Appendix:Swadesh lists

      Swadesh lists were originally devised by the linguist Morris Swadesh. In the 1940s to 1950s, Swadesh developed word lists of body parts, verbs, natural phenomena, in order to compute the relationships of languages, and in particular their age, by a method called glottochronology. However, for most linguists this method is even more unreliable than lexicostatistics.

      A Swadesh list may also be useful to achieve knowledge of some universal terms in other languages. This is because, for basic communication, knowledge of vocabulary is more important than knowledge of grammar and syntax. Sometimes it is even possible to achieve (very) basic communication skills with no knowledge of the target language syntax whatsoever.

      To sort the table columns here (or for any other table in any HTML page), copy the javascript link from here (control-click the "sort table" link to copy the link) and once you have come back to this page, paste the javascript code you have copied into your URL window and run it. (The other table scripts there can also be used here.) Alternatively, instead of copying the link, you could drag it into your bookmarks toolbar, allowing the link to be accessible in the future from the toolbar. This sorting feature could be particularly useful if and when the categories of the Swadesh template and/or Basic English template are fleshed out.

      Assorted Swadesh lists

      See also: Category:Swadesh lists
      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

      Indo-European languages

      Proto-Indo-European

      Other Eurasian languages

      Pacific Rim languages

      North Asian

      Southeast Asian and Oceanic

      Amerindian languages

      See also: Appendix:Eskimo–Aleut basic vocabulary and Indigenous languages of the Americas

      North American

      Central American

      South American

      African languages

      Creoles, pidgins, and constructed languages

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      Lists in need of expansion

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      Templates

      For a basis to expand this list into other languages see the basic 207-word Swadesh template. See also this Swadesh template containing a comparative table for 8 different languages, and this Swadesh template with categories and parts-of-speech added. To visit a more extensive list of basic words in various languages (not a Swadesh list, though it includes and is cross-referenced to Swadesh words), see the Basic English word list.

      Templates for Swadesh lists
      Templates for boxes
      Other templates
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      Swadesh list table of Germanic and Romance languages

      The words from Swadesh's original 100-word list are designated by an asterisk (*). In the composite list on this page, there are actually 207 words, since seven of the words in the 100-word list (breast, fingernail, full, horn, knee, moon, round) were not in the original 200-word list.

      No English French German Italian Spanish Dutch Swedish Latin
      1 I * je ich io yo ik jag ego
      2 you sing., thou tu, vous (formal) du, Sie (formal) tu, Lei (formal) tú, usted (formal) jij, je, U (formal) du tu
      3 he il er lui, egli él hij han is, ea
      4 we * nous wir noi nosotros wij, we vi nos
      5 you pl. vous ihr, Sie (formal) voi vosotros, ustedes (formal) jullie ni vos
      6 they ils, elles sie loro, essi ellos, ellas zij, ze de ii, eae
      7 this * ceci dieses questo este deze, dit det här hic, is
      8 that * cela jenes, das quello ese, aquel die, dat det där ille
      9 here ici hier qui, qua aquí, acá hier här hic
      10 there là dort là ahí, allí, allá daar där ibi
      11 who * qui wer chi quien wie vem quis
      12 what * quoi was che que wat vad quid
      13 where où wo dove donde waar var ubi
      14 when quand wann quando cuando wanneer när quando
      15 how comment wie come como hoe hur quam, quomodo
      16 not * ne...pas nicht non no niet inte, ej non
      17 all * tout alle tutto todo al, alle alla omnis
      18 many * plusieurs viele molti muchos veel många multi
      19 some quelques einige alcuni algunos, unos enkele, sommige några, vissa aliqui, aliquot
      20 few peu wenige pochi poco weinig få pauci
      21 other autre andere altro otro ander annan alter, alius
      22 one * un eins uno uno een ett unus
      23 two * deux zwei due dos twee två duo
      24 three trois drei tre tres drie tre tres
      25 four quatre vier quattro cuatro vier fyra quattuor
      26 five cinq fünf cinque cinco vijf fem quinque
      27 big * grand groß grande grande groot stor magnus, grandis
      28 long * long lang lungo largo lang lång longus
      29 wide large breit, weit largo ancho breed, wijd bred, vid latus
      30 thick épais dick spesso grueso dik tjock creber
      31 heavy lourd schwer pesante pesado zwaar tung gravis
      32 small * petit klein piccolo pequeño klein liten parvus
      33 short court kurz corto corto kort kort brevis
      34 narrow étroit eng stretto estrecho, angosto smal trång angustus
      35 thin mince dünn sottile delgado, flaco dun tunn macer
      36 woman * femme Frau donna mujer vrouw kvinna femina
      37 man (adult male) homme Mann uomo hombre man man vir
      38 man * (human being) homme Mensch uomo hombre mens människa homo
      39 child enfant Kind bambino niño kind barn puer
      40 wife femme, épouse Frau, Ehefrau moglie esposa, mujer vrouw, echtgenote hustru, maka, fru uxor, mulier
      41 husband mari, époux Mann, Ehemann marito esposo, marido man, echtgenoot man, make maritus
      42 mother mère Mutter madre madre moeder mamma, mor mater
      43 father père Vater padre padre vader pappa, far pater
      44 animal animal Tier animale animal dier djur animal
      45 fish * poisson Fisch pesce pez, pescado vis fisk piscis
      46 bird * oiseau Vogel uccello ave, pájaro vogel fågel avis
      47 dog * chien Hund cane perro hond hund canis
      48 louse * pou Laus pidocchio piojo luis lus pedis
      49 snake serpent Schlange serpente serpiente, culebra slang orm serpens
      50 worm ver Wurm verme gusano worm mask vermis
      51 tree * arbre Baum albero árbol boom träd arbor
      52 forest forêt Wald foresta bosque woud skog silva
      53 stick bâton Stock bastone palo stok pinne fustis
      54 fruit fruit Frucht frutta fruta fruit, vrucht frukt fructus
      55 seed * graine Samen seme semilla zaad frö semen
      56 leaf * feuille Blatt foglia hoja blad löv, blad folium
      57 root * racine Wurzel radice raíz wortel rot radix
      58 bark * (from tree) écorce Rinde corteccia corteza schors bark cortex
      59 flower fleur Blume fiore flor bloem blomma flos
      60 grass herbe Gras erba hierba, pasto gras gräs herba
      61 rope corde Seil corda cuerda touw, koord rep funis
      62 skin * peau Haut pelle piel huid hud cutis
      63 meat viande Fleisch carne carne vlees kött caro
      64 blood * sang Blut sangue sangre bloed blod sanguis
      65 bone * os Knochen osso hueso been, bot ben os
      66 fat * (n.) graisse Fett grasso grasa vet fett adeps
      67 egg * œuf Ei uovo huevo ei ägg ovum
      68 horn * corne Horn corno cuerno hoorn horn cornu
      69 tail * queue Schwanz coda cola staart svans cauda
      70 feather * plume Feder piuma pluma veer fjäder penna
      71 hair * cheveu Haar capelli cabello, pelo haar hår capillus, coma, crinis
      72 head * tête Kopf, Haupt testa cabeza hoofd, kop huvud caput
      73 ear * oreille Ohr orecchio oreja oor öra auris
      74 eye * œil Auge occhio ojo oog öga oculus
      75 nose * nez Nase naso nariz neus näsa nasus
      76 mouth * bouche Mund bocca boca mond mun os
      77 tooth * dent Zahn dente diente tand tand dens
      78 tongue * langue Zunge lingua lengua tong tunga lingua
      79 fingernail ongle Fingernagel unghia uña vingernagel nagel unguis
      80 foot * pied Fuß piede pie voet fot pes
      81 leg jambe Bein gamba pierna been ben crus
      82 knee * genou Knie ginocchio rodilla knie knä genu
      83 hand * main Hand mano mano hand hand manus
      84 wing aile Flügel ala ala vleugel vinge ala
      85 belly * ventre Bauch pancia barriga, vientre, panza buik mage venter
      86 guts entrailles Eingeweide, Innereien intestino entrañas, tripas ingewanden inälvor intestina
      87 neck * cou Hals collo cuello nek hals, nacke collum, cervix
      88 back dos Rücken schiena espalda rug rygg tergum
      89 breast * sein, poitrine Brust petto pecho, seno borst bröst pectus, mamma
      90 heart * cœur Herz cuore corazón hart hjärta cor
      91 liver * foie Leber fegato hígado lever lever iecur
      92 drink * boire trinken bere beber, tomar drinken dricka bibere
      93 eat * manger essen mangiare comer eten äta edere
      94 bite * mordre beißen mordere morder bijten bita mordere
      95 suck sucer saugen succhiare chupar zuigen suga sugere
      96 spit cracher spucken sputare escupir spuwen spotta sputare
      97 vomit vomir erbrechen vomitare vomitar braken, overgeven kräkas, spy vomere
      98 blow souffler blasen soffiare soplar blazen blåsa flare
      99 breathe respirer atmen respirare respirar ademen andas spirare
      100 laugh rire lachen ridere reír lachen skratta ridere
      101 see * voir sehen vedere ver zien se videre
      102 hear * entendre hören udire, sentire oír horen höra audire
      103 know * (a fact) savoir wissen sapere saber weten veta scire
      104 think penser denken pensare pensar denken tänka putare
      105 smell sentir riechen odorare, annusare oler ruiken lukta olere
      106 fear craindre, avoir peur fürchten temere temer vrezen, angst frukta, rädas timere
      107 sleep * dormir schlafen dormire dormir slapen sova dormire
      108 live vivre leben vivere vivir leven leva vivere
      109 die * mourir sterben morire morir sterven dö mori
      110 kill * tuer töten uccidere matar doden döda necare
      111 fight se battre kämpfen combattere pelear vechten strida pugnare
      112 hunt chasser jagen cacciare cazar jagen jaga venari
      113 hit frapper schlagen colpire golpear slaan slå pellere
      114 cut couper schneiden tagliare cortar snijden skära secare
      115 split fendre spalten dividere, separare partir splijten dela, klyva scindere, partiri
      116 stab poignarder stechen pugnalare apuñalar steken sticka traicere
      117 scratch gratter kratzen graffiare arañar, rascar krabben klia radere
      118 dig creuser graben scavare cavar graven gräva fodere
      119 swim * nager schwimmen nuotare nadar zwemmen simma natare
      120 fly * (v.) voler fliegen volare volar vliegen flyga volare
      121 walk * marcher gehen camminare caminar lopen gå gradi
      122 come * venir kommen venire venir komen komma venire
      123 lie * s'étendre liegen distendersi echarse, acostarse, tenderse liggen ligga iacere
      124 sit * s'asseoir sitzen sedere sentarse zitten sitta sedere
      125 stand * se lever stehen stare in piedi estar de pie staan stå stare
      126 turn tourner drehen girare voltear draaien svänga vertere
      127 fall tomber fallen cadere caer vallen falla cadere
      128 give * donner geben dare dar geven ge dare
      129 hold tenir halten tenere sostener houden hålla tenere
      130 squeeze serrer quetschen spremere apretar knijpen klämma premere
      131 rub frotter reiben strofinare frotar, restregar wrijven gnida fricare
      132 wash laver waschen lavare lavar wassen tvätta lavare
      133 wipe essuyer wischen asciugare limpiar vegen rensa tergere
      134 pull tirer ziehen tirare tirar trekken dra trahere
      135 push pousser drücken spingere empujar duwen trycka pellere, urgere
      136 throw jeter werfen tirare tirar werpen, gooien kasta iacere
      137 tie lier binden legare atar knopen knyta, binda stringere, ligare
      138 sew coudre nähen cucire coser naaien sy suere
      139 count compter zählen contare contar tellen räkna numerare
      140 say * dire sagen dire decir zeggen säga dicere
      141 sing chanter singen cantare cantar zingen sjunga canere
      142 play jouer spielen giocare jugar spelen leka, spela ludere
      143 float flotter schweben galleggiare flotar zweven flyta fluctuare
      144 flow couler fließen fluire fluir vloeien rinna fluere
      145 freeze geler frieren gelare helar vriezen frysa gelare
      146 swell gonfler schwellen gonfiare hincharse zwellen svälla inflare
      147 sun * soleil Sonne sole sol zon sol sol
      148 moon * lune Mond luna luna maan måne luna
      149 star * étoile Stern stella estrella ster stjärna stella
      150 water * eau Wasser acqua agua water vatten aqua
      151 rain * pluie Regen pioggia lluvia regen regn pluvia
      152 river rivière Fluß fiume río rivier flod fluvius
      153 lake lac See lago lago meer sjö lacus
      154 sea mer Meer, See mare mar zee hav mare
      155 salt sel Salz sale sal zout salt sal
      156 stone * pierre Stein pietra piedra steen sten lapis, petra
      157 sand * sable Sand sabbia arena zand sand arena
      158 dust poussière Staub polvere polvo stof damm pulvis
      159 earth * terre Erde terra tierra aarde jord terra
      160 cloud * nuage Wolke nuvola nube wolk moln nimbus, nubes
      161 fog brouillard Nebel nebbia niebla mist, nevel dimma caligo, nebula
      162 sky ciel Himmel cielo cielo lucht himmel caelum
      163 wind vent Wind vento viento wind vind ventus
      164 snow neige Schnee neve nieve sneeuw snö nix
      165 ice glace Eis ghiaccio hielo ijs is glacies
      166 smoke * fumée Rauch fumo humo rook rök fumus
      167 fire * feu Feuer fuoco fuego vuur eld ignis
      168 ashes * cendres Asche ceneri cenizas as aska cineres
      169 burn * brûler brennen bruciare quemar branden brinna ardere
      170 road * route Straße strada camino weg väg via
      171 mountain * montagne Berg montagna montaña berg berg mons
      172 red * rouge rot rosso rojo rood röd ruber
      173 green * vert grün verde verde groen grön viridis
      174 yellow * jaune gelb giallo amarillo geel gul flavus
      175 white * blanc weiß bianco blanco wit vit albus, candidus
      176 black * noir schwarz nero negro zwart svart niger, ater, fuscus
      177 night * nuit Nacht notte noche nacht natt nox
      178 day jour Tag giorno día dag dag dies
      179 year an, année Jahr anno año jaar år annus
      180 warm * chaud warm caldo cálido, tibio warm varm calidus
      181 cold * froid kalt freddo frío koud kall frigidus
      182 full * plein voll pieno lleno vol full plenus
      183 new * nouveau neu nuovo nuevo nieuw ny novus
      184 old vieux alt vecchio viejo oud gammal vetus
      185 good * bon gut buono bueno goed bra bonus
      186 bad mauvais schlecht cattivo malo slecht dålig malus
      187 rotten pourri verrottet marcio podrido rot rutten puter, putridus
      188 dirty sale schmutzig sporco sucio vies smutsig sordidus
      189 straight droit gerade diritto recto recht rak rectus
      190 round * rond rund rotondo redondo rond rund rotundus
      191 sharp tranchant, pointu, aigu scharf aguzzo, affilato afilado scherp vass acer
      192 dull émoussé stumpf noioso desafilado stomp, bot slö hebes
      193 smooth lisse glatt liscio suave, liso glad len, slät levis
      194 wet mouillé nass, feucht bagnato mojado nat våt, blöt umidus
      195 dry * sec trocken asciutto, secco seco droog torr siccus
      196 correct juste, correct richtig corretto correcto juist, correct rätt, riktig rectus
      197 near proche nah, nahe vicino cerca dichtbij nära propinquus
      198 far loin weit, fern lontano lejos ver långt bort, fjärran longinquus
      199 right à droite rechts destra derecha rechts höger dexter
      200 left à gauche links sinistra izquierda links vänster sinister
      201 at à bei, an a a, en, ante aan, te, bij hos, vid ad
      202 in dans in in en in i in
      203 with avec mit con con met med cum
      204 and et und e y en och et
      205 if si wenn, falls, ob se si als, indien om si
      206 because parce que weil perché porque omdat eftersom, ty quia, quoniam
      207 name * nom Name nome nombre naam namn nomen
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      Last modified on 20 May 2013, at 18:37