Чӑваш чӗлхи
Chuvash
Turkic (Oghur)
Chuvash (Чӑвашла Čăvašla) is the sole surviving Oghur Turkic language and represents the deepest split in the Turkic family — Common Turkic on one side and Chuvash (Oghur) on the other, with ~1M speakers along the middle Volga. It preserves Proto-Turkic features lost elsewhere in Turkic: rhotacism (Common Turkic z ↔ Chuvash r, e.g. CT "ökü͡z" cattle ↔ Chuv "văkăr") and lambdacism (Common Turkic š ↔ Chuvash l), making it crucial for historical reconstruction of the Proto-Turkic ancestor. The direct descendant of the medieval Volga Bulgar language attested in 13th-14th c. tombstones, Chuvash is co-official with Russian in the Republic of Chuvashia (capital Cheboksary). The Cyrillic script with diacritics (Ӑ ӑ Ӗ ӗ Ҫ ҫ Ӳ ӳ) has been standard since 1872 (Yakovlev orthography), replacing earlier brief experiments with Arabic and Latin scripts.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Chuvash
Water
шыв
/ʃɯv/
Fire
вут
/vut/
Sun
хӗвел
/xɘvel/
Moon
уйӑх
/ujəx/
Mother
анне
/anne/
Father
атте
/atte/
Eat
ҫиес
/ɕies/
Drink
ӗҫес
/ɘɕes/
Love
юрату
/juratu/
Heart
чӗре
/tɕɘre/
Tree
йывӑҫ
/jɯvəɕ/
House
ҫурт
/ɕurt/
Dog
йытӑ
/jɯtə/
Cat
кушак
/kuʃak/
Hand
ал
/al/
Eye
куҫ
/kuɕ/
Hello
салам
/salam/
Thank you
тав
/tav/
One
пӗр
/pɘr/
Good
лайӑх
/lajəx/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Turkic (Oghur) languages
| Meaning | Chuvash | Karachay-Balkar | Karakalpak | Karakhanid | Tuvan | Kumyk | Kyrgyz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | шыв /ʃɯv/ | суу /suw/ | suw /suw/ | suw /suw/ | суг /suɣ/ | сув /suv/ | суу /suː/ |
| Fire | вут /vut/ | от /ot/ | ot /ot/ | ot /ot/ | от /ot/ | от /ot/ | от /ot/ |
| Sun | хӗвел /xɘvel/ | кюн /kyn/ | kún /kyn/ | kün /kyn/ | хүн /xyn/ | гюн /ɡyn/ | күн /kyn/ |
| Moon | уйӑх /ujəx/ | ай /aj/ | ay /aj/ | ay /aj/ | ай /aj/ | ай /aj/ | ай /ɑj/ |
| Mother | анне /anne/ | ана /ana/ | ana /ana/ | ana /ana/ | ава /ava/ | ана /ana/ | эне /ene/ |
| Father | атте /atte/ | ата /ata/ | ata /ata/ | ata /ata/ | ача /atɕa/ | ата /ata/ | ата /ɑtɑ/ |
| Eat | ҫиес /ɕies/ | ашаргъа /aʃarʁa/ | jew /ʒew/ | yi- /ji/ | чиир /tɕiːr/ | ашамакъ /aʃamaq/ | жеш /dʒeʃ/ |
| Drink | ӗҫес /ɘɕes/ | ичерге /itʃerɡe/ | ishiw /iʃiw/ | ič- /itʃ/ | ижер /iʒer/ | ичмек /itʃmek/ | ичүү /ɪtʃyː/ |
| Love | юрату /juratu/ | сюймеклик /syjmeklik/ | muhabbat /muhabbat/ | sevgü /sevɡy/ | ынакшыл /ɯnakʃɯl/ | сюйюв /syjyv/ | сүйүү /syjyː/ |
| Heart | чӗре /tɕɘre/ | джюрек /dʒyrek/ | júrek /ʒyɾek/ | yürek /jyrek/ | чүрек /tɕyrek/ | юрек /jyrek/ | жүрөк /dʒyɾøk/ |
| Tree | йывӑҫ /jɯvəɕ/ | терек /terek/ | ag'ash /aʁaʃ/ | ığač /ɯɣatʃ/ | ыяш /ɯjaʃ/ | терек /terek/ | жыгач /dʒɯɡɑtʃ/ |
| House | ҫурт /ɕurt/ | юй /yj/ | úy /yj/ | ev /ev/ | бажың /baʒɯŋ/ | уьй /yj/ | үй /yj/ |
| Dog | йытӑ /jɯtə/ | ит /it/ | iyt /ijt/ | it /it/ | ыт /ɯt/ | ит /it/ | ит /ɪt/ |
| Cat | кушак /kuʃak/ | киштик /kiʃtik/ | pishik /piʃik/ | piši /piʃi/ | диис /diːs/ | мишик /miʃik/ | мышык /mɯʃɯk/ |
| Hand | ал /al/ | къол /qol/ | qol /qol/ | qol /qol/ | хол /xol/ | къол /qol/ | кол /kol/ |
| Eye | куҫ /kuɕ/ | кёз /køz/ | kóz /køz/ | köz /køz/ | карак /karak/ | гёз /ɡøz/ | көз /køz/ |
| Hello | салам /salam/ | салам /salam/ | salam /salam/ | salām /salaːm/ | экии /ekiː/ | ассаламу алейкум /asːalamu alejkum/ | салам /sɑlɑm/ |
| Thank you | тав /tav/ | сау бол /saw bol/ | rahmet /ɾaχmet/ | tabug /tabuɡ/ | четтирдим /tɕetːirdim/ | савбол /savbol/ | рахмат /ɾɑxmɑt/ |
| One | пӗр /pɘr/ | бир /bir/ | bir /biɾ/ | bir /bir/ | бир /bir/ | бир /bir/ | бир /bɪɾ/ |
| Good | лайӑх /lajəx/ | ариу /ariw/ | jaqsi /ʒaqsɯ/ | yaqšı /jaqʃɯ/ | эки /eki/ | яхшы /jaχʃə/ | жакшы /dʒɑkʃɯ/ |
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