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
Tahitian
1
I
au, vau
2
you (singular)
'oe
3
he , she , it
'oia 'ōna
4
we
tātou (inclusive) , mātou (exclusive)
5
you (plural)
'outou
6
they
rātou
7
this
teie
8
that
terā
9
here
iho nei
10
there
iho na
11
who
vai (interrogative)
12
what
aha (interrogative)
13
where
teihea (no movement, interrogative)
14
when
ahea (interrogative)
15
how
nāhea (interrogative)
16
not
'eiaha
17
all
ana'e
18
many
rahi
19
some
nau tau
20
few
ma'a
21
other
'ē
22
one
hō'ē
23
two
piti
24
three
toru
25
four
maha
26
five
pae
27
big
rahi
28
long
roa
29
wide
'ā'ano
30
thick
me'ume'u
31
heavy
teiaha taimaha
32
small
iti
33
short
poto
34
narrow
oaoa
35
thin
rairai
36
woman
vahine
37
man (adult male)
tāne
38
man (human being)
ta'ata
39
child
tamari'i
40
wife
vahine fa'aipoipo
41
husband
tane fa'aipoipo
42
mother
metua vahine
43
father
metua tane
44
animal
manu 'ānimara
45
fish
i'a
46
bird
manu
47
dog
'ūrī
48
louse
'utu
49
snake
'ōfī
50
worm
to'e tu'a
51
tree
rā'au
52
forest
aru
53
stick
rā'au mauha'a
54
fruit
mā'a
55
seed
huero
56
leaf
rao'ere
57
root
a'a
58
bark (of a tree)
pa'a 'iri
59
flower
tiare pua
60
grass
matie 'aihere
61
rope
taura
62
skin
'iri
63
meat
ina'i
64
blood
toto
65
bone
ivi
66
fat (noun)
hinu
67
egg
huero
68
horn
tara
69
tail
'aero hi'u
70
feather
huruhuru hetehete
71
hair
rouru
72
head
upo'o
73
ear
tari'a
74
eye
mata
75
nose
ihu
76
mouth
vaha
77
tooth
niho
78
tongue (organ)
arero
79
fingernail
mai'u'u
80
foot
'āvae
81
leg
'āvae
82
knee
turi
83
hand
rima
84
wing
pererau
85
belly
'ōpū
86
guts
'ā'au
87
neck
'a'ī
88
back
tua
89
breast
'ōuma
90
heart
māfatu
91
liver
'ūpa'a
92
to drink
inu
93
to eat
'amu
94
to bite
hōhoni
95
to suck
'ote
96
to spit
tuha
97
to vomit
piha'e
98
to blow
pūhi farara (wind)
99
to breathe
huti i te aho
100
to laugh
'ata
101
to see
hi'o
102
to hear
fa'aro'o
103
to know
'ite
104
to think
mana'o
105
to smell
hau'a
106
to fear
taiā mata'u
107
to sleep
taoto
108
to live
ora
109
to die
pohe mate
110
to kill
taparahi-pohe-roa ha'apohe tūpa'i (an animal)
111
to fight
taputō
112
to hunt
a'ua'u pua'a
113
to hit
taparahi
114
to cut
tāpū
115
to split
tuha vāhi
116
to stab
patia
117
to scratch
pāra'u
118
to dig
pao tūpā 'ō
119
to swim
'au
120
to fly
ma'ue
121
to walk
haere
122
to come
haere mai
123
to lie (as in a bed)
tārava (state)
124
to sit
pārahi (action, state)
125
to stand
'oti'ati'a (action)
126
to turn (intransitive)
tīoi
127
to fall
topa
128
to give
hōro'a
129
to hold
mau
130
to squeeze
tāmau
131
to rub
'ū'ui 'ui'ui
132
to wash
horoi
133
to wipe
horoi
134
to pull
'ume
135
to push
tura'i
136
to throw
tāora
137
to tie
ruru nati
138
to sew
au nira
139
to count
nūmera
140
to say
'ī
141
to sing
pehe hīmene
142
to play
ha'uti
143
to float
144
to flow
tahe
145
to freeze
fa'ato'eto'e roa
146
to swell
'oru
147
sun
mahāna
148
moon
'āva'e marama
149
star
feti'a
150
water
vai
151
rain
ua
152
river
'ānāvai tahora
153
lake
roto
154
sea
miti
155
salt
miti
156
stone
'ōfa'i
157
sand
one
158
dust
repo one
159
earth
fenua
160
cloud
ata
161
fog
rūpehu
162
sky
ra'i
163
wind
mata'i
164
snow
hiona
165
ice
pape to'eto'e
166
smoke
auauahi
167
fire
auahi
168
ash
rehu auahi
169
to burn
'ama
170
road
e'a tia purumu
171
mountain
mou'a
172
red
'ura
173
green
matie
174
yellow
re'are'a
175
white
'uo'uo
176
black
'ere'ere
177
night
ru'i pō
178
day
mahana
179
year
matahiti
180
warm
māhanahana
181
cold
to'eto'e
182
full
api 'ī
183
new
'āpī
184
old
tahito
185
good
maita'i
186
bad
'ino
187
rotten
pē
188
dirty
repo
189
straight
'āfaro ti'a
190
round
menemene
191
sharp (as a knife)
'ina
192
dull (as a knife)
tūmū mania
193
smooth
mānina
194
wet
rari
195
dry
marō
196
correct
ti'a
197
near
fatata
198
far
ātea
199
right
'atau
200
left
'aui
201
at
i
202
in
i roto i
203
with
ma
204
and
e ma
205
if
'āhiri
206
because
nō te mea
207
name
i'oa
The orthography used in the list is the one recommended by the Tahitian Academy.
Les langages de l'humanité (Michel Malherbe), Robert Laffont, Paris 1995 - →ISBN
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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