Brezhoneg

Breton

Celtic

FamilyCeltic Speakers~210K ScriptLatin CountriesFrance (Brittany) Official inNo (recognized regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3bre

Breton (Brezhoneg) is a Brittonic Celtic language with ~210K speakers in Brittany (NW France) — sister to Welsh (cy) and Cornish (kw); descended from Common Brittonic, brought from southern Britain to Brittany by 5th-7th c. migration. Standardized peurunvan orthography 1941. UNESCO severely endangered. Diwan immersion schools (since 1977) drive revitalization.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Breton

Water

dour

/duːɾ/

Fire

tan

/tɑ̃ːn/

Sun

heol

/heːɔl/

Moon

loar

/lwaːɾ/

Mother

mamm

/mɑ̃m/

Father

tad

/taːd/

Eat

debriñ

/debɾĩː/

Drink

evañ

/eːvɑ̃/

Love

karantez

/kaɾɑ̃ntes/

Heart

kalon

/kalɔ̃n/

Tree

gwezenn

/ˈɡweːzɛn/

House

ti

/tiː/

Dog

ki

/kiː/

Cat

kazh

/kaːs/

Hand

dorn

/dɔɾn/

Eye

lagad

/laɡat/

Hello

demat

/deːmat/

Thank you

trugarez

/tɾyɡaɾes/

One

unan

/yːnɑ̃n/

Good

mat

/maːt/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Celtic languages

Meaning BretonCornishWelshIrulaNorth FrisianDanishWolof
Water dour /duːɾ/ dowr /dɔuɾ/ dŵr /duːr/ nīr /niːɾ/ weeter /vɛːtər/ vand /vanˀ/ ndox /ndɔx/
Fire tan /tɑ̃ːn/ tan /tan/ tân /tɑːn/ /tiː/ jüür /jyːr/ ild /ilˀ/ safara /safaɾa/
Sun heol /heːɔl/ howl /haʊl/ haul /haɨl/ čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ saanj /saːɲ/ sol /soːˀl/ jant /dʒant/
Moon loar /lwaːɾ/ loor /loːɾ/ lleuad /ɬɛɨ̯ad/ niLā /niɭaː/ muune /muːnə/ måne /mɔːnə/ weer /wɛːɾ/
Mother mamm /mɑ̃m/ mamm /mam/ mam /mam/ ammā /amːaː/ mam /mɑm/ mor /moɐ̯ˀ/ yaay /jaːj/
Father tad /taːd/ tas /taːs/ tad /tɑːd/ ayyā /ajːaː/ baabe /baːbə/ far /fɑːˀ/ baay /baːj/
Eat debriñ /debɾĩː/ dybri /ˈdɨbɾi/ bwyta /bʊɨta/ činnu /tʃinːu/ äte /ɛtə/ spise /sb̥iːsə/ lekk /lɛkː/
Drink evañ /eːvɑ̃/ eva /ˈɛva/ yfed /əvɛd/ kuDi /kuɖi/ drinke /drɪŋkə/ drikke /dʁɛɡ̊ə/ naan /naːn/
Page 1/3

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Breton
Me garfe klask ur gwiskamant a weliz en ur stal dirak d'al leti
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
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

Breton
Me garfe klask ur gwiskamant a weliz en ur stal dirak d'al leti
Ba mhaith ‌liom culaith a chonaic mé i siopa trasna ón óstán a thriail
Rydw ‌i eisiau rhoi cynnig ar siwt a welais i mewn siop gyferbyn â'r gwesty

Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.