The name game

Travelers lament the fact that many names of countries and major cities around the globe are spelled (and pronounced) differently in English than in the native tongue.

Those who mangled the English spelling translations centuries ago created confusion for travelers today.

Some
European city
examples

Firenze   Florence
Koln   Cologne
Lisboa   Lisbon
Moskva   Moscow
Napoli   Naples
Praha   Prague
Roma   Rome
Savilla   Saville
Venezia   Venice
Wein   Vienna

Some
European country
examples

Czeka Republik   Czech Republic
Danmark   Denmark
Deutschland   Germany
Eesti   Estonia
Eire   Ireland
España   Spain
Ísland   Iceland
Italy   Italy
Lietuva   Lithuania
Magyarorszag   Hungary
Nederland   Netherlands
Norge   Norway
Österreich   Austria
Polska   Poland
Slovensko   Slovakia
Suomi   Finland
Sverige   Sweden

Know these tips and insights

Know about names
How to pronounce country names
What country names mean
Renamed travel destinations
English vs. foreign spellings

Learn basic phrases
for travelers
Australian slang
Chinese
French
German
Greek
Italian
Filipino/Tagalog
Spanish

 

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