Patriotic oddities

11 craziest national anthems — including Spain’s wordless march

Image: Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández

National anthems are meant to inspire pride and unity, but some stand out for their oddities—whether in lyrics, melody, or length. From surprisingly short tunes to unconventional themes and even wordless anthems, these 11 national songs break the mold. Join us on a melodic journey around the world!

Image: Colton Jones

Japan’s anthem, Kimigayo, is one of the shortest in the world, lasting only about 45 seconds. Despite its brevity, Kimigayo dates back more than a thousand years, as its lyrics are based on a poem from the Heian period (794-1185).

Though in modern times the emperor of Japan has taken on a symbolic role, the lyrics express wishes for the emperor’s reign to endure eternally. The melody, for its part, is a minimalist composition that contrasts with the grandiose style found in many other national anthems.

Image: Daniel Prado

Spain’s anthem, La Marcha Real, is one of the few national anthems without official lyrics. Used since the 18th century, this purely instrumental anthem leaves words to personal or regional interpretation.

Attempts to add lyrics over time have failed due to political and cultural divisions, reflecting Spain’s complex history of strong regional identities.

Image: Mister Paps

Mozambique’s anthem, Pátria Amada, is the only national anthem in the world to explicitly mention a weapon of war—the Soviet-designed AK-47 rifle—as a symbol of defense and liberation. The silhouette of this rifle is even depicted on the national flag.

But despite appearances, the anthem is not merely a militaristic boast; it reflects the country’s struggle for independence, honoring the weapon that played a key role in overthrowing colonial rule.

Image: Alex Houque

Curiously, Liechtenstein’s anthem shares its melody with the British anthem, "God Save the Queen." The tiny principality adopted the tune in the 19th century, though with different lyrics.

However, this musical borrowing isn’t as unusual as it seems, since many countries at the time used the same tune, which in turn is believed to have originated from a traditional folk melody.

Image: Thiago de Andrade

Switzerland has four official national anthems; one for each of its four official languages. Each linguistic region uses the anthem in its own language: German, French, Italian, and Romansh.

This multilingual approach embodies the country’s cultural diversity, ensuring every citizen hears the anthem in their native tongue.

Image: iSAW Company

Unlike many national anthems that focus on heroes or battles, Dominica’s anthem highlights the island’s lush nature and the value of freedom.

It’s easy to see why natural beauty forms the foundation of national identity, given the island’s extensive jungles and thermal waters.

Image: Caleb Miller

The Vatican’s anthem is technically the Papal Anthem, which represents the Pope, not the state itself.

As a religious sovereign entity, the Vatican lacks a traditional national anthem, emphasizing the spiritual rather than territorial nature of the city-state.

Image: Magdalena Smolnicka

Malta’s anthem, L-Innu Malti, is one of the shortest national anthems, with lyrics in Maltese, a Semitic language with Romance influences.

Its melody is simple and direct, highlighting the island nation’s resilience and the cultural blend between European and Arabic influences.

Image: Григорий Захарьян

Turkmenistan’s anthem is known for its length and poetic language, extensively praising both the president and the country’s beauty.

Adopted in 1996 under the country’s authoritarian regime, the anthem blends national pride with glorification of leadership and has been subtly adjusted over time to mirror shifts in the country’s power structure.

Image: Matt Artz

Greece’s Hymn to Liberty is the longest national anthem in the world, consisting of 158 stanzas.

Written by Dionysios Solomos in 1823 during the Greek War of Independence, it originally was a lengthy poem celebrating freedom from Ottoman rule. Only the first two stanzas are officially used as the anthem, but the full text reflects deep historical and patriotic significance.

Image: Pedro Slinger

Uruguay’s anthem, Himno Nacional, is famously long and musically intricate, often lasting over four minutes.

Composed in 1833 by Francisco José Debali, it features multiple sections and a dramatic, operatic style. While its full text is shorter than Greece’s anthem, more stanzas are typically performed at public events, making it longer in practice.

WORD WONDERS

8 Fun Facts About Language That Will Blow Your Mind

Image: Brett Jordan

Language enriches the world. Different languages and their diversity not only offer us the possibility to communicate but also to have fun. From the origins of peculiar words to the singularities of grammatical structures, here you have some linguistic fun facts to surprise your friends the next time you see them, with a mysterious treat left for the end.

Image: Chris Liverani

There are no speeding fines in Japan. Well, there are if you're driving, but when it comes to speaking, Japanese people break all speed records.

You've probably had the opportunity to hear someone speak Japanese. Did it sound too fast? You'll be glad to know that it is not just your perception.

In fact –buckle up!– Japanese is the fastest language in the world, and its speakers can produce 7.84 syllables per second. Its accelerated rhythm is due to the compactness of its words and its unique syllabic structure.

Image: Ekaterina Grosheva

No, there are no mistakes in the title. You read it right; those astonishing 45 characters make up the longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Can you pronounce the whole thing? You'd better get a good breath of fresh air before you try.

If you want to know what it means, this may give you a clue: "pneumo-" refers to the lungs, and the suffix "-osis" indicates a condition, state, or disease. This incredible word refers to a type of lung disorder caused by inhaling silica dust, usually used in the manufacture of glass, pottery, ceramics, bricks, and artificial stone.

Image: Ferdinand Stöhr

The United States is a diverse and multicultural nation. English and Spanish are the first and second most spoken languages, but they are only two among many.

Although English is the official language of a few different countries around the world, such as Australia, Canada, and Botswana; it is not the official language of the United States. In fact, the country has no declared official language.

Despite this fact, some states –like Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and many others– have declared English the official state language.

Image: Paul Szewczyk

The English alphabet has 26 letters. While that may seem like a lot, it doesn't compare to the number of letters in the alphabet you'll see below.

With 74 letters (33 consonants and 41 vowels), Khmer is the longest alphabet in the world. Even the Guinness World Records recognizes this alphabet for its length!

Also known as Cambodian, Khmer is the official language of Cambodia, spoken by some 15 million native speakers. What makes it even more complex is the fact that words in the same sentence are usually written without spaces between them.

Image: Cottonbro studio

Sign languages are important tools for communication and inclusion, so it is always good to learn how to use them. According to the United Nations, there are about 300 different sign languages worldwide. Approximately 70 million people use sign languages every day around the world.

Different parts of the world have different sign languages with their distinctive structure and characteristics. There is also an international sign language to facilitate global communication.

The UN General Assembly designated 23 September as the International Day of Sign Languages to promote awareness of its value.

Image: Nikolay Zakharov

Unless It's Raining Men, as in the famous song by the Weather Girls, rain is usually the same, right? Well, it seems it's not always like that, at least not in Hawaii.

The Hawaiian language has about 200 words for rain. This impressive number can be attributed to Hawaiians' deep connection to nature, which also demonstrates the intricate relationship between a language and its environment.

Each of those 200 words defines rain by different characteristics, including its intensity or duration.

Image: Jason Leung

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the most used letter in English is E. Which means that many words in our language have it. Do you dare to count how many times E shows up in this article?

Its frequency in our language probably explains why it is worth only 1 point in Scrabble. On the other hand, the least common letters in English, J, X, Q, and Z, are worth 8 and 10 points.

The frequency of the letter E is not a coincidence, it is explained by the fact that it appears in a very used word: the. We also find it in pronouns such as he, she, me, we, and they, and in plurals ending in -es.

Image: Towfiqu barbhuiya

One of the most intriguing languages in the world is one of the oldest living European languages, too. Euskera, also known as the Basque language, has a long history, and its origins have not yet been established with certainty.

Basque remains a cultural symbol for native speakers and continues to thrive. Although there have been many hypotheses about its origin, specialists stated that Euskera is not an Indo-European language. That is to say that, apparently, it doesn't share roots with any other European language.

Euskera’s unknown bases have led to the craziest theories. Some ancient linguists have even attributed its existence to extraterrestrial beings!