Imagine a person who could read a newspaper in 68 different languages. Who could conduct diplomatic negotiations in Mandarin, write official documents in Turkish, translate Mongolian rebel letters for the Chinese government, and learn Armenian in nine weeks just because he overheard two strangers speaking it on the street. A person whose brain was so extraordinary that, nearly a century after his death, neuroscientists are still studying it to understand what made him different.
That person was Emil Krebs (1867–1930), a German diplomat, sinologist, and arguably the most accomplished hyperpolyglot in recorded history. His story is not just a tale of incredible linguistic talent — it is a window into the limits of human cognitive ability, the power of systematic study, and the obsessive dedication required to master not one or two languages, but more than most people have heard of.
Krebs reportedly mastered 68 languages to the point of fluency in reading and writing, and had studied at least 120 more. His personal library of 3,500 volumes contained works in approximately 120 different languages. By any measure, he is among the most prolific language learners who ever lived — on a level with Cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who spoke 30 languages, and Sir John Bowring, who claimed knowledge of 200 but whose actual fluency was far shallower. What sets Krebs apart is not just the number, but the depth of his knowledge. He did not just memorize tourist phrases. He translated diplomatic documents, wrote academic works, and corresponded with scholars in dozens of languages.
The Carpenter's Son from Silesia
Emil Krebs was born on November 15, 1867, in the small town of Freiburg in Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Prussia and now the Polish town of Świebodzice. His father, Gottlob Krebs, was a master carpenter. His mother, Pauline Scholz, was a homemaker. There was nothing in his family background that suggested extraordinary linguistic ability. His parents were hardworking, practical people, and young Emil was expected to follow a practical trade.
But something was different about Emil from the very beginning. When he was a young boy, his family moved to Esdorf, where he attended primary school. Even at this early age, he showed an unusual fascination with words and languages. While other children played outside, Emil could often be found with a book, puzzling over words and trying to understand how different languages expressed the same ideas.
From 1878 to 1880, Krebs attended the Freiburger Realschule, a secondary school with a practical, science-oriented curriculum. But it was his time at the gymnasium in Schweidnitz (now Świdnica, Poland) from 1880 to 1887 that set his life on its extraordinary trajectory. The gymnasium curriculum was rigorous and classical: students studied Latin, French, Hebrew, and Classical Greek as core subjects. Most students found this workload challenging enough. Krebs found it insufficient.
While still a teenager, he began teaching himself additional languages in his spare time. He added Modern Greek, English, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Arabic, and Turkish to his repertoire. By the time he left the Schweidnitz gymnasium in March 1887, having passed his Abitur (the university entrance examination), Krebs already spoke twelve languages fluently. He was nineteen years old.
It is important to pause here and appreciate what this means. By the age of nineteen, Krebs had mastered Latin, Classical Greek, French, Hebrew, Modern Greek, English, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Arabic, and Turkish — all before beginning any formal university education in languages. These were not superficial tourist-level vocabularies. The gymnasium curriculum demanded Latin and Greek at a level that included reading Virgil and Homer in the original. Krebs had added another eight languages on top of that entirely on his own initiative.
The University Years: Choosing the Hardest Language First
Krebs enrolled at the University of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) for the summer semester of 1887. He initially registered for theology, following the conventional path expected of a serious young scholar. But it quickly became clear that his true passion lay elsewhere. The following semester, he transferred to the University of Berlin, where a newly founded Oriental Seminar was attracting some of the brightest linguistic minds in Germany.
At the Oriental Seminar, Krebs made a remarkable decision. He chose to study Mandarin Chinese. This was not a random choice. Chinese was widely regarded by European linguists of the time as the most difficult language in the world to learn for a native German speaker. It had no alphabet, no grammatical inflections in the European sense, a tonal system that German entirely lacked, and a writing system that required memorizing thousands of distinct characters. Most European students who attempted Chinese gave up within the first year.
Krebs saw Chinese not as a challenge to avoid, but as a challenge to conquer. He approached it with the same systematic, obsessive intensity that he would apply to every subsequent language. He studied Chinese grammar relentlessly. He practiced writing characters for hours each day. He listened to native speakers and imitated their tones with painstaking precision. And he did not just pass his courses — he excelled. On July 24, 1890 — less than three years after beginning Chinese studies — Krebs passed the official interpreter's examination in Chinese at the Seminar for Eastern Languages with a grade of "good." He had reached the level of a well-educated native speaker.
Think about this. Three years to master a language widely considered the most difficult for a European to learn. And Krebs did this while simultaneously completing his legal studies. He passed his first State examination in law on June 12, 1891 — the minimum required six semesters — also with a grade of "good." He was not neglecting his formal education; he was excelling at it while learning Chinese on the side.
After passing his legal exams, Krebs entered the Prussian judicial service as a junior court lawyer in Gottesberg. But his heart was not in the law. By Easter 1892, he had transferred to the Berlin Court of Appeal — and simultaneously enrolled in Turkish studies at the Seminar for Oriental Languages. Even while working as a lawyer, he could not stop learning languages.
"The language is the highest form of expression of a people's soul. To understand a language is to understand the people who speak it." — Emil Krebs (paraphrased from family records)
China: The Crucible of Linguistic Genius
On September 30, 1893, Krebs received the assignment that would define his career: he was posted to Peking (Beijing) as an aspirant interpreter for the German diplomatic mission. He arrived in China on December 5, 1893, a twenty-six-year-old man who already spoke at least fifteen languages, including near-native Mandarin Chinese.
Krebs lived and worked in Beijing for nearly twenty-five years, from 1893 until 1917, when Germany's diplomatic relations with China were severed due to World War I. During this period, he served as the chief interpreter for the German legation, translating diplomatic correspondence, interpreting for German diplomats and Chinese officials, and handling the most sensitive communications between the two governments.
His linguistic abilities quickly made him famous in the diplomatic community of Beijing. In 1897, following the murder of two German missionaries in Shandong Province, Germany used the incident as a pretext to occupy the port city of Qingdao (then romanized as Tsingtau). Krebs was assigned to accompany the German troops and serve as their interpreter and intermediary with local Chinese authorities. His ability to communicate directly with local officials in their own dialects proved invaluable.
In 1901, Krebs was promoted to Chief Interpreter for the German legation. His reputation had spread beyond the German community. The Empress Dowager Cixi, the de facto ruler of China, had heard of the foreigner who wrote such elegant Chinese. When she asked who in the German delegation was producing documents of such linguistic sophistication, she was told it was Krebs. She began inviting him for private discussions over tea — a remarkable honor for a foreign diplomat, especially a relatively junior one.
During his time in China, Krebs did not rest on his already extraordinary linguistic accomplishments. While in Beijing, he systematically added more languages to his repertoire: Mongolian, Manchu, and Tibetan. He learned these not as academic exercises but as practical tools. Mongolian was spoken by the nomadic peoples on China's northern border, many of whom were involved in periodic rebellions against the Qing dynasty. On one notable occasion, Krebs single-handedly translated a letter sent by Mongolian rebels for the Chinese authorities, a task that would have required weeks for a team of specialized translators.
Krebs's study methods were legendary among his colleagues. The German attaché in China, Werner Otto von Hentig, later related a remarkable story. One day, von Hentig heard two strangers in the street speaking a language he could not identify. He asked Krebs, who also did not recognize it at first. After inquiring, they learned it was Armenian. Krebs decided he wanted to learn it. According to von Hentig, Krebs mastered Armenian in just nine weeks.
The attaché also described Krebs's rigorous study routine. Krebs maintained a strict schedule, rotating through the languages he was actively studying. He assigned one language to each day of the week, ensuring that no language was neglected for more than a few days at a time. His personal library, organized meticulously by language and language family, contained thousands of volumes. For every book he read, he wrote a personal summary, which he then reviewed periodically to reinforce his memory. He socialized only when he could use one of his languages, seeking out native speakers and practicing with them to maintain and improve his fluency.
Krebs's dedication to language study bordered on obsessive. His colleagues reported that he often worked through the night studying languages and would sleep during the day when his official duties permitted. His marriage to Mande Heyne in 1913, at the age of 45, was a late addition to a life singularly dedicated to the pursuit of linguistic knowledge.
Return to Berlin: The Mind Behind the Legend
When Germany and China severed diplomatic relations in 1917, Krebs was forced to leave Beijing. He returned to Berlin by way of the United States, arriving on May 23, 1917. The dissolution of the Beijing legation became effective on January 1, 1918, and Krebs was reassigned to the intelligence office for the Orient at the German Foreign Office.
In Berlin, Krebs continued his language studies with undiminished intensity. He was assigned to the coding service of the Foreign Office, where his extraordinary knowledge of languages made him invaluable for decoding foreign communications. Between 1921 and 1923, he also worked in the translating and interpreting service, handling diplomatic documents in languages ranging from Finnish to Japanese to Burmese.
Krebs's linguistic abilities were so comprehensive that he had developed a sophisticated system for cross-referencing languages. He did not learn every language directly from his native German. Instead, he built a network of linguistic connections. He learned Pashto, Burmese, Gujarati, Hindi, Irish, Sinhalese, and Portuguese through English. He learned Buryat, Finnish, Tatar, and Ukrainian through Russian. He learned all four major Basque dialects (Gipuzkoan, Biscayan, Lapurdian, and Zuberoan) through Spanish. For the languages that he used as learning bridges, his fluency was so strong that they could serve as effective mediums for acquiring new languages.
Krebs also used an unusual but effective tool: 61 different translations of the New Testament. By reading the same text in different languages, he could compare the grammatical structures, vocabulary choices, and idiomatic expressions side by side. This method allowed him to identify the patterns that distinguished one language from another and to internalize the unique features of each language more quickly.
On March 31, 1930, Emil Krebs died at his home in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, at the age of 62. He collapsed while carrying out a translation. His life's work had literally consumed him until his final moments. He was buried in the Stahnsdorf South-Western Cemetery, where his grave can still be visited today.
The Brain That Held 68 Languages
Krebs's story did not end with his death. His brain was removed and preserved by the researcher Oskar Vogt, a pioneering neuroscientist who had studied the brains of other exceptional individuals, including Lenin. Vogt was fascinated by the question of whether extraordinary cognitive abilities had visible correlates in brain structure, and Krebs's brain presented a unique opportunity to investigate the neural basis of language learning.
Nearly a century later, Krebs's brain is still preserved at the C. & O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is kept as what researchers call an "elite brain" — a brain from a person with demonstrated extraordinary cognitive abilities — alongside about 700 other brains in the institute's collection.
In the 2000s, neuroscientists at the Vogt Institute conducted detailed studies of Krebs's brain using modern imaging and histological techniques. Led by Professor Katrin Amunts, a renowned neuroscientist at the Jülich Research Centre, the research team examined the cytoarchitecture of Krebs's brain — the organization and density of neurons in different regions. The results were remarkable.
The team found that Broca's area, the region of the brain responsible for language production, showed significant differences in Krebs compared to control brains. Specifically, the neuronal density in certain layers of Broca's area was higher than average, and the organization of the neural columns was more structured. These differences may have allowed Krebs to process and produce linguistic information more efficiently than the average person.
More intriguingly, the researchers found differences in the connectivity between language areas. The neural pathways linking Broca's area (speech production) with Wernicke's area (language comprehension) and with other language-related regions showed signs of enhanced myelination — the fatty insulation that allows neural signals to travel faster. This suggests that Krebs's brain was not just structurally different but functionally more efficient at transmitting linguistic information.
However, the researchers caution that it is impossible to determine whether these differences were innate or developed. Is it possible that Krebs was born with a brain that was pre-disposed for language learning? Absolutely. But it is equally possible that his years of intensive, systematic language study literally reshaped his brain — a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. The truth is almost certainly a combination of both: a genetic predisposition that was amplified and reinforced by decades of dedicated practice.
What We Can Learn from Emil Krebs
Emil Krebs's story is extraordinary, but it is not irrelevant to ordinary language learners. Within his larger-than-life narrative are lessons that apply to anyone trying to learn a new language.
1. Start with the Hardest Thing
Krebs deliberately chose Chinese as his first self-directed language study because it was considered the most difficult. By conquering the hardest language first, he gained confidence, developed effective study habits, and built a neural infrastructure for language learning that made every subsequent language easier. This is the opposite of the conventional advice to "start with an easy language to build confidence." For some learners, tackling the hardest challenge first is the most motivating approach.
2. Systematic Practice Matters More Than Talent
Krebs's genius was not just innate ability — it was his extraordinary discipline. He studied languages on a strict rotation schedule. He wrote summaries of every book he read. He maintained a meticulously organized library. He used parallel texts (61 different New Testaments!) to compare languages side by side. These are study techniques that any learner can adopt, regardless of supposed "talent."
3. Multiple Languages Strengthen Each Other
Krebs learned languages through other languages, not always through his native German. Each new language he mastered became a tool for acquiring the next one. This is a powerful insight for modern learners: learning a second foreign language is significantly easier than learning the first, because you have already developed the meta-skills of language acquisition — recognizing patterns, tolerating ambiguity, understanding how grammatical systems work.
4. Language Learning Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Krebs spent over forty years studying languages, from his teenage years at the gymnasium until the day he collapsed and died while doing a translation. He never stopped. He never felt he had learned enough. This long-term perspective is almost the opposite of the modern language learning industry, which promises fluency in three months. Real mastery takes years. But those years are not wasted — they are the journey itself.
5. Use Language for Real Purposes
Krebs did not learn languages as an academic exercise. He learned them to read diplomatic documents, to translate for his government, to communicate with Empress Dowager Cixi over tea, to decode foreign communications during wartime. Every language had a purpose. Finding a real, functional reason to use a language — even if it is just reading news articles, following social media accounts, or watching YouTube videos — makes acquisition more efficient and more sustainable.
Emil Krebs is often held up as an example of a "language genius" — someone so far outside the normal range of human ability that his story seems irrelevant to ordinary learners. But this framing misses the point. What made Krebs extraordinary was not just his innate ability, but his system, his discipline, and his dedication. He was the son of a carpenter who decided, at nineteen, that he would learn twelve languages. He did not stop there. He decided he would master the hardest language in the world. And he did. He decided he would learn every language he encountered. And he did his best to achieve that impossible goal.
You do not need to learn sixty-eight languages. But you can borrow Krebs's methods: study systematically, use multiple resources, practice every day, and never stop being curious about how language works. Even a fraction of his dedication will take you further than any "secret method" or "miracle technique." The secret is not a secret at all. It is the same one that Emil Krebs knew 130 years ago: find the language, commit to it completely, and never stop.