上古漢語

Chinese (Han dynasty Classical)

Sinitic (Old Chinese)

FamilySinitic (Old Chinese) Speakers歴史言語 / 現代話者なし RomanizationBaxter–Sagart Old Chinese reconstruction ReadingOld Chinese — Han dynasty reconstruction (Baxter-Sagart)

Old Chinese as spoken in the Han dynasty (2nd c. BCE – 2nd c. CE), the language of the classics. Reconstructed with consonant clusters (kr-, sn-, mr-), pharyngealized "type A" vs plain "type B" syllables, and no tones — tones developed later from coda loss.

Where it is spoken

Han character readings in Chinese (Han dynasty Classical)

Character Meaning Reading Form IPA
one *ʔi[t] /*ʔi[t]/
two *ni[j]-s /*ni[j]-s/
three *s.rum /*s.rum/
four *s.li[j]-s /*s.li[j]-s/
five *C.ŋˤaʔ /*C.ŋˤaʔ/
six *k.ruk /*k.ruk/
seven *[tsʰ]i[t] /*[tsʰ]i[t]/
eight *pˤret /*pˤret/
nine *[k]uʔ /*[k]uʔ/
ten *t.[g]əp /*t.[g]əp/
sun *C.nik /*C.nik/
moon *[ŋ]ʷat /*[ŋ]ʷat/
mountain *s-ŋrar /*s-ŋrar/
water *s.turʔ /*s.turʔ/
fire *[qʷʰ]ˤəjʔ /*[qʷʰ]ˤəjʔ/
tree *C.mˤok /*C.mˤok/
soil *tʰˤaʔ /*tʰˤaʔ/
sky *l̥ˤi[n] /*l̥ˤi[n]/
ground *[l]ˤej-s /*lˤej-s/
sea *m̥ˤəʔ /*m̥ˤəʔ/
dragon *[mə]-roŋ /*[mə]-roŋ/
tiger *qʰˤraʔ /*qʰˤraʔ/
dog *[k]ʷʰˤenʔ /*[k]ʷʰˤenʔ/
horse *mˤraʔ /*mˤraʔ/
bird *tˤiwʔ /*tˤiwʔ/
fish *[ŋ]a /*[ŋ]a/
ox *[ŋ]ʷə /*[ŋ]ʷə/
sheep *ɢaŋ /*ɢaŋ/
cat *C.mˤraw /*C.mˤraw/
person *ni[ŋ] /*ni[ŋ]/
hand *n̥uʔ /*n̥uʔ/
foot *[ts]ok /*[ts]ok/
eye *C.muk /*C.muk/
ear *C.nəʔ /*C.nəʔ/
mouth *kʰˤ(r)oʔ /*kʰˤ(r)oʔ/
head *[m-t]ˤo /*[m-t]ˤo/
heart *səm /*səm/
blood *m̥ˤik /*m̥ˤik/
meat *k.nuk /*k.nuk/
up *daŋʔ-s /*daŋʔ-s/
down *gˤraʔ /*gˤraʔ/
middle *truŋ /*truŋ/
hit *truŋ-s /*truŋ-s/
center *ʔaŋ /*ʔaŋ/
left *[ts]ˤajʔ /*[ts]ˤajʔ/
right *[ɢ]ʷəʔ /*[ɢ]ʷəʔ/
east *tˤoŋ /*tˤoŋ/
西 west *s-nˤər /*s-nˤər/
south *nˤəm /*nˤəm/
north *pˤək /*pˤək/
go *Cə-[g]ˤraŋ /*Cə-[g]ˤraŋ/
row *[g]ˤraŋ /*[g]ˤraŋ/
come *mə.rˤək /*mə.rˤək/
leave *[k]ʰ(r)ap-s /*[k]ʰ(r)ap-s/
see *[k]ˤen-s /*[k]ˤen-s/
hear *mu[n] /*mu[n]/
eat *mə-lək /*mə-lək/
drink *q(r)[u]mʔ /*q(r)[u]mʔ/
run *[ts]ˤoʔ /*[ts]ˤoʔ/
sit *[dz]ˤo[j]ʔ /*[dz]ˤo[j]ʔ/
stand *k.rəp /*k.rəp/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Old/Eastern Han Chinese) languages

Meaning Chinese (Han dynasty Classical)Chinese (Tang dynasty Classical)Old ChineseMlabriClassical Chinese (Cantonese pedagogical)DunganOld Khmer
Water /ɕiwiɪʔ/ /ɕyɪX/ /*s.turʔ/ om /om/ /sɵy˧˥/ щүй /ɕy/ ទឹក /tik/
Fire /huɑiʔ/ /xuɑX/ /*qʷʰəjʔ/ ʔus /ʔus/ /fɔ˧˥/ хуә /xuə/ ភ្លើង /pʰlɤːŋ/
Sun /ȵit/ /ȵit/ /*C.nik/ ŋay /ŋai/ /jɐt˨/ жѳтў /ʐɨtʰu/ ព្រះអាទិត្យ /preh ʔaːtit/
Moon /ŋiuɑt/ /ŋʉɐt/ /*ŋʷat/ thel /tʰel/ /jyt˨/ юә /yə/ ខែ /kʰae/
Mother /muːʔ/ /muX/ /*məʔ/ mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ /mou˩˧/ ма /ma/ មាតា /maːtaː/
Father /biuoʔ/ /bɨoX/ /*paʔ/ paʔ /paʔ/ /fu˨/ ба /pa/ បិតា /pitaː/
Eat /ʑiək/ /ʑik/ /*mə.lək/ ʔiʔ /ʔiʔ/ /sɪk˨/ чы /tʂʰɨ/ ស៊ី /siː/
Drink /ʔiəm/ /ʔimX/ /*qrəmʔ/ ʔaa /ʔaː/ /jɐm˧˥/ хә /xə/ ផឹក /pʰək/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Chinese (Han dynasty Classical)
客舍 對面 所見之
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Chinese (Han dynasty Classical)
客舍 對面 所見之
試穿 酒店 對面 間鋪 入面 見到嘅 套西裝
試穿 客棧 對面 店鋪 看著其 套西裝
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
逆旅 對面 邸店 所見之

Han readings compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Old Chinese) languages

Character Chinese (Han dynasty Classical)Proto-Tibeto-BurmanProto-Sino-TibetanProto-Hmong-MienProto-AustroasiaticProto-JaponicKorean (DPRK)
*ʔi[t] /*ʔi[t]/ *dyiək /*dyiək/ *ʔɨ /*ʔɨ/ *muəjʔ /*muəjʔ/ *pitə-tu /*pitə-tu/ il /il/
*ni[j]-s /*ni[j]-s/ *g-nis /*g-nis/ *nĭy /*nĭy/ *ʔu̯i /*ʔu̯i/ *ɓaːr /*ɓaːr/ *puta /*puta/ i /i/
*s.rum /*s.rum/ *g-sum /*g-sum/ *sɨm /*sɨm/ *pjɔu /*pjɔu/ *peːʔ /*peːʔ/ *mi /*mi/ sam /sam/
*s.li[j]-s /*s.li[j]-s/ *b-ləy /*b-ləy/ *lĭy /*lĭy/ *plei /*plei/ *puənʔ /*puənʔ/ *jə /*jə/ sa /sa/
*C.ŋˤaʔ /*C.ŋˤaʔ/ b- 形*b-ŋa /*b-ŋa/l- 形*l-ŋa /*l-ŋa/ *ŋāH /*ŋāH/ *prja /*prja/ *itu /*itu/ o /o/
*k.ruk /*k.ruk/ *d-k-ruk /*d-k-ruk/ *rŭk /*rŭk/ *kruk /*kruk/ *pruʔ /*pruʔ/ *mu /*mu/ ryuk /ɾjuk̚/
*[tsʰ]i[t] /*[tsʰ]i[t]/ *(s-)nĭt /*(s-)nĭt/ *pɔh /*pɔh/ *nana /*nana/ ch'il /tsʰil/
*pˤret /*pˤret/ *b-r-gyat 形*b-r-gyat /*b-r-gyat/*b-g-ryat 形*b-g-ryat /*b-g-ryat/ *ryēt /*ryēt/ *tNɕaːm /*tɲcaːm/ *ja /*ja/ p'al /pʰal/
*[k]uʔ /*[k]uʔ/ *d-kəw /*d-kəw/ *kwɨH /*kwɨH/ *N-ɟuə̯X /*N-ɟuə̯X/ *kəkənə /*kəkənə/ ku /ku/
*t.[g]əp /*t.[g]əp/ *k(ʰ)ĭp /*k(ʰ)ĭp/ *gju̯əpD /*gju̯əpD/ *təwə /*təwə/ sip /ɕip̚/
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