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
31 core words in Beja
Water
yam
/jam/
Fire
neʼaat
/neʔaːt/
Sun
yint
/jint/
Moon
tirig
/tiɾiɡ/
Star
hayúk
/hajuːk/
Mother
indee
/iːndeː/
Father
baab
/baːb/
I
ané
/ʔane/
You
barúk
/baruːk/
Name
sim
/sim/
Eye
liili
/liːli/
Hand
ay
/aj/
Heart
ginʼa
/ɡinʔa/
Love
kima
/kima/
Tree
hindeb
/hindeb/
House
gaw
/ɡaw/
Dog
yas
/jas/
Cat
kabsoot
/kabsoːt/
Eat
tame
/tame/
Drink
gwaʼa
/ɡʷaʕa/
One
gaal
/ɡaːl/
Two
maloob
/maloːb/
Hello
salaam
/salaːm/
Thank you
baraʼoo
/baɾaʕoː/
Good
dabaab
/dabaːb/
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, North) languages
| Meaning | Beja | Sabaean | Kera | Daba | Jordanian Arabic | Hausa | Ge'ez |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | yam /jam/ | 𐩣𐩥 /maw/ | mam /mam/ | yam /jam/ | ماي /maːj/ | ruwa /ɾuwaː/ | ማይ /maːj/ |
| Fire | neʼaat /neʔaːt/ | 𐩱𐩪 /ʔas/ | ákə̀rə /akərə/ | kʷu /kʷu/ | نار /naːɾ/ | wuta /wuta/ | እሳት /ʔəsaːt/ |
| Sun | yint /jint/ | 𐩦𐩣𐩪 /ʃams/ | kêr /keːɾ/ | ɓa /ɓa/ | شمس /ʃams/ | rana /ɾaːnaː/ | ፀሐይ /sˤaħaj/ |
| Moon | tirig /tiɾiɡ/ | 𐩥𐩧𐩭 /warχ/ | mə̀sə̀rə /məsərə/ | paɗ /paɗ/ | قمر /ɡamar/ | wata /wata/ | ወርኅ /warχ/ |
| Star | hayúk /hajuːk/ | 𐩫𐩨𐩫𐩨 /kabkab/ | tùwrò /tuwro/ | gwevar /ɡʷevar/ | نجمة /nadʒme/ | tauraro /tauraːro/ | ኮከብ /kokab/ |
| Mother | indee /iːndeː/ | 𐩱𐩣 /ʔumm/ | nâ /naː/ | mma /mːa/ | أم /ʔumː/ | uwa /uwaː/ | እም /ʔəmm/ |
| Father | baab /baːb/ | 𐩱𐩨 /ʔab/ | bâ /baː/ | daa /daː/ | أب /ʔabː/ | uba /ubaː/ | አብ /ʔab/ |
| I | ané /ʔane/ | 𐩱𐩬 /ʔana/ | kə́ŋ /kəŋ/ | nə /nə/ | أنا /ʔana/ | ni /niː/ | አነ /ʔana/ |
| You | barúk /baruːk/ | 𐩱𐩬𐩩 /ʔanta/ | kə /kə/ | ka /ka/ | إنت /ʔinta/ | kai /kai/ | አንተ /ʔanta/ |
| Name | sim /sim/ | 𐩪𐩣 /sim/ | sumo /sumo/ | zlim /ɮim/ | اسم /ʔism/ | suna /suːnaː/ | ስም /səm/ |
| Eye | liili /liːli/ | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | gìr /ɡir/ | ɓəh /ɓəh/ | عين /ʕeːn/ | ido /idoː/ | ዐይን /ʕajn/ |
| Hand | ay /aj/ | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | kéu /keu/ | xən /xən/ | يد /jad/ | hannu /hanːu/ | እድ /ʔəd/ |
| Heart | ginʼa /ɡinʔa/ | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | gùm /ɡum/ | ɓəl /ɓəl/ | قلب /ɡalb/ | zuciya /zutʃija/ | ልብ /ləbb/ |
| Love | kima /kima/ | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | kùm /kum/ | saw /saw/ | حب /ħab/ | ƙauna /kʼauna/ | አፍቀረ /ʔafqara/ |
| Tree | hindeb /hindeb/ | 𐩲𐩳 /ʕaːð/ | kòsō /kosoː/ | hin /hin/ | شجرة /ʃaʒaɾa/ | bishiya /biʃija/ | ዕፅ /ʕasˤ/ |
| House | gaw /ɡaw/ | 𐩨𐩺𐩩 /bajt/ | gòl /ɡol/ | gəy /ɡəj/ | بيت /beːt/ | gida /ɡida/ | ቤት /beːt/ |
| Dog | yas /jas/ | 𐩫𐩡𐩨 /kalb/ | kŋā /kŋaː/ | ɓəzaŋ /ɓəzaŋ/ | كلب /kalb/ | kare /kaɾe/ | ከልብ /kalb/ |
| Cat | kabsoot /kabsoːt/ | — /—/ | mūsā /muːsaː/ | mərz /mərz/ | قطّة /ɡɪtːa/ | kyanwa /kʲanwa/ | ድሙ /dəmmu/ |
| Eat | tame /tame/ | 𐩱𐩫𐩡 /ʔakal/ | nà /na/ | za /za/ | أكل /ʔakal/ | ci /tʃiː/ | በልዐ /balʕa/ |
| Drink | gwaʼa /ɡʷaʕa/ | 𐩪𐩩𐩺 /ʃataja/ | sā /saː/ | sa /sa/ | شرب /ʃaɾab/ | sha /ʃaː/ | ሰትየ /satja/ |
| One | gaal /ɡaːl/ | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | ká /ka/ | mma /mːa/ | واحد /waːħid/ | ɗaya /ɗaja/ | አሐዱ /ʔaħadu/ |
| Two | maloob /maloːb/ | 𐩻𐩬𐩺 /θanay/ | cèw /tʃɛw/ | sɨla /sɨla/ | اثنين /tneːn/ | biyu /biju/ | ክልኤ /kəlʔeː/ |
| Hello | salaam /salaːm/ | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | ásālāmā /asaːlaːmaː/ | salaŋ /salaŋ/ | كيف حالك /kɪf ħaːlak/ | sannu /sanːu/ | ሰላም /salaːm/ |
| Thank you | baraʼoo /baɾaʕoː/ | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | shùkūr /ʃukuːɾ/ | ndzaŋ /ndzaŋ/ | شكراً /ʃukran/ | na gode /na ɡode/ | ምስጋና /məsɡaːnaː/ |
| Good | dabaab /dabaːb/ | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | kúɗá /kuɗa/ | ɗəfa /ɗəfa/ | كويّس /kuweːs/ | nagari /naɡaɾi/ | ሠናይ /sanaːj/ |
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