Dolnoserbšćina

Lower Sorbian

Slavic (West, Sorbian)

FamilySlavic (West, Sorbian) Speakers~7K ScriptLatin (with č š ž ě ó ł) CountriesGermany (Lower Lusatia) Official inBrandenburg (regional) Vitalitydefinitely-endangered ISO 639-3dsb

Lower Sorbian (Dolnoserbšćina) is the smaller and more endangered of the two Sorbian languages, spoken around Cottbus in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg. Unlike Catholic-area Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian developed in Protestant lands after the Reformation and so received much less institutional support; it survived in oral village use and Lutheran liturgy. It belongs to the West Slavic branch and preserves the Slavic dual number, lost in nearly all other modern Slavic languages.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Lower Sorbian

Water

woda

/ˈvɔda/

Fire

wogeń

/ˈvɔɡɛɲ/

Sun

słyńco

/ˈswɨnt͡sɔ/

Moon

mjasec

/ˈmʲasɛt͡s/

Mother

maś

/maɕ/

Father

nan

/nan/

Eat

jěsć

/jɛɕt͡ɕ/

Drink

piś

/piɕ/

Love

lubosć

/ˈlubɔɕt͡ɕ/

Heart

wutšoba

/ˈvut͡ʃɔba/

Tree

bom

/bɔm/

House

dom

/dɔm/

Dog

pjas

/pʲas/

Cat

kócka

/ˈkɛt͡ska/

Hand

ruka

/ˈruka/

Eye

woko

/ˈvɔkɔ/

Hello

witaj

/ˈvitaj/

Thank you

źěkujom se

/ˈd͡ʑɛkujɔm sɛ/

One

jaden

/ˈjadɛn/

Good

dobry

/ˈdɔbrɨ/

Words compared

Compared with related Slavic (West, Sorbian) languages

Meaning Lower SorbianUpper SorbianPolishSilesianKashubianCzechMacedonian
Water woda /ˈvɔda/ woda /ˈvɔda/ woda /ˈvɔda/ woda /ˈvɔda/ woda /ˈvɔda/ voda /ˈvoda/ вода /ˈvɔda/
Fire wogeń /ˈvɔɡɛɲ/ woheń /ˈvɔhɛɲ/ ogień /ˈɔɡɛɲ/ ôgyń /ˈɔɡɨɲ/ ogniô /ˈɔɡɲɔ/ oheň /ˈoɦɛɲ/ оган /ˈɔɡan/
Sun słyńco /ˈswɨnt͡sɔ/ słónco /ˈswʊnt͡sɔ/ słońce /ˈswɔɲt͡sɛ/ słōńce /ˈswɔɲt͡sɛ/ słuńce /ˈswuɲt͡sɛ/ slunce /ˈslunt͡sɛ/ сонце /ˈsɔnt͡sɛ/
Moon mjasec /ˈmʲasɛt͡s/ měsac /ˈmʲɛsat͡s/ księżyc /ˈkɕɛ̃ʐɨt͡s/ miesiōnczek /mʲɛˈɕɔ̃t͡ʂɛk/ ksãżëc /ˈksɔ̃ʐɨt͡s/ měsíc /ˈmɲɛsiːt͡s/ месечина /mɛˈsɛt͡ʃina/
Mother maś /maɕ/ mać /mat͡ɕ/ matka /ˈmatka/ mamulka /maˈmulka/ mëma /ˈmɨma/ matka /ˈmatka/ мајка /ˈmajka/
Father nan /nan/ nan /nan/ ojciec /ˈɔjt͡ɕɛt͡s/ fater /ˈfatɛr/ tatk /tatk/ otec /ˈotɛt͡s/ татко /ˈtatkɔ/
Eat jěsć /jɛɕt͡ɕ/ jěsć /jɛst͡ɕ/ jeść /jɛɕt͡ɕ/ jeść /jɛɕt͡ɕ/ jesc /jɛst͡s/ jíst /jiːst/ јаде /ˈjadɛ/
Drink piś /piɕ/ pić /pit͡ɕ/ pić /pit͡ɕ/ pić /pit͡ɕ/ pic /pit͡s/ pít /piːt/ пие /ˈpiɛ/
Page 1/3

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