir.
Sheet 07
Bengali c. 270m total
Indo-Aryan · Bengali script · National language of Bangladesh, major language of West Bengal.
Where spoken. Bangladesh, India (West Bengal, Tripura, Assam), the United Kingdom, the United States, and Saudi Arabia.
Script. Bengali script, descended from Brahmi, written left to right with a headstroke; its literature includes Tagore, the first non-European Nobel laureate in Literature (1913).
“ভাত ঠান্ডা হয়ে যাচ্ছে।” (Bhāt ṭhānḍā hoe jāchchhe.) — “The rice is going cold.” The ordinary sentence of the kitchen; gloss: come to the table.
- Hello
- নমস্কার (nomoskar).
- Thank you
- ধন্যবাদ (dhonnobad).
- Goodbye
- বিদায় (biday).
Sheet 08
Portuguese c. 260m total
Romance · Latin script · Brazil holds the great majority of speakers.
Where spoken. Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau.
Script. Latin alphabet with nasal vowels marked by tildes and accents; European and Brazilian standards differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, and some grammar.
“O autocarro já passou?” — “Has the bus gone already?” The ordinary sentence of the bus stop; gloss: the timetable is a rumour.
- Hello
- Olá.
- Thank you
- Obrigado (m.) – obrigada (f.).
- Goodbye
- Adeus.
Sheet 09
Russian c. 260m total
Slavic · Cyrillic script · First language c. 150m, remainder second-language users.
Where spoken. Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, and large communities in Ukraine, Germany, and the United States.
Script. Cyrillic alphabet of 33 letters, written left to right; stress is free and unmarked in ordinary writing, so it must simply be learnt.
“Чай остывает.” (Chay ostyvayet.) — “The tea is going cold.” The ordinary sentence of the host; gloss: drink it now.
- Hello
- Здравствуйте (zdravstvuyte).
- Thank you
- Спасибо (spasibo).
- Goodbye
- До свидания (do svidaniya).
Sheet 10
Japanese c. 125m total
Japonic · Kanji, hiragana, and katakana · First language c. 124m.
Where spoken. Japan, with large communities in Brazil, the United States, and the Philippines.
Script. Three scripts used together: kanji for roots of meaning, hiragana for grammar and native words, katakana for foreign words and emphasis; written left to right or top to bottom.
“電車が遅れている。” (Densha ga okurete iru.) — “The train is delayed.” The ordinary sentence of the platform; gloss: wait where you stand.
- Hello
- こんにちは (konnichiwa).
- Thank you
- ありがとう (arigatō).
- Goodbye
- さようなら (sayōnara).
Sheet 11
German c. 130m total
Germanic · Latin script · First language c. 95m, remainder second-language users.
Where spoken. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and communities in northern Italy, Belgium, and the United States.
Script. Latin alphabet with umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and ß; nouns capitalised as a matter of course, compounds joined at length without apology.
“Die Rechnung, bitte.” — “The bill, please.” The ordinary sentence of the café table; gloss: we are ready to pay.
- Hello
- Hallo.
- Thank you
- Danke.
- Goodbye
- Tschüss.
Sheet 12
Swahili c. 200m total
Bantu · Latin script · First language c. 20m, remainder second-language users.
Where spoken. Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo, with wide use as a lingua franca across East Africa.
Script. Latin alphabet without q or x in ordinary words; formerly written in Arabic script, now standardised in Latin with straightforward spelling.
“Chai imeshapoa.” — “The tea has gone cold.” The ordinary sentence of the household; gloss: sit down and drink it.
- Hello
- Hujambo.
- Thank you
- Asante.
- Goodbye
- Kwaheri.