Nahuatl
Central Huasteca Nahuatl
Uto-Aztecan
Central Huasteca Nahuatl is one of the three main Huasteca Nahuatl varieties (Eastern nhe, Central nch, Western nhw), spoken by ~210,000 people in the central Huasteca region centered on Hidalgo state. Linguistically, Central Huasteca Nahuatl shares classical Nahuatl features with its sister varieties, with minor phonological differences that reflect the dialect continuum across the Huasteca region.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Central Huasteca Nahuatl
Water
atl
/atɬ/
Fire
tlitl
/tɬitɬ/
Sun
tonati
/tonati/
Moon
metztli
/metstɬi/
Star
sitlalij
/siˈtlalih/
Mother
nana
/nana/
Father
tata
/tata/
I
na
/na/
You
ta
/ta/
Name
tocaxtli
/toˈkaʃtli/
Eye
ixtli
/iʃtli/
Hand
maitl
/maitl/
Heart
yollotl
/jolːotɬ/
Love
tlazohtla
/tɬasoʔtɬa/
Tree
cuahuitl
/kʷawitl/
House
calli
/kalːi/
Dog
itzcuintli
/itskʷintli/
Cat
mizton
/miston/
Eat
tlacua
/tɬakʷa/
Drink
atli
/atɬi/
One
ce
/se/
Two
ome
/ˈome/
Hello
niltze
/niltse/
Thank you
tlazohcamati
/tɬasoʔkamati/
Good
cualli
/kʷalːi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Uto-Aztecan languages
| Meaning | Central Huasteca Nahuatl | Western Huasteca Nahuatl | Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl | Guerrero Nahuatl | Isthmus Nahuatl | Classical Nahuatl | Nawat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | ahtli /aʔtli/ | ātl /aːtɬ/ | at /at/ |
| Fire | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tletl /tɬetɬ/ | tit /tit/ | tlētl /tɬeːtɬ/ | tit /tit/ |
| Sun | tonati /tonati/ | tonati /tonati/ | tonatih /tonatih/ | tonatih /tonatih/ | tonal /tonal/ | tōnatiuh /toːnatiw/ | tunal /tunal/ |
| Moon | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metz /mets/ | mētztli /meːtstɬi/ | metsti /metsti/ |
| Star | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalin /siˈtlalin/ | sitlalin /siˈtlalin/ | cītlālin /siːˈtlaːlin/ | sital /ˈsital/ |
| Mother | nana /nana/ | nana /nana/ | mama /mama/ | nanan /nanan/ | nan /nan/ | nāntli /naːntɬi/ | nan /nan/ |
| Father | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tatah /tatah/ | tat /tat/ | tahtli /tahtɬi/ | tat /tat/ |
| I | na /na/ | na /na/ | na /na/ | nejua /neˈwa/ | naja /ˈnaha/ | nehhuātl /neʔˈwaːtɬ/ | naja /ˈnaha/ |
| You | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | tejua /teˈwa/ | taja /ˈtaha/ | tehhuātl /teʔˈwaːtɬ/ | taja /ˈtaha/ |
| Name | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaitl /toˈkaitɬ/ | tocayotl /tokaˈjotɬ/ | tōcāitl /toːˈkaːitɬ/ | tukay /ˈtukaj/ |
| Eye | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ix /iʃ/ | īxtli /iːʃtɬi/ | ish /iʃ/ |
| Hand | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitɬ/ | mahuit /mawit/ | māitl /maːitɬ/ | mey /mei/ |
| Heart | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yolotl /jolotɬ/ | yolio /jolio/ | yōllōtl /joːlːoːtɬ/ | yulu /julu/ |
| Love | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | nequi /neki/ | tlazōhtla /tɬasoːhtɬa/ | tasujta /tasuhta/ |
| Tree | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | kuauitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuit /kʷawit/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | kwawit /kʷawit/ |
| House | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | kalli /kalːi/ | cali /kali/ | calli /kalːi/ | kal /kal/ |
| Dog | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuīntli /itskʷiːntɬi/ | chichi /tʃitʃi/ |
| Cat | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | miston /miston/ | miston /miston/ | mīztōn /miːstoːn/ | mishin /miʃin/ |
| Eat | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlakua /tɬakʷa/ | tacua /takʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | takwa /takwa/ |
| Drink | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | ati /ati/ | ātli /aːtɬi/ | ati /ati/ |
| One | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | cē /seː/ | se /se/ |
| Two | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ōme /ˈoːme/ | ume /ˈume/ |
| Hello | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | nimitzpaca /nimitspaka/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | ne pakua /ne pakwa/ |
| Thank you | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tlasoʔkamati/ | tlazōhcāmati /tɬasoːhkaːmati/ | padiush /padjuʃ/ |
| Good | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | kuajli /kʷahli/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | kwahli /kʷahli/ |
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