Bahnar
Austroasiatic
Bahnar (autonymously Bahnar) is a Bahnaric language of the Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic) family, spoken by around 250,000 people in the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Gia Lai, Kon Tum provinces) and small populations in Cambodia. Bahnar is historically the most-prestigious Bahnaric language and was the first Mon-Khmer language outside Vietnamese to receive a Latin orthography — developed by French Catholic missionaries in the 1860s for Catholic religious materials. The Bahnar people are one of the major Central Highlands ethnic minorities of Vietnam, with cultural traditions including the elaborate Bahnar communal house (rông) architecture and the gong music tradition that has been UNESCO-recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Bahnar community survived the Vietnam War, which significantly disrupted Central Highlands ethnic minority culture, and has seen post-war revitalization through bilingual education programs.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Bahnar
Water
dak
/dak/
Fire
unh
/uɲ/
Sun
mat trơ
/mat trə/
Moon
khe
/kʰe/
Mother
mei
/mei/
Father
bă
/bə/
Eat
sa
/sa/
Drink
ngoah
/ŋoah/
Love
rơngư
/rəŋɨ/
Heart
blei
/blei/
Tree
lông
/loŋ/
House
hnam
/hnam/
Dog
cho
/tʃo/
Cat
miao
/miao/
Hand
ti
/ti/
Eye
mat
/mat/
Hello
ô
/o/
Thank you
kơbi
/kəbi/
One
minh
/miɲ/
Good
ling
/liŋ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austroasiatic languages
| Meaning | Bahnar | Eastern Bru | Mường | Cham | Khasi | Middle Mongolian | Musi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | dak /dak/ | daak /daːk/ | đác /ɗaːk/ | ia /ja/ | um /um/ | ဍာ် /ɗaːk/ | ayek /ajek/ |
| Fire | unh /uɲ/ | oih /ʔoiʔ/ | lửa /lɨə/ | apuei /apuei/ | ding /diŋ/ | ပ်ၟ /pmaʔ/ | api /api/ |
| Sun | mat trơ /mat trə/ | mat plei /mat plei/ | mặt côi /mət koːi/ | aditiak /aditiak/ | ka sngi /ka sŋi/ | တ္ၚဲ /tŋai/ | matahari /matahari/ |
| Moon | khe /kʰe/ | kasai /kasai/ | rằng /raŋ/ | bilan /bilan/ | bnai /bnai/ | ဂျိုၚ် /klɔŋ/ | bulan /bulan/ |
| Mother | mei /mei/ | amey /amej/ | mệ /meː/ | mai /mai/ | mei /mei/ | ၚာ /ŋaː/ | mak /mak/ |
| Father | bă /bə/ | amung /amuŋ/ | bố /bo/ | amaa /amaː/ | kpa /kpa/ | ဖ /pʰɛʔ/ | bapak /bapak/ |
| Eat | sa /sa/ | cha /tʃa/ | ăn /an/ | huak /huak/ | bam /bam/ | စိ /tɕiʔ/ | makan /makan/ |
| Drink | ngoah /ŋoah/ | ngoot /ŋoːt/ | uống /uəŋ/ | maum /maum/ | dih /dih/ | သုက် /sok/ | minum /minum/ |
| Love | rơngư /rəŋɨ/ | hong /hoŋ/ | thương /tʰɨəŋ/ | gauh /ɡauh/ | ieid /iəid/ | ဖျုန် /pʰyon/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ |
| Heart | blei /blei/ | plong /ploŋ/ | tlái côi /tlaːi koːi/ | hatai /hatai/ | ka jingmut /ka dʒiŋmut/ | လုပ် /lup/ | hati /hati/ |
| Tree | lông /loŋ/ | aleng /aleŋ/ | cẳl /kal/ | kayuw /kajuv/ | u dieng /u diəŋ/ | ဆု /tɕu/ | kayu /kaju/ |
| House | hnam /hnam/ | dung /duŋ/ | nhà /ɲaː/ | thang /tʰaŋ/ | ka ïing /ka jiŋ/ | သ္ၚိ /sŋiʔ/ | rumah /rumah/ |
| Dog | cho /tʃo/ | acho /atʃo/ | chó /tʃɔ/ | athuw /atʰuv/ | u ksew /u ksew/ | ခၠဵု /kʰlou/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ |
| Cat | miao /miao/ | miew /mieu/ | meo /meo/ | meuw /meuv/ | u miaw /u miau/ | ဂျိ /kluj/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ |
| Hand | ti /ti/ | ati /ati/ | thay /tʰaːi/ | tangin /taŋin/ | ka kti /ka kti/ | တၟုိ /toi/ | tangan /taŋan/ |
| Eye | mat /mat/ | mat /mat/ | mặt /mət/ | matá /mata/ | ka khmat /ka kʰmat/ | မတ် /mat/ | mato /mato/ |
| Hello | ô /o/ | te /te/ | đám rộ /ɗaːm roː/ | salam /salam/ | khublei /kʰublei/ | — /—/ | halo /halo/ |
| Thank you | kơbi /kəbi/ | kuhng /kuhŋ/ | cám ơn /kaːm ɤn/ | tarima kasih /tarima kasiʔ/ | khublei shibun /kʰublei ʃibun/ | — /—/ | terimo kasih /terimo kasih/ |
| One | minh /miɲ/ | muoi /muoi/ | mộch /moːtʃ/ | tha /tʰa/ | wei /wei/ | မွဲ /mwɛ/ | siko /siko/ |
| Good | ling /liŋ/ | huom /huom/ | lành /laːɲ/ | siam /siam/ | bha /bʱa/ | ခိုဟ် /kʰɔh/ | bagus /baɡus/ |
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