Appendix:Classical Japanese Swadesh list

This is a Swadesh list of words in Classical Japanese. Given the poorly constructed condition of the current list, there is great need for enthusiasts of this language to spare some attention and jointly contribute to the list's completion.

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

No. English Classical Japanese
文語
1 I われ(ware,我/吾)
2 you (singular)
3 he
4 we
5 you (plural)
6 they
7 this これ(kore,此/之/是)
8 that あれ(are,彼)
9 here ここ(koko,此處)
10 there そこ(soko,其處)
11 who たれ(tare,誰)
12 what なに(nani,何)
13 where いづく(iduku,何處)
14 when いつ(itu,何時)
15 how いか(ika,如何)
16 not
17 all
18 many おほし(ofosi,多し)
19 some
20 few
21 other
22 one
23 two
24 three
25 four よつ(yotu,四つ)
26 five
27 big おほし(ofosi,大し)
28 long
29 wide ひろし(firosi,廣し)
30 thick
31 heavy おもし(omosi,重し)
32 small ちひさし(tifisasi,小さし)
33 short
34 narrow
35 thin
36 woman
37 man (adult male)
38 man (human being) ひと(fito,人)
39 child (ko,子)
40 wife つま(tuma,妻)
41 husband
42 mother はは(fafa,母)
43 father ちち(titi,父)
44 animal
45 fish
46 bird とり(tori,鳥)
47 dog いぬ(inu,犬)
48 louse
49 snake
50 worm
51 tree (ki,木)
52 forest もり(mori,森)
53 stick
54 fruit (mi,実)
55 seed たね(tane,種)
56 leaf (fa,葉)
57 root (ne,根)
58 bark (of a tree)
59 flower はな(fana,花/華)
60 grass
61 rope なは(nafa,繩)
62 skin はだ(fada,肌)
63 meat
64 blood (ti,血)
65 bone ほね(fone,骨)
66 fat (noun)
67 egg
68 horn
69 tail (wo,尾)
70 feather (fa,羽)
71 hair
72 head かしら(kasira,頭)
73 ear みみ(mimi,耳)
74 eye (me,目)
75 nose
76 mouth くち(kuti,口)
77 tooth (fa,齒)
78 tongue (organ)
79 fingernail
80 foot
81 leg
82 knee ひざ(fiza,膝)
83 hand (te,手)
84 wing
85 belly
86 guts
87 neck くび(kubi,頸くび)
88 back (se,背)
89 breast
90 heart こころ(kokoro,心)
91 liver
92 to drink
93 to eat
94 to bite
95 to suck
96 to spit
97 to vomit
98 to blow ふく(fuku,吹く)
99 to breathe いぶく(ibuku,氣吹く)
100 to laugh
101 to see
102 to hear
103 to know しる(siru,知る)
104 to think
105 to smell
106 to fear
107 to sleep
108 to live
109 to die
110 to kill
111 to fight
112 to hunt かる(karu,狩る)
113 to hit
114 to cut
115 to split
116 to stab
117 to scratch かく(kaku,掻く/書く)
118 to dig
119 to swim
120 to fly とぶ(tobu,飛ぶ)
121 to walk
122 to come
123 to lie (as in a bed)
124 to sit
125 to stand
126 to turn (intransitive)
127 to fall
128 to give
129 to hold もつ(motu,持つ)
130 to squeeze
131 to rub
132 to wash
133 to wipe
134 to pull
135 to push おす(osu,押す)
136 to throw
137 to tie むすぶ(musubu,結ぶ)
138 to sew
139 to count
140 to say
141 to sing うたふ(utafu,歌ふ/詠ふ)
142 to play
143 to float
144 to flow
145 to freeze
146 to swell
147 sun (fi,日/陽)
148 moon つき(tuki,月)
149 star
150 water みづ(midu,水)
151 rain あめ(ame,雨)
152 river
153 lake
154 sea
155 salt
156 stone
157 sand
158 dust
159 earth つち(tuti,土/地)
160 cloud
161 fog
162 sky
163 wind かぜ(kaze,風)
164 snow ゆき(yuki,雪)
165 ice
166 smoke けぶり(kemuri,煙)
167 fire
168 ash はひ(fafi,灰)
169 to burn もゆ(moyu,燃ゆ)
170 road
171 mountain やま(yama,山)
172 red
173 green
174 yellow
175 white
176 black
177 night
178 day
179 year
180 warm
181 cold
182 full
183 new
184 old
185 good よし(yosi,良し/善し//佳し)
186 bad
187 rotten
188 dirty
189 straight
190 round
191 sharp (as a knife)
192 dull (as a knife)
193 smooth
194 wet
195 dry
196 correct
197 near
198 far
199 right
200 left
201 at
202 in
203 with
204 and
205 if
206 because
207 name (na,名)



Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
(edit this template)