From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
This is a Swadesh list of words in Swahili 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
Swahili Kiswahili
1
I
mimi
2
you (singular)
wewe
3
he , she , it
yeye
4
we
sisi
5
you (plural)
ninyi
6
they
wao
7
this
huyu hii hiki hili huu
8
that
lile ule yule ile kile
9
here
hapa huku humu
10
there
pale kule mle
11
who
nani (interrogative)
12
what
nini (interrogative)
13
where
wapi (no movement, interrogative)
14
when
lini (interrogative)
15
how
vipi (interrogative)
16
not
si -si- ha-
17
all
-ote
18
many
-ingi
19
some
baadhi ya chache
20
few
kidogo chache
21
other
-ingine
22
one
moja mosi
23
two
mbili pili wili
24
three
-tatu
25
four
-nne
26
five
-tano
27
big
-kubwa
28
long
-refu
29
wide
-pana
30
thick
-nene
31
heavy
-zito
32
small
-dogo
33
short
-fupi
34
narrow
-embamba
35
thin
-anana
36
woman
mwanamke
37
man (adult male)
mwanamume
38
man (human being)
mtu
39
child
mtoto
40
wife
mke
41
husband
mume
42
mother
mama
43
father
baba
44
animal
mnyama
45
fish
samaki
46
bird
ndege
47
dog
mbwa
48
louse
chawa
49
snake
nyoka
50
worm
funza
51
tree
mti
52
forest
msitu
53
stick
fimbo mti
54
fruit
tunda
55
seed
mbegu
56
leaf
jani
57
root
mzizi
58
bark (of a tree)
gamba
59
flower
ua
60
grass
nyasi
61
rope
kamba
62
skin
ngozi
63
meat
nyama
64
blood
damu
65
bone
mfupa
66
fat (noun)
mori mafuta
67
egg
yai
68
horn
pembe
69
tail
mkia
70
feather
unyoya
71
hair
nywele
72
head
kichwa
73
ear
sikio
74
eye
jicho
75
nose
pua
76
mouth
kinywa
77
tooth
jino
78
tongue (organ)
ulimi
79
fingernail
ukucha
80
foot
mguu
81
leg
mguu
82
knee
goti
83
hand
mkono
84
wing
ubawa
85
belly
tumbo
86
guts
utumbo
87
neck
shingo
88
back
mgongo
89
breast
ziwa dodo
90
heart
moyo
91
liver
ini
92
to drink
-nywa
93
to eat
-la
94
to bite
-donoa
95
to suck
-amwa
96
to spit
-tema
97
to vomit
-tapika
98
to blow
-puliza
99
to breathe
-pumua
100
to laugh
-cheka
101
to see
-ona
102
to hear
-sikia
103
to know
-fahamu -jua
104
to think
-fikiri -dhani -waza
105
to smell
-nukilia
106
to fear
-ogopa
107
to sleep
-lala
108
to live
-ishi
109
to die
-fa
110
to kill
-ua
111
to fight
-pigana
112
to hunt
-winda
113
to hit
-gonga -piga
114
to cut
-kata
115
to split
-pasua
116
to stab
-choma
117
to scratch
-kuna -parua
118
to dig
-chimba
119
to swim
-ogelea
120
to fly
-paa
121
to walk
-tembea
122
to come
-ja
123
to lie (as in a bed)
-gona (action)
124
to sit
-kaa
125
to stand
-simama (action)
126
to turn (intransitive)
-pindua
127
to fall
-anguka
128
to give
-pa
129
to hold
-shika
130
to squeeze
-kaba -minya -kamua
131
to rub
-sugua
132
to wash
-safisha
133
to wipe
-futa
134
to pull
-vuta
135
to push
-guta -sukuma
136
to throw
-tupa
137
to tie
-funga
138
to sew
-shona
139
to count
-hesabu
140
to say
-sema
141
to sing
-imba
142
to play
-cheza
143
to float
-elea
144
to flow
-tiririka
145
to freeze
-ganda
146
to swell
-fura
147
sun
jua
148
moon
mwezi
149
star
nyota
150
water
maji
151
rain
mvua
152
river
mto
153
lake
ziwa
154
sea
bahari
155
salt
chumvi
156
stone
jiwe
157
sand
mchanga
158
dust
vumbi
159
earth
ardhi
160
cloud
wingu
161
fog
ukungu
162
sky
uwingu anga
163
wind
upepo
164
snow
theluji
165
ice
barafu
166
smoke
moshi
167
fire
moto
168
ash
majivu
169
to burn
-waka
170
road
njia barabara
171
mountain
mlima
172
red
-ekundu
173
green
kijani
174
yellow
manjano
175
white
-eupe
176
black
-eusi
177
night
usiku
178
day
siku
179
year
mwaka
180
warm
moto
181
cold
baridi
182
full
-nene
183
new
-pya
184
old
-zee
185
good
-ema -zuri
186
bad
-baya -ovu
187
rotten
-bovu
188
dirty
-chafu
189
straight
nyofu
190
round
duara
191
sharp (as a knife)
chungu
192
dull (as a knife)
butu
193
smooth
-ororo
194
wet
kimaji
195
dry
-kavu
196
correct
sahihi
197
near
karibu
198
far
mbali
199
right
kuume kulia
200
left
kushoto
201
at
pa kwa kwenye
202
in
ndani ya katika
203
with
na
204
and
na
205
if
kama
206
because
kwa sababu kwa kuwa
207
name
jina
The words preceded by a hyphen (-) are radicals of a verb or an adjective that may be inflected in the noun class system . 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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