Khoekhoegowab
Nama (Khoekhoe)
Khoe-Kwadi (Khoisan)
Nama (Khoekhoegowab) is the largest Khoisan language and the most widely spoken click language in the world, the official language of the Khoekhoe and Damara peoples of Namibia and the Northern Cape of South Africa. It has four phonemic click types — ǀ (dental), ǁ (lateral), ǂ (alveolar palatal), ǃ (postalveolar) — and is conventionally written using IPA-style click symbols. Nama is a recognized national language of Namibia and supports broadcast media, schooling, and a Bible translation tradition.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Nama (Khoekhoe)
Water
ǁgam-i
/ǁɡami/
Fire
ǀae-s
/ǀaes/
Sun
sores
/soɾes/
Moon
ǁkhâb
/ǁkʰãːb/
Mother
ǁgûs
/ǁɡũːs/
Father
ǁgûb
/ǁɡũːb/
Eat
ǂû
/ǂũː/
Drink
ā
/aː/
Love
ǀnam
/ǀnam/
Heart
ǂgaob
/ǂɡaob/
Tree
hai-s
/hais/
House
oms
/oms/
Dog
arib
/arib/
Cat
ǀores
/ǀoɾes/
Hand
ǃom-mi
/ǃomːi/
Eye
mûs
/mũːs/
Hello
matisâ
/matisãː/
Thank you
aios
/aios/
One
ǀgui
/ǀɡui/
Good
ǃgâib
/ǃɡãĩb/
Words compared
Compared with related Khoe-Kwadi (Khoisan) languages
| Meaning | Nama (Khoekhoe) | Korana | Kiowa | Hausa | Latin | Irula | Kpelle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ǁgam-i /ǁɡami/ | ǁammi /ǁamːi/ | ko̱: /kɔ̃ː/ | ruwa /ɾuwaː/ | aqua /akʷa/ | nīr /niːɾ/ | ya /ja/ |
| Fire | ǀae-s /ǀaes/ | ǀaeb /ǀʔaeb/ | phi̱ /pʰĩ/ | wuta /wuta/ | ignis /iŋnis/ | tī /tiː/ | kɔ̃a /kõa/ |
| Sun | sores /soɾes/ | sores /sores/ | phî: /pʰîː/ | rana /ɾaːnaː/ | sōl /soːl/ | čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ | pelei /pelei/ |
| Moon | ǁkhâb /ǁkʰãːb/ | ǁkhab /ǁkʰab/ | phé: /pʰéː/ | wata /wata/ | lūna /luːna/ | niLā /niɭaː/ | kɔŋɔ /kɔŋɔ/ |
| Mother | ǁgûs /ǁɡũːs/ | taras /taras/ | gì: /ɡìː/ | uwa /uwaː/ | māter /maːter/ | ammā /amːaː/ | ngaa /ŋaː/ |
| Father | ǁgûb /ǁɡũːb/ | ǁnaob /ǁnaob/ | gò: /ɡòː/ | uba /ubaː/ | pater /pater/ | ayyā /ajːaː/ | laai /laːi/ |
| Eat | ǂû /ǂũː/ | ǂʼũ /ǂʼũ/ | gè: /ɡèː/ | ci /tʃiː/ | edere /edere/ | činnu /tʃinːu/ | nyii /ɲiː/ |
| Drink | ā /aː/ | xʼā /xʼaː/ | kʰò: /kʰòː/ | sha /ʃaː/ | bibere /bibere/ | kuDi /kuɖi/ | yiti /jiti/ |
| Love | ǀnam /ǀnam/ | ǀnam /ǀnam/ | gàum /ɡàum/ | ƙauna /kʼauna/ | amor /amor/ | kāhal /kaːhal/ | gboma /ɡboma/ |
| Heart | ǂgaob /ǂɡaob/ | ǂaob /ǂaob/ | á:de /áːde/ | zuciya /zutʃija/ | cor /kor/ | idayam /idajam/ | lii /liː/ |
| Tree | hai-s /hais/ | hais /haìs/ | á:du /áːdu/ | bishiya /biʃija/ | arbor /arbor/ | maram /maɾam/ | woo /woː/ |
| House | oms /oms/ | oms /oms/ | tóu: /tóuː/ | gida /ɡida/ | domus /domus/ | vīDu /viːɖu/ | pere /pere/ |
| Dog | arib /arib/ | arib /arib/ | tsê: /tsêː/ | kare /kaɾe/ | canis /kanis/ | nāyi /naːji/ | nyila /ɲila/ |
| Cat | ǀores /ǀoɾes/ | — /—/ | mò:sò /mòːsò/ | kyanwa /kʲanwa/ | fēlēs /feːleːs/ | pūne /puːne/ | gbele /ɡbele/ |
| Hand | ǃom-mi /ǃomːi/ | ǃumma /ǃumːa/ | mò:tʼɔ̄ /mòːtʼɔ̄/ | hannu /hanːu/ | manus /manus/ | kayyu /kajːu/ | yee /jeː/ |
| Eye | mûs /mũːs/ | mũb /mũb/ | tô: /tôː/ | ido /idoː/ | oculus /okulus/ | kaNN /kaɳː/ | ŋɛ /ŋɛ/ |
| Hello | matisâ /matisãː/ | — /—/ | hâ:tô: /hâːtôː/ | sannu /sanːu/ | salvē /salweː/ | vannakkam /vanːakːam/ | halee /haleː/ |
| Thank you | aios /aios/ | — /—/ | gàu /ɡàu/ | na gode /na ɡode/ | grātiās /ɡraːtiaːs/ | nanri /nanɾi/ | balika /balika/ |
| One | ǀgui /ǀɡui/ | ǀui /ǀui/ | páun /páun/ | ɗaya /ɗaja/ | ūnus /uːnus/ | onnu /onːu/ | taa /taː/ |
| Good | ǃgâib /ǃɡãĩb/ | ǃãĩ /ǃãĩ/ | hôn /hôn/ | nagari /naɡaɾi/ | bonus /bonus/ | nalla /nalːa/ | nyaŋa /ɲaŋa/ |
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