Presentation
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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.
No.
English
Guinea-Bissau Creole
1
I
mi , n
2
you (singular)
bo , bu , u
3
he , she , it
el , i
4
we
nos , no
5
you (plural)
bos , bo
6
they
elis , e
7
this
es , kil
8
that
kuma , kila , kil
9
here
li
10
there
la
11
who
kin , ki
12
what
kuma , ke ku , kal
13
where
nunde
14
when
ora ku , ku , kal ki
15
how
kuma , kuma ku , kuma ki
16
not
ka
17
all
tudu
18
many
manga , tciu
19
some
alguns
20
few
puku , alguns
21
other
utru
22
one
un
23
two
dus
24
three
tris
25
four
kuatru
26
five
cinco
27
big
garandi
28
long
kumpridu , lundju
29
wide
largu
30
thick
gros
31
heavy
pisadu
32
small
pikininu
33
short
kurtu
34
narrow
pertadu
35
thin
magru , delgadu
36
woman
mindjer
37
man (adult male)
omi
38
man (human being)
djinti , pesoa , alguin
39
child
mininu , fidju
40
wife
spoza , mindjer
41
husband
spozu , maridu
42
mother
mame , mai
43
father
pape , pai
44
animal
limaria
45
fish
pis
46
bird
pastru , katcu
47
dog
katcur
48
louse
karanga
49
snake
kobra
50
worm
bicha
51
tree
arvuri , po , pe
52
forest
matu
53
stick
po , bingala
54
fruit
fruta
55
seed
simenti
56
leaf
padja , fodja
57
root
rais
58
bark (of a tree)
kaska
59
flower
flur
60
grass
padja
61
rope
korda
62
skin
pele , kuru
63
meat
karni
64
blood
sangui
65
bone
os
66
fat (noun)
taka , gurdura
67
egg
ovu
68
horn
tcifri
69
tail
rabu
70
feather
pena
71
hair
kabelu
72
head
kabesa
73
ear
oredja
74
eye
udju
75
nose
naris
76
mouth
boka
77
tooth
dinti
78
tongue (organ)
lingua
79
fingernail
unha
80
foot
pe
81
leg
perna , pe
82
knee
djudju
83
hand
mon
84
wing
aza , ansa
85
belly
bariga , butcu
86
guts
tripa
87
neck
piskus
88
back
kosta
89
breast
pitu , mama
90
heart
korson
91
liver
figadu
92
to drink
bibi
93
to eat
kume
94
to bite
murdi
95
to suck
tcupa
96
to spit
kuspi
97
to vomit
ramasa , gumita
98
to blow
supra
99
to breathe
rispira , da folgu
100
to laugh
ri , gargadja
101
to see
odja , djubi
102
to hear
obi
103
to know
sibi , kunsi
104
to think
pensa , kuda , otca
105
to smell
tcera
106
to fear
medi
107
to sleep
durmi
108
to live
mora , vivi
109
to die
muri , falsi
110
to kill
mata
111
to fight
gueria , luta
112
to hunt
montia , kasa
113
to hit
suta , madja , bati
114
to cut
korta
115
to split
dividi , raparti , pika
116
to stab
fakia , punhala
117
to scratch
kosa , riska
118
to dig
koba
119
to swim
nada
120
to fly
bua
121
to walk
ianda , marcha
122
to come
bin
123
to lie (as in a bed)
dita
124
to sit
sinta , sta sintadu
125
to stand
firma , lanta
126
to turn (intransitive)
tursi , vira
127
to fall
kai
128
to give
da
129
to hold
pega , manti
130
to squeeze
pirmi , rikiti
131
to rub
reia
132
to wash
laba
133
to wipe
limpa , bari
134
to pull
pucha , djunda
135
to push
pintca , mpura
136
to throw
bota , lansa
137
to tie
mara , mbita
138
to sew
kusi
139
to count
konta
140
to say
fala , papia
141
to sing
kanta
142
to play
djuga , brinka
143
to float
boia
144
to flow
skuri
145
to freeze
djela , freska
146
to swell
intca , sanha
147
sun
sol
148
moon
lua
149
star
strela
150
water
iagu
151
rain
tcuba
152
river
riu
153
lake
lagua
154
sea
mar
155
salt
sal
156
stone
pedra
157
sand
reia
158
dust
puera , po
159
earth
tera
160
cloud
nuven
161
fog
fumansa , kasimba
162
sky
seu
163
wind
bentu
164
snow
neve
165
ice
djelu
166
smoke
fumu
167
fire
fugu
168
ash
sinsa
169
to burn
kema
170
road
kaminhu , strada
171
mountain
montanha , monti
172
red
burmedju
173
green
verdi
174
yellow
tcau , amarelu
175
white
branku
176
black
pretu
177
night
noti
178
day
dia
179
year
anu
180
warm
kinti , kalur
181
cold
friu
182
full
tciu , kompletu
183
new
nobu , novu
184
old
bedju , antigu
185
good
bon , bo
186
bad
mal , mau
187
rotten
podri
188
dirty
susu
189
straight
diritu
190
round
rodundo
191
sharp (as a knife)
fiadu , moladu
192
dull (as a knife)
segu
193
smooth
lijeru
194
wet
modjadu , banhadu
195
dry
seku
196
correct
sertu , koretu
197
near
pertu
198
far
lundju , distanti
199
right
direta
200
left
skerda
201
at
na
202
in
na
203
with
ku
204
and
i , e
205
if
si
206
because
pabia , suma , purke
207
name
nomi
Spelling and lemmas are based upon Luigi Scantamburlo's Dicionário Do Guineense, Edições Fasbeti 2003
(Guinea-Bissau Creole - Portuguese dictionary), the only comprehensive dictionary available. i
Credits go to Hans Rompel. And to Florence Marfo i of Morley College in
London, for her contributions in completing this Swadesh list.
See also
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Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
(edit this template )
