A·chik
Garo
Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman, Bodo-Garo)
Garo (A·chik) is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Bodo-Garo branch, spoken by ~1M in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya state in northeastern India and adjacent areas of Bangladesh. The Garo are notable for their matrilineal kinship system — among the few in mainland Asia — where property and clan identity descend through the mother's line. Tonal language with two contrasting tones. Latin orthography developed by American Baptist missionaries in the 1860s replacing earlier Bengali-based writing. Associate official language of Meghalaya since 2005.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Garo
Water
chi·
/tʃi/
Fire
wa·al
/waal/
Sun
sal
/sal/
Moon
ja·tong
/dʒatoŋ/
Mother
ama
/ama/
Father
apa
/apa/
Eat
cha·a
/tʃaa/
Drink
ring·a
/riŋa/
Love
katchea
/katʃea/
Heart
ja·rik
/dʒarik/
Tree
bol
/bol/
House
nok
/nok/
Dog
atcha
/atʃa/
Cat
menggo
/meŋɡo/
Hand
jak
/dʒak/
Eye
mikron
/mikron/
Hello
namaste
/namaste/
Thank you
mittela
/mitːela/
One
sa
/sa/
Good
nama
/nama/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman, Bodo-Garo) languages
| Meaning | Garo | Bodo | Thulung | North Moluccan Malay | Mongghul | Sherpa | Mandar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | chi· /tʃi/ | दै /dai/ | भु /bʱu/ | aer /aer/ | usu /usu/ | ཆུ /tɕʰu/ | uai /uai/ |
| Fire | wa·al /waal/ | वाथार /watʰaɾ/ | मे /me/ | api /api/ | ghal /ʁal/ | མེ /me/ | api /api/ |
| Sun | sal /sal/ | सान /san/ | नाम /nam/ | matahari /matahari/ | nara /nara/ | ཉི་མ /ɲima/ | mata allo /mata alːo/ |
| Moon | ja·tong /dʒatoŋ/ | ओखाफोर /okʰapʰoɾ/ | लामी /lami/ | bulan /bulan/ | sara /sara/ | ཟླ་བ /dawa/ | bulang /bulaŋ/ |
| Mother | ama /ama/ | आय /aj/ | मामा /mama/ | mama /mama/ | ana /ana/ | ཨ་མ /ama/ | indo /indo/ |
| Father | apa /apa/ | आफा /apʰa/ | पापा /papa/ | papa /papa/ | ada /ada/ | ཨ་པ /apa/ | ama /ama/ |
| Eat | cha·a /tʃaa/ | जा /dʒa/ | च- /tʃa/ | makang /makaŋ/ | idi- /idi/ | ཟ /za/ | ma'ande /maʔande/ |
| Drink | ring·a /riŋa/ | लोङ /loŋ/ | तुङ- /tʰuŋ/ | minong /minoŋ/ | uu- /uː/ | འཐུང /tʰuŋ/ | minung /minuŋ/ |
| Love | katchea /katʃea/ | मोनदोङ /mondoŋ/ | सेय्यु /sejːu/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | durala- /durala/ | བློ་ཆོ /lotɕʰo/ | mappinawa /mapːinawa/ |
| Heart | ja·rik /dʒarik/ | फिथा /pʰitʰa/ | सीक /siːk/ | hati /hati/ | jürige /dʒyriɡe/ | སྙིང /ɲiŋ/ | ate /ate/ |
| Tree | bol /bol/ | बिजि /bidʒi/ | सीङ /siːŋ/ | pohong /pohoŋ/ | modu /modu/ | སྡོང་པོ /dompo/ | kaju /kaju/ |
| House | nok /nok/ | नो /no/ | खिम /kʰim/ | ruma /ruma/ | ger /ɡer/ | ནང /naŋ/ | boyang /bojaŋ/ |
| Dog | atcha /atʃa/ | सैमा /saima/ | ख्ली /kʰliː/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | noghui /noʁui/ | ཁྱི /kʰi/ | asu /asu/ |
| Cat | menggo /meŋɡo/ | मौजि /maudʒi/ | पुसी /pusi/ | ikung /ikuŋ/ | mau /mau/ | བྱི་ལ /bila/ | mio /mio/ |
| Hand | jak /dʒak/ | आखाइ /akʰai/ | गुर /ɡur/ | tangang /taŋaŋ/ | ghar /ʁar/ | ལག་པ /lakpa/ | lima /lima/ |
| Eye | mikron /mikron/ | मेगन /meɡon/ | मिक /mik/ | mata /mata/ | nidu /nidu/ | མིག /mik/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hello | namaste /namaste/ | खुलुमबाय /kʰulumbai/ | नमस्ते /nəməste/ | cerang /tʃeraŋ/ | amur sain /amur sain/ | ཏ་ཤེས་ཏེ་ལེ /ʈʰaɕi tɕʰele/ | salama' ma'ondong /salamaʔ maʔondoŋ/ |
| Thank you | mittela /mitːela/ | साबार /sabaɾ/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəbaːd/ | tarima kase /tarima kase/ | bayarla- /bajarla/ | ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེ /tʰuktɕetɕʰe/ | kuru' sumanga' /kuɾuʔ sumaŋaʔ/ |
| One | sa /sa/ | से /se/ | कोङ /koŋ/ | satu /satu/ | nige /niɡe/ | ཅིག /tɕik/ | mesa /mesa/ |
| Good | nama /nama/ | मोजां /modʒaŋ/ | नुम्स /nums/ | bae /bae/ | sain /sain/ | ཡག་པོ /jakpo/ | macoa /matʃoa/ |
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