Appendix:Yiddish Swadesh list
This is a Swadesh list of words in Yiddish, 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
| No. | English | Yiddish ייִדיש |
Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | איך | ikh |
| 2 | you (singular) | דו | du |
| 3 | he | ער | er |
| 4 | we | מיר | mir |
| 5 | you (plural) | איר | ir |
| 6 | they | זיי | zey |
| 7 | this | דער, די, דאָס | der, di, dos |
| 8 | that | יענער, דער, דאָס | yener, der, dos |
| 9 | here | דאָ | do |
| 10 | there | דאָרט | dort |
| 11 | who | ווער | ver |
| 12 | what | וואָס | vos |
| 13 | where | וווּ | vu |
| 14 | when | ווען | ven |
| 15 | how | ווי | vi |
| 16 | not | ניט, נישט | nit, nisht |
| 17 | all | אַלע | ale |
| 18 | many | פֿיל, אַ סך | fil, a sakh |
| 19 | some | עטלעך | etlekhe |
| 20 | few | ווייניק, ווינציק | veynik, vintsik |
| 21 | other | אַנדער | ander |
| 22 | one | איינס | eyns |
| 23 | two | צוויי | tsvey |
| 24 | three | דרײַ | dray |
| 25 | four | פֿיר | fir |
| 26 | five | פֿינף | finf |
| 27 | big | גרויס | groys |
| 28 | long | לאַנג | lang |
| 29 | wide | ברייט | breyt |
| 30 | thick | דיק | dik |
| 31 | heavy | שווער | shver |
| 32 | small | קליין | kleyn |
| 33 | short | קורץ | kurts |
| 34 | narrow | ענג ,שמאָל | shmol, eng |
| 35 | thin | דין | din |
| 36 | woman | פֿרוי | froy |
| 37 | man (adult male) | מאַן | man |
| 38 | man (human being) | מענטש | mentsh |
| 39 | child | קינד | kind |
| 40 | wife | ווײַב ,פֿרוי | froy, vayb |
| 41 | husband | מאַן | man |
| 42 | mother | מוטער ,מאַמע | mame, muter |
| 43 | father | פֿאָטער ,טאַטע | tate, foter |
| 44 | animal | חיה | khaye |
| 45 | fish | פֿיש | fish |
| 46 | bird | פֿויגל | foygl |
| 47 | dog | הונט | hunt |
| 48 | louse | לויז | loyz |
| 49 | snake | שלאַנג | shlang |
| 50 | worm | וואָרעם | vorem |
| 51 | tree | בוים | boym |
| 52 | forest | וואַלד | vald |
| 53 | stick | שטעקן | shtekn |
| 54 | fruit | פֿרוכט | frukht |
| 55 | seed | זוימען | zoymen |
| 56 | leaf | בלאַט | blat |
| 57 | root | וואָרצל | vortsl |
| 58 | bark (of a tree) | קאָרע | kore |
| 59 | flower | בלום | blum |
| 60 | grass | גראָז | groz |
| 61 | rope | שטריק ,שנור | shnur, shtrik |
| 62 | skin | הויט | hoyt |
| 63 | meat | פֿלייש | fleysh |
| 64 | blood | בלוט | blut |
| 65 | bone | ביין | beyn |
| 66 | fat (noun) | פֿעץ ,שמאַלץ | shmalts, fets |
| 67 | egg | איי | ey |
| 68 | horn | האָרן | horn |
| 69 | tail | עק | ek |
| 70 | feather | פֿעדער | feder |
| 71 | hair | האָר | hor |
| 72 | head | קאָפּ | kop |
| 73 | ear | אויער | oyer |
| 74 | eye | אויג | oyg |
| 75 | nose | נאָז | noz |
| 76 | mouth | מויל | moyl |
| 77 | tooth | צאָן | tson |
| 78 | tongue (organ) | צונג | tsung |
| 79 | fingernail | נאָגל | nogl |
| 80 | foot | פֿוס | fus |
| 81 | leg | פֿוס | fus |
| 82 | knee | קני | kni |
| 83 | hand | האַנט | hant |
| 84 | wing | פֿליגל | fligl |
| 85 | belly | בויך | boykh |
| 86 | guts | געדערעם ,קישקע | kishke, gederem |
| 87 | neck | האַלדז | haldz |
| 88 | back | פּלייצע ,רוקן | rukn, pleytse |
| 89 | breast | ברוסט | brust |
| 90 | heart | האַרץ | harts |
| 91 | liver | לעבער | leber |
| 92 | to drink | טרינקעּן | trinken |
| 93 | to eat | עסן | esn |
| 94 | to bite | בײַסן | baysn |
| 95 | to suck | זויגן | zoygn |
| 96 | to spit | שפּײַען | shpayen |
| 97 | to vomit | ברעכן ,אויסברעכן | oysbrekhn, brekhn |
| 98 | to blow | בלאָזן | blozn |
| 99 | to breathe | אָטעמען | otemen |
| 100 | to laugh | לאַכן | lakhn |
| 101 | to see | זען | zen |
| 102 | to hear | הערן | hern |
| 103 | to know | וויסן ,קענען | kenen, visn |
| 104 | to think | טראַכטן ,דענקען | denken, trakhtn |
| 105 | to smell | שמעקן | shmekn |
| 106 | to fear | מורא האָבן | moyre hobn |
| 107 | to sleep | שלאָפֿן | shlofn |
| 108 | to live | לעבן | lebn |
| 109 | to die | שטאַרבן | shtarbn |
| 110 | to kill | טייטן ,אומברענגען | umbrengen, teytn |
| 111 | to fight | קעמפֿן | kemfn |
| 112 | to hunt | יאָגן | yogn |
| 113 | to hit | שלאָגן | shlogn |
| 114 | to cut | שנײַדן | shnaydn |
| 115 | to split | טיילן ,שפּאַלטן | shpaltn, teyln |
| 116 | to stab | שטעכן | shtekhn |
| 117 | to scratch | קראַצן | kratsn |
| 118 | to dig | גראָבן | grobn |
| 119 | to swim | שווימען | shvimen |
| 120 | to fly | פֿליִען | flien |
| 121 | to walk | גיין | geyn |
| 122 | to come | קומען | kumen |
| 123 | to lie (as in a bed) | ליגן | lign |
| 124 | to sit | זיצן | zitsn |
| 125 | to stand | שטיין | shteyn |
| 126 | to turn (intransitive) | דרייען | dreyen |
| 127 | to fall | פֿאַלן | faln |
| 128 | to give | געבן | gebn |
| 129 | to hold | האַלטן | haltn |
| 130 | to squeeze | קוועטשן | kvetshn |
| 131 | to rub | רײַבן | raybn |
| 132 | to wash | וואַשן | vashn |
| 133 | to wipe | ווישן | vishn |
| 134 | to pull | ציִען | tsien |
| 135 | to push | שטופּן | shtupn |
| 136 | to throw | וואַרפֿן | varfn |
| 137 | to tie | בינדן | bindn |
| 138 | to sew | נייען | neyen |
| 139 | to count | ציילן | tseyln |
| 140 | to say | זאָגן | zogn |
| 141 | to sing | זינגען | zingen |
| 142 | to play | שפּילן | shpiln |
| 143 | to float | שוועבן | shvebn |
| 144 | to flow | פֿליסן ,שטראָמען ,לויפֿן | loyfn, shtromen, flisn |
| 145 | to freeze | פֿרירן | frirn |
| 146 | to swell | געשוואָלן ווערן | geshvoln vern |
| 147 | sun | זון | zun |
| 148 | moon | לבֿנה | levone |
| 149 | star | שטערן | shtern |
| 150 | water | וואַסער | vaser |
| 151 | rain | רעגן | regn |
| 152 | river | טײַך | taykh |
| 153 | lake | אָזערע | ozere |
| 154 | sea | ים | yam |
| 155 | salt | זאַלץ | zalts |
| 156 | stone | שטיין | shteyn |
| 157 | sand | זאַמד | zamd |
| 158 | dust | שטויב | shtoyb |
| 159 | earth | ערד | erd |
| 160 | cloud | וואָלקן | volkn |
| 161 | fog | נעפּל | nepl |
| 162 | sky | הימל | himl |
| 163 | wind | ווינט | vint |
| 164 | snow | שניי | shney |
| 165 | ice | אײַז | ayz |
| 166 | smoke | רויך | roykh |
| 167 | fire | פֿײַער | fayer |
| 168 | ash | אַש | ash |
| 169 | to burn | ברענען | brenen |
| 170 | road | װעג | veg |
| 171 | mountain | באַרג | barg |
| 172 | red | רויט | royt |
| 173 | green | גרין | grin |
| 174 | yellow | געל | gel |
| 175 | white | ווײַס | vays |
| 176 | black | שוואַרץ | shvarts |
| 177 | night | נאַכט | nakht |
| 178 | day | טאָג | tog |
| 179 | year | יאָר | yor |
| 180 | warm | וואַרעם | varem |
| 181 | cold | קאַלט | kalt |
| 182 | full | פֿול | ful |
| 183 | new | נײַ | nay |
| 184 | old | אַלט | alt |
| 185 | good | גוט | gut |
| 186 | bad | שלעכט | shlekht |
| 187 | rotten | פֿאַרפֿוילט | farfoylt |
| 188 | dirty | שמוציק | shmutsik |
| 189 | straight | גלײַך ,גראָד | grod, glaykh |
| 190 | round | קײַלעכיק | kaylechik |
| 191 | sharp (as a knife) | שאַרף | sharf |
| 192 | dull (as a knife) | טעמפּ | temp |
| 193 | smooth | גלאַט | glat |
| 194 | wet | נאַס | nas |
| 195 | dry | טרוקן ,פֿאַרטריקנט | fartriknt, trukn |
| 196 | correct | ריכטיק | rikhtik |
| 197 | near | בײַ ,נאָענט | noent, bay |
| 198 | far | ווײַט | vayt |
| 199 | right | רעכץ | rekhts |
| 200 | left | לינקס | links |
| 201 | at | בײַ ,אויף | oyf, bay |
| 202 | in | אין ,אַרײַן | arayn, in |
| 203 | with | מיט | mit |
| 204 | and | און | un |
| 205 | if | באם ,טאָמער | tomer, be'im |
| 206 | because | ווײַל ,צוליב | tsulib, vayl |
| 207 | name | נאָמען | nomen |