Author: Simon

I am a linguist, web developer and musician. I live in Bangor in Wales and run Omniglot - the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, as well as making the Radio Omniglot Podcast.

Roaring Waves

By Simon

One word that came up in my Cantonese lessons recently was 海嘯 (hoi² siu³), which means tsunami. This surprised me, as I would have guessed that the Japanese word 津波 (tsunami) would have been borrowed into Chinese and given a Chinese pronunciation. Apparently not.

Tsunami

海嘯 [海啸] is also found in Mandarin, means the same thing, and is pronounced hǎixiào. The first character, 海 (hoi² / hǎi) means ocean, sea or a great number of people or things, while the second character, 嘯 [啸] (siu³ / xiào) means to hiss or whistle in Cantonese, and to whistle, screech, howl or roar in Mandarin. So 海嘯 [海啸] could be translated literally as ‘ocean whistle’, ‘ocean roar’, ‘sea hiss’, and so on [source].

Related words include:

  • 大海嘯 [大海啸] (daai⁶ hoi² siu³ / dàhǎixiào) = megatsunami (an extremely large tsunami-like wave caused by an avalanche or landslide displacing large amounts of water very quickly)
  • 氣象海嘯 [气象海啸] (hei³ zoeng⁶ hoi² siu³ / qìxiàng hǎixiào) = meteotsunami (a tsunami-like wave of meteorological origin)

嘯 [啸] (siu³ / xiào) also appears in 呼嘯 [呼啸] (fu¹ siu³/ hū​xiào) = to whistle, scream, whiz; and 長嘯 [长啸] (coeng⁴ siu³/ ​chángxiào) = to let out a long, loud and clear cry [source].

The word 海嘯 (kaishō) also exists in Japanese, and means a tidal bore, a tsunami or a tidal wave [source].

The Japanese word 津波 (tsunami) means tsunami or tidal wave. 津 (tsu / shin) means harbour, port or ferry. It appears in words such as 津液 (shineki – saliva, spit, spittle), and 津々 (shinshin – gushing, overflowing, everlasting, unfailing, endless) [source].

波 (nami / ho) means wave, billow, ripple break, swell, ups and downs, advancing step by step, surging forward unopposably, succession of changes, tendency or (new) wave [source].

It appears in words such as:

  • 波打つ (namiuchi) = to dash against, billow, roll, wave, heave, pound, undulate)
  • 波風 (namikaze) = wind and waves, discord, trouble, strife, hardships)
  • 波立つ (namidachi) = to be choppy, rough, swell, beat fast, be in turmoil)
  • 波頭 (namigashira / hotō) = wave crest, white caps
  • 波長 (hochō) = wavelength
  • 波長 (hochō) = wavelength
  • 波紋 (homon) = ripple, ring on the water, repercussions
  • 波乱 (horan) = disturbance, trouble, commotion, uproar, turmoil, ups and downs (of live) vicissitudes, small and large waves

The characters 津 and 波 are both used in Chinese, but not together. 津 (jīn) means saliva, sweat, a ferry crossing or a ford (river crossing), and appears in the name of 天津 (Tiān​jīn), a city in the northeast of China; while 波 (bō) means wave, ripple, storm or surge, and appears in 波兰 [波蘭] (Bō​lán), the Chinese name for Poland [source].




Hot & Cold

By Simon

The Italian word caldo sounds similar to the English word cold, but actually means warm, hot and other things.

caldo.. molto caldo

Caldo [ˈkal.do] in Italian means warm, hot, heat, fervour or ardour. It comes from Latin calidus (warm, hot, fiery, fierce, vehement, spirited, impassioned, rash, eager, inconsiderate), from caleō (to be warm or hot, to glow, etc), from Proto-Italic *kalēō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱleh₁- (hot, warm) [source].

Related words in other languages include caldo (soup) in Chavacano, caldo (hot, warm, broth, juice) in Galician, caldo (broth, stock, juice) in Portuguese, and caldo (clear soup, broth, stock, wine, swill, sludge) in Spanish [source].

Words from the same Latin roots include caldre (it is needed, it is necessary, to have to, to need to, must) in Catalan, caler (to be necessary) in Occitan, calor (heat) and caldera (cauldron, boiler, caldera) in Spanish, chauffer (to heat, warm (up), tease) and chaudron (cauldron) in French, and cauldron, calorie, chafe, scald, caldera (a large crater formed by collapse of the cone of a volcano) and possibly chowder in English [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include lauw (lukewarm, cold, indifferent, nice, cool, chill) in Dutch, lau (cushy, easy) in German, flou (fuzzy, blurred, blurry, unclear) in French, flauw (boring, tasteless, uninspired, weak, vague, hazy, bland) in Dutch, and hlær (warm, mild) in Icelandic, lievä (mild, moderate, slight) in Finnish, and possibly lukewarm in English [source].

Incidentally, the English word cold comes from Middle English cold (cold, cool, lifeless), from Anglian Old English cald (cold), from Proto-West Germanic *kald (cold), from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz (cold), from *kalaną (to be cold, to freeze), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (to be cold, to freeze) [source].

Related words include koud (cold) in Dutch, kalt (cold, chilly, calm) in German, kold (cold) in Danish, and cool in English [source].




At Sixes and Sevens

By Simon

The phrase, at sixes and sevens, is used to refer to a state of confusion, or a state of dispute or disagreement, at least in the UK, Ireland and Commonwealth countries.

Confusion

It comes from the phrase on six and seven, from Middle English on sixe and sevene, the origins of which are not known. It may have come from the game of hazard and the Old French cinc (five) and sis (six), the riskiest numbers to shoot for, which were either misheard as “six” and “seven”, or increased by one each as a form of exaggeration [source].

Apparently in Australia, a state of confusion might be called all sixes and nines, the origins of which are not known [source].

In Chinese, certain numbers are also associated with disorder in the phrase 乱七八糟 [亂七八糟] (luànqībāzāo), which means chaotic, in disorder or muddled, or literally ‘confusion / state of chaos, seven, eight, dregs’ [source].

A similar phrase is 乌七八糟 [烏七八糟] (wūqībāzāo), which means everything in disorder, in a hideous mess, obscene, dirty or filthy. The first character 乌 [烏] (wū) means crow, rook, raven or black, and the other characters are the same [source].

There is also the phrase 七上八下 (qīshàngbāxià), which means at sixes and sevens, in a perturbed state of mind or in a mess, or literally “seven up eight down” [source].

In Hokkien or Southern Min, a phrase that associates seven and eight with confusion is 有七无八 [有七無八] (ǔ-chhit-bô-poeh), which means in a state of confusion, in a state of uncertainty, in a state of disorder, or in an awful mess, or literally ‘have seven not have eight’ [source].

The words seven and eight also appear in the Chinese idioms:

  • 七嘴八舌 (qīzuǐbāshé), which means a discussion with everybody talking at once, or literally “seven mouths, eight tongues” [source].
  • 七手八腳 (qīshǒubājiǎo), which means with many people lending a hand; chaotically, or literally “seven hands, eight feet” [source].
  • 七零八落 (qīlíngbāluò), which means scattered here and there; in disorder; in confusion, or literally “seven zero, eight fall” [source].

There is also an idiom in Japanese – 七転び八起き (nana korobi ya oki) which means not giving up until succeeding, or the ups and downs of life, or literally “seven times falling down, eight times rising up” [source]. It has a short form: 七転八起 (shichiten hakki), which means life has its ups and downs, and is used an encouragement to keep going no matter how tough it is. Its literally meaning is “seven tumbles, eight stand ups” [source].

Are there other phrases that associate particular numbers with confusion, disorder, chaos or other things?




Magic Machines

By Simon

What connects the words magic and machine? Let’s find out in this Omniglot blog post.

Magic Book

Magic [ˈmadʒɪk / ˈmædʒɪk] is the application of rituals or actions, especially those based on occult knowledge, to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces in order to have some benefit from them. (Other meanings are available).

It comes from Middle English magik (magic, sorcery, magical), from Old French magique (magic, magical), from Latin magicus (magic, magical), from Ancient Greek μαγικός (magikós – magical, skilled in magic), from μάγος (mágos – magical), from Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐏁 (maguš⁠ – Mazdean priest), from Proto-Iranian *magúš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *magʰúš, from *megʰ-ú-s, from *megʰ- (to be able)[source].

Related words include mago (magician, sorcerer) in Spanish, μάγος (magician, wizard, sorcerer) in Greek, magico (magic, enchanting) in Italian, and mage and magus in English [source].

In Old English, one word for magic, and also spell, charm or incantation, was ġealdor / galdor [ˈjæɑl.dor] (magic, sorcery, magical). This became galder (a type of pagan incantation, spell or charm) in modern English. It comes from Proto-West Germanic *galdr (singing, song, incantation), from Proto-Germanic *galdraz (singing, song, charm, incantation, spell), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (to call, chant, shout) [source].

Related words include galdur (magic, sorcery, witchcraft, a trick) in Icelandic, galder (sorcery, wizardry, spell, incantation) in Danish, hałas (noise, racket, din) in Polish, and possibly gale and yell in English [source].

machine

Machine [məˈʃi(ː)n] is a device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect. (Other meanings are available).

It comes from Middle French machine (machine, device), from Latin māchina (contrivance, siege engine, scaffold), from Doric Greek μαχανά (contrivance, machine, device), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- (to be able) – the same root as magic [source].

Related words include mokër (millstone, boulder) in Albanian, მანქანა (mankana – machine, car) in Georgian, macina (millstone, quern) and macchina (machine, car) in Italian, máquina (machine) in Spanish, and machine (machine, device, engine) in French [source].




Polyglottery in Brno

By Simon

Last week I went to the Polyglot Gathering in Brno in the Czech Republic. This is the sixth Polyglot Gathering I’ve been to, though the first one in Brno and the first one for a few years. The last one I went to was in 2019 in Bratislava in Slovakia.

Polyglot Gathering 2026

This year’s Polyglot Gathering took place at Mendel University in Brno (Mendelova univerzita v Brně). There were 827 participants from 67 countries. Apart from English, the most spoken languages were German, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Polish and Portuguese, and between us, we the participants speak or are learning 202 languages. Just over half the polyglots were there are under 45, and the rest, like me, are older.

Polyglot Gathering 2026

This was the largest language event I’ve been too, and was very well organized. There were talks about language-related topics; introductions to languages; language practice tables; workshops on stand-up comedy, dance, capoeira, juggling, etc; games, quizzes, karaoke, a talent show, a food fair, and tours of local attractions.

Brno
Freedom Square (Náměstí Svobody), Brno

I went to a few of the talks, and practised my Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese at the language practice tables. I also went on a tour of Brno, which was interesting, and to a quiz, a karaoke session, concerts and other activities. The rest of the time I was relaxing, chatting to various people, and teaching people to juggle, or helping them to improve their juggling (see below).

Juggling

The languages I spoke most, apart from English, were French, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Cantonese, German, Welsh, Irish, Spanish and Esperanto. I also spoke (or at least tried to speak) some Czech, Slovak, Russian, Scottish Gaelic, Swedish, Italian, Portuguese and Taiwanese.

The 'dragon' of Brno
The Brno Dragon / Brněnský drak

For anybody interested in languages who wants to meet like-minded people, practice their languages, and have fun, I’d recommend events like this. The next one is the Polyglot Conference in Bologna in Italy in 18-20 November 2026. I haven’t decided if I’m going to go yet.