Appendix:French Swadesh list

This is a Swadesh list of words in French, compared with definitions in English.

Presentation

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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.

List

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EnglishFrench
Français
edit (207)
IPA
(key)
1I (1sg)je/ʒə/
2you (2sg)tu (informal), vous (formal)/ty/, /vu/
3he, she, it (3sg)il (masculine), elle (feminine)/il/, /ɛl/
4we (1pl)nous/nu/
5you (2pl)vous/vu/
6they (3pl)ils (masculine), elles (feminine)/il/, /ɛl/
7thisceci/sə.si/
8thatcela/sə.la/
9hereici/i.si/
10there/la/
11whoqui/ki/
12whatquoi/kwa/
13where/u/
14whenquand/kã/
15howcomment/kɔ.mã/
16notne pas/nə ... pɑ/
17alltout/tu/
18manybeaucoup/bo.ku/
19somequelques/kelk/
20fewpeu/pø/
21otherautre/otʁ/
22oneun/œ̃/
23twodeux/dø/
24threetrois/tʁwɑ/
25fourquatre/katʁ/
26fivecinq/sɛ̃k/
27biggrand/ɡʁã/
28longlong/lõ/
29widelarge/laʁʒ/
30thicképais/epɛ/
31heavylourd/luʁ/
32smallpetit/pəti/
33shortcourt/kuʁ/
34narrowétroit/etʁwa/
35thinmince/mɛ̃s/
36womanfemme/fam/
37man (adult male)homme/ɔm/
38man (human being)homme/ɔm/
39childenfant/ɑ̃fɑ̃/
40wifefemme, épouse/fam/, /epuz/
41husbandmari, époux/maʁi/, /epu/
42mothermère/mɛʁ/
43fatherpère/pɛʁ/
44animalanimal/animal/
45fishpoisson/pwasõ/
46birdoiseau/wazo/
47dogchien/ʃjɛ̃/
48lousepou/pu/
49snakeserpent/sɛʁpɑ̃/
50wormver/vɛʁ/
51treearbre/aʁbʁ/
52forestforêt/fɔʁɛ/
53stickbâton/bɑtɔ̃/
54fruitfruit/fʁɥi/
55seedgraine/ɡʁɛn/
56leaffeuille/fœj/
57rootracine/ʁasin/
58bark (of a tree)écorce/ekɔʁs/
59flowerfleur/flœʁ/
60grassherbe/ɛʁb/
61ropecorde/kɔʁd/
62skinpeau/po/
63meatviande/vjɑ̃d/
64bloodsang/sɑ̃/
65boneos/ɔs/
66fat (noun)graisse/ɡʁɛs/
67eggœuf/œf/
68horncorne/kɔʁn/
69tailqueue/kø/
70featherplume/plym/
71haircheveux/ʃəvø/
72headtête/tɛt/
73earoreille/ɔʁɛj/
74eyeœil/œj/
75nosenez/ne/
76mouthbouche/buʃ/
77toothdent/dɑ̃/
78tongue (organ)langue/lɑ̃ɡ/
79fingernailongle/ɔ̃ɡl/
80footpied/pje/
81legjambe/ʒɑ̃b/
82kneegenou/ʒənu/
83handmain/mɛ̃/
84wingaile/ɛl/
85bellyventre/vɑ̃tʁ/
86gutsentrailles, intestins/ɑ̃tʁɑj/, /ɛ̃tɛstɛ̃/
87neckcou/ku/
88backdos/do/
89breastsein, poitrine/sɛ̃/, /pwatʁin/
90heartcœur/kœʁ/
91liverfoie/fwɑ/
92to drinkboire/bwɑʁ/
93to eatmanger/mɑ̃ʒe/
94to bitemordre/mɔʁdʁ/
95to sucksucer/syse/
96to spitcracher/kʁaʃe/
97to vomitvomir/vɔmiʁ/
98to blowsouffler/sufle/
99to breatherespirer/ʁɛspiʁe/
100to laughrire/ʁiʁ/
101to seevoir/vwaʁ/
102to hearentendre/ɑ̃tɑ̃dʁ/
103to knowsavoir/savwaʁ/
104to thinkpenser/pɑ̃se/
105to smellsentir/sɑ̃tiʁ/
106to fearcraindre/kʁɛ̃dʁ/
107to sleepdormir/dɔʁmiʁ/
108to livevivre/vivʁ/
109to diemourir/muʁiʁ/
110to killtuer/tɥe/
111to fightse battre/səbatʁ/
112to huntchasser/ʃase/
113to hitfrapper/fʁape/
114to cutcouper/kupe/
115to splitfendre/fɑ̃dʁ/
116to stabpoignarder/pwaɲaʁde/
117to scratchgratter/ɡʁate/
118to digcreuser/kʁøze/
119to swimnager/naʒe/
120to flyvoler/vɔle/
121to walkmarcher/maʁʃe/
122to comevenir/vəniʁ/
123to lie (as in a bed)s’étendre (action), être étendu (state)/setɑ̃dʁ/, /ɛtʁetɑ̃dy/
124to sits’asseoir (action), être assis (state)/saswaʁ/, /ɛtʁasi/
125to standse lever (action), se tenir debout (state)/sələve/, /sətəniʁdəbu/
126to turn (intransitive)tourner/tuʁne/
127to falltomber/tɔ̃be/
128to givedonner/dɔne/
129to holdtenir/təniʁ/
130to squeezeserrer/seʁe/
131to rubfrotter/fʁɔte/
132to washlaver/lave/
133to wipeessuyer/esɥije/
134to pulltirer/tiʁe/
135to pushpousser/puse/
136to throwjeter, lancer/ʒəte/, /lɑ̃se/
137to tielier/lje/
138to sewcoudre/kudʁ/
139to countcompter/kɔ̃te/
140to saydire/diʁ/
141to singchanter/ʃɑ̃te/
142to playjouer/ʒwe/
143to floatflotter/flɔte/
144to flowcouler/kule/
145to freezegeler/ʒəle/
146to swellgonfler/ɡɔ̃fle/
147sunsoleil/sɔlɛj/
148moonlune/lyn/
149starétoile/etwal/
150watereau/o/
151rainpluie/plɥi/
152riverrivière/ʁivjɛʁ/
153lakelac/lak/
154seamer/mɛʁ/
155saltsel/sɛl/
156stonepierre/pjɛʁ/
157sandsable/sabl/
158dustpoussière/pusjɛʁ/
159earthterre/tɛʁ/
160cloudnuage/nɥaʒ/
161fogbrouillard/bʁujaʁ/
162skyciel/sjɛl/
163windvent/vɑ̃/
164snowneige/nɛʒ/
165iceglace/ɡlas/
166smokefumée/fyme/
167firefeu/fø/
168ashcendre/sɑ̃dʁ/
169to burnbrûler/bʁyle/
170roadroute/ʁut/
171mountainmontagne/mɔ̃taɲ/
172redrouge/ʁuʒ/
173greenvert/vɛʁ/
174yellowjaune/ʒon/
175whiteblanc/blɑ̃/
176blacknoir/nwaʁ/
177nightnuit/nɥi/
178dayjour/ʒuʁ/
179yearan, année/ɑ̃/, /ane/
180warmchaud/ʃo/
181coldfroid/fʁwa/
182fullplein/plɛ̃/
183newnouveau, neuf/nuvo/, /nœf/
184oldvieux/vjø/
185goodbon/bɔ̃/
186badmauvais/movɛ/
187rottenpourri/puri/
188dirtysale/sal/
189straightdroit/dʁwa/
190roundrond/ʁɔ̃/
191sharp (as a knife)tranchant/tʁɑ̃ʃɑ̃/
192dull (as a knife)émoussé/emuse/
193smoothlisse/lis/
194wetmouillé/muje/
195drysec/sɛk/
196correctjuste/ʒyst/
197nearprès/pʁɛ/
198farloin/lwɛ̃/
199rightdroite/dʁwat/
200leftgauche/ɡoʃ/
201atà/a/
202indans/dɑ̃/
203withavec/avɛk/
204andet/e/
205ifsi/si/
206becauseparce que/paʁsəkə/
207namenom/nɔ̃/
  • Pronunciation :

The pronunciation shown is the standard pronunciation in France. Depending on the speakers and the area, the actual pronunciation may differ, more or less significantly, from the shown pronunciation.

References

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  • Français-Anglais/English-French Dictionary, Robert & Collins, Glasgow, Paris - →ISBN

Further reading

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Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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