*dń̥ǵʰwéh₂s

Proto-Indo-European

Proto-language (reconstructed) · historical / hidden variety

FamilyProto-language (reconstructed) SpeakersExtinct (hypothetical) ScriptNone / reconstructed CountriesPontic-Caspian steppe (hypothetical) Official inNone Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3ine

Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family — the most thoroughly reconstructed proto-language in historical linguistics. Hypothesized to have been spoken c. 4500–2500 BCE on the Pontic-Caspian steppe (north of the Black Sea, the Kurgan hypothesis of Marija Gimbutas) by a semi-nomadic pastoralist society. Reconstruction is based on systematic correspondences across daughter languages from Sanskrit to Lithuanian, beginning with William Jones (1786), Bopp, Schleicher (Schwa indogermanicum), de Saussure (laryngeal theory). Modern reconstruction posits 3 laryngeals, 5 vowels, complex case system, and ablaut.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Proto-Indo-European

Water

*wódr̥

/wódr̩/

Fire

*péh₂wr̥

/péh₂wr̩/

Sun

*sóh₂wl̥

/sóh₂wl̩/

Moon

*méh₁not

/méh₁not/

Mother

*méh₂tēr

/méh₂teːr/

Father

*ph₂tḗr

/ph₂téːr/

Eat

*h₁ed-

/h₁ed/

Drink

*peh₃-

/peh₃/

Love

*lewbʰ-

/lewbʰ/

Heart

*ḱḗr

/ḱéːr/

Tree

*dóru

/dóru/

House

*dṓm

/dóːm/

Dog

*ḱwṓ

/ḱwóː/

Cat

—

/—/

Hand

*ǵʰésr̥

/ǵʰésr̩/

Eye

*h₃ékʷ-

/h₃ékʷ/

Hello

—

/—/

Thank you

—

/—/

One

*h₁óynos

/h₁ójnos/

Good

*h₁su-

/h₁su/

Sources

Open Proto-Indo-European in the interactive map →

Words compared

Compared with related Proto-language (reconstructed) languages

Meaning Proto-Indo-EuropeanMycenaean GreekHittiteOscanAvestanOld PersianLuwian
Water *wódr̥ /wódr̩/ 𐀓𐀈 /hudɔːr/ 𒉿𒀀𒋻 /waːtar/ — /—/ 𐬁𐬞 /aːp/ 𐎠𐎱 /aːpi/ 𔓷𔗬𔖻𔑯 /wadar/
Fire *péh₂wr̥ /péh₂wr̩/ 𐀢 /pyːr/ 𒉺𒄩𒄴𒄯 /paxːur/ — /—/ 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /aːtar/ 𐎠𐎫𐎼 /aːtar/ 𔑭𔖖𔖖𔗬 /paːhːur/
Sun *sóh₂wl̥ /sóh₂wl̩/ 𐀀𐀺𐀂𐀍 /haːwelios/ — /—/ — /—/ 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 /huwarə/ 𐏃𐎢𐎺𐎼 /huwar/ 𔖻𔗬𔑯 /tiwad/
Moon *méh₁not /méh₁not/ 𐀕 /mɛːn/ 𒀀𒅈𒈠 /arma/ — /—/ 𐬨𐬁𐬵 /maːh/ 𐎶𐎠𐏃 /maːha/ 𔓯𔗬 /arma/
Mother *méh₂tēr /méh₂teːr/ 𐀔𐀳 /maːtɛːr/ 𒀭𒈾 /anːa/ maatúf /maːtof/ 𐬨𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /maːtar/ 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎼 /maːtar/ 𔑯𔑯 /anna/
Father *ph₂tḗr /ph₂téːr/ 𐀞𐀳 /patɛːr/ 𒀜𒋫 /atːa/ patír /patiːr/ 𐬞𐬌𐬙𐬀𐬭 /pitar/ 𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠 /pitaː/ 𔑯𔑯𔗬 /tati/
Eat *h₁ed- /h₁ed/ 𐀁𐀈𐀕𐀙 /edmenai/ 𒅕𒀀𒀜 /ed/ — /—/ 𐬑𐬬𐬀𐬭 /xwar/ 𐎧𐎼 /xar/ 𔑯𔗬 /ad/
Drink *peh₃- /peh₃/ 𐀡𐀜 /piːnɔː/ 𒅔𒆪 /eku/ — /—/ 𐬞𐬁 /paː/ 𐎱𐎠 /paː/ 𔑯𔓷 /aku/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Proto-Indo-European
*eǵh₂ *welh₁- *temh₁- *wes- *yo- *weid- *h₁en *h₂ep- *h₂ent- *gʰos-ti-
Arabic (MSA)
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Chinese (Mandarin)
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
English
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
German
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
Hindi
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
Japanese
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Russian
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Related languages & comparisons

Compare with major languages (Proto-Indo-European · English · Chinese (Mandarin) · Arabic (MSA) · Hindi) Comparisons are of word form & pronunciation (not word order).

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