Basa Gayo
Gayo
Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian, Northwest Sumatra-Barrier Islands)
Gayo (Basa Gayo) is the language of the Gayo people of the central Aceh highlands. Although surrounded by Acehnese, Gayo belongs to a different Austronesian branch — the Northwest Sumatra-Barrier Islands group, alongside Nias and the Mentawai languages — reflecting an earlier migration layer to Sumatra. The Gayo people are predominantly Muslim and famous for the Saman dance (UNESCO Intangible Heritage 2011).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Gayo
Water
weih
/weih/
Fire
rara
/ɾaɾa/
Sun
matacana
/matatʃana/
Moon
lao
/lao/
Mother
ine
/ine/
Father
ama
/ama/
Eat
mangan
/maŋan/
Drink
minum
/minum/
Love
kunyung
/kuɲuŋ/
Heart
ate
/ate/
Tree
kayu
/kaju/
House
umah
/umah/
Dog
asu
/asu/
Cat
kucing
/kutʃiŋ/
Hand
pumu
/pumu/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hello
salam
/salam/
Thank you
matur sangat
/matuɾ saŋat/
One
sara
/saɾa/
Good
jeroh
/dʒeɾoh/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian, Northwest Sumatra-Barrier Islands) languages
| Meaning | Gayo | Mandar | Old Javanese (Kawi) | Toba Batak | Batak Angkola | Lampung | Simalungun Batak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | weih /weih/ | uai /uai/ | ꦮꦫꦶꦃ /warih/ | aek /aek/ | aek /aek/ | way /waj/ | bah /bah/ |
| Fire | rara /ɾaɾa/ | api /api/ | ꦄꦒ꧀ꦤꦶ /aɡni/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | apui /apui/ | apuy /apuj/ |
| Sun | matacana /matatʃana/ | mata allo /mata alːo/ | ꦱꦸꦂꦪ /suɾja/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | ari /ari/ | matarani /matarani/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ |
| Moon | lao /lao/ | bulang /bulaŋ/ | ꦕꦤ꧀ꦢꦿ /tʃandra/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ |
| Mother | ine /ine/ | indo /indo/ | ꦆꦧꦸ /ibu/ | ina /ina/ | inang /inaŋ/ | ina /ina/ | inang /inaŋ/ |
| Father | ama /ama/ | ama /ama/ | ꦫꦩ /rama/ | ama /ama/ | amang /amaŋ/ | kemamang /kemamaŋ/ | bapa /bapa/ |
| Eat | mangan /maŋan/ | ma'ande /maʔande/ | ꦄꦩꦔꦤ꧀ /amaŋan/ | mangan /maŋan/ | mangan /maŋan/ | nganik /ŋanik/ | mangan /maŋan/ |
| Drink | minum /minum/ | minung /minuŋ/ | ꦄꦩꦶꦤꦸꦩ꧀ /aminum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | nginum /ŋinum/ | minum /minum/ |
| Love | kunyung /kuɲuŋ/ | mappinawa /mapːinawa/ | ꦱꦶꦃ /sih/ | holong /holoŋ/ | holong /holoŋ/ | gawoh /ɡawoh/ | holong /holoŋ/ |
| Heart | ate /ate/ | ate /ate/ | ꦲꦠꦶ /hati/ | roha /roha/ | roha /roha/ | hati /hati/ | uhur /uhur/ |
| Tree | kayu /kaju/ | kaju /kaju/ | ꦏꦪꦸ /kaju/ | hau /hau/ | hayu /haju/ | batang kayu /bataŋ kaju/ | hayu /haju/ |
| House | umah /umah/ | boyang /bojaŋ/ | ꦈꦩꦃ /umah/ | jabu /dʒabu/ | bagas /baɡas/ | lamban /lamban/ | rumah /rumah/ |
| Dog | asu /asu/ | asu /asu/ | ꦄꦱꦸ /asu/ | biang /biaŋ/ | asu /asu/ | asu /asu/ | baliang /baliaŋ/ |
| Cat | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | mio /mio/ | ꦩꦺꦴꦁ /moŋ/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | huting /hutiŋ/ |
| Hand | pumu /pumu/ | lima /lima/ | ꦠꦔꦤ꧀ /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | pungow /puŋow/ | tangan /taŋan/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | ꦩꦠ /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hello | salam /salam/ | salama' ma'ondong /salamaʔ maʔondoŋ/ | ꦫꦲꦪꦸ /rahaju/ | horas /horas/ | horas /horas/ | tabik /tabik/ | horas /horas/ |
| Thank you | matur sangat /matuɾ saŋat/ | kuru' sumanga' /kuɾuʔ sumaŋaʔ/ | ꦤꦸꦮꦸꦤ꧀ /nuwun/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | tarima kasih /tarima kasih/ | diatebei /diatebei/ |
| One | sara /saɾa/ | mesa /mesa/ | ꦌꦏ /eka/ | sada /sada/ | sada /sada/ | sai /sai/ | sada /sada/ |
| Good | jeroh /dʒeɾoh/ | macoa /matʃoa/ | ꦲꦪꦸ /haju/ | denggan /deŋɡan/ | denggan /deŋːan/ | hayep /hajep/ | dear /dear/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.