Jinghpaw
Jingpo (Kachin)
Sino-Tibetan (Sal, Jingpho)
Jingpho (Kachin, called Jǐngpō in China) is the principal Sal-branch Tibeto-Burman language of northern Myanmar's Kachin State and adjacent Yunnan, with ~900K speakers. Functions as the lingua franca of the multi-ethnic Kachin people, who speak six distinct languages but share a common identity. Tonal (4 tones), with verb-final word order and elaborate evidentiality marking. Latin orthography developed by American Baptist missionary Ola Hanson in 1895, with diacritics for tone (Hanson script remains standard). Used in primary education in Kachin State.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Jingpo (Kachin)
Water
hka
/kʰaː˧/
Fire
wan
/waːn˧/
Sun
jan
/dʒan˧/
Moon
shata
/ʃata˧/
Mother
nu
/nu˧/
Father
wa
/wa˧/
Eat
sha
/ʃa˧/
Drink
lu
/lu˧/
Love
tsaw ra
/tsau˧ra˧/
Heart
salum
/salum˧/
Tree
hpun
/pʰun˧/
House
nta
/nta˧/
Dog
gwi
/ɡwi˧/
Cat
nyaung
/ɲauŋ˧/
Hand
lata
/lata˧/
Eye
myi
/mji˧/
Hello
kaja i
/kadʒa˧i˧/
Thank you
chyeju kaba
/tʃedʒu˧kaba˧/
One
langai
/laŋai˧/
Good
kaja
/kadʒa˧/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Sino-Tibetan (Sal, Jingpho) languages
| Meaning | Jingpo (Kachin) | Pwo Karen | Akha | Azhe | Hakka Chinese | Naxi | Tangut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | hka /kʰaː˧/ | ထံ /tʰi˧/ | i tsi /i˧tsɨ˧/ | ʑɿ /ʑɿ˧˧/ | 水 /sui˧˩/ | gee /ɡɯ˧/ | 𗀚 /tjɨ˧/ |
| Fire | wan /waːn˧/ | မ့ၣ် /me˨˩/ | mji /mji˧/ | mi /mi˧˧/ | 火 /fo˧˩/ | mee /mɯ˧/ | 𘎩 /me˧/ |
| Sun | jan /dʒan˧/ | မုန် /mu˧/ | nyi ma /ɲi˧ma˧/ | ŋni /ŋnʲi˧˧/ | 日头 /ŋit˧tʰeu˧˥/ | ny-mei /nĩ˧mi˧/ | 𘂴 /pjij˧˥/ |
| Moon | shata /ʃata˧/ | လး /la˧/ | ba la /ba˧la˧/ | ɬɛ /ɬɛ˧˧/ | 月光 /ŋiet˧koŋ˥/ | he-mei /hɯ˧mi˧/ | 𗏯 /lja˧˥/ |
| Mother | nu /nu˧/ | မိ /mu˧˥/ | a ma /a˧ma˧/ | amo /amo˧˧/ | 阿姆 /a˥me˧/ | mei /mei˧/ | 𘎒 /ma˧˥/ |
| Father | wa /wa˧/ | ဖါ /pa˧/ | a da /a˧da˧/ | ada /ada˧˧/ | 阿爸 /a˥pa˥/ | av /a˧/ | 𗥃 /pa˧/ |
| Eat | sha /ʃa˧/ | အၢင် /ai˧˩/ | za /dza˧/ | dza /dza˧˧/ | 食 /sɨt˧/ | zo /d͡zo˧/ | 𗅋 /dzjij˧˥/ |
| Drink | lu /lu˧/ | အူ /ɔ˧/ | tu /tu˧/ | du /du˧˧/ | 饮 /iam˧˩/ | chil /t͡ʂʰi˥/ | 𘉞 /tʰjij˧˥/ |
| Love | tsaw ra /tsau˧ra˧/ | အဲင် /ai˧kʰe˧/ | gaq /ɡaʔ˧/ | ŋa /ŋa˧˧/ | 爱 /oi˧/ | lai /lɑ˧/ | 𗙊 /lhjij˧˥/ |
| Heart | salum /salum˧/ | သး /tʰa˧/ | ne ma /ne˧ma˧/ | si /si˧˧/ | 心 /sim˥/ | see-zai /sɯ˧d͡zɑ˧/ | 𘃠 /njij˧˥/ |
| Tree | hpun /pʰun˧/ | သုၣ် /tʰoŋ˧/ | aq xeu /aʔ˧ɕeu˧/ | sɿ /sɿ˧˧/ | 树 /su˧/ | si /si˧/ | 𘀇 /sji˧/ |
| House | nta /nta˧/ | ဟံၣ် /hi˧/ | nyma /ɲma˧/ | ɣɯ /ɣɯ˧˧/ | 屋 /vuk˧/ | pee-mei /pɯ˧mi˧/ | 𗩴 /kʰjwa˧˥/ |
| Dog | gwi /ɡwi˧/ | ထွဲ /tʰwi˧/ | jia /tɕa˧/ | kʰɯ /kʰɯ˧˧/ | 狗 /kieu˧˩/ | kee /kʰɯ˧/ | 𗋒 /kʰwjɨ˧/ |
| Cat | nyaung /ɲauŋ˧/ | ဖၣ် /pə˧/ | a yi /a˧ji˧/ | vi /vi˧˧/ | 猫 /miau˥/ | lai-mei /lɑ˧mi˧/ | 𗦷 /mji˧˥/ |
| Hand | lata /lata˧/ | စူ /sɔ˨/ | la pa /la˧pa˧/ | la /la˧˧/ | 手 /su˧˩/ | lel /lɯ˥/ | 𘀔 /lje˧/ |
| Eye | myi /mji˧/ | မဲာ် /mɛ˧/ | nyaq /ɲaʔ˧/ | ȵi /ȵi˧˧/ | 目 /muk˧/ | nyi /ɲi˧/ | 𗞴 /mjij˧/ |
| Hello | kaja i /kadʒa˧i˧/ | နာမှၤ /na˧ʃi˧/ | u du la /u˧du˧la˧/ | mosu /mosu˧˧/ | 你好 /nɡi˧˥ho˧˩/ | nyel-bbeq /ɲɯ˥bɯ˨˩/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | chyeju kaba /tʃedʒu˧kaba˧/ | တၢ်ဘျုး /ta˧blu˧/ | gv ya /ɡɯ˧ja˧/ | katɕʰɿ /katɕʰɿ˧˧/ | 多谢 /to˥t͡sia˧/ | jjuq jjuq /d͡ʑɯ˨˩d͡ʑɯ˨˩/ | — /—/ |
| One | langai /laŋai˧/ | တ /ta˧˩/ | ti /ti˧/ | tsʰɿ /tsʰɿ˧˧/ | 一 /it˧/ | ddee /dɯ˧/ | 𘈩 /lew˧˥/ |
| Good | kaja /kadʒa˧/ | ဂ့ၤ /ɣai˧/ | jau /tɕau˧/ | mu /mu˧˧/ | 好 /ho˧˩/ | ai /ɑ˧/ | 𗏁 /tsji˧/ |
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