Appendix:Old Chinese Swadesh list
This is a Swadesh list of words in Old Chinese, 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 | Old Chinese 上古漢語 |
IPA pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | 吾/余 | ŋa/la |
| 2 | you (singular) | 汝 | naʔ |
| 3 | he | 伊 | qij |
| 4 | we | 我 | ŋŋajʔ |
| 5 | you (plural) | 汝 | naʔ |
| 6 | they | 之, 斯 | tǝ, sə |
| 7 | this | 是 | [d]eʔ |
| 8 | that | 彼 | pa[j]ʔ |
| 9 | here | 此處 | [tsh]e(j)ʔ t-qhaʔ |
| 10 | there | 彼處 | pa[j]ʔ t-qhaʔ |
| 11 | who | 孰 | duk |
| 12 | what | 何 | gga[j] |
| 13 | where | 何處 | ggaj t-ʔhaʔ |
| 14 | when | 迨, 曷 | (h)ǝʔ, [ɡ]ʕat |
| 15 | how | 如何 | na ggaj |
| 16 | not | 不 | pəʔ |
| 17 | all | 凡 | bʀom |
| 18 | many | 多 | tǝj |
| 19 | some | 些 | sia |
| 20 | few | 少 | tewʔ |
| 21 | other | 他, 它 | slǝj |
| 22 | one | 一 | ʔit |
| 23 | two | 二 | ni[jtk]-s |
| 24 | three | 三 | s-hhləm |
| 25 | four | 四 | s-hlij-s |
| 26 | five | 五 | ŋŋaʔ |
| 27 | big | 大 | N-ttat-s |
| 28 | long | 長 | N-traŋ |
| 29 | wide | 廣 | kkwaŋʔ |
| 30 | thick | 敦 | ttu[l] |
| 31 | heavy | 重 | N-troŋʔ |
| 32 | small | 小 | s-tewʔ |
| 33 | short | 短 | ttunʔ |
| 34 | narrow | 狹 | N-kkʀep |
| 35 | thin | 細 | ssəj-s |
| 36 | woman | 女 | nraʔ |
| 37 | man (male) | 男 | nnəm |
| 38 | man (human) | 人 | nin/ŋ |
| 39 | child | 子 | tsəʔ |
| 40 | wife | 妻 | s-hhləj |
| 41 | husband | 夫 | pa |
| 42 | mother | 母 | mmoʔ |
| 43 | father | 父 | baʔ |
| 44 | animal | 動物 | [Cə-m-]toŋʔ C-mut |
| 45 | fish | 魚 | ŋa |
| 46 | bird | 鳥 | ttiwʔ |
| 47 | dog | 犬 | kkhwirʔ |
| 48 | louse | 蝨 | srik |
| 49 | snake | 蛇 | m-laj |
| 50 | worm | 蚓 | linʔ |
| 51 | tree | 木 | mhǝk |
| 52 | forest | 林 | Cə-ləm |
| 53 | stick | 枝 | ke |
| 54 | fruit | 實 | m-lit |
| 55 | seed | 種 | toŋʔ |
| 56 | leaf | 葉 | lap |
| 57 | root | 根 | kkən |
| 58 | bark (of a tree) | 朴 | phʕrok |
| 59 | flower | 華 | GGwhʀa |
| 60 | grass | 草 | ttshuʔ |
| 61 | rope | 繩 | mləŋ |
| 62 | skin | 皮 | m-paj |
| 63 | meat | 肌 | k(r)ij |
| 64 | blood | 血 | hhmik |
| 65 | bone | 骨 | kkut |
| 66 | fat (noun) | 脂 | kij |
| 67 | egg | 卵 | Cə-llorʔ |
| 68 | horn | 角 | krǝk |
| 69 | tail | 尾 | məjʔ |
| 70 | feather | 羽 | waʔ |
| 71 | hair | 毛 | mmaw |
| 72 | head | 首 | hluʔ |
| 73 | ear | 耳 | nəŋʔ |
| 74 | eye | 目 | miwk |
| 75 | nose | 鼻 | m-Pit(-s) |
| 76 | mouth | 口 | kkhoʔ |
| 77 | tooth | 牙 | m-ʔhra |
| 78 | tongue | 舌 | m-lat |
| 79 | fingernail | 指, 爪 (?) | mə-kijʔ, [ts]ʕ<r>uʔ |
| 80 | foot | 足 | tsok |
| 81 | leg | 腿 | hhnujʔ |
| 82 | knee | 膝 | sit |
| 83 | hand | 手 | hnuʔ |
| 84 | wing | 翼 | ɢwrəp ~ lək |
| 85 | belly | 肚 | m-ttaʔ |
| 86 | guts | 腸 | lraŋ |
| 87 | neck | 頸 | kkreŋʔ |
| 88 | back | 背 | ppək-s |
| 89 | breast | 乳 | noʔ |
| 90 | heart | 心 | sǝm |
| 91 | liver | 肝 | kka ~ s-kʕa[r] |
| 92 | to drink | 飲 | ʔəm |
| 93 | to eat | 食 | m-lək |
| 94 | to bite | 噬 | det-s |
| 95 | to suck | 噆 | ttsəp |
| 96 | to spit | 吐 | tthaʔ |
| 97 | to vomit | 嘔 | qqoʔ |
| 98 | to blow | 呼 | qqwha |
| 99 | to breathe | 息 | sək |
| 100 | to laugh | 笑 | s-ŋawk-s |
| 101 | to see | 見, 睹 | [k]ˁen-s, ttaʔ |
| 102 | to hear | 聞 | mun |
| 103 | to know | 知 | tre |
| 104 | to think | 恁 | nəmʔ |
| 105 | to smell | 嗅 | qhuk-s |
| 106 | to fear | 畏 | quj-s |
| 107 | to sleep | 寢 | tshimʔ |
| 108 | to live | 生 | sreŋ |
| 109 | to die | 死 | sijʔ |
| 110 | to kill | 殺 | ssret |
| 111 | to fight | 鬥 | tǝks |
| 112 | to hunt | 獵 | Cə-rap |
| 113 | to hit | 擊 | kkek |
| 114 | to cut | 斷 | tto[n]ʔ |
| 115 | to split | 裂 | ret |
| 116 | to stab | 刺 | tshek-s |
| 117 | to scratch | 刮 | kkʀot |
| 118 | to dig | 掘 | m-k(h)ut |
| 119 | to swim | 泳 | wraŋ-s |
| 120 | to fly | 飛 | pər |
| 121 | to walk | 行 | ggʀaŋ |
| 122 | to come | 來 | mə-rrə(k) |
| 123 | to lie (as in a bed) | 臥 | ŋŋoj-s |
| 124 | to sit | 坐 | ddʒojʔ |
| 125 | to stand | 立 | kə-rəp |
| 126 | to turn (intransitive) | 轉 | tronʔ |
| 127 | to fall | 墮 | llo[j] |
| 128 | to give | 賦 | pas |
| 129 | to hold | 執 | t-nəp |
| 130 | to squeeze | 壓 (?) | ʔrep |
| 131 | to rub | 擦 | chrǝt |
| 132 | to wash | 洗 | sǝrʔ |
| 133 | to wipe | 拭 | hǝk |
| 134 | to pull | 引 | inʔ |
| 135 | to push | 推 | thǝj |
| 136 | to throw | 投 | ddo |
| 137 | to tie | 繫 | kkej-s |
| 138 | to sew | 縫 | boŋ |
| 139 | to count | 數 | sroʔ |
| 140 | to say | 曰 | wat |
| 141 | to sing | 歌 | kəj |
| 142 | to play | 玩, 弄, 戲 | [ŋ]ʕo[n]-s, [r]ʕoŋ-s, ŋ̊(r)ar-s |
| 143 | to float | 浮, 泛/汎 | m-b(r)u, ph(r)[o]m-s |
| 144 | to flow | 流 | Cə-lu |
| 145 | to freeze | 凝 | [ŋ](r)əŋ |
| 146 | to swell | 膨 | [b](r)ʕaŋ |
| 147 | sun | 日 | njit |
| 148 | moon | 月 | ŋwat |
| 149 | star | 星 | sseŋ |
| 150 | water | 水 | hlujʔ |
| 151 | rain | 雨 | waʔ |
| 152 | river | 川, 溪 | t-lu[n], khʕe |
| 153 | lake | 湖 | ga |
| 154 | sea | 海 | hhməjʔ |
| 155 | salt | 滷 | rraʔ |
| 156 | stone | 石 | dak |
| 157 | sand | 沙 | ssʀaj |
| 158 | dust | 塵 | drən |
| 159 | earth | 土 | tthaʔ |
| 160 | cloud | 雲 | wən |
| 161 | fog | 霧 | mo(k-)s |
| 162 | sky | 天 | hllin |
| 163 | wind | 風 | prəm |
| 164 | snow | 雪 | [s]ot ~ swat |
| 165 | ice | 冰, 凌 | p-rəŋ |
| 166 | smoke | 煙 | ʔin |
| 167 | fire | 火 | hhməjʔ |
| 168 | ash | 灰 | hmə |
| 169 | to burn | 焚 | bən |
| 170 | road | 路 | kə-rrak-s |
| 171 | mountain | 山, 嶽 | s-ŋrar, [ŋ](ʕ)rok |
| 172 | red | 赤 | t-qhak |
| 173 | green | 青 | ttsheng |
| 174 | yellow | 黃 | N-kkwaŋ |
| 175 | white | 白 | N-ppʀak |
| 176 | black | 黑 | hhmək |
| 177 | night | 夜 | lak-s |
| 178 | day | 日 | ni[k,t] |
| 179 | year | 年, 歲 | C.nˤi[ŋ], s-qwat-s |
| 180 | warm | 熱 | ŋet |
| 181 | cold | 寒 | ggan |
| 182 | full | 充, 飽, 牣/牣 | thuŋ, pʀuʔ, n-ʀen(-s) ~ nər(ʔ)-s |
| 183 | new | 新 | siŋ |
| 184 | old | 老 | rruʔ |
| 185 | good | 好 | qqhuʔ |
| 186 | bad | 惡 | qqak |
| 187 | rotten | 腐 | boʔ |
| 188 | dirty | 污 | qqwa |
| 189 | straight | 正, 直, 尹 | C-teŋ, N-t<r>ək, m-qurʔ |
| 190 | round | 團, 圜, 丸 | C-[d]ʕon, ɢw<r>en, [ɢ]wʕar ~ ɦwʕar (~ -n) |
| 191 | sharp (as a knife) | 兓 | tsəm |
| 192 | dull (as a knife) | 敦 | ddu[n]-s |
| 193 | smooth | 滑 | (Nə-)ɡʕrut |
| 194 | wet | 濕 | qhip |
| 195 | dry | 乾 | kkar |
| 196 | correct | 正 | teŋ-s |
| 197 | near | 近 | gə[n]ʔ |
| 198 | far | 遠 | wanʔ |
| 199 | right | 右 | wəʔ-s |
| 200 | left | 左 | tsarʔ-s ~ ttsajʔ |
| 201 | at | 乎 | ɢʕa |
| 202 | in | 內, 乎 | nʕ[u]p ~ nai, ɢʕa |
| 203 | with | 與 | m-q(r)aʔ |
| 204 | and | 眔 | m-rʕəp ~ lləp |
| 205 | if | 如 | na ~ nia |
| 206 | because | 因 | ʔi[n] ~ qin |
| 207 | name | 名 | meŋ |
References edit
- Language: Old Chinese in Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database (Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008))
- Baxter, William H.; Sagart, Laurent (2014), Baxter-Sagart Old Chinese reconstruction, version 1.1, from Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-994537-5.