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.
The orthography used below is based on Kamus Bugis (English: Buginese Dictionary), compiled by Douglas Laskowske (2017). While Buginese has several dialects, this Swadesh list takes words of the Soppeng dialect of Buginese.
No.
English
Buginese Basa Ugi
1
I
iya'
2
you (singular)
iko
3
he , she , it
aléna
4
we
idi'
5
you (plural)
6
they
7
this
iye'
8
that
iaro
9
here
konyé , kuaé
10
there
kuaro , pakuanitu , kotu (near) kuaraddo (distant), konro (distant, invisible)
11
who
niga
12
what
aga
13
where
téga
14
when
uppanna (future) sianna (past)
15
how
maraga , pékkuaré
16
not
tennia dé'
17
all
maneng , iyamaneng
18
many
maéga , mallompéng , matebbe'
19
some
siaré'-aré' , siagangaré'
20
few
céddé'
21
other
laing
22
one
séddi , céu'
23
two
dua
24
three
tellu
25
four
eppa
26
five
lima
27
big
battoa , loppo , raja
28
long
lampé
29
wide
lebba' , sakka
30
thick
umpe'
31
heavy
tane'
32
small
baiccu'
33
short
ponco' paddé' (people) poddo' (hair)
34
narrow
cikke' , cipi
35
thin
nipi'
36
woman
makkunrai
37
man (adult male)
burané , oroané
38
man (human being)
tau
39
child
ana' , wija
40
wife
bainé
41
husband
burané , lakkai
42
mother
indo'
43
father
ambo' ua' (honorific)
44
animal
olo'-kolo'
45
fish
balé
46
bird
manu'-manu'
47
dog
asu
48
louse
utu , kutu
49
snake
ula
50
worm
lati
51
tree
pong
52
forest
ale'
53
stick
takké
54
fruit
bua
55
seed
sawé
56
leaf
daung
57
root
ure'
58
bark (of a tree)
59
flower
bunga
60
grass
aru , awella , seri
61
rope
tulu
62
skin
oli
63
meat
juku
64
blood
céra
65
bone
buku , kabuttu
66
fat (noun)
lunra'
67
egg
tello
68
horn
tanru'
69
tail
ikko'
70
feather
bulu
71
hair
gemme' , wélua'
72
head
ulu
73
ear
daucculing
74
eye
mata
75
nose
inge'
76
mouth
bawa , tému
77
tooth
isi
78
tongue (organ)
lila
79
fingernail
kanuku
80
foot
ajé
81
leg
ajé
82
knee
uttu
83
hand
jari
84
wing
panni
85
belly
babbua , wettang
86
guts
perru'
87
neck
ellong
88
back
lekke'
89
breast
susu
90
heart
jantung
91
liver
até
92
to drink
énung
93
to eat
anré
94
to bite
okko
95
to suck
iso
96
to spit
mamméccu
97
to vomit
maru' , tallua
98
to blow
seppung
99
to breathe
mannyawa
100
to laugh
cawa
101
to see
ita
102
to hear
éngkalinga
103
to know
isseng
104
to think
mappikkiri' , manawa-nawa
105
to smell
émmau
106
to fear
métau
107
to sleep
matinro
108
to live
tuo
109
to die
maté
110
to kill
uno
111
to fight
mallaga , mappotténg
112
to hunt
rengngeng
113
to hit
amba' , barasa' , gumpa , peppé' , munru
114
to cut
rette'
115
to split
pué'
116
to stab
toddo' , soppa'
117
to scratch
kakkang
118
to dig
kai
119
to swim
nangé
120
to fly
luttu
121
to walk
jokka
122
to come
engka
123
to lie (as in a bed)
léu
124
to sit
tudang
125
to stand
tettong
126
to turn (intransitive)
léko
127
to fall
buang , sempé , tadenne'
128
to give
mabbéré
129
to hold
katenning
130
to squeeze
jemmu , mappecca' , mappera' , marre'
131
to rub
goso' , gésu
132
to wash
bissa
133
to wipe
ledda
134
to pull
maddui , maddénréng
135
to push
sorong
136
to throw
maddémpe'
137
to tie
massio
138
to sew
tolo
139
to count
bilang , maddékéng
140
to say
makkeda
141
to sing
makkélong
142
to play
macculé
143
to float
awang , monang
144
to flow
solo'
145
to freeze
146
to swell
boro
147
sun
mata esso
148
moon
kéteng
149
star
wittoéng
150
water
uwaé
151
rain
bosi
152
river
salo
153
lake
tappareng
154
sea
tasi'
155
salt
pejjé
156
stone
batu
157
sand
kessi'
158
dust
awu , cabbu'-cabbu' tana
159
earth
lino
160
cloud
ellung
161
fog
apung , salimu
162
sky
bitara , langi
163
wind
anging
164
snow
165
ice
ése'
166
smoke
rumpu
167
fire
api
168
ash
awu
169
to burn
tunu
170
road
laleng , tattana
171
mountain
bulu
172
red
cella'
173
green
kudara'
174
yellow
ridi , onnyi
175
white
puté
176
black
bolong , lotong
177
night
wenni
178
day
esso
179
year
taung
180
warm
mapella
181
cold
keccé'
182
full
buké , penno , malise'
183
new
baru
184
old
cua , laung , riolo
185
good
décéng
186
bad
konja'
187
rotten
wari
188
dirty
carépa , jemmeng , rota'
189
straight
jiji , lempu , luru
190
round
mallébu
191
sharp (as a knife)
tareng
192
dull (as a knife)
kunru , punggu
193
smooth
halusu' , lennyu
194
wet
rica'
195
dry
rakko
196
correct
tongeng , tuju
197
near
cawé' , mareppé , seddé , sitampé
198
far
mabéla
199
right
ataung
200
left
abio
201
at
ri
202
in
laleng
203
with
nennia , sibawa
204
and
na
205
if
aku , rékkua
206
because
saba'
207
name
aseng
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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