بُروشَسکی
Burushaski
Language isolate
Burushaski is a language isolate spoken in the Hunza, Nagar, and Yasin valleys of the Karakoram mountains in northern Pakistan. Despite over a century of comparative work attempting to link it with Caucasian, Yeniseian, or Indo-European, no convincing genetic relations have been established. Burushaski has four noun classes (human male, human female, countable non-human, mass) and an extraordinarily rich verb-prefix pronominal system, plus retroflex consonants from areal contact.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Burushaski
Water
čhil
/ʈʂʰil/
Fire
phu
/pʰu/
Sun
sá
/saː/
Moon
hálance
/halantse/
Mother
ámi
/ami/
Father
ússa
/usːa/
Eat
ši-
/ʂi/
Drink
minas
/minas/
Love
yarum
/jarum/
Heart
-us
/us/
Tree
tom
/tom/
House
ha
/ha/
Dog
huk
/huk/
Cat
bushi
/buʂi/
Hand
-rin
/rin/
Eye
-lčin
/lʈʂin/
Hello
šuá
/ʂuaː/
Thank you
shukria
/ʃukrija/
One
hin
/hin/
Good
shua
/ʂua/
Words compared
Compared with related Language isolate languages
| Meaning | Burushaski | Bislama | Tok Pisin | Niuean | Hindko | Pijin | Elamite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | čhil /ʈʂʰil/ | wota /wota/ | wara /waɾa/ | vai /vai/ | پانی /paːniː/ | wata /wata/ | 𒄭 /hi/ |
| Fire | phu /pʰu/ | faea /faea/ | paia /paja/ | afi /afi/ | اگ /aɡ/ | faea /faja/ | 𒉺𒅈 /par/ |
| Sun | sá /saː/ | san /san/ | san /san/ | lā /laː/ | سورج /soːraj/ | san /san/ | 𒀭𒈾𒄴𒄭𒌅 /nahhunte/ |
| Moon | hálance /halantse/ | mun /mun/ | mun /mun/ | mahina /mahina/ | چن /tʃan/ | mun /mun/ | 𒀭𒈾𒁉𒅕 /napir/ |
| Mother | ámi /ami/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | matua fifine /matua fifine/ | ماں /mãː/ | mami /mami/ | 𒀀𒈠 /amma/ |
| Father | ússa /usːa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | matua taane /matua taːne/ | پیو /pju/ | dadi /dadi/ | 𒀜𒋫 /atta/ |
| Eat | ši- /ʂi/ | kakae /kakae/ | kaikai /kajkaj/ | kai /kai/ | کھانا /kʰaːnaː/ | kaikai /kajkaj/ | 𒄩𒊭 /haʃ/ |
| Drink | minas /minas/ | dring /driŋ/ | dring /dɾiŋ/ | inu /inu/ | پینا /piːnaː/ | dring /driŋ/ | 𒉡 /nu/ |
| Love | yarum /jarum/ | laekem /laekem/ | laikim /lajkim/ | fakaalofa /fakaalofa/ | پیار /pjaːr/ | lavem /lavem/ | 𒇷𒅗 /lik/ |
| Heart | -us /us/ | bel /bel/ | bel /bel/ | fatu /fatu/ | دل /dil/ | hat /hat/ | 𒌋𒄭 /ulhi/ |
| Tree | tom /tom/ | tri /tri/ | diwai /diwaj/ | akau /akau/ | درخت /daɾaxt/ | tri /tri/ | 𒄷𒌅𒆪 /hutk/ |
| House | ha /ha/ | haos /haos/ | haus /haʊs/ | fale /fale/ | گھر /ɡʱar/ | haos /haos/ | 𒄩𒀠 /hal/ |
| Dog | huk /huk/ | dog /doɡ/ | dok /dok/ | kuli /kuli/ | کتا /kuttaː/ | dogi /doɡi/ | 𒆪𒌅 /kut/ |
| Cat | bushi /buʂi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | بلی /billi/ | puskat /puskat/ | 𒋾𒅗𒊏 /tiɡra/ |
| Hand | -rin /rin/ | han /han/ | han /han/ | lima /lima/ | ہتھ /hattʰ/ | han /han/ | 𒆪𒋗 /kuʃu/ |
| Eye | -lčin /lʈʂin/ | ae /ae/ | ai /aj/ | mata /mata/ | اکھ /akːʰ/ | ae /ae/ | 𒌅𒆠 /tukːi/ |
| Hello | šuá /ʂuaː/ | halo /halo/ | halo /halo/ | fakaalofa atu /fakaalofa atu/ | اسلام علیکم /assalaːmu ʕalaikum/ | halo /halo/ | 𒅆𒅋𒄩 /ʃilha/ |
| Thank you | shukria /ʃukrija/ | tangkyu /taŋkju/ | tenkyu /tɛŋkju/ | fakaaue /fakaaue/ | شکریہ /ʃukrija/ | tagio /taɡio/ | 𒇷𒄩𒊑 /lihari/ |
| One | hin /hin/ | wan /wan/ | wanpela /wanpɛla/ | taha /taha/ | اک /ik/ | wanfala /wanfala/ | 𒆠𒅕 /kir/ |
| Good | shua /ʂua/ | gud /ɡud/ | gutpela /ɡutpɛla/ | mitaki /mitaki/ | چنگا /tʃəŋɡaː/ | gud /ɡud/ | 𒊒𒄷 /ruːhuː/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.