# Vulpes velox fuscus



## Focalist

*The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog*

is usually cited as the "shortest meaningful sentence" in English containing all the letters of the alphabet (useful for checking out fonts), although

*A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog*

is two letters shorter, and 

*Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs*

is shorter by _three_ letters.

Are there equivalent "test sentences" in other languages?

F


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## Silvia

I have no idea! I wish I could help!

I'm hearing this for the first time


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## walnut

Focalist said:
			
		

> The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog


  I've been using it almost every day for more than ten years and didn't even suspect it contains all the letters of the alphabet, also if I use it for checking fonts. That's genius!  
I don't know of any italian equivalent and normally fonts checking programs use the fox sentence in Italian versions as well.

Grazie!  Walnut


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## Tomasoria

It's amazing...I never heard of it before...

 Hey...Italians ¡¡¡ please, pass the italian version of the fox thing...I'm sure it sounds great.

   ciao


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## Silvia

La veloce volpe marrone salta addosso al cane pigro.


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## DDT

Slightly free translation: "La lesta volpe bruna salta sopra il cane poltrone"

DDT


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## Artrella

Focalist said:
			
		

> *The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog*
> 
> is usually cited as the "shortest meaningful sentence" in English containing all the letters of the alphabet (useful for checking out fonts), although
> 
> *A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog*
> 
> is two letters shorter, and
> 
> *Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs*
> 
> is shorter by _three_ letters.
> 
> Are there equivalent "test sentences" in other languages?
> 
> F





Where did you get this from F? What kind of book? I'd like to read about this.
And try to find something, maybe in some Linguistics book.  Please give me some orientation in connection with this kind of sentences.

Thanks, Art


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## Focalist

Artrella said:
			
		

> Where did you get this from F? What kind of book? I'd like to read about this.


Just something I've known since primary school. I think lots of English speakers know about the quick brown fox.

I've just had a little look on the web, though, and seen that this type of sentence can be called a "pangram". More on pangrams here:

http://www.fun-with-words.com/pang_explain.html

F


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## gatoviejo

In German we have only some like this ...

*"Ein Neger mit Gazelle zagt im Regen nie"*

It doesn't fit to this thread exactly because it needs not all the letters of the german alphabet, but you can read it from both sides. It's equal witch side you prefer, everytime you'll read the same. - Try it.

It means: A negro with a gazelle won't be timid in the rain.
Significa: Si hace lluvia un negro con gacela no tiene miedo.

 g@to


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## Tomasoria

the Spanish one to learn how to pronounce the double L:

 LA LLUVIA EN SEVILLA ES UNA MARAVILLA..

  Don't you remember the film "Hello Dolly" with that sentence "The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains"... so this is more or less the same...

   Saludos


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## walnut

gatoviejo said:
			
		

> It doesn't fit to this thread exactly because it needs not all the letters of the german alphabet, but you can read it from both sides. It's equal witch side you prefer, everytime you'll read the same.


 In italian we call this a palindromo, or a frase palindroma.
I wrote and old-italian-poetry-sounding-like one when I was at school and studying Ugo Foscolo, an italian poet that wrote something called 'I sepolcri' (the tombs...)

Odi? muovo un osso, osso nuovo, umido...

Can you hear it? I move a bone, a new, mosty one...

You can read it (the italian one!) both from the beginning and the end.

 Walnut


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## Tomasoria

There you have a new one:

 Tres tristes tigres comian trigo en un trigal.

 A better one, just to teach french-speakers how to pronounce a proper spanish "R":

   El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramirez se lo ha cortado

  Ciao


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## belén

Jajajaja, Tomasoria, how funny...
it was My Fair Lady!! 
Cute touch, though 
I am laughing because I have a friend whose two favorite movies in the world are Hello Dolly and My Fair Lady


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## zebedee

walnut said:
			
		

> In italian we call this a palindromo, or a frase palindroma.
> I wrote and old-italian-poetry-sounding-like one when I was at school and studying Ugo Foscolo, an italian poet that wrote something called 'I sepolcri' (the tombs...)
> 
> Odi? muovo un osso, osso nuovo, umido...
> 
> Can you hear it? I move a bone, a new, mosty one...
> 
> You can read it (the italian one!) both from the beginning and the end.
> 
> Walnut



In English it's called a palindrome. The one everyone knows is:

*Able was I ere I saw Elba*

which is supposedly what Nelson said when he was extradited to Elba. But I have my doubts, I suspect it was something more along the lines of: "Oh damn, I forgot to take my library books back..."


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## belén

El más famoso en castellano es
*Dábale arroz a la zorra el abad*
También he encontrado este 
*Anita lava la tina*

Mirad que interesante, he encontrado un poema entero!!

Julio González Cabillón 

LUZ AZUL

(Poema palindrómico)



1991

Arde ya la yedra,
la moral, claro, mal.
No deseo yo ese don,
la tomo como tal.
No traces en ese cartón,
la ruta natural.

Arde ya la yedra,
la moral, claro, mal.
Amad a la dama,
la ruta natural.
¿Ávida de dadiva?
La tomo como tal.

Arde ya la yedra,
la moral, claro, mal.
¿Osar ropa por raso?
La tomo como tal.
¿O sacáis ropa por si acaso?
La ruta natural.

Arde ya la yedra,
la moral, claro, mal.
Átale, demoníaco Caín, o me delata.
La tomo como tal.
¡Ya ... atar al raedor, y rodear la rata ...ay! 
La ruta natural.


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## belén

Por fin encontré la frase que tiene todas las letras del abecedario en castellano:

*Tu jefe gozaba con whisky que exprime de la viña *


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## Focalist

belen said:
			
		

> Por fin encontré la frase que tiene todas las letras del abecedario en castellano:
> 
> *Tu jefe gozaba con whisky que exprime de la viña *


Congratulations, Belén! I was wondering how Spanish would cope with including "w" and "k". I must say that, as a solution to that problem, "whisky" is neat.... neat whisky (get it?) 

Zeb, I hate to be an old pedant (actually, no: I quite like being a pedant; it's the "old" bit that depresses me sometimes), but I think you'll find it was not Nelson but someone else (whose name also begins with N.) who was made "emperor of Elba". 

The shortest English palindrome I know is what the first man said in his first words to the first woman: *Madam, I'm Adam*.

F


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## gatoviejo

I searched an found this ...
In German it’s called ”Zungenbrecher” (maybe somebody can translate it)

Turing their education young actors and actresses take a cork (bottle of wine - only important for the taste   ) in their mouth and try to speak this sentence ...

*Zwischen zwei Zwetschkenzweigen zwitschern zwei Schwalben.*

... to improve their pronunciation.

g@to


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## Focalist

Gâteau viejo --  oops
Sorry, old cake, I mean *Gatoviejo*,

Do you realize that the only way I could obtain a cork with which to test out your "tongue twister" (that's the English for _Zungenbrecher_, btw) was to open another bottle of wine? I blame *you*, gv, for my increashing alco... alco... alco (hic!) holizhm....

F


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## gatoviejo

> Gâteau viejo -- oops _<= très bien_
> Sorry, old cake, I mean Gatoviejo,
> 
> Do you realize that the only way I could obtain a cork with which to test out your "tongue twister" (that's the English for Zungenbrecher, btw) was to open another bottle of wine? I blame you, gv, for my increashing alco... alco... alco (hic!) holizhm.... _<= merveilleux_


Hi my *F*riend *o*f *c*old *a*lcoholic *l*ongtrinks *i*n *s*omber *t*imes!  _<= Sic transit gloriam mundi_
Thanks for translation.

By the way, you mustn't take a cork of a bottle. Try it with a peace of a dry ugly old cake!

Bonne nuit
le gâteau vieux


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## zebedee

Focalist said:
			
		

> Congratulations, Belén! I was wondering how Spanish would cope with including "w" and "k". I must say that, as a solution to that problem, "whisky" is neat.... neat whisky (get it?)
> 
> Zeb, I hate to be an old pedant (actually, no: I quite like being a pedant; it's the "old" bit that depresses me sometimes), but I think you'll find it was not Nelson but someone else (whose name also begins with N.) who was made "emperor of Elba".
> 
> The shortest English palindrome I know is what the first man said in his first words to the first woman: *Madam, I'm Adam*.
> 
> F



Oh yes, Focalist, you're absolutely right, it was the other N person.
Here's another palindrome:
*A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.*
which I believe talks about the building of the Channel tunnel...erm...


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## Silvia

Tomasoria said:
			
		

> LA LLUVIA EN SEVILLA ES UNA MARAVILLA..


La rana in Spagna gracida in campagna...


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## cuchuflete

DDT said:
			
		

> Slightly free translation: "La lesta volpe bruna salta sopra il cane poltrone_ e cerca l'altímetro_"
> 
> DDT


This was used to teach "touch typing"  on huge old heavy Underwood and Olivetti manual typewriters when I was in junior high school....that was before the advent of electric typewriters, children!

Cuciu


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## cuchuflete

belen said:
			
		

> Jajajaja, Tomasoria, how funny...
> it was My Fair Lady!!
> Cute touch, though
> I am laughing because I have a friend whose two favorite movies in the world are Hello Dolly and My Fair Lady


Hola Be...Don't forget Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, singing "Let a *woman* in your life!"

Happily redecorated,
Cuchu


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## lauranazario

cuchufléte said:
			
		

> Hola Be...Don't forget Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, singing "Let a *woman* in your life!"
> 
> Happily redecorated,
> Cuchu



Redecorated and much more functional, I should add. 

_...she'll redecorate the dome...._ does that include the choice of headgear? 

TLaura


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## Leopold

*Átale, demoníaco Caín, o me delata. * (Julio Cortázar)

El veloz murciélago hindú comía feliz cardillo y kiwi. La cigüeña tocaba el saxofón detrás del palenque de paja.

This is the one which appears is the Fonts.

Tr: The quick Hindu bat was happily eating a little cardoon and kiwi. The stork was playing the saxophone behind the straw fence.


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## valerie

Un pangramme en Français:

Portez ce vieux whisky au juge blond qui fume


et une page très riche sur pangrammes z-et autres jeux de mots:
http://www.fatrazie.com/pangramme.htm#Un peu d’histoire et quelques classiques*:


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## Tomasoria

belen said:
			
		

> Jajajaja, Tomasoria, how funny...
> it was My Fair Lady!!
> Cute touch, though
> I am laughing because I have a friend whose two favorite movies in the world are Hello Dolly and My Fair Lady




 Gracias belén, confundí My Fair Lady con Hello Dolly...ya es grave confundir a rex Harrison con Louis Armstrong ¡¡¡ Pero como puedes tener amigos cuyas películas favoritas sean estas ???¡¡¡ My God, que raros ¡¡¡ Lo culturalmente correcto es decir que adoras las películas de Bergman y la Nouvelle Bague Francesa (Truffaut y todos esos...).

 Me parece que tus amigos no estarían a la altura de este Forum...ay,ay...

 By the way, bonito poema el que encontraste...me lo aprenderé de memoria.

   P: Mis pelis favoritas son las de PAjares y Esteso..."los Bingueros" la mejor ¡¡¡


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## Tomasoria

silviap said:
			
		

> La rana in Spagna gracida in campagna...




 Hi Silvia...nice one ¡¡¡ can you translate for us the sentence...

  I don't know what GRACIDA means...

  One more:

   EL cielo esta enladrillado, quién lo desenladrillará, el desenladrillador que lo desenladrille...buén desenladrillador será.

    Besos a todos


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## belén

Tomasoria said:
			
		

> Gracias belén, confundí My Fair Lady con Hello Dolly...ya es grave confundir a rex Harrison con Louis Armstrong ¡¡¡ Pero como puedes tener amigos cuyas películas favoritas sean estas ???¡¡¡ My God, que raros ¡¡¡ Lo culturalmente correcto es decir que adoras las películas de Bergman y la Nouvelle Bague Francesa (Truffaut y todos esos...).
> 
> Me parece que tus amigos no estarían a la altura de este Forum...ay,ay...
> 
> By the way, bonito poema el que encontraste...me lo aprenderé de memoria.
> 
> P: Mis pelis favoritas son las de PAjares y Esteso..."los Bingueros" la mejor ¡¡¡



Tendríais que conocer a este amigo...raro es poco...es todo un personaje, es un inglés que parece que nació en el siglo XIX pero se equivocaron y lo mandaron a este, los mandos a distancia son seres extraños para él...pero le encanta Barbra Streisand y los musicales...Es adorable....  
Por cierto, me acuerdo de una de sus historias: me contó que en Londres hay un espectáculo de "Sonrisas y lágrimas" (The Sound of Music) en el que pasan la película con las canciones subtituladas para que la gente cante y es todo un acontecimiento. Los espectadores van vestidos de monja y de barones y se montan ahí unos shows que son tremendos...a mi amigo le regalaron la entrada una vez para su cumpleaños


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## belén

JUST FOR FUN, NO OFFENSE INTENDED:

DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM


PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER



DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT



GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE



THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS



SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME



ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY



MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER



SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S



A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE



THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE




ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE

 AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:




PRESIDENT CLINTON OF THE USA:
When you rearrange the letters
(With no letters left over and using each letter only once):
TO COPULATE HE FINDS INTERNS


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## Tomasoria

belen said:
			
		

> Tendríais que conocer a este amigo...raro es poco...es todo un personaje, es un inglés que parece que nació en el siglo XIX pero se equivocaron y lo mandaron a este, los mandos a distancia son seres extraños para él...pero le encanta Barbra Streisand y los musicales...Es adorable....
> Por cierto, me acuerdo de una de sus historias: me contó que en Londres hay un espectáculo de "Sonrisas y lágrimas" (The Sound of Music) en el que pasan la película con las canciones subtituladas para que la gente cante y es todo un acontecimiento. Los espectadores van vestidos de monja y de barones y se montan ahí unos shows que son tremendos...a mi amigo le regalaron la entrada una vez para su cumpleaños



 Belén, habría que conocer a ese amigo tuyo... e ir todos a Londres a ver a la Familia Von Trapp y cantar como descosidos...Yo, por supuesto, me pido ir disfrazado de Barón con V.

   Como dicen por aquí, "Hay gente pa tó"...

    Saludos


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## Sev

valerie said:
			
		

> Un pangramme en Français:
> 
> Portez ce vieux whisky au juge blond qui fume
> 
> 
> et une page très riche sur pangrammes z-et autres jeux de mots:
> http://www.fatrazie.com/pangramme.htm#Un%20peu%20d’histoire%20et%20quelques%20classiques*:


Merci Vamérie, sympa ce site il y a aussi des illusions d'optique amusantes.
Un palindrome que j'aime bien : 
Eh, ça va la vache?

trouvé sur le site : http://villemin.gerard.free.fr/Langue/Palindro.htm


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## lsp

Tomasoria said:
			
		

> the Spanish one to learn how to pronounce the double L:
> 
> LA LLUVIA EN SEVILLA ES UNA MARAVILLA..
> 
> Don't you remember the film "Hello Dolly" with that sentence "The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains"... so this is more or less the same...
> 
> Saludos



Lyrics are from another classic musical, "My Fair Lady" actually.


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## zebedee

Tomasoria said:
			
		

> Belén, habría que conocer a ese amigo tuyo... e ir todos a Londres a ver a la Familia Von Trapp y cantar como descosidos...Yo, por supuesto, me pido ir disfrazado de Barón con V.
> 
> Como dicen por aquí, "Hay gente pa tó"...
> 
> Saludos



Excellent! ¡Me apunto! Yo iré disfrazada de la niña pequeña que, cuando le hacen cantar a su futura madrasta - la mala de la película - dice: "I can't sing, I've got a sore finger!"


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## Jana337

Only now did I stumble across this somewhat dated thread. I decided to revive it because I simply must share with you the Czech "brown fox" equivalent. To be precise, it is rather a complement because it does not contain all Czech letters, just all of those that do not exist in the English alphabet.

Příšerně žluťoučký kůň úpěl ďábelské ódy.

  I am afraid that you will not be able to see all characters correctly displayed 

 Anyway, the translation is as follows: A terribly yellowish horse howled fiendish odes.

 Jana


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## Hakro

Palindromes in Finnish:

SAIPPUAKAUPPIAS = soap seller
INNOSTUNUT SONNI = excited bull

And a dirty one:

ALLI PAMAUTTI VITTUA MAPILLA = (A girl named) Alli banged the c*** with a folder

And a really long one:

 Nai pesukoneessa, laukusta taas saatana tuli Hanna. Ok, Kim. Aarre höylien alla. Aaha, salit trukilla pannaan nimien alle. Hitto! Etova alku, sata lusikanosaa taitaa vitusti palaa. Murha on ruotsiksi "mord". Nila puuttuu, Jallu nisua voi Palestiinasta vetää. Pyy meni amatsonin apajille, marakatilla halu. Anteeksi. Isorikas sinua hujauttaa. Teloi Esko paidat. Tero, pora vajassa. Kuhisi au pair-rahoja, sinä jostakin nostit niitä. Mono uhalla kalisi. Lekaasi nosto ei vie. Oi! Taas ne sadalta saavat napit. Taputti vaskoolia hapan Iivana. Tuuri ruusua valitsi, Ismo oria kesytti. Hyypiö läksiä halusi. Kojootin rasisti jalalla litisti. Apatiasi opettaja taisi yhä sietää. Köysi laittoi Masin omat lavat alas. Etsipä tämä kiero naikkonen. Öylätti säkissä. Pärepytyt ystäville, heh, oli tulleet. Illan otti homma kamala. Hapan olo. Allah, ipana kosi, no, iho. Ohi on, iso kana pihalla. Olona paha lamakammo. Hitto, nalli. Te, ellut: ilo, he hellivät! Syty, typerä pässi! Käsittä lyö ne, nokkia, no! Reikä mätä, piste. Salata valta, moni Sami otti ali. Syökää te isä! Hyi, siat! Ajatte pois aita, paitsi tilalla lajit. Sisar nitoo. Joki sula. Häiskä löi. Pyyhitty. Se kai "room", siis tila. Vau, suuri ruutana! Viina paha ilo. Oksa, vittu. Patti pantava. Asat. Lada sensaatio! Ei, vie otsoni, saakeli. Silakalla huono mäti. Intit, sonni. Katso, jänis. Ajo, Harri! Apua! Isi hukassa! Ja varo poretta. Dia. Poks! Ei ole taattua: Juha unissa kirosi. Iske et, naula hallita. Karamelli Japanin. Osta maine, myy pääte. Vatsani itse lapio. Vau, sinulla juuttuu palindromi "ski's tour". No, ah, rumaa. Lapit suti vaatia. Taas on. Aki, sulata suklaa. Vote otti hellan. Ei, Minna, anna palli, Kurttila sahaa. Allan ei lyö herraa. Mikko, anna hilut. Ana, taas saatat sukua. Lasse-eno, kuse pian.

It's too long to be translated (and it's partly dirty, too), but it starts "F*** in the washing machine, Hanna came from the bag again, damn it" an it ends "Uncle Lasse, pee quickly!"


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## judkinsc

Here's a classic, it's called "Das SATOR Quadrat" (The "SATOR" Square):

SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS

Read it from any direction you like.

It's in Latin.

"Arepo the Sower holds the wheels in work", (keeps the wheels moving) approximately.

Some Roman authors liked palindromes as well. 

"Similarly, in the third thread, Barbara Mann:
> There is an explanation of this square or acrostic on the very first page
> of a book by Robert Milburn entitled Early Christian Art and
> Architecture, Univ. of California Press, 1988. Milburn explains that it
> is basically a secret code because it can be rearranged into the form of
> a cross, with the opening words of the Lord's prayer, A Paternoster O,
> going both vertically and horizontally, intersecting at the letter N.
...
> A
> 
> P
> A
> T
> E
> R
> A PATERNOSTER O
> O
> S
> T
> E
> R
> 
> O "
http://www.plexoft.com/DTF/Sator.html

It is quite old, but its origins are unclear.

EDIT:  It won't take the proper formatting to display the letters forming a cross.


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## Fernando

I am enjoying this thread.

The only Spanish word with 5 vowels: "murciélago" (Eng. bat)


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## Hakro

Fernando said:
			
		

> The only Spanish word with 5 vowels: "murciélago" (Eng. bat)


It took me a minute to get it: it's the only Spanish word with 5 different vowels. Am I right?

In Finnish we have word with five different vowels and nothing else: *yöaie*. It's a little bit artificial word but it can be translated "nightwish" or "night intention".


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## Fernando

Hakro said:
			
		

> It took me a minut to get it: it's the only Spanish word with 5 different vowels. Am I right?


 Right, THE five different Spanish vowels.


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## siljam

Fernando said:
			
		

> I am enjoying this thread.
> 
> The only Spanish word with 5 vowels: "murciélago" (Eng. bat)



La única palabra que usa las 5 vocales?. Vamos!. Hay decenas:
acuchillemos
averiguo
instrumentamos
refugiado
etc.etc.


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## Fernando

You are right, siljam. I had not noticed them.


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## Laia

restauración


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## siljam

No vale. Hay dos "a" en restauración. La cosa es palabras que contengan 
las 5 vocales sin repetir ninguna.


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## foxfirebrand

Nelson was exiled (not extradited) to Elba?  Historical revisionism has reached new extremes with that one!

I think it was Napoleon.
.


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## zebedee

foxfirebrand said:
			
		

> Nelson was exiled (not extradited) to Elba? Historical revisionism has reached new extremes with that one!
> 
> I think it was Napoleon.
> .


 
hello ffb,

Doing a bit of digging in the Old Threads sandbox?
Have a look at Posts #17 & #21
cheers,
zeb


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## Juri

Zwei einfache deutsche Zungenbrecher(*tongue twister*)
Fischer's Fritz fischt frische Fische.(Fritz is fishing fresh fish)
Die Wienerweiberwäscherinnen wollen weisse Wäsche mit weichen warmen Wasser waschen.(Vienna laundresses want to wash lingerie with warm water)
The oldest *palindrome* is perhaps the Virgilian hexameter:
In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni.


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## Josh_

In response to this thread.

Here is a palindrome I came up with.  It is the longest (intelligible) one I have been able to think up.
(with a slightly bad word):

God damn mad dog.


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## ireney

Well, we don't have any phrase with all the greek letters as far as I know and the only palindrome (which we call crab-writing, search me why) I can think of is ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑ ΜΗ ΜΟΝAΝ ΟΨΙΝ (nipson anomimata mi monan opsin) which was to be found inscribed over a faucet outside Hagia Sophia. 

It's meaning is 'do not wash your bad actions/sins from only one side' (a verbatim translation and therefore in rather bad English but the only way I can currently think of conveing the "witticism" of putting this over a faucet)


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## natasha2000

*Ajšo, lepoto i čežnjo, za ljubav srca moga dođi u Hadžiće na kafu.* 
(Aysha, my beuty and desire, come to Hadjich to have a coffee, only for the love of my heart) - translation-more or less

Here's Serbian pangram.
All letters of Serbian Alphabet.

NOTE: lj is one letter, nj is one letter too, like ch in Spanish. 
(lj) is a letter for a sound like Spanish (ll) and (nj) is a letter for a sound like Spanish (ñ)

There are 30 letters in Serbian alphabet. No X no Y, no W.

Saludos,


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