𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺

Gothic

Indo-European (Germanic, East) · historical / hidden variety

FamilyIndo-European (Germanic, East) SpeakersExtinct ScriptGothic alphabet CountriesGothic kingdoms, Crimea Official inOstrogothic, Visigothic kingdoms Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3got

Gothic (𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺) is the earliest substantially documented Germanic language and the only well-attested East Germanic language. Preserved primarily in Bishop Wulfila's 4th-century translation of the Bible (the Codex Argenteus, c. 350–380 CE), made for the Visigoths in the Balkans. Wulfila created the Gothic alphabet for this translation, derived from Greek with elements from Latin and runic. The language went extinct in continental Europe by the 8th century but Crimean Gothic survived until at least the 16th century (recorded in 1562 by Busbecq). Gothic preserves archaic features lost in other Germanic languages, including dual number and fully inflected case system.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Gothic

Water

𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉

/wɑtoː/

Fire

𐍆𐍉𐌽

/foːn/

Sun

𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉

/sunːoː/

Moon

𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌰

/meːnɑ/

Mother

𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌴𐌹

/aiθiː/

Father

𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌰

/ɑtːɑ/

Eat

𐌼𐌰𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽

/mɑtjɑn/

Drink

𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌺𐌰𐌽

/driŋkɑn/

Love

𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌰𐌸𐍅𐌰

/friɑθwɑ/

Heart

𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍄𐍉

/hɛrtoː/

Tree

𐌱𐌰𐌲𐌼𐍃

/bɑɣms/

House

𐍂𐌰𐌶𐌽

/rɑzn/

Dog

𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃

/hunds/

Cat

*𐌺𐌰𐍄𐍄𐍃

/kɑtːs/

Hand

𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐍃

/hɑndus/

Eye

𐌰𐌿𐌲𐍉

/ɑuɣoː/

Hello

𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃

/hails/

Thank you

𐌸𐌰𐌲𐌺𐍃

/θɑŋks/

One

𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃

/ains/

Good

𐌲𐍉𐌸𐍃

/ɡoːθs/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Indo-European (Germanic, East) languages

Meaning GothicOld EnglishOld FrisianOld NorseMiddle EnglishNorwegian NynorskFrisian
Water 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉 /wɑtoː/ wæter /wæter/ wetir /vetiɾ/ vatn /vɑtn/ water /watər/ vatn /vɑːtn/ wetter /vɛtər/
Fire 𐍆𐍉𐌽 /foːn/ fȳr /fyːr/ fiur /fjuːɾ/ eldr /eldr/ fyr /fyːr/ eld /ɛld/ fjoer /fjuːr/
Sun 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 /sunːoː/ sunne /sunːe/ sunne /sunːe/ sól /soːl/ sonne /sɔnːə/ sol /suːl/ sinne /sɪnə/
Moon 𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌰 /meːnɑ/ mōna /moːnɑ/ mōna /moːnɑ/ máni /mɑːni/ mone /moːnə/ måne /moːnə/ moanne /mwɑnə/
Mother 𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌴𐌹 /aiθiː/ mōdor /moːdor/ moder /moːdeɾ/ móðir /moːðir/ moder /moːdər/ mor /muːr/ mem /mɛm/
Father 𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌰 /ɑtːɑ/ fæder /fæder/ feder /fædeɾ/ faðir /fɑðir/ fader /faːdər/ far /fɑːr/ heit /hɛit/
Eat 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 /mɑtjɑn/ etan /etɑn/ eta /etɑ/ eta /etɑ/ eten /eːtən/ eta /eːtɑ/ ite /iːtə/
Drink 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌺𐌰𐌽 /driŋkɑn/ drincan /drinkɑn/ drinka /dɾinkɑ/ drekka /drekːɑ/ drinken /drɪŋkən/ drikka /drɪkːɑ/ drinke /drɪŋkə/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Gothic
Ik wiljau fandjan wastja þoei ik gasahv ‌in makljai andwairþis salithwos
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Gothic
Ik wiljau fandjan wastja þoei ik gasahv ‌in makljai andwairþis salithwos
Unë dua ta provoj një kostum pashë një dyqan përballë hotelit
Ես ուզում եմ փորձել կոստում որ տեսա խանութում դիմաց հյուրանոցի
हम होटल के सामने दुकान में देखल सूट पहिन के देखे के चाहत बानी
Аз искам да пробвам костюм който видях в магазин срещу хотела

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