diutsch
Middle High German
Indo-European (Germanic, West) · historical / hidden variety
Middle High German is the form of High German between Old High German and Early New High German. It is the language of the Nibelungenlied, the Minnesänger (especially Walter von der Vogelweide), Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, and Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan. The High German consonant shift was complete by the Middle High German period.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Middle High German
Water
wazzer
/ˈwatser/
Fire
viur
/viur/
Sun
sunne
/ˈzunːə/
Moon
mâne
/ˈmaːnə/
Star
sterne
/ˈstɛrnə/
Mother
muoter
/ˈmuoːtər/
Father
vater
/ˈfatər/
I
ich
/ix/
You
dû
/duː/
Name
name
/ˈnamə/
Eye
ouge
/ˈouɡə/
Hand
hant
/hant/
Heart
herze
/ˈhertsə/
Love
minne
/ˈminːə/
Tree
boum
/boum/
House
hûs
/huːs/
Dog
hunt
/hunt/
Cat
katze
/ˈkatsə/
Eat
ezzen
/ˈetsən/
Drink
trinken
/ˈtrinkən/
One
ein
/ein/
Two
zwei
/tsweɪ/
Hello
gegrüezet
/ɡəˈɡryːətsət/
Thank you
danc
/daŋk/
Good
guot
/ɡuoːt/
Cuckoo
gouch
/ˈɡou̯x/
Sushi
stocvisch
/ˈstɔkfiʃ/
Sources
- Paul (2007) — Mittelhochdeutsche Grammatik
- Glottolog: midd1343
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Germanic, West) languages
| Meaning | Middle High German | Old High German | Old Saxon | Early New High German (Luther-era) | German (Swiss) | Middle English | West Flemish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | wazzer /ˈwatser/ | wazzar /ˈwatsar/ | watar /ˈwatar/ | Wasser /ˈvasːər/ | Wasser /ˈvasər/ | water /watər/ | woater /ˈwɔːtər/ |
| Fire | viur /viur/ | fiur /fiur/ | fiur /fiur/ | Fewr /foɪ̯r/ | Feuer /ˈfɔɪ̯ər/ | fyr /fyːr/ | vier /viːr/ |
| Sun | sunne /ˈzunːə/ | sunna /ˈsunna/ | sunna /ˈsunːa/ | Sonne /ˈzɔnə/ | Sonne /ˈsɔnə/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | zunne /ˈzœnə/ |
| Moon | mâne /ˈmaːnə/ | māno /ˈmaːno/ | māno /ˈmaːno/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | mone /moːnə/ | moane /ˈmɔːnə/ |
| Star | sterne /ˈstɛrnə/ | sterno /ˈsterno/ | sterro /ˈsterro/ | Stern /ʃtɛrn/ | Stern /ʃtɛrn/ | sterre /ˈstɛrːə/ | sterre /ˈstærə/ |
| Mother | muoter /ˈmuoːtər/ | muoter /ˈmuotɛr/ | modar /ˈmoːdar/ | Mutter /ˈmʊtər/ | Mutter /ˈmʊtər/ | moder /moːdər/ | moeder /ˈmudər/ |
| Father | vater /ˈfatər/ | fater /ˈfatɛr/ | fader /ˈfadər/ | Vater /ˈfaːtər/ | Vater /ˈfaːtər/ | fader /faːdər/ | voader /ˈvɔːdər/ |
| I | ich /ix/ | ih /ix/ | ik /ik/ | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪx/ | I /iː/ | ik /ɛk/ |
| You | dû /duː/ | du /duː/ | thu /θuː/ | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | thou /θuː/ | gie /hi/ |
| Name | name /ˈnamə/ | namo /ˈnamo/ | namo /ˈnamo/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | name /ˈnaːmə/ | noame /ˈnɔːmə/ |
| Eye | ouge /ˈouɡə/ | ouga /ˈouɡa/ | ōga /ˈoːɡa/ | Aug /aʊk/ | Auge /ˈaʊɡə/ | eye /iːə/ | ooge /ˈoːhə/ |
| Hand | hant /hant/ | hant /hant/ | hand /hand/ | Handt /hant/ | Hand /hant/ | hand /hand/ | and /ɑnt/ |
| Heart | herze /ˈhertsə/ | herza /ˈhertsa/ | herta /ˈherta/ | Hertz /hɛrts/ | Herz /hɛrts/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | erte /ˈærtə/ |
| Love | minne /ˈminːə/ | minna /ˈminna/ | minnea /ˈminːea/ | Liebe /ˈliːbə/ | Liebe /ˈliːbə/ | love /lʊvə/ | liefde /ˈliːvdə/ |
| Tree | boum /boum/ | boum /boum/ | bōm /boːm/ | Bawm /baʊm/ | Baum /baʊm/ | tre /treː/ | boom /boːm/ |
| House | hûs /huːs/ | hūs /huːs/ | hūs /huːs/ | Hauß /haʊs/ | Haus /haʊs/ | hous /huːs/ | uus /ʏːs/ |
| Dog | hunt /hunt/ | hunt /hunt/ | hund /hund/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | hound /huːnd/ | hound /hont/ |
| Cat | katze /ˈkatsə/ | kazza /ˈkatsa/ | katta /ˈkatːa/ | Katze /ˈkatsə/ | Katze /ˈkɑtːsə/ | catte /katːə/ | katte /ˈkɑtə/ |
| Eat | ezzen /ˈetsən/ | ezzan /ˈetsan/ | etan /ˈetan/ | essen /ˈɛsːən/ | essen /ˈɛsn̩/ | eten /eːtən/ | eetn /ˈeːtn̩/ |
| Drink | trinken /ˈtrinkən/ | trinkan /ˈtrinkan/ | drinkan /ˈdrinkan/ | trincken /ˈtrɪŋkən/ | trinken /ˈtrɪŋkn̩/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drienkn /ˈdriŋkn̩/ |
| One | ein /ein/ | ein /ein/ | ēn /eːn/ | eyn /aɪ̯n/ | eins /aɪ̯ns/ | oon /oːn/ | êen /eːn/ |
| Two | zwei /tsweɪ/ | zwei /tswei/ | twēne /ˈtweːne/ | zwey /tsvaɪ/ | zwei /tsvai/ | two /twɔː/ | twêe /tweː/ |
| Hello | gegrüezet /ɡəˈɡryːətsət/ | heil /heil/ | heil /heil/ | Gott zum Gruß /ɡɔt tsʊm ɡruːs/ | Hallo /haˈloː/ | hail /hɛːl/ | goeiendag /ˌhujənˈdɑh/ |
| Thank you | danc /daŋk/ | danc /daŋk/ | thank /θaŋk/ | Danck /daŋk/ | danke /ˈdaŋkə/ | thank /θank/ | merci /mɛrˈsi/ |
| Good | guot /ɡuoːt/ | guot /ɡuot/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | good /ɡoːd/ | goed /hut/ |
| Cuckoo | gouch /ˈɡou̯x/ | gouh /ˈɡou̯x/ | — | gukuk /ˈɡukuk/ | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | cuccu /ˈkukuː/ | koekoek /ˈkukuk/ |
| Sushi | stocvisch /ˈstɔkfiʃ/ | — | — | Stockfisch /ˈʃtɔkfɪʃ/ | Sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | stokfish /ˈstɔkfiʃ/ | — |
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