In the Brothers Grimm tale “The Three Languages,” which language does the young nobleman learn from frogs?

In the Brothers Grimm tale “The Three Languages,” the young nobleman learns the language of frogs.

The young man is sent away by his father to learn useful knowledge. During his travels, he studies three languages that seem worthless to his father: the language of dogs, the language of birds, and the language of frogs. His unusual education later proves valuable.

The tale’s title refers to the three animal languages as a group, but frogs provide the final and most distinctive answer. The young man’s ability allows him to understand information that other people cannot hear or interpret.

This story is sometimes confused with Grimm tales in which a hero understands birds or other animals through magic food. Here, the knowledge comes from deliberate study and is presented as one of three languages. The tale emphasizes that apparently useless learning can later become important.