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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
Fanagalo
1
I
mina
2
you (singular)
wena
3
he
yena
4
we
tina
5
you (plural)
nina nina zonke
6
they
yena zonke
7
this
lo
8
that
lo
9
here
lapa
10
there
lapa
11
who
ubani
12
what
ini
13
where
upi
14
when
skat
15
how
kanjani
16
not
hayi
17
all
zonke
18
many
maningi
19
some
munye
20
few
mbijan
21
other
lomunye
22
one
wan munye
23
two
tu mabili
24
three
tri matatu
25
four
fo sine mane
26
five
fayif hlanu
27
big
makulu
28
long
langwan
29
wide
banzi
30
thick
makulu
31
heavy
nzima
32
small
pikinin
33
short
fushane shotwan
34
narrow
duze sondela
35
thin
zacile
36
woman
mfazi
37
man (adult male)
ndoda
38
man (human being)
muntu
39
child
mtwana pikinin
40
wife
mfazi
41
husband
indoda
42
mother
mama
43
father
baba
44
animal
nyamazan
45
fish
ntlanzi
46
bird
nyoni
47
dog
inja
48
louse
ntwala
49
snake
nyoka
50
worm
umsundu izilo
51
tree
muti sehlahla
52
forest
hlati
53
stick
stik prop
54
fruit
tikili
55
seed
mbidge
56
leaf
lifa
57
root
moti
58
bark (of a tree)
ixolo
59
flower
flauwa imbali
60
grass
tshani
61
rope
ntambo
62
skin
skumba
63
meat
nyama
64
blood
gazi
65
bone
tambo
66
fat (noun)
mafuta
67
egg
maqanda
68
horn
mpondo
69
tail
msila
70
feather
mpape
71
hair
nwele
72
head
skop
73
ear
ndlebe
74
eye
mehlo
75
nose
mpumlo
76
mouth
mlom
77
tooth
zinyo
78
tongue (organ)
limi
79
fingernail
zipo
80
foot
nyawo
81
leg
mlenze
82
knee
dolo
83
hand
sandla
84
wing
piko
85
belly
sisu
86
guts
mafuta
87
neck
ntamo
88
back
mhlana
89
breast
bele
90
heart
nhliziyo
91
liver
leva
92
to drink
puza
93
to eat
idla
94
to bite
luma
95
to suck
ngcela
96
to spit
kafula
97
to vomit
hlanza
98
to blow
vuta vutela
99
to breathe
pefumula
100
to laugh
hleka
101
to see
buka
102
to hear
izwa
103
to know
azi
104
to think
cabanga
105
to smell
nuka
106
to fear
saba
107
to sleep
lala
108
to live
pila
109
to die
ifa
110
to kill
bulala
111
to fight
ilwa
112
to hunt
shaya
113
to hit
tshaya
114
to cut
juba
115
to split
dabula
116
to stab
hlaba
117
to scratch
ghwempa
118
to dig
imba
119
to swim
hlamba
120
to fly
ndiza
121
to walk
hamba
122
to come
buya fika
123
to lie (as in a bed)
lala
124
to sit
hlala
125
to stand
ima
126
to turn (intransitive)
jika
127
to fall
iwa
128
to give
nika
129
to hold
bamba
130
to squeeze
kama
131
to rub
coba
132
to wash
hlamba washa
133
to wipe
sula
134
to pull
dontsa
135
to push
tshova
136
to throw
posa
137
to tie
bopa fasa
138
to sew
tunga
139
to count
bala
140
to say
kuluma
141
to sing
hlabela
142
to play
dlala
143
to float
phambana
144
to flow
gikuma
145
to freeze
goloma
146
to swell
dumba
147
sun
langa
148
moon
nyanga
149
star
ntshele
150
water
manzi
151
rain
kam-kam
152
river
mfula
153
lake
ilizi
154
sea
lwandle
155
salt
sawut
156
stone
litshe
157
sand
sant
158
dust
tuli
159
earth
mhlaba
160
cloud
mafu
161
fog
imvula
162
sky
sibhaka
163
wind
moya
164
snow
isinithi
165
ice
aiskrimu
166
smoke
smok
167
fire
mlilo
168
ash
mlota
169
to burn
tshisa
170
road
ndlela
171
mountain
ntaba
172
red
bomvu
173
green
luhlaza
174
yellow
mpofu
175
white
mhlope
176
black
mnyama
177
night
busuku
178
day
langa
179
year
nyaka
180
warm
tshisa
181
cold
banda makaza
182
full
gcwalile
183
new
nyuwan
184
old
madala
185
good
muhle
186
bad
mubi
187
rotten
bolile
188
dirty
gwele
189
straight
streyit
190
round
rawund
191
sharp (as a knife)
bukali
192
dull (as a knife)
botyi
193
smooth
lishayi
194
wet
tambile
195
dry
omile
196
correct
lungile
197
near
duze
198
far
kude
199
right
nene
200
left
kohlo
201
at
lapa
202
in
pakati
203
with
na
204
and
na
205
if
skat
206
because
ndaba
207
name
gama
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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