Just for fun: how many fingers do we have?!

I was listening to a quiz on the radio this morning. The questions are supposed to be easy but they are fast.

One of the questions was “How many fingers do we have on one hand?” The contestant said, “Five”. The answer they wanted was “Four” - four fingers and one thumb. But who do you agree with?!

There is actually a serious language point here.

In English, we have two words: fingers and toes.

In some languages, there’s only one word so they have 20 “fingers”!

➡️ Tell me what you say in your language!

Sometimes, it’s dangerous to translate word for word and this is a good example.

On top of that, English speakers can’t agree with each other! Some people say we have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs. Some people say we have 10 fingers, and that a thumb is a kind of finger!

I think it’s completely OK to say that we have 10 fingers and I think the quiz should have accepted that woman’s answer!

But we would never say “my finger” if we are talking about just our thumb.

Complicated, isn’t it?!