Appendix:Italian Swadesh list

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This is a Swadesh list of words in Italian, compared with definitions in English.

Presentation[edit]

For further information, including the full final version of the list, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list.

American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant 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.

List[edit]

EnglishItalian
italiano
edit (207)
1I (1sg)io
2you (2sg)tu
3he, she, it (3sg)egli, lui
4we (1pl)noi
5you (2pl)voi
6they (3pl)loro, essi
7thisquesto
8thatquello
9herequi, qua
10there,
11whochi
12whatche, cosa
13wheredove
14whenquando
15howcome
16notnon
17alltutto
18manytanto
19somealcuni
20fewpoco
21otheraltro
22oneun, uno, una, un'
23twodue
24threetre
25fourquattro
26fivecinque
27biggrande
28longlungo
29widelargo
30thickspesso
31heavypesante
32smallpiccolo
33shortcorto
34narrowstretto
35thinsottile
36womandonna
37man (adult male)uomo
38man (human being)persona
39childbambino
40wifemoglie
41husbandmarito
42mothermadre
43fatherpadre
44animalanimale
45fishpesce
46birduccello
47dogcane
48lousepidocchio
49snakeserpente
50wormverme
51treealbero, pianta
52forestforesta, bosco
53stickbastone
54fruitfrutta
55seedseme
56leaffoglia
57rootradice
58bark (of a tree)corteccia
59flowerfiore
60grasserba
61ropecorda, fune
62skinpelle
63meatcarne
64bloodsangue
65boneosso
66fat (noun)grasso
67egguovo
68horncorno
69tailcoda
70featherpenna
71haircapello
72headtesta
73earorecchio
74eyeocchio
75nosenaso
76mouthbocca
77toothdente
78tongue (organ)lingua
79fingernailunghia
80footpiede
81leggamba
82kneeginocchio
83handmano
84wingala
85bellypancia
86gutsintestino
87neckcollo
88backschiena
89breastpetto
90heartcuore
91liverfegato
92to drinkbere
93to eatmangiare
94to bitemordere
95to sucksucchiare
96to spitsputare
97to vomitvomitare
98to blowsoffiare
99to breatherespirare
100to laughridere
101to seevedere
102to hearsentire
103to knowsapere
104to thinkpensare
105to smellodorare
106to feartemere
107to sleepdormire
108to livevivere
109to diemorire
110to killuccidere, ammazzare
111to fightcombattere
112to huntcacciare
113to hitcolpire
114to cuttagliare
115to splitdividere
116to stabpugnalare
117to scratchgraffiare
118to digscavare
119to swimnuotare
120to flyvolare
121to walkcamminare
122to comevenire
123to lie (as in a bed)distendersi, giacere
124to sitsedersi
125to standstare in piedi, stare eretto
126to turn (intransitive)girare
127to fallcadere
128to givedare
129to holdtenere
130to squeezespremere
131to rubstrofinare
132to washlavare
133to wipeasciugare
134to pulltirare
135to pushspingere
136to throwlanciare
137to tielegare
138to sewcucire
139to countcontare
140to saydire
141to singcantare
142to playgiocare
143to floatgalleggiare
144to flowfluire, scorrere
145to freezegelare
146to swellgonfiare
147sunsole
148moonluna
149starstella
150wateracqua
151rainpioggia
152riverfiume
153lakelago
154seamare
155saltsale
156stonesasso, pietra
157sandsabbia
158dustpolvere
159earthterra, mondo
160cloudnuvola
161fognebbia
162skycielo
163windvento
164snowneve
165iceghiaccio
166smokefumo
167firefuoco
168ashcenere
169to burnbruciare
170roadstrada
171mountainmontagna
172redrosso
173greenverde
174yellowgiallo
175whitebianco
176blacknero
177nightnotte
178daygiorno
179yearanno
180warmcaldo
181coldfreddo
182fullpieno
183newnuovo
184oldvecchio
185goodbuono
186badcattivo
187rottenmarcio
188dirtysporco
189straightdritto
190roundrotondo
191sharp (as a knife)affilato
192dull (as a knife)smussato
193smoothliscio
194wetbagnato
195drysecco
196correctgiusto, corretto
197nearvicino
198farlontano
199rightdestra
200leftsinistra
201ata
202inin
203withcon
204ande
205ifse
206becauseperché
207namenome
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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