---
title: Told you a hundred times: how other languages exaggerate and play down — how Mova does on the tests · Language
description: Lesson 53 of the language course of Mova's primary school: 3 of 10 tests right, exam 1 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Told you a hundred times: how other languages exaggerate and play down

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**Tests:** 3 of 10 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** plain · **Understood:** 9 of 14 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 53 of the language course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/).

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### Test 1 · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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«so Ukrainian mums only say a hundred times, English mums say a million, so English mums are way crosser lol» What is right?

- **1.** No, the numbers are different but the meaning is the same: lots, and cross — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Yes, Spanish mums are in the middle at a thousand — no support
- **3.** No, Ukrainian mums are much crosser, because a hundred is a real, countable number — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **4.** Yes, a million is bigger, so English mums are much crosser — score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 53, line 1: «Every language exaggerates and plays things down, but each one picks its own pictures. An English mum has told you «a million times», a Spanish mum «a thousand…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «english mum» (+3); the same property (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t1/)

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### Test 2 · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Your friend hears Mei's aunt say «lèi sǐ le» and gasps «who died??». What do you tell her?

- **1.** It is a sad song in Chinese — no support
- **2.** Her aunt's old friend from work has sadly died this week — **← Mova's choice** · score 1
- **3.** Nobody; it means she's very tired, like «dead tired» — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Her aunt is going to bed for ever — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 51, line 8: «If a friend is quiet, eats alone and doesn't want to play for weeks, «I'm fine, it's nothing» may not be true; be kind, stay near, and tell a teacher you trust.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «friend» (+1); the same property (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t2/)

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### Test 3 · wrong ✗ {#t3}

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★ «xiào sǐ wǒ le» and English «I'm dead 💀» are both about laughing. What do they show about many languages?

- **1.** They use «death» to mean «very much» — **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **2.** They only use it for sad things — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **3.** They all copied it from English speakers online — no support
- **4.** They never joke about laughing — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 53, line 3: «Other languages use animals and things: a French girl has «a wolf's hunger», a French morning is «duck cold», and an Italian nonna loves you «a sackful».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+5); the same action «use» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, scored 2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t3/)

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### Test 4 · right ✓ {#t4}

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★ A tourist hears «Il fait un froid de canard!» and goes looking for cold ducks. What has he done?

- **1.** Translated the picture instead of the meaning — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 10
- **2.** Confused a duck with a goose — no support
- **3.** Found the right place for duck spotting — score 7
- **4.** Understood the saying exactly right — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 53, line 16: «Fixed sayings can't be translated word for word: you translate the meaning («very hungry»), not the picture (a wolf).», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «translate» (+3); the same thing acted on «meaning» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t4/)

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### Test 5 · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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★ Olena cries because Grandma only said «Непогано!» about her very good mark. What should Olena know?

- **1.** «Непогано» is a word Grandma uses when she is cross — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** «Not bad» in Ukrainian, as in British English, often means «good» — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Grandma thinks the mark was only just okay — no support
- **4.** Grandma wanted a mark that was much higher — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t5/)

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### Test 6 · right ✓ {#t6}

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Lucy's neighbour in Japan gives her a beautiful scarf: «it's just a boring little thing». Lucy says «oh, okay» and puts it away. What would have been better?

- **1.** A big thank you, because playing it down is a polite custom — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Asking how much it cost in the shop — no support
- **3.** Agreeing with her that it is boring — no support
- **4.** Giving it back, since she didn't like it — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t6/)

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### Test 7 · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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«Marco's nonna loves him a sackful?? that's so weird» What is the best answer?

- **1.** It's a rude word in Italian — no support
- **2.** It means she loves him only a little — **← Mova's choice** · score 3
- **3.** It means she keeps him in a sack — no support
- **4.** It's Italian for «loads», like English «a ton» — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 53, line 3: «Other languages use animals and things: a French girl has «a wolf's hunger», a French morning is «duck cold», and an Italian nonna loves you «a sackful».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «love» (+2); the same doer «italian nonna» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t7/)

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### Test 8 · right ✓ {#t8}

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★★ Léa's «wolf's hunger», Grandad's «I could eat a horse», and Mei's cousin's «hungry to death». What do all three mean?

- **1.** Scared of animals — no support
- **2.** Very hungry — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **3.** Feeling ill — no support
- **4.** A bit peckish — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 38, line 12: «"Starve" comes from Old English "steorfan", to die, like German "sterben"; it narrowed to die of hunger, and "I'm starving" today usually just means very hungr…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «mean» (+2); the same property (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t8/)

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### Test 9 · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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★★★ English «a million times», Spanish «mil veces» (a thousand), Ukrainian «сто разів» (a hundred). A mum told you off 12 real times. Which saying gives the real number?

- **1.** The Spanish one — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **2.** The English one — score 4
- **3.** The Ukrainian one — no support
- **4.** None of them — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 53, line 1: «Every language exaggerates and plays things down, but each one picks its own pictures. An English mum has told you «a million times», a Spanish mum «a thousand…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «tell» (+3); the same property (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t9/)

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### Test 10 · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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★★★ Which pair is one hyperbole and one understatement?

- **1.** Japanese «a boring little thing» and Ukrainian «Непогано» — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **2.** Mandarin «è sǐ le» and French «a wolf's hunger» — no support
- **3.** French «a wolf's hunger» and Ukrainian «Непогано» — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Spanish «mil veces» and English «a million times» — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 1 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 52, line 4: «The same words can be real or not, depending on the scene: «Nice one, Kai!» after a goal is praise, and after a dropped tray it is sarcasm. And some true facts…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same circumstance (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/t10/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Identify the meaning of the Mandarin expression «lèi sǐ le», uttered by a person who has returned from work.

- **1.** That the speaker is unwell — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** That the speaker is exceedingly tired — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** That a death has occurred — no support
- **4.** That the speaker is angry — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the Spanish «mil veces», the Ukrainian «сто разів» and the English «a million times»?

- **1.** Only the Ukrainian expression is a measurement — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** They express three different quantities which may be compared — no support
- **3.** Only the English expression is an exaggeration — no support
- **4.** They employ different numbers to express one meaning: many times — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓ {#e3}

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Ascertain the reason for which a giver in Japan may describe a costly gift as «a boring little thing».

- **1.** It is a customary expression of politeness — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** It is a request for the return of the gift — no support
- **3.** It is an expression of dislike for the recipient — no support
- **4.** It is an accurate assessment of the gift — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4}

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Select the response consistent with the established principles of translation in respect of the French «J'ai une faim de loup».

- **1.** It is to be rendered as «I have seen a wolf» — no support
- **2.** It is to be rendered by its meaning, «I am very hungry» — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** It is to be omitted as untranslatable — no support
- **4.** It is to be rendered word for word as «I have a wolf's hunger» and no more — **← Mova's choice** · score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 23, line 5: «The most common little words, like "the", "and", "you" and "water", are still mostly Old English; many of the long, fancy ones are borrowed.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+3); the same thing acted on «old english» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/53-told-you-a-hundred-times-how-other-languages-exaggerate-and-play-down/e4/)

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- ← previous: [52. Sarcasm, hyperbole and understatement side by side](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/52-sarcasm-hyperbole-and-understatement-side-by-side/)
- next →: [54. Off with her head and the finest house on the ri…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/54-off-with-her-head-and-the-finest-house-on-the-river-alice-and-toad/)
- ↑ back to [Language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/)