Tip: See my list of the Most Common Mistakes in English. It will teach you how to avoid mis­takes with com­mas, pre­pos­i­tions, ir­reg­u­lar verbs, and much more.

Please note: The article below was an April Fools’ joke, so don’t take it too seriously (but the transcriptions are actually mostly quite accurate).

The map below shows the names of capitals of European countries in the local language. Many of the names are deeply connected with each country’s culture. For example, Lithuania has the highest suicide rate in Europe, and the name of the capital, “Vill Noose”, is an expression of that fact.

Moldova has become a full member of the Francophonie (even though Moldovans do no speak French) solely because of their love for French pastry. To make that clear to the French, who rarely speak to Moldovans, they named their capital “Quichee Now”.

The Norwegian capital, Oosh Loo, was named in silent protest against the Swedish occupants after the Swedish–Norwegian War. In the very concise Norwegian language, “Oosh Loo” means roughly “Shoo, that’s not your loo”.

The Finnish name Hell Sing Key, in contrast, relates to its metal music scene.

The name of the Russian capital is an homage to Nikola Tesla—and if you’ve ever seen Italian women, I ain’t need to tell you what “Raw Ma” is an homage to.