The Power of Asking: How Two Simple Questions Unlock Every Language

The Questions That Build Every Language

It’s one of the first things every learner says. You hear it whispered in classrooms, shouted across markets, muttered into translation apps:

“How do you say this in Spanish?”

“What does this mean in English?”

At first, it sounds simple—almost childlike. But these two questions reveal something deeper about how humans connect through language. They’re not signs of confusion; they’re signs of life. They’re proof that your brain and heart are reaching out across a linguistic bridge, searching for meaning.

When I first arrived in Colombia 3 years ago, I must have asked, “¿Como se dice…?” (how do you say…?) dozens of times a day. Instead of looking up the word in Google, I would ask someone on the street the name of something I was looking for or was curious about. It would then stick in my memory forever. Trust me, once you hear hormigas culonas for the first time, you never forget it. (It is a Colombian delicacy very popular in Barichara region; look it up!)

Those early days weren’t about grammar tables or flashcards—they were about curiosity. About daring to ask.

Curiosity Over Perfection

A lot of learners hesitate to ask these questions. They think it makes them sound unprepared or silly. But the truth? That moment of asking is where the real learning happens.

In La Lingwa’s philosophy, “How do you say X?” and “What does X mean?” are perfect examples of just-in-time learning—the kind of learning that happens because you need it right now. Not in theory, but in practice, in context, in the middle of something that matters to you.

When you ask about a word right as you’re using it—ordering food, asking for directions, or trying to compliment someone—you’re giving that word emotional weight. It’s not just another item on a list; it’s part of your story.

Imagine you’re chatting with a local, and you want to describe the weather. You reach for a word you don’t know and ask, “How do you say warm, but nicely—not hot, just pleasant?”  They pause and think, maybe giving you two options, each carrying a slightly distinct feeling. In that exchange, you don’t just learn vocabulary—you learn subtlety, tone, and how the language paints its own shades of meaning.

That’s the power of asking.

Every “How Do You Say…” Is a Story

Every learner remembers the first time a word clicked.The first time merci or gracias didn’t feel foreign anymore. The first time you said ciao without overthinking it, and it came out naturally, like a reflex.

Those moments happen because you asked a question and cared enough to listen to the answer.

Each “How do you say…” becomes a snapshot of your journey—proof that you were there, engaged, curious. It might be a word you learned while buying bread in Florence or one you picked up from a taxi driver in Bangkok. You remember the tone, the smile, the setting. Language becomes not just a system, but a map of your experiences.

Maybe it’s the first time you asked how to say “thank you” at a café, or when you pointed to something on a menu and learned its name. You didn’t just memorize the word—you connected it to a genuine moment, a smell, a face, a laugh.

That’s how memory works—it’s personal, emotional, and story-shaped.

Meaning Is More Than Translation

Of course, “What does this mean in English?” is the cousin to “How do you say this?” Both are driven by curiosity, but over time, the best learners start asking these questions differently.

At first, they want the English equivalent—something tidy and clear. But eventually, they realize that translation isn’t always enough. 

Take “saudade” in Portuguese. You can try to translate it as “longing,” “nostalgia,” or “melancholy,” but none of those truly fit. Saudade is softer, more personal—an ache for something you loved that still warms you even as it hurts. You don’t learn that from a dictionary. You feel it.

The same happens in Japanese with “natsukashii,” in German with “Schadenfreude,” in Italian with “sprezzatura.” These words don’t invite you to translate them—they invite you to understand them, slowly, through context and feeling.

That’s when your relationship with language changes. You stop chasing equivalence, and start chasing essence. 

The Power of Small Questions

A lot of polyglots I’ve met share one thing in common: they never stop asking small questions. Even after years of fluency, they’re still curious. They’ll interrupt a conversation to check a phrase, confirm an idiom, or play with a new expression.

They don’t see it as a weakness. They see it as a lifelong practice of noticing.

Every “How do you say…” is an act of humility—a reminder that you’ll never know it all, and that’s okay. Every “What does that mean?” is an act of openness—a willingness to see the world through someone else’s words.

Language isn’t built in grand gestures; it’s built in these tiny, human exchanges.

When You Stop Asking

There comes a quiet moment in every learner’s journey when you notice you’re not asking as often anymore. You realize you just said something in your target language—and it flowed. You didn’t translate in your head, you didn’t pause, you didn’t doubt.

That’s not because you stopped being curious. It’s because curiosity changed shape. It went from asking questions aloud to noticing subtleties internally—intonation, humor, tone.

And maybe that’s the truest mark of fluency—not perfect grammar, not native pronunciation, but the ability to understand and express meaning instinctively, the way you once asked for it so earnestly.

So the next time you catch yourself wondering, “How do you say this?” or “What does that mean?”—smile. You’re doing exactly what humans have done for thousands of years: using language to connect, to learn, to bridge gaps of understanding.

Because every language starts the same way—with one person brave enough to ask.

If you have interesting stories about words you learn in weird settings or what not, we would love to hear them! Comment bellow.

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