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
Central Bikol Bikol Sentral
1
I
ako
2
you (singular)
ika , ka
3
he , she , it
siya
4
we
inclusive: kita exclusive: kami
5
you (plural)
kamo
6
they
sinda
7
this
ini
8
that
iyan , ini , ito
9
here
digdi
10
there
duman , diyan
11
who
si isay
12
what
ano , nano
13
where
sain , hain
14
when
kasuarin ( used with perfective aspect verb ) , nuarin ( used with future tense verb )
15
how
pano
16
not
bako , dai
17
all
gabos , anas
18
many
dakol
19
some
20
few
dikit , diit
21
other
iba
22
one
saro
23
two
duwa
24
three
tulo
25
four
apat
26
five
lima
27
big
dakula
28
long
halaba
29
wide
halakbang , mahiwas
30
thick
mahibog
31
heavy
magabat
32
small
sadit , saday , sadang
33
short
hababa
34
narrow
hayapit
35
thin
mahimpis , manipis
36
woman
babayi
37
man (adult male)
lalaki
38
man (human being)
tawo
39
child
aki
40
wife
agom
41
husband
agom
42
mother
ina
43
father
ama
44
animal
hayop
45
fish
sira
46
bird
gamgam , bayong
47
dog
ayam , ido
48
louse
kuto
49
snake
halas
50
worm
ulod , halod
51
tree
kahoy
52
forest
kadlagan , kakahoyan
53
stick
bala , sarasa
54
fruit
bunga , prutas
55
seed
pisog , tulang
56
leaf
dahon
57
root
gamot
58
bark (of a tree)
ubak
59
flower
burak
60
grass
duot , awot
61
rope
pisi , lubid
62
skin
kublit , unit
63
meat
laman , unod , karne
64
blood
dugo
65
bone
tulang
66
fat (noun)
taba
67
egg
sugok , bunay
68
horn
sungay
69
tail
ikog
70
feather
balukag , barahibo
71
hair
buhok
72
head
payo
73
ear
talinga
74
eye
mata
75
nose
dungo
76
mouth
nguso , ngimot
77
tooth
ngipon
78
tongue (organ)
dila
79
fingernail
kuko
80
foot
bitis
81
leg
tabay
82
knee
tuhod
83
hand
kamot
84
wing
pakpak
85
belly
tulak
86
guts
bituka
87
neck
liog
88
back
likod , taludtod
89
breast
suso , mimi , dudo
90
heart
puso
91
liver
katoy
92
to drink
mag-inom
93
to eat
magkakan , magkaon
94
to bite
magkagat
95
to suck
magsupsop , maghigop
96
to spit
maglutab , magluwa
97
to vomit
magsuka , magdigwa , magsukalkag
98
to blow
maghayop , maghuyop
99
to breathe
maghangos
100
to laugh
magngisi , magngirit , mag-ulok
101
to see
maghiling
102
to hear
magdangog
103
to know
mag-aram
104
to think
mag-isip
105
to smell
magparong , magsango
106
to fear
magtakot
107
to sleep
magturog , magkaturog
108
to live
magbuhay
109
to die
magadan
110
to kill
maggadan
111
to fight
mag-iwal
112
to hunt
mangayam
113
to hit
magtama
114
to cut
magputol
115
to split
magsilak
116
to stab
magsaksak
117
to scratch
magkagaw
118
to dig
magkalot , magkalkag , magkutkot
119
to swim
maglangoy
120
to fly
maglayog , maglupad
121
to walk
maglakaw
122
to come
mag-abot
123
to lie (as in a bed)
maghigda
124
to sit
magtukaw
125
to stand
magtindog
126
to turn (intransitive)
magsiko , magliko
127
to fall
maghulog
128
to give
magtao
129
to hold
magkapot
130
to squeeze
magpiris
131
to rub
magkuskos
132
to wash
maghugas , maghanaw ( for hands )
133
to wipe
magpahid , magpunas
134
to pull
magguyod , maggudgod
135
to push
magtulod , magtuldang , magbusol
136
to throw
mag-apon , magtapok
137
to tie
maggakod
138
to sew
magtahi
139
to count
magbilang
140
to say
magsabi , magtaram
141
to sing
magkanta , mag-awit
142
to play
magkawat
143
to float
maglataw , magpataw
144
to flow
magbulos , magsulog
145
to freeze
maglipot
146
to swell
maggatok , maghubag
147
sun
saldang , aldaw
148
moon
bulan
149
star
bituon
150
water
tubig
151
rain
uran
152
river
salog
153
lake
danaw
154
sea
dagat
155
salt
asin
156
stone
gapo
157
sand
baybay , basod
158
dust
alpog , talbo
159
earth
daga
160
cloud
dampog , panganuron
161
fog
ambon
162
sky
langit
163
wind
duros , paros
164
snow
niyebe
165
ice
yelo
166
smoke
aso
167
fire
kalayo , sulo
168
ash
abo
169
to burn
magsulo
170
road
dalan , agihan
171
mountain
bulod , bukid
172
red
pula
173
green
berde
174
yellow
giyaw , amarilyo
175
white
puti
176
black
itom
177
night
banggi
178
day
aldaw
179
year
taon
180
warm
maimbong , mainit
181
cold
malipot
182
full
pano
183
new
bago
184
old
daan , luma , gurang
185
good
marhay
186
bad
maraot
187
rotten
lapa
188
dirty
maati
189
straight
matanos
190
round
bilog , lidong , matalimon
191
sharp (as a knife)
matarom , mapanas
192
dull (as a knife)
mangurol
193
smooth
mahalnas , mayumok
194
wet
basa , dumog
195
dry
alang , mara
196
correct
tama
197
near
harani
198
far
harayo
199
right
tuo
200
left
wala
201
at
sa
202
in
sa
203
with
204
and
asin , saka , buda , sagkod
205
if
kun
206
because
ta , huli , dahil
207
name
ngaran , pangaran
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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