This is a Swadesh list of words in English and Vietnamese.
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 |
Vietnamese
tiếng Việt |
| 1 |
I |
tôi |
| 2 |
you (singular) |
anh, ông * |
| 3 |
he |
anh ấy, ông ấy * |
| 4 |
we |
chúng ta (inclusive), chúng tôi (exclusive) |
| 5 |
you (plural) |
các anh, các ông * |
| 6 |
they |
các anh ấy, các ông ấy * |
| 7 |
this |
cái này, việc này |
| 8 |
that |
cái ấy, việc ấy |
| 9 |
here |
đây |
| 10 |
there |
đó |
| 11 |
who |
ai (interrogative) |
| 12 |
what |
cái chi (interrogative) |
| 13 |
where |
ở̛ đâu (no movement, interrogative) |
| 14 |
when |
khi nào (interrogative) |
| 15 |
how |
sao (interrogative) |
| 16 |
not |
không |
| 17 |
all |
tất cả |
| 18 |
many |
nhiều |
| 19 |
some |
mấy |
| 20 |
few |
ít |
| 21 |
other |
khác |
| 22 |
one |
một |
| 23 |
two |
hai |
| 24 |
three |
ba |
| 25 |
four |
bốn |
| 26 |
five |
năm |
| 27 |
big |
lớn, to lớn, bự |
| 28 |
long |
dài |
| 29 |
wide |
rộng |
| 30 |
thick |
dày |
| 31 |
heavy |
nặng |
| 32 |
small |
nhỏ, bé |
| 33 |
short |
ngắn |
| 34 |
narrow |
chặt |
| 35 |
thin |
mỏng |
| 36 |
woman |
đàn bà, phụ nữ |
| 37 |
man (adult male) |
đàn ông, trai |
| 38 |
man (human being) |
người |
| 39 |
child |
con |
| 40 |
wife |
vợ |
| 41 |
husband |
chồng |
| 42 |
mother |
mẹ |
| 43 |
father |
cha |
| 44 |
animal |
thú |
| 45 |
fish |
cá |
| 46 |
bird |
chim |
| 47 |
dog |
chó |
| 48 |
louse |
rận, chấy |
| 49 |
snake |
rắn |
| 50 |
worm |
sâu, giòi, trùng |
| 51 |
tree |
cây |
| 52 |
forest |
rừng |
| 53 |
stick |
gậy, cây, gổ |
| 54 |
fruit |
quả, trái |
| 55 |
seed |
hạt |
| 56 |
leaf |
lá |
| 57 |
root |
rễ |
| 58 |
bark (of a tree) |
vỏ |
| 59 |
flower |
hoa, bông |
| 60 |
grass |
cỏ |
| 61 |
rope |
dây |
| 62 |
skin |
da |
| 63 |
meat |
thịt |
| 64 |
blood |
máu |
| 65 |
bone |
xương |
| 66 |
fat (noun) |
mỡ |
| 67 |
egg |
trứng |
| 68 |
horn |
sừng |
| 69 |
tail |
đuôi |
| 70 |
feather |
lông |
| 71 |
hair |
tóc |
| 72 |
head |
đầu |
| 73 |
ear |
tai |
| 74 |
eye |
mắt |
| 75 |
nose |
mũi |
| 76 |
mouth |
miệng, mồm |
| 77 |
tooth |
răng |
| 78 |
tongue (organ) |
lưỡi |
| 79 |
fingernail |
móng |
| 80 |
foot |
bàn chân |
| 81 |
leg |
cẳng chân, chân |
| 82 |
knee |
đầu gối |
| 83 |
hand |
bàn tay |
| 84 |
wing |
cánh |
| 85 |
belly |
bụng |
| 86 |
guts |
lòng, ruột |
| 87 |
neck |
cổ |
| 88 |
back |
lưng |
| 89 |
breast |
vú, ngực |
| 90 |
heart |
trái tim |
| 91 |
liver |
gan |
| 92 |
to drink |
uống |
| 93 |
to eat |
ăn |
| 94 |
to bite |
cắn |
| 95 |
to suck |
mút, hút (straw), bú (breast) |
| 96 |
to spit |
nhổ, khạc |
| 97 |
to vomit |
nôn mửa, thổ, ối |
| 98 |
to blow |
thổi |
| 99 |
to breathe |
hô hấp, thở |
| 100 |
to laugh |
cười |
| 101 |
to see |
thấy, nhìn (look), trông |
| 102 |
to hear |
nghe |
| 103 |
to know |
biết |
| 104 |
to think |
nghĩ |
| 105 |
to smell |
ngửi |
| 106 |
to fear |
sợ |
| 107 |
to sleep |
ngủ |
| 108 |
to live |
sống |
| 109 |
to die |
chết |
| 110 |
to kill |
giết |
| 111 |
to fight |
chiến đấu |
| 112 |
to hunt |
săn |
| 113 |
to hit |
đánh |
| 114 |
to cut |
cắt |
| 115 |
to split |
chẻ |
| 116 |
to stab |
đâm dao găm |
| 117 |
to scratch |
gãi, cạo, cào |
| 118 |
to dig |
đào |
| 119 |
to swim |
bơi |
| 120 |
to fly |
bay |
| 121 |
to walk |
bước, đi |
| 122 |
to come |
đến |
| 123 |
to lie (as in a bed) |
nằm ra (action) |
| 124 |
to sit |
ngồi (action) |
| 125 |
to stand |
dậy (action) |
| 126 |
to turn (intransitive) |
quay |
| 127 |
to fall |
ngã, rơi |
| 128 |
to give |
cho, tặng |
| 129 |
to hold |
cầm |
| 130 |
to squeeze |
nắm chặt, siết chặt |
| 131 |
to rub |
cọ xát, chà xát |
| 132 |
to wash |
giặt |
| 133 |
to wipe |
lau, chùi |
| 134 |
to pull |
kéo |
| 135 |
to push |
đẩy |
| 136 |
to throw |
ném, chọi |
| 137 |
to tie |
trói, buộc, bó |
| 138 |
to sew |
khâu, may |
| 139 |
to count |
đếm |
| 140 |
to say |
nói |
| 141 |
to sing |
hát |
| 142 |
to play |
chơi |
| 143 |
to float |
nổi |
| 144 |
to flow |
chảy |
| 145 |
to freeze |
đông lại, đóng băng |
| 146 |
to swell |
sưng lên |
| 147 |
sun |
mặt trời |
| 148 |
moon |
trăng |
| 149 |
star |
ngôi sao |
| 150 |
water |
nước |
| 151 |
rain |
mưa |
| 152 |
river |
sông |
| 153 |
lake |
hồ |
| 154 |
sea |
biển |
| 155 |
salt |
muối |
| 156 |
stone |
đá |
| 157 |
sand |
cát |
| 158 |
dust |
bụi |
| 159 |
earth |
đất |
| 160 |
cloud |
mây |
| 161 |
fog |
sương mù |
| 162 |
sky |
trời |
| 163 |
wind |
gió |
| 164 |
snow |
tuyết |
| 165 |
ice |
nước đá, băng |
| 166 |
smoke |
khói |
| 167 |
fire |
lửa |
| 168 |
ash |
tro |
| 169 |
to burn |
cháy |
| 170 |
road |
đường |
| 171 |
mountain |
núi |
| 172 |
red |
đỏ |
| 173 |
green |
lục |
| 174 |
yellow |
vàng |
| 175 |
white |
trắng |
| 176 |
black |
đen |
| 177 |
night |
ban đêm, tối |
| 178 |
day |
ban ngày |
| 179 |
year |
năm |
| 180 |
warm |
nóng |
| 181 |
cold |
lạnh |
| 182 |
full |
đầy |
| 183 |
new |
mới |
| 184 |
old |
cổ, cũ |
| 185 |
good |
tốt, ngon, hay (act), giỏi (work) |
| 186 |
bad |
xấu, tồi, dở, kém |
| 187 |
rotten |
thối, ủng, mục, mủn |
| 188 |
dirty |
bẩn, dơ |
| 189 |
straight |
thẳng |
| 190 |
round |
tròn |
| 191 |
sharp (as a knife) |
sắc, bén |
| 192 |
dull (as a knife) |
mòn |
| 193 |
smooth |
nhẵn |
| 194 |
wet |
ướt |
| 195 |
dry |
khô |
| 196 |
correct |
đúng |
| 197 |
near |
gần |
| 198 |
far |
xa |
| 199 |
right |
phải |
| 200 |
left |
trái |
| 201 |
at |
ở |
| 202 |
in |
trong |
| 203 |
with |
với |
| 204 |
and |
và |
| 205 |
if |
nếu |
| 206 |
because |
vì, bởi vì |
| 207 |
name |
tên |
* masculine forms only
Bibliography [edit]
External links [edit]
Wikipedia
| 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 |