GeoGuessr cheatsheet

If you see this...Think about...Quick rule
नगर, विद्यालय, पुलिसIndia / DevanagariStrong horizontal headline.
রাস্তা, বাজার, ঢাকাBangladesh / BengaliCurvier headline with hanging letterforms.
ถนน, โรงเรียน, วัดThailand / ThaiSmall loops and compact strokes.
ຖະໜົນ, ວັດLaos / LaoMore open and simpler than Thai.
ផ្លូវ, សាលា, វត្តCambodia / KhmerOrnamental and dense.
පාසල, පොලිසියSri Lanka / SinhalaLarge round loops.
Jalan, Kedai, MasjidMalaysia / MalayLatin script with key Malay vocabulary.
Аԥсны,ҟәа, Абхазия, СухумAbkhazia / Black Sea coastRussian + Abkhaz with special letters like Ҟ/ҩ = Abkhazia.
Հայաստան, Երևան, փողոց, դեղատուն, ելքArmenia / ArmenianAngular hooked letters; Երևան and Հայաստան are direct clues.
Azərbaycan, Bakı, Gəncə, küçə, çıxış, məktəbAzerbaijan / Azerbaijani LatinThe letter ə + ı/ş/ç strongly points to Azerbaijan.
ГӀалгӀай, Дагъистан, Нохчийн, ИрыстонCaucasian languages in extended CyrillicPalochka Ӏ/ӏ and combinations гъ/къ/хь are signs of local Caucasian languages.
საქართველო, თბილისი, ქუჩა, გზა, აფთიაქიGeorgia / GeorgianUnique rounded curves, not looking Cyrillic or Armenian.
حلال, مسجد, Дагестан, Грозный, BakıMuslim CaucasusArabic halal/mosque is religious context; confirm with Azerbaijani Latin or Caucasian Cyrillic.
Грозный, Махачкала, Владикавказ, Нальчик, ДагестанRussian North CaucasusRussian Cyrillic with place names like Грозный or Махачкала = North Caucasus.
Gvangjsih, Nanzningz, 广西, 南宁Guangxi / ZhuangOdd Latin with final z beside simplified Chinese = Zhuang.
清真, 清真寺, حلال, مسجدIslam in China / Hui-Xinjiang-Northwest清真 indicates halal/Islamic; Arabic can appear on Chinese restaurants and mosques.
中国, 北京, 上海, 出口, 入口, 禁止, 危险Mainland China / Simplified ChineseHeavy simplified Han + pinyin/English below text = mainland China.
ᠦᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ, ᠵᠠᠮ, 内蒙古Inner MongoliaVertical cursive column text beside Chinese = Inner Mongolia.
路, 街, 大道, 公路, 高速公路, 国道, 省道Chinese road signage路/街 are urban suffixes; 高速公路 and 国道 are key road clues.
国, 车, 门, 药, 场, 铁, 机Simplified, not traditionalThese characters have more complex traditional forms: 國, 車, 門, 藥, 場, 鐵, 機.
བོད་, ལྷ་ས་, ལམ་, 拉萨Tibet / Tibetan areas of ChinaTibetan headline script + simplified Chinese = Xizang/Qinghai/Sichuan/Gansu/Yunnan Tibetan areas.
شىنجاڭ, ئۈرۈمچى, يول, 乌鲁木齐Xinjiang / UyghurUyghur Arabic on official signs beside Chinese = Xinjiang.
연변, 연길, 학교, 延边, 延吉Yanbian / Korean in ChinaHangul + simplified Chinese is not always Korea: it can be Yanbian/Jilin.
ꆈꌠ, ꆃꎭYi / southwest ChinaOdd square symbols beside Chinese in Sichuan/Yunnan/Guizhou = possible Yi.
한국, 서울, 부산, 길, 도로, 정지Korea / HangulGeometric blocks with ㅇ circles and bars; no kana and no headline.
약국, 은행, 식당, 호텔, 편의점Korean urban storefronts약국 pharmacy, 은행 bank, 식당 restaurant: good street-level anchors.
대로, 로, 길, 고속도로, 방면South Korean road signageRoad suffixes -daero, -ro, -gil are key in South Korean addresses.
韓國, 大韓, 首爾Hanja or Han in Korean contextChinese characters are not enough: look for Hangul, Korean romanization or multilingual signage.
রাস্তা, কলকাতা, অসমWest Bengal, Tripura or AssamHas a headline, but letters are curvier than Devanagari.
सड़क, पुलिस, अस्पताल, पुणेNorth/central India; Hindi or MarathiContinuous horizontal headline.
રસ્તો, પોલીસ, અમદાવાદGujaratLooks like Devanagari without the top headline.
ਸੜਕ, ਪੁਲਿਸ, ਪੰਜਾਬIndian PunjabHas a headline, but letters are simple and wide.
ರಸ್ತೆ, ಬೀದಿ, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರುKarnataka / BengaluruRounded like Telugu, but more compact.
Road, Police, Hospital, No ParkingIndia only if paired with a regional scriptEnglish does not decide; check the local script next to it.
റോഡ്, പോലീസ്, തിരുവനന്തപുരംKeralaMany dense circles, ovals and curls.
ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔ, ꯏꯝꯐꯥꯜ, ꯃꯩꯇꯩManipur / Northeast IndiaSeparate geometric signs; low street frequency.
ରାସ୍ତା, ପୋଲିସ, ଭୁବନେଶ୍ୱରOdishaRound bubbles/circles, no long headline.
சாலை, தெரு, சென்னைTamil Nadu / PuducherrySimple rounded curves, no headline.
రహదారి, వీధి, హైదరాబాద్Andhra Pradesh / TelanganaRounded with small upper hooks and ornamental loops.
سڑک, بازار, پولیس, دہلیUrdu in India: Delhi, Hyderabad, UP, J&KRight-to-left cursive with dots.
止まれ, 通り, 駅, 入口, 出口Standard Japan / road and transport signageKanji mixed with rounded hiragana or angular katakana = Japan.
の, し, ま, り, る, おJapanese hiraganaSoft rounded symbols with no square blocks and no headline.
ホテル, レストラン, コンビニ, タクシーJapanese commercial katakanaAngular, with long vowel mark ー; many English loanwords.
東京, 大阪, 京都, 札幌, 沖縄Japanese place namesCity kanji; look for rōmaji below to confirm the region.
国道, 県道, 駐車場, 交番, 郵便局Japanese institutions and roadsVery repeated Japanese street words; 交番 and 〒 are strong clues.
めんそーれ, はいさい, 沖縄そばOkinawa / RyukyuLocal phrases + tropical climate/palms = Okinawa.
アイヌモシㇼ, ウポポイ, サッポロHokkaido / AinuSpecial katakana or Ainu place names in a northern setting = Hokkaido.
입구, 출구, 出口, 车站Japanese multilingual signageKorean/Chinese next to Japanese and English in stations/airports does not rule out Japan.
Shinjuku, Dori, Ekimae, Chuo, KitaJapanese rōmajiRomanized suffixes and directions with kanji/kana: urban Japan.
조선, 평양, 주체, 려관North Korea / official context조선 and 주체 are strong clues; initial 려- contrasts with South Korean 여- forms.
Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Gangnam-daero, Sejong-daeroKorean romanizationLatin with Korean place names and -ro/-gil/-daero suffixes usually accompanies Hangul.
首尔站, ソウル駅, ホテルMultilingual tourist signage in South KoreaChinese/Japanese in Korea usually comes with Hangul; do not jump to China or Japan without context.

Common mistakes

  • Thai vs Lao: Lao often looks simpler and more open.
  • Khmer vs Thai: Khmer feels denser and more ornamental.
  • Devanagari vs Bengali: both may show a headline, but the silhouette differs.
  • Malaysia vs Indonesia: use extra context, not just shared vocabulary.