This is an Swadesh list of words in English and Tocharian B.
Presentation [edit]
At the end of the 1940s, new insights of radiocarbon dating became known to the public. Linguist Morris Swadesh believed that words decayed with age in a roughly similar way and therefore applied similar methods to determine the relationship of languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.
- For further information, including the full final version, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list.
| No. |
English |
Tocharian B
kuśiññe |
| 1 |
I |
ñäś |
| 2 |
you (singular) |
tuwe |
| 3 |
he |
su |
| 4 |
we |
wes |
| 5 |
you (plural) |
yes |
| 6 |
they |
cey |
| 7 |
this |
se |
| 8 |
that |
su, samp |
| 9 |
here |
tane |
| 10 |
there |
tane, omp |
| 11 |
who |
kuse |
| 12 |
what |
kuse |
| 13 |
where |
- |
| 14 |
when |
ente |
| 15 |
how |
mäkte |
| 16 |
not |
mā |
| 17 |
all |
poñc |
| 18 |
many |
māka |
| 19 |
some |
ṣemi |
| 20 |
few |
totka |
| 21 |
other |
alyek |
| 22 |
one |
ṣe |
| 23 |
two |
wi |
| 24 |
three |
trey |
| 25 |
four |
śtwer |
| 26 |
five |
piś |
| 27 |
big |
orotstse |
| 28 |
long |
pärkare |
| 29 |
wide |
aurtstse |
| 30 |
thick |
- |
| 31 |
heavy |
kramartse |
| 32 |
small |
lykaśke, totka |
| 33 |
short |
- |
| 34 |
narrow |
- |
| 35 |
thin |
- |
| 36 |
woman |
klyiye, śana |
| 37 |
man (adult male) |
eṅkwe |
| 38 |
man (human being) |
śaumo |
| 39 |
child |
śamaśke |
| 40 |
wife |
śana |
| 41 |
husband |
petso |
| 42 |
mother |
mācer |
| 43 |
father |
pācer |
| 44 |
animal |
luwo |
| 45 |
fish |
laks |
| 46 |
bird |
salamo luwo |
| 47 |
dog |
ku |
| 48 |
louse |
pärśeriñ pl (?) |
| 49 |
snake |
arṣāklo, auk |
| 50 |
worm |
yel |
| 51 |
tree |
stām |
| 52 |
forest |
wartto, karāś |
| 53 |
stick |
śakātai (oblique) |
| 54 |
fruit |
oko |
| 55 |
seed |
sārm, śäktālye |
| 56 |
leaf |
pilta |
| 57 |
root |
witsako |
| 58 |
bark (of a tree) |
enmetre (?) |
| 59 |
flower |
pyāpyo |
| 60 |
grass |
atiyai (oblique) |
| 61 |
rope |
- |
| 62 |
skin |
ewe, yetse |
| 63 |
meat |
misa |
| 64 |
blood |
yasar |
| 65 |
bone |
āy, āsta pl |
| 66 |
fat (noun) |
ṣalype |
| 67 |
egg |
- |
| 68 |
horn |
krorīyai (oblique) |
| 69 |
tail |
- |
| 70 |
feather |
paruwa pl |
| 71 |
hair |
matsi |
| 72 |
head |
āśce |
| 73 |
ear |
klautso |
| 74 |
eye |
ek |
| 75 |
nose |
meli |
| 76 |
mouth |
koyṃ |
| 77 |
tooth |
keme |
| 78 |
tongue (organ) |
kantwo |
| 79 |
fingernail |
- |
| 80 |
foot |
paiyye |
| 81 |
leg |
ckāckai (oblique) |
| 82 |
knee |
keni (dual) |
| 83 |
hand |
ṣar |
| 84 |
wing |
- |
| 85 |
belly |
kātso |
| 86 |
guts |
- |
| 87 |
neck |
- |
| 88 |
back |
sark |
| 89 |
breast |
päścane (dual) |
| 90 |
heart |
arañce |
| 91 |
liver |
wästarye |
| 92 |
to drink |
yokäṃ |
| 93 |
to eat |
śuwaṃ |
| 94 |
to bite |
- |
| 95 |
to suck |
- |
| 96 |
to spit |
pitke (noun) |
| 97 |
to vomit |
aṅkaiṃ |
| 98 |
to blow |
pinaṣṣnäṃ |
| 99 |
to breathe |
anāṣṣäṃ, satāṣṣäṃ |
| 100 |
to laugh |
ker- |
| 101 |
to see |
lkāṣṣäṃ |
| 102 |
to hear |
klyauṣäṃ |
| 103 |
to know |
aiśtär, kärsanaṃ |
| 104 |
to think |
pälskanaṃ |
| 105 |
to smell |
warṣṣäṃ |
| 106 |
to fear |
prāskaṃ |
| 107 |
to sleep |
kläntsaṃ |
| 108 |
to live |
śaiṃ |
| 109 |
to die |
sruketär |
| 110 |
to kill |
kauṣäṃ |
| 111 |
to fight |
witāre (third-person plural preterite) |
| 112 |
to hunt |
śerītsi (infinitive) |
| 113 |
to hit |
karnäṣṣäṃ |
| 114 |
to cut |
karsnaṃ, latkanaṃ |
| 115 |
to split |
kautanaṃ |
| 116 |
to stab |
tsopäṃ |
| 117 |
to scratch |
- |
| 118 |
to dig |
rapanaṃ |
| 119 |
to swim |
nāṣṣäṃ |
| 120 |
to fly |
pluṣäṃ |
| 121 |
to walk |
yaṃ |
| 122 |
to come |
känmaṣṣäṃ |
| 123 |
to lie (as in a bed) |
lyaśäṃ |
| 124 |
to sit |
ṣamäṃ, āṣṣäṃ |
| 125 |
to stand |
kaltär |
| 126 |
to turn (intransitive) |
kluttaṅktär, sporttotär |
| 127 |
to fall |
kloyotär |
| 128 |
to give |
aiṣṣäṃ |
| 129 |
to hold |
- |
| 130 |
to squeeze |
klupnātär, nuskaṣṣäṃ |
| 131 |
to rub |
lyuwetär, kantanatär |
| 132 |
to wash |
laikanatär |
| 133 |
to wipe |
lyyāstär |
| 134 |
to pull |
slaṅktär |
| 135 |
to push |
nätkanaṃ |
| 136 |
to throw |
karṣṣäṃ, saläṣṣäṃ |
| 137 |
to tie |
śanmästär, kärkaṣṣäṃ |
| 138 |
to sew |
- |
| 139 |
to count |
ṣäṃṣtär |
| 140 |
to say |
weṣṣäṃ |
| 141 |
to sing |
piyaṃ |
| 142 |
to play |
kāñmäṃ |
| 143 |
to float |
pluṣäṃ |
| 144 |
to flow |
reṣṣäṃ |
| 145 |
to freeze |
- |
| 146 |
to swell |
staukkanatär |
| 147 |
sun |
kauṃ |
| 148 |
moon |
meñe |
| 149 |
star |
ścirye |
| 150 |
water |
war |
| 151 |
rain |
swese |
| 152 |
river |
cake |
| 153 |
lake |
lyam |
| 154 |
sea |
samudtär |
| 155 |
salt |
salyiye |
| 156 |
stone |
kärweñe |
| 157 |
sand |
warañc (oblique) |
| 158 |
dust |
tweye, taur |
| 159 |
earth |
keṃ |
| 160 |
cloud |
tarkär |
| 161 |
fog |
- |
| 162 |
sky |
iprer |
| 163 |
wind |
yente |
| 164 |
snow |
śiñcatstse |
| 165 |
ice |
- |
| 166 |
smoke |
- |
| 167 |
fire |
puwar |
| 168 |
ash |
taur, tweye (?) |
| 169 |
to burn |
tsakṣtär,pälketär |
| 170 |
road |
ytārye |
| 171 |
mountain |
ṣale |
| 172 |
red |
ratre |
| 173 |
green |
motartstse |
| 174 |
yellow |
tute |
| 175 |
white |
ārkwi |
| 176 |
black |
erkent- |
| 177 |
night |
yṣiye |
| 178 |
day |
kauṃ |
| 179 |
year |
pikul |
| 180 |
warm |
emalle |
| 181 |
cold |
krośce |
| 182 |
full |
ite |
| 183 |
new |
ñuwe |
| 184 |
old |
ktsaitstse (?) |
| 185 |
good |
kartse |
| 186 |
bad |
yolo, pakwāre |
| 187 |
rotten |
āmpau |
| 188 |
dirty |
sal, kraketstse |
| 189 |
straight |
- |
| 190 |
round |
- |
| 191 |
sharp (as a knife) |
mātre, akwatse |
| 192 |
dull (as a knife) |
mālle (?) |
| 193 |
smooth |
ṣmare |
| 194 |
wet |
karītstse |
| 195 |
dry |
asāre |
| 196 |
correct |
- |
| 197 |
near |
akartte, ysape, etsuwai |
| 198 |
far |
lau, lauke |
| 199 |
right |
saiwai (adverb) |
| 200 |
left |
śwālyai (adverb) |
| 201 |
at |
-ne |
| 202 |
in |
-ne |
| 203 |
with |
śle |
| 204 |
and |
ṣp |
| 205 |
if |
krui, ente |
| 206 |
because |
kuce, mäkte |
| 207 |
name |
ñem |
| Swadesh lists |
| Individual languages |
|
Afrikaans – Albanian – Antillean Creole – Arabic (standard) (p), Egyptian Arabic (p), Palestinian Arabic (p), Tunisian Arabic (t) – Armenian (t,p) – Aromanian – Bangala – Bashkir – Basque – Belarusian – Breton – Bulgarian (t) – Burmese (t,p) – Catalan – Chechen – Chinese: Cantonese, Gan (p), Mandarin (t,p), Min Nan (Amoy) (p), Old Chinese (p) – Croatian – Czech – Danish – Dutch (p) – Egyptian (Middle) – Esperanto – Estonian – Finnish – Fiji Hindi – Fijian – French (p) – Frisian (West) – Friulian – Georgian (t,p) – German (p) – Greek (modern) (p), Greek (ancient) – Guaraní – Haida – Haitian Creole – Hausa – Hawaiian – Hindi (t) – Hittite – Hmong (White) (p) – Hungarian – Icelandic – Indonesian – Irish (p) – Istro-Romanian – Italian (p) – Japanese (t) – Kashubian – Khmer (p) – Korean (t) – Kurdish – Latin – Latvian – Lingala – Lingua Franca Nova – Lithuanian – Luwian – Macedonian (t) – Malagasy – Malay – Maltese – Megleno-Romanian – Mongolian (t) – Old Portuguese (p) – Ossetian (p) – Polish (p) – Portuguese (p) – Proto-Indo-European – Purepecha – Quechua – Romani – Romanian – Russian (p) – Sanskrit (t) – Scottish Gaelic – Serbo-Croatian – Sinhalese – Slovenian – Spanish (p) – Sranan – Swahili – Swedish – Tagalog – Tajik (t) – Tahitian – Thai (t) – Tocharian B – Tok Pisin – Turkish – Ukrainian – Vietnamese – Walloon – Zulu
|
| Language families and family branches |
|
Afro-Asiatic – Algonquian – Altaic – Araucanian – Austro-Asiatic – Australian – Austronesian – Baltic-Finnic – Bantu – Celtic – Dené–Yeniseian – Dravidian – Finno-Ugric – Frisian – Germanic – Hokan – Iberian – Italian – Indo-Iranian – Indo-Iranian (extended) – Mayan – Muskogean – Niger–Congo – Oto-Manguean – Paleosiberian – Penutian – Romance – Sino-Tibetan – Slavic – Siouan – Tai–Kadai – Tibeto-Burman – Tupi–Guarani – Turkic – Uto-Aztecan
|
| The list may also include: (t) the transcription in Latin characters; (p) the phonetic transcription |