ⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛⲕⲏⲙⲉ

Coptic

Afro-Asiatic (Egyptian) · historical / hidden variety

FamilyAfro-Asiatic (Egyptian) SpeakersExtinct (liturgical) ScriptCoptic (Greek-derived) CountriesRoman/Byzantine Egypt Official inCoptic Orthodox Church (liturgical) Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3cop

Coptic (ϯⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ tiṃetremnkhīmi) is the final stage of the Egyptian language, descended directly from Demotic Egyptian and ultimately from the language of the hieroglyphic inscriptions of pharaonic Egypt. Written in a Greek-derived alphabet supplemented by 7 letters from Demotic for sounds Greek lacked (ϣ š, ϥ f, ϧ x, ϩ h, ϫ ǰ, ϭ č, ϯ ti). Several dialects (Sahidic, Bohairic, Akhmimic, Fayyumic), with Bohairic now standard for the Coptic Orthodox Church. Ceased as a spoken vernacular by the 17th c. with Arabization, but remains the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church (~10–15M adherents). Lord's Prayer in Coptic survives.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Coptic

Water

ⲙⲟⲟⲩ

/moːu/

Fire

ⲕⲣⲱⲙ

/kroːm/

Sun

ⲣⲏ

/reː/

Moon

ⲓⲟϩ

/joːh/

Star

ⲥⲓⲟⲩ

/siu/

Mother

ⲙⲁⲁⲩ

/maːu/

Father

ⲉⲓⲱⲧ

/ejoːt/

I

ⲁⲛⲟⲕ

/aˈnok/

You

ⲛⲧⲟⲕ

/ənˈtok/

Name

ⲣⲁⲛ

/ran/

Eye

ⲃⲁⲗ

/bal/

Hand

ϭⲓϫ

/tʃidʒ/

Heart

ϩⲏⲧ

/heːt/

Love

ⲙⲉ

/me/

Tree

ϣⲏⲛ

/ʃeːn/

House

ⲏⲓ

/eːj/

Dog

ⲟⲩϩⲟⲣ

/uhɔr/

Cat

ⲉⲙⲟⲩ

/emu/

Eat

ⲟⲩⲱⲙ

/uoːm/

Drink

ⲥⲱ

/soː/

One

ⲟⲩⲁ

/ua/

Two

ⲥⲛⲁⲩ

/ˈsnau/

Hello

ⲛⲟⲩϥⲣⲓ

/nufri/

Thank you

ϣⲉⲡϩⲙⲟⲧ

/ʃephmot/

Good

ⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩ

/nanu/

Sushi

ⲧⲁⲣⲓⲭⲓⲟⲛ

/taˈrixion/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Egyptian) languages

Meaning CopticAncient EgyptianBalochiAkkadianPersian (Classical)BrahuiInari Sámi
Water ⲙⲟⲟⲩ /moːu/ 𓈗 /muː/ آپ /aːp/ 𒈬 /muː/ آب /aːb/ دیر /diːɾ/ čääci /tʃæːtsi/
Fire ⲕⲣⲱⲙ /kroːm/ 𓊮 /sedʒet/ آس /aːs/ 𒉈𒌋 /iʃaːtu/ آتش /aːtaʃ/ کاہا /kaha/ tollâ /tolːa/
Sun ⲣⲏ /reː/ 𓇳 /riːʕa/ روچ /roːtʃ/ 𒀭𒌓 /ʃamʃu/ خورشید /xʷarʃeːd/ دے /deː/ peivi /peivi/
Moon ⲓⲟϩ /joːh/ 𓇹 /jaʕaħ/ ماہ /maːh/ 𒌗 /warχu/ ماه /maːh/ ماہ /mah/ máánu /maːnu/
Star ⲥⲓⲟⲩ /siu/ 𓋴𓃀𓄿𓇼 /ˈsabaʔ/ استار /estaːr/ 𒀯 /kakːabu/ ستاره /sitaːra/ استار /isˈtaːr/ násti /ˈnaːsti/
Mother ⲙⲁⲁⲩ /maːu/ 𓅐𓏏 /muːt/ ماس /maːs/ 𒌝𒈬 /umːu/ مادر /maːdar/ لمّا /lumːaː/ enni /enːi/
Father ⲉⲓⲱⲧ /ejoːt/ 𓇋𓏏 /jit/ پت /pit/ 𒀊 /abu/ پدر /pidar/ باوا /baːwaː/ eeči /eːtʃi/
I ⲁⲛⲟⲕ /aˈnok/ 𓇋𓏌𓎡 /ʔaˈnak/ من /man/ 𒀀𒈾𒆪 /anaːku/ من /man/ ای /iː/ mun /mun/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Coptic
ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲉⲓⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲛⲧⲁϣⲉⲡ ⲟⲩϩⲃⲥⲱ ⲉⲧⲁⲓⲛⲁⲩ ϩⲛ ⲟⲩⲁⲡⲟⲑⲏⲕⲏ ⲙⲡⲉⲙⲧⲟ ⲙⲡⲙⲁⲛϣⲱⲡⲉ
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

Coptic
ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲉⲓⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲛⲧⲁϣⲉⲡ ⲟⲩϩⲃⲥⲱ ⲉⲧⲁⲓⲛⲁⲩ ϩⲛ ⲟⲩⲁⲡⲟⲑⲏⲕⲏ ⲙⲡⲉⲙⲧⲟ ⲙⲡⲙⲁⲛϣⲱⲡⲉ
anāku erriš labāšu lubāri ša amuru ina bīti mehret bīt nubatti
𓅓𓂋𓏏|mrt 𓇋|.j 𓅓𓂝𓂝|mꜣꜣ.n.j 𓎛𓃀𓋴|ḥbs 𓅓 𓅱𓇋𓂝𓏏|m wjꜥ.t 𓂋 𓉐|r-ḥꜣ.t pr
أنا أبي أجرب البدلة اللي شفتها في المحل مقابل الفندق
Ina so in gwada rigar ‌da na gani a shago gaban hotel

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