Muysccubun
Chibcha (Muisca)
Chibchan · historical / hidden variety
Chibcha (Muysccubun, the language of the Muisca) was the principal language of the Muisca Confederation in the highlands of central Colombia (Bogotá, Tunja). Recorded in Lugo's grammar (1619) and the Anonymous grammar (early 17c.). It became extinct in the late 18th century but contemporary efforts at revival are underway. Many Colombian place names (Bogotá, Bacatá, Funza) are Chibcha in origin.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Chibcha (Muisca)
Water
sié
/sje/
Fire
gata
/ɡata/
Sun
súa
/sua/
Moon
chía
/tʃia/
Mother
waia
/waia/
Father
paba
/paba/
Eat
quychua
/kʷitʃwa/
Drink
biohotysuca
/bjohotɨsuka/
Love
chihizagosqua
/tʃihizaɡoskwa/
Heart
puyquy
/pujkʷɨ/
Tree
quye
/kʷye/
House
gué
/ɡwe/
Dog
to
/to/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
ytaca
/ytaka/
Eye
upcua
/upkʷa/
Hello
chibu
/tʃibu/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
ata
/ata/
Good
choin
/tʃoin/
Words compared
Compared with related Chibchan languages
| Meaning | Chibcha (Muisca) | Caucasian Albanian | Makasae | Kryts | Hajong | Avestan | Old Persian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | sié /sje/ | xe /xe/ | ira /ˈira/ | xed /xed/ | pani /pa.ni/ | 𐬁𐬞 /aːp/ | 𐎠𐎱 /aːpi/ |
| Fire | gata /ɡata/ | ow /oʊ/ | ata /ˈata/ | ts'a /t͡sʼa/ | ag /aɡ/ | 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /aːtar/ | 𐎠𐎫𐎼 /aːtar/ |
| Sun | súa /sua/ | beɣ /beɣ/ | watu /ˈwatu/ | vïrïğ /vɨrɨʁ/ | bela /be.la/ | 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 /huwarə/ | 𐏃𐎢𐎺𐎼 /huwar/ |
| Moon | chía /tʃia/ | ḳac̣ḳac̣ /kʼat͡sʼkʼat͡sʼ/ | uru /ˈuru/ | vats /vat͡s/ | jon /dʒon/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬵 /maːh/ | 𐎶𐎠𐏃 /maːha/ |
| Mother | waia /waia/ | nana /nana/ | ina /ˈina/ | dada /dada/ | ma /ma/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /maːtar/ | 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎼 /maːtar/ |
| Father | paba /paba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /ˈbaba/ | buba /buba/ | baba /baba/ | 𐬞𐬌𐬙𐬀𐬭 /pitar/ | 𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠 /pitaː/ |
| Eat | quychua /kʷitʃwa/ | ows- /us/ | nawa /ˈnawa/ | ulkura /ulˈkura/ | kha /kʰa/ | 𐬑𐬬𐬀𐬭 /xwar/ | 𐎧𐎼 /xar/ |
| Drink | biohotysuca /bjohotɨsuka/ | owɣ- /uɣ/ | gehe /ˈɡɛhɛ/ | hatsra /hat͡sˈra/ | pi /pi/ | 𐬞𐬁 /paː/ | 𐎱𐎠 /paː/ |
| Love | chihizagosqua /tʃihizaɡoskwa/ | besown /besun/ | — /—/ | mukan /muˈkan/ | — /—/ | 𐬟𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 /frija/ | 𐎳𐎼𐎡𐎹 /frija/ |
| Heart | puyquy /pujkʷɨ/ | ükʼ /ykʼ/ | — /—/ | rikʼ /rikʼ/ | mon /mon/ | 𐬰𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛 /zərəd/ | 𐏀𐎼𐎭 /zard/ |
| Tree | quye /kʷye/ | xod /xod/ | ate /ˈate/ | xer /xer/ | gas /ɡas/ | 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬯𐬀 /waesa/ | — /—/ |
| House | gué /ɡwe/ | ḳoǰ /kʼod͡ʒ/ | oma /ˈoma/ | xal /xal/ | ghor /ɡʱoɾ/ | 𐬥𐬨𐬁𐬥𐬀 /nmaːna/ | 𐎶𐎠𐎴𐎡𐎹 /maːnija/ |
| Dog | to /to/ | xa /xa/ | defa /ˈdɛfa/ | xveqʼ /χveqʼ/ | kuthura /kutʰuɾa/ | 𐬯𐬞𐬁 /spaː/ | 𐎿𐎱𐎣 /spaka/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | ytaca /ytaka/ | kʼul /kʼul/ | tana /ˈtana/ | kul /kul/ | hat /hat/ | 𐬰𐬀𐬯𐬙𐬀 /zasta/ | 𐎭𐎿𐎫 /dasta/ |
| Eye | upcua /upkʷa/ | pʼul /pʼul/ | nana /ˈnana/ | ul /ul/ | চকু /sɔku/ | 𐬗𐬀𐬱𐬨𐬀𐬥 /tʃaʃman/ | 𐏂𐏁𐎶𐎴 /tʃaʃman/ |
| Hello | chibu /tʃibu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | ata /ata/ | sa /sa/ | u /ʔu/ | sa /sa/ | ek /ek/ | 𐬀𐬉𐬬𐬀 /aewa/ | 𐎠𐎡𐎺 /aiwa/ |
| Good | choin /tʃoin/ | kʼačʼal /kʼat͡ʃʼal/ | rau /rau/ | yiğin /jiˈʁin/ | bhalo /bʱalo/ | 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 /vohu/ | 𐎴𐎡𐎲 /naiba/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.