Appendix:Romanian Swadesh list

This is a Swadesh list of words in Romanian, 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

EnglishRomanian
română
edit (207)
1I (1sg)eu
2you (2sg)tu
3he, she, it (3sg)el
4we (1pl)noi
5you (2pl)voi
6they (3pl)ei
7thisacesta
8thatacela
9hereaici
10thereacolo
11whocine (interrogative)
12whatce (interrogative)
13whereunde (interrogative)
14whencând (interrogative)
15howcum (interrogative)
16notnu
17alltot
18manymulți
19someniște
20fewpuțin
21otheralt
22oneunu
23twodoi
24threetrei
25fourpatru
26fivecinci
27bigmare
28longlung
29widelarg
30thickgros
31heavygreu
32smallmic
33shortscurt
34narrowstrâmt
35thinsubțire, slab
36womanfemeie, muiere
37man (adult male)bărbat
38man (human being)om
39childcopil
40wifesoție
41husbandsoț
42mothermamă
43fathertată
44animalanimal
45fishpește
46birdpasăre
47dogcâine
48lousepăduche
49snakeșarpe
50wormvierme
51treearbore, copac
52forestpădure
53stickbăț
54fruitfruct
55seedsămânță
56leaffrunză
57rootrădăcină
58bark (of a tree)scoarță
59flowerfloare
60grassiarbă
61ropesfoară, frânghie, coardă
62skinpiele
63meatcarne
64bloodsânge
65boneos
66fat (noun)grăsime
67eggou
68horncorn
69tailcoadă
70featherpană, fulg
71hairpăr
72headcap
73earureche
74eyeochi
75nosenas
76mouthgură
77toothdinte
78tongue (organ)limbă
79fingernailunghie
80footlaba piciorului
81legpicior
82kneegenunchi
83handmână
84wingaripă
85bellyburtă, vintre, foale, pântece
86gutsmăruntaie
87neckgât
88backspate
89breastpiept
90heartinimă
91liverficat, mai
92to drinka bea
93to eata mânca
94to bitea mușca
95to sucka suge
96to spita scuipa
97to vomita borî, a vomita, a vărsa
98to blowa sufla
99to breathea răsufla, a respira
100to laugha râde
101to seea vedea
102to heara auzi
103to knowa ști
104to thinka cugeta, a se gândi
105to smella mirosi
106to feara se teme
107to sleepa dormi
108to livea trăi
109to diea muri
110to killa ucide, a omorî
111to fighta lupta
112to hunta vâna
113to hita lovi
114to cuta tăia
115to splita despica, a spinteca
116to staba înjunghia
117to scratcha zgâria
118to diga săpa, a excava
119to swima înota
120to flya zbura
121to walka merge
122to comea veni
123to lie (as in a bed)a zăcea
124to sita se așeza (action), a ședea (state)
125to standa se scula în picioare (action), a sta (state)
126to turn (intransitive)a se întoarce
127to falla cădea
128to givea da
129to holda ținea
130to squeezea strânge
131to ruba freca
132to washa spăla
133to wipea șterge
134to pulla trage
135to pusha împinge
136to throwa arunca
137to tiea lega
138to sewa coase
139to counta număra
140to saya zice, a spune
141to singa cânta
142to playa juca
143to floata pluti
144to flowa curge
145to freezea îngheța
146to swella se umfla
147sunsoare
148moonlună
149starstea
150waterapă
151rainploaie, udătură
152riverrâu
153lakelac
154seamare
155saltsare
156stonepiatră
157sandnisip
158dustpraf, pulbere
159earthpământ
160cloudnor
161fogceață
162skycer
163windvânt
164snowzăpadă, nea
165icegheață, sloi
166smokefum
167firefoc, jar
168ashcenușă, scrum
169to burna arde
170roaddrum, cale
171mountainmunte
172redroșu
173greenverde
174yellowgalben
175whitealb
176blacknegru, lai
177nightnoapte
178dayzi
179yearan
180warmcald
181coldrece, frig
182fullplin
183newnou
184oldvechi
185goodbun
186badrău, prost
187rottenputred, cariat
188dirtymurdar, jegos
189straightdrept
190roundrotund
191sharp (as a knife)ascuțit
192dull (as a knife)tocit, bont
193smoothneted
194wetud, umed
195dryuscat
196correctdrept
197nearlângă, apropiat, aproape
198fardeparte
199rightdrept
200leftstâng
201atla, în
202inîn
203withcu
204andși
205ifdacă
206becausedeoarece, pentru că
207namenume
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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