From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
This is a Swadesh list of words in Iu Mien English .
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
Iu MienMienh Mienh waac
1
I
yie
2
you (singular)
meih
3
he , she , it
ninh
4
we
mbuo ( inclusive ) , yie mbuo ( exclusive )
5
you (plural)
meih mbuo
6
they
ninh mbuo
7
this
naaiv ( singular ) , naaiv deix ( plural )
8
that
naaic ( medial, singular ) , wuov ( distal, singular ) ,naaic deix ( medial, plural ) , wuov deix ( distal, plural )
9
here
naaiv
10
there
naaic ( medial ) , wuov ( distal )
11
who
haaix dauh haiv dau
12
what
haaix haaix nyungc haiv nyungc
13
where
yiem haaix haaix ndau haiv ndau
14
when
haaix zanc haiv zanc ( future ) , ziagnx haaix ( past )
15
how
fungc
16
not
maiv mv
17
all
yietc zungv
18
many
camv
19
some
ziex deix
20
few
zoqc
21
other
22
one
yietc
23
two
i
24
three
buo
25
four
biei
26
five
biaa
27
big
hlo
28
long
ndaauv
29
wide
jangv
30
thick
hoz
31
heavy
hniev
32
small
faix
33
short
nangv ( length ) , aiv ( height )
34
narrow
hepc
35
thin
jaic ( skinny )
36
woman
m’sieqv dorn
37
man (adult male)
m’jangc dorn
38
man (human being)
mienh
39
child
gu’nguaaz
40
wife
auv
41
husband
nqox
42
mother
maa
43
father
die
44
animal
saeng-kuv
45
fish
mbiauz
46
bird
norqc
47
dog
juv
48
louse
nzeiv ( head )
49
snake
naang
50
worm
naang-nzung ( earthworm )
51
tree
ndiangx
52
forest
lomc
53
stick
biaav
54
fruit
biouv
55
seed
nyim
56
leaf
normh ndiangx-normh
57
root
ndiangx-nzungh
58
bark (of a tree)
ndiangx-ndopv
59
flower
biangh
60
grass
miev
61
rope
hlaang
62
skin
ndopv
63
meat
orv
64
blood
nziaamv
65
bone
mbungv
66
fat (noun)
67
egg
jaux
68
horn
jorng
69
tail
dueiv
70
feather
norqv-biei
71
hair
biei mba’biei
72
head
m’nqorngv
73
ear
n’normh
74
eye
m’zing
75
nose
mba’zorng
76
mouth
nzuih nzuih baengx
77
tooth
nyaah
78
tongue (organ)
mbietc
79
fingernail
buoz-ndoqv-nquaiz
80
foot
zaux
81
leg
zaux
82
knee
cingh mborqc
83
hand
buoz
84
wing
ndaatv
85
belly
ga’sie
86
guts
jaangh
87
neck
jaang
88
back
89
breast
nyorx
90
heart
hnyouv
91
liver
hlan
92
to drink
hopv
93
to eat
nyanc
94
to bite
ngaatc
95
to suck
sorqv
96
to spit
tuiv
97
to vomit
louv
98
to blow
biomv
99
to breathe
tauv
100
to laugh
jatv
101
to see
buatc
102
to hear
haiz
103
to know
hiuv
104
to think
hnamv
105
to smell
duqv nziaau zueix
106
to fear
gamh nziex
107
to sleep
bueix
108
to live
yiem
109
to die
daic
110
to kill
daix
111
to fight
borngz mborqv
112
to hunt
zunc orv
113
to hit
mborqv
114
to cut
gaatv japv
115
to split
116
to stab
nzopv
117
to scratch
nyaiv
118
to dig
wetv
119
to swim
ziouh
120
to fly
ndaix
121
to walk
yangh
122
to come
daaih
123
to lie (as in a bed)
bueix
124
to sit
zueiz
125
to stand
souv
126
to turn (intransitive)
daaux
127
to fall
ndortv
128
to give
bun
129
to hold
qam
130
to squeeze
nanv
131
to rub
sortv
132
to wash
nzaaux
133
to wipe
sortv
134
to pull
baeng
135
to push
136
to throw
guangc zoi
137
to tie
ndoh nyatv
138
to sew
lunh
139
to count
funx
140
to say
gorngv
141
to sing
baaux
142
to play
nziaauc
143
to float
mbiouh
144
to flow
liouc
145
to freeze
gitv
146
to swell
147
sun
mba’hnoi
148
moon
hlaax
149
star
hleix
150
water
wuom
151
rain
mbiungc
152
river
ndoqv
153
lake
koiv-dorn
154
sea
koiv
155
salt
nzauv
156
stone
la’bieiv
157
sand
saaiv-ziou
158
dust
159
earth
ndau
160
cloud
mouc
161
fog
mbuonx
162
sky
lungh
163
wind
nziaaux
164
snow
sorng
165
ice
166
smoke
douz-sioux sioux
167
fire
douz
168
ash
saaiv
169
to burn
buov
170
road
jauv
171
mountain
mbong
172
red
siqv
173
green
maeng
174
yellow
yangh
175
white
baeqc
176
black
jieqv
177
night
muonz
178
day
hnoi
179
year
hnyangx
180
warm
siouv
181
cold
namx
182
full
buangv
183
new
siang
184
old
loz ( inanimate ) , gox ( animate )
185
good
longx kuv yaauc
186
bad
waaic
187
rotten
188
dirty
laih hlopv la’hlopv
189
straight
zaqc
190
round
junh
191
sharp (as a knife)
laic
192
dull (as a knife)
ndorngv
193
smooth
194
wet
ndorn
195
dry
haanz nqaai
196
correct
zeiz
197
near
fatv
198
far
go
199
right
mbiaauc
200
left
zaaic
201
at
yiem
202
in
yiem
203
with
caux
204
and
caux
205
if
se gorngv
206
because
weic zuqc yien weic
207
name
mbuox
