Avañe'ẽ
Guaraní
Tupian
Guaraní (Avañe’ẽ) belongs to the Tupi–Guaraní branch of the Tupian family. The Guaraní macrolanguage code is ISO 639-3: grn, while Paraguayan Guaraní has the individual code gug; related Guaraní varieties in Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil are distinct and should not all be treated as one standard. Paraguay’s 1992 Constitution makes Guaraní and Castilian official languages, and Paraguayan Guaraní is widely used by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in conversation, broadcasting, education, and literature. Its agglutinative grammar marks person on verbs and includes an active–stative alignment pattern, while nasal harmony can affect vowels, consonants, and affixes across a word. Standard spelling uses a Latin-based alphabet with letters such as ñ and diacritics for nasal vowels; contact with Spanish produces a broad range of mixed usage often called Jopara, rather than one sharply bounded variety.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Guaraní
Water
y
/ɨ/
Fire
tata
/tata/
Sun
kuarahy
/kwaɾahɨ/
Moon
jasy
/dʒasɨ/
Star
mbyja
/mbɨˈdʒa/
Mother
sy
/sɨ/
Father
túva
/tuva/
I
che
/ʃe/
You
nde
/nde/
Name
téra
/ˈtera/
Eye
tesa
/tesa/
Hand
po
/po/
Heart
pyʼa
/pɨʔa/
Love
hayhu
/haɨhu/
Tree
yvyra
/ɨvɨɾa/
House
óga
/oɡa/
Dog
jagua
/dʒaɡwa/
Cat
mbarakaja
/mbaɾakadʒa/
Eat
karu
/kaˈɾu/
Drink
yʼu
/ɨʔu/
One
peteĩ
/peteĩ/
Two
mokõi
/mokõĩ/
Hello
mbaʼéichapa
/mbaʔeitʃapa/
Thank you
aguyje
/aɡuɨdʒe/
Good
porã
/poɾã/
Cuckoo
anó
/aˈno/
Computer
mohendaha
/mohendaˈha/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Tupian languages
| Meaning | Guaraní | Mbyá Guaraní | Tupinambá | Nheengatu | Rapanui | Gilbertese | Hiligaynon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | y /ɨ/ | y /ɨ/ | 'y /ʔɨ/ | ig /iɡ/ | vai /vai/ | ran /ɾan/ | tubig /tubiɡ/ |
| Fire | tata /tata/ | tata /ta.ˈta/ | tatá /taˈta/ | tatá /tata/ | ahi /ahi/ | ai /ai/ | kalayo /kalajɔ/ |
| Sun | kuarahy /kwaɾahɨ/ | nhamandu /ɲã.mɑ̃.ˈdu/ | kuarasy /kwaɾaˈsɨ/ | kuarasi /kwaɾasi/ | raʻā /raʔaː/ | taai /taːi/ | adlaw /ʔadlaw/ |
| Moon | jasy /dʒasɨ/ | jaxy /ʒa.ˈʃɨ/ | iasy /jaˈsɨ/ | yasi /jasi/ | mahina /mahina/ | namwakaina /namʷakaina/ | bulan /bulan/ |
| Star | mbyja /mbɨˈdʒa/ | jaxy tata /dʒaʃɨ taˈta/ | jasytata /jasɨtaˈta/ | yasytatá /jasɨtaˈta/ | hetuʻu /heˈtuʔu/ | itoi /iˈtoi/ | bituon /bituˈʔon/ |
| Mother | sy /sɨ/ | sy /ˈsɨ/ | sy /sɨ/ | mãi /mãi/ | matuʻa vahine /matuʔa vahine/ | tinau /tinau/ | nanay /nanaj/ |
| Father | túva /tuva/ | tupa /ˈtu.pa/ | tuba /ˈtuβa/ | paiá /paja/ | matuʻa tāne /matuʔa taːne/ | tamau /tamau/ | tatay /tataj/ |
| I | che /ʃe/ | xee /ʃeː/ | ixé /iˈʃɛ/ | ixé /iˈʃe/ | au /au/ | ngai /ŋai/ | ako /ʔaˈko/ |
| You | nde /nde/ | ndee /ndeː/ | endé /ẽˈdɛ/ | indé /ĩˈde/ | koe /koe/ | ngkoe /ŋkoe/ | ikaw /ʔiˈkaw/ |
| Name | téra /ˈtera/ | téra /ˈteɾa/ | tera /ˈtɛra/ | sera /seˈɾa/ | ingoa /iˈŋoa/ | ara /ˈara/ | ngalan /ˈŋalan/ |
| Eye | tesa /tesa/ | ãg̃u /ɑ̃.ɡ̃u/ | t-esá /teˈsa/ | sesa /sesa/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hand | po /po/ | tape /ta.ˈpe/ | pó /po/ | pó /po/ | rima /ɾima/ | bai /bai/ | kamot /kamɔt/ |
| Heart | pyʼa /pɨʔa/ | py'a /pɨ.ˈa/ | nhe'ã /ɲẽˈʔã/ | py'ã /pɨʔã/ | mahatu /mahatu/ | nano /nano/ | tagipusoon /taɡipusɔʔɔn/ |
| Love | hayhu /haɨhu/ | rohayhu /ro.ha.ˈɨ.u/ | aûsub /aˈwsuβ/ | saysu /sajsu/ | hanga /haŋa/ | tangira /taŋiɾa/ | gugma /ɡuɡma/ |
| Tree | yvyra /ɨvɨɾa/ | yvyra /ɨ.vɨ.ˈra/ | yby'rá /ɨβɨˈɾa/ | mira-vra /miɾavɾa/ | tumu rākau /tumu raːkau/ | kai /kai/ | kahoy /kahɔj/ |
| House | óga /oɡa/ | óga /ˈo.ɡa/ | oka /ˈoka/ | oka /oka/ | hare /haɾe/ | auti /auti/ | balay /balaj/ |
| Dog | jagua /dʒaɡwa/ | asu /a.ˈsu/ | îagûara /jaˈɣwaɾa/ | yawara /jawaɾa/ | paihega /paiheŋa/ | kamea /kamea/ | ido /ʔidɔ/ |
| Cat | mbarakaja /mbaɾakadʒa/ | jaguá /ʒa.ɡu.ˈa/ | marakaîá /maɾakaˈja/ | mariwa /maɾiwa/ | kati /kati/ | katu /katu/ | kuting /kutiŋ/ |
| Eat | karu /kaˈɾu/ | jepota /ʒe.ˈpo.ta/ | 'u /ʔu/ | ku /ku/ | kai /kai/ | amwarake /amʷaɾake/ | kaon /kaʔɔn/ |
| Drink | yʼu /ɨʔu/ | inumbo /i.ˈnum.bo/ | 'u /ʔu/ | yú /ju/ | unu /unu/ | nima /nima/ | inom /ʔinɔm/ |
| One | peteĩ /peteĩ/ | peteĩ /pe.te.ˈĩ/ | oîepé /ojeˈpe/ | yepé /jepe/ | tahi /tahi/ | teuana /teuana/ | isa /ʔisa/ |
| Two | mokõi /mokõĩ/ | mokõi /mokõˈĩ/ | mokõi /moˈkõj/ | mukũi /muˈkũĩ/ | rua /ˈrua/ | uoua /uˈoua/ | duha /duˈha/ |
| Hello | mbaʼéichapa /mbaʔeitʃapa/ | mba'éichapa /m.ba.ˈe.i.ʃa.pa/ | ereîubé /eɾejuˈβe/ | poranga /poɾaŋɡa/ | ʻiorana /ʔioɾana/ | mauri /mauɾi/ | kamusta /kamusta/ |
| Thank you | aguyje /aɡuɨdʒe/ | aguyje /a.ɡu.ˈɨ.ʒe/ | — /—/ | katu /katu/ | maururu /mauɾuɾu/ | ko rabwa /ko ɾabʷa/ | salamat /salamat/ |
| Good | porã /poɾã/ | porã /po.ˈrɑ̃/ | katu /kaˈtu/ | katu /katu/ | riva /ɾiva/ | raoiroi /ɾaoiɾoi/ | maayo /maʔajɔ/ |
| Cuckoo | anó /aˈno/ | — | anũ /ãˈnũ/ | anú /aˈnu/ | — | — | — |
| Computer | mohendaha /mohendaˈha/ | — | — | — | — | — | kompyuter /komˈpjutɛr/ |
Word order compared
Compare with major world languages
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