Bidhaawyeet
Beja
Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, North)
Beja (Bidhaawyeet, 'language of the Beja') is the only North Cushitic language and the most divergent branch within Cushitic, sometimes treated as its own coordinate branch of Afro-Asiatic. It is spoken by Beja nomadic peoples of the Red Sea hills of eastern Sudan and northeastern Eritrea, descendants of the ancient Blemmyes and Medjay attested in pharaonic and Roman sources. Beja preserves a complex prefix-conjugation verb system inherited from Proto-Afro-Asiatic.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Beja
Water
yam
/jam/
Fire
neʼaat
/neʔaːt/
Sun
yint
/jint/
Moon
tirig
/tiɾiɡ/
Mother
indee
/iːndeː/
Father
baab
/baːb/
Eat
tame
/tame/
Drink
gwaʼa
/ɡʷaʕa/
Love
kima
/kima/
Heart
ginʼa
/ɡinʕa/
Tree
hindeb
/hindeb/
House
gaw
/ɡaw/
Dog
yas
/jas/
Cat
kabsoot
/kabsoːt/
Hand
ay
/aj/
Eye
liili
/liːli/
Hello
salaam
/salaːm/
Thank you
baraʼoo
/baɾaʕoː/
One
gaal
/ɡaːl/
Good
dabaab
/dabaːb/
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, North) languages
| Meaning | Beja | Kera | Daba | Hausa | Garhwali | Lezgian | Gedeo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | yam /jam/ | mam /mam/ | yam /jam/ | ruwa /ɾuwaː/ | पाणि /paːɳi/ | яд /jad/ | woyye /wojːe/ |
| Fire | neʼaat /neʔaːt/ | ákə̀rə /akərə/ | kʷu /kʷu/ | wuta /wuta/ | आग /aːɡ/ | цӏай /tsʼaj/ | gira /ɡiɾa/ |
| Sun | yint /jint/ | kêr /keːɾ/ | ɓa /ɓa/ | rana /ɾaːnaː/ | सूरज /suːraj/ | рагъ /raʁ/ | ayyaʼne /ajːaʔne/ |
| Moon | tirig /tiɾiɡ/ | mə̀sə̀rə /məsərə/ | paɗ /paɗ/ | wata /wata/ | चंदा /tʃəndaː/ | варз /varz/ | agina /aɡina/ |
| Mother | indee /iːndeː/ | nâ /naː/ | mma /mːa/ | uwa /uwaː/ | ब्वारी /bʷaːriː/ | диде /dide/ | aaki /aːki/ |
| Father | baab /baːb/ | bâ /baː/ | daa /daː/ | uba /ubaː/ | बाब /baːb/ | буба /buba/ | eke /eke/ |
| Eat | tame /tame/ | nà /na/ | za /za/ | ci /tʃiː/ | खाणु /kʰaːɳu/ | тӏуьн /tʼyn/ | ittu /itːu/ |
| Drink | gwaʼa /ɡʷaʕa/ | sā /saː/ | sa /sa/ | sha /ʃaː/ | पीण /piːɳ/ | хъун /qun/ | agittu /aɡitːu/ |
| Love | kima /kima/ | kùm /kum/ | saw /saw/ | ƙauna /kʼauna/ | मया /məjaː/ | кӏан хьун /kʼan χun/ | baxxa /baxːa/ |
| Heart | ginʼa /ɡinʕa/ | gùm /ɡum/ | ɓəl /ɓəl/ | zuciya /zutʃija/ | मन /mən/ | рикӏ /rikʼ/ | mishi /miʃi/ |
| Tree | hindeb /hindeb/ | kòsō /kosoː/ | hin /hin/ | bishiya /biʃija/ | बूट /buːʈ/ | тар /tar/ | haqqa /haqːa/ |
| House | gaw /ɡaw/ | gòl /ɡol/ | gəy /ɡəj/ | gida /ɡida/ | घर /ɡʱar/ | кӏвал /kʼval/ | mine /mine/ |
| Dog | yas /jas/ | kŋā /kŋaː/ | ɓəzaŋ /ɓəzaŋ/ | kare /kaɾe/ | कुकुर /kukur/ | кицӏ /kitsʼ/ | kaneessa /kaneːsːa/ |
| Cat | kabsoot /kabsoːt/ | mūsā /muːsaː/ | mərz /mərz/ | kyanwa /kʲanwa/ | बिराळी /biraːɭiː/ | кац /kats/ | adurre /aduɾːe/ |
| Hand | ay /aj/ | kéu /keu/ | xən /xən/ | hannu /hanːu/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ | гъил /ʁil/ | anga /aŋɡa/ |
| Eye | liili /liːli/ | gìr /ɡir/ | ɓəh /ɓəh/ | ido /idoː/ | आँख /aːŋkʰ/ | вил /vil/ | ille /ilːe/ |
| Hello | salaam /salaːm/ | ásālāmā /asaːlaːmaː/ | salaŋ /salaŋ/ | sannu /sanːu/ | राम राम /raːm raːm/ | салам /salam/ | mooye /moːje/ |
| Thank you | baraʼoo /baɾaʕoː/ | shùkūr /ʃukuːɾ/ | ndzaŋ /ndzaŋ/ | na gode /na ɡode/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəbaːd/ | чухсагъул /tʃuxsaʁul/ | galaata /ɡalaːta/ |
| One | gaal /ɡaːl/ | ká /ka/ | mma /mːa/ | ɗaya /ɗaja/ | एक /eːk/ | сад /sad/ | mitto /mitːo/ |
| Good | dabaab /dabaːb/ | kúɗá /kuɗa/ | ɗəfa /ɗəfa/ | nagari /naɡaɾi/ | ठीक /ʈʰiːk/ | хъсан /qsan/ | danee /daneː/ |
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