تۆرکجه
South Azerbaijani
Turkic (Oghuz, Azerbaijani)
Also known as: Iranian Azerbaijani, Azeri (Iran)
South Azerbaijani is the largest minority language of Iran, spoken by 13-15M (likely undercounted) primarily in East/West Azerbaijan, Ardabil, and Zanjan provinces. Oghuz Turkic, sister to (North) Azerbaijani spoken in the Republic of Azerbaijan, with significant Persian lexical influence reflecting centuries of Persian administrative dominance. Written in modified Perso-Arabic script (in contrast to Latin used in Azerbaijan). Despite the 2002 Iranian Constitution allowing minority-language education, official restrictions on Azerbaijani schooling remain heavily debated.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in South Azerbaijani
Water
سو
/su/
Fire
اوْد
/od/
Sun
گۆنش
/ɡyneʃ/
Moon
آی
/aj/
Mother
آنا
/ana/
Father
آتا
/ata/
Eat
یئمک
/jemæk/
Drink
ایچمک
/itʃmæk/
Love
سئوگی
/sevɡi/
Heart
اۆرک
/yræk/
Tree
آغاج
/ɑɣɑdʒ/
House
ائو
/ev/
Dog
ایت
/it/
Cat
پیشیک
/piʃik/
Hand
اَل
/æl/
Eye
گؤز
/ɡøz/
Hello
سلام
/sælam/
Thank you
ساغ اول
/saɣ ol/
One
بیر
/bir/
Good
یاخشی
/jaxʃɯ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Turkic (Oghuz, Azerbaijani) languages
| Meaning | South Azerbaijani | Qashqai | Karakhanid | Azerbaijani | Kumyk | Crimean Tatar | Karachay-Balkar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | سو /su/ | su /su/ | suw /suw/ | su /su/ | сув /suv/ | suv /suv/ | суу /suw/ |
| Fire | اوْد /od/ | od /od/ | ot /ot/ | od /od/ | от /ot/ | ateş /ateʃ/ | от /ot/ |
| Sun | گۆنش /ɡyneʃ/ | gün /ɟyn/ | kün /kyn/ | günəş /ɟynæʃ/ | гюн /ɡyn/ | küneş /kyneʃ/ | кюн /kyn/ |
| Moon | آی /aj/ | ay /aj/ | ay /aj/ | ay /ɑj/ | ай /aj/ | ay /aj/ | ай /aj/ |
| Mother | آنا /ana/ | ana /ana/ | ana /ana/ | ana /ɑnɑ/ | ана /ana/ | ana /ana/ | ана /ana/ |
| Father | آتا /ata/ | ata /ata/ | ata /ata/ | ata /ɑtɑ/ | ата /ata/ | baba /baba/ | ата /ata/ |
| Eat | یئمک /jemæk/ | yemek /jeˈmæc/ | yi- /ji/ | yemək /jemæc/ | ашамакъ /aʃamaq/ | aşamaq /aʃamaq/ | ашаргъа /aʃarʁa/ |
| Drink | ایچمک /itʃmæk/ | içmek /itʃˈmæc/ | ič- /itʃ/ | içmək /ɪtʃmæc/ | ичмек /itʃmek/ | içmek /itʃmek/ | ичерге /itʃerɡe/ |
| Love | سئوگی /sevɡi/ | sevgi /sevˈɟi/ | sevgü /sevɡy/ | sevgi /sevɟi/ | сюйюв /syjyv/ | sevgi /sevɡi/ | сюймеклик /syjmeklik/ |
| Heart | اۆرک /yræk/ | ürek /yˈɾæc/ | yürek /jyrek/ | ürək /yɾæc/ | юрек /jyrek/ | yürek /jyrek/ | джюрек /dʒyrek/ |
| Tree | آغاج /ɑɣɑdʒ/ | ağaç /aˈʁatʃ/ | ığač /ɯɣatʃ/ | ağac /ɑɣɑdʒ/ | терек /terek/ | terek /terek/ | терек /terek/ |
| House | ائو /ev/ | ev /ev/ | ev /ev/ | ev /ev/ | уьй /yj/ | ev /ev/ | юй /yj/ |
| Dog | ایت /it/ | it /it/ | it /it/ | it /ɪt/ | ит /it/ | köpek /køpek/ | ит /it/ |
| Cat | پیشیک /piʃik/ | pišik /piˈʃic/ | piši /piʃi/ | pişik /pɪʃɪc/ | мишик /miʃik/ | mışıq /mɯʃɯq/ | киштик /kiʃtik/ |
| Hand | اَل /æl/ | el /el/ | qol /qol/ | əl /æl/ | къол /qol/ | el /el/ | къол /qol/ |
| Eye | گؤز /ɡøz/ | göz /ɟøz/ | köz /køz/ | göz /ɟøz/ | гёз /ɡøz/ | köz /køz/ | кёз /køz/ |
| Hello | سلام /sælam/ | salam /saˈlam/ | salām /salaːm/ | salam /sɑlɑm/ | ассаламу алейкум /asːalamu alejkum/ | selâm /selæm/ | салам /salam/ |
| Thank you | ساغ اول /saɣ ol/ | sağ olun /sɑːʁ oˈlun/ | tabug /tabuɡ/ | təşəkkür /tæʃecːyɾ/ | савбол /savbol/ | sağ ol /saɣ ol/ | сау бол /saw bol/ |
| One | بیر /bir/ | bir /biɾ/ | bir /bir/ | bir /bɪɾ/ | бир /bir/ | bir /bir/ | бир /bir/ |
| Good | یاخشی /jaxʃɯ/ | yaxşı /jaxˈʃɯ/ | yaqšı /jaqʃɯ/ | yaxşı /jɑxʃɯ/ | яхшы /jaχʃə/ | yahşı /jaχʃɯ/ | ариу /ariw/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.