Nimipuutímt
Nez Perce
Sahaptian
Nez Perce, or nimipuutímt, is a Sahaptian language traditionally spoken by the Nimiipuu across parts of present-day Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Montana. It has Upriver varieties centered on the Nez Perce Reservation and Colville Reservation and a Downriver variety maintained on the Umatilla Reservation. Only a handful of elders remain fully fluent, with roughly 30–40 additional speakers and semi-speakers, so Glottolog assesses the language as nearly extinct. Nez Perce is known for dominant–recessive vowel harmony, grammatical case marking, rich verb morphology, and flexible word order shaped by information structure. The Nez Perce Tribe's language program uses an elders-approved Latin orthography and provides recordings, classes from preschool through college, dictionaries, and digital learning resources.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Nez Perce
Water
kuus
/kus/
Fire
piqa
/piqa/
Sun
—
/—/
Moon
—
/—/
Star
táaqc
/taːqts/
Mother
—
/—/
Father
atúte
/atu·te/
I
'íin
/ʔíːn/
You
'íim
/ʔíːm/
Name
wéeye't
/ˈweːjeʔt/
Eye
—
/—/
Hand
tupke
/tupke/
Heart
timine
/timine/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
siuei
/siwei/
House
init
/init/
Dog
cíq'a·mqal
/tsiqa·mqal/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
hipise
/hipise/
Drink
—
/—/
One
nakz
/naks/
Two
lepít
/lɛˈpit/
Hello
ʔehé
/ʔehe/
Thank you
Qe'ci'yew'yew'
/kets͡iyewyew/
Good
taz
/taz/
Words compared
Compared with related Sahaptian languages
| Meaning | Nez Perce | Iberian | Umbrian | Damin (Lardil ceremonial register) | Proto-Hmong-Mien | Faliscan | Goguryeo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kuus /kus/ | — /—/ | utur /ˈu.tur/ | — /—/ | *ʔuwm /ʔuwm/ | — /—/ | 買 /*mai/ |
| Fire | piqa /piqa/ | — /—/ | pir /pir/ | l!ii /lǃiː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | táaqc /taːqts/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | l*i /ʎ͡ʘi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | — /—/ | — /—/ | matrer /ˈma.trer/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | atúte /atu·te/ | — /—/ | patre /ˈpa.tre/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | pater /ˈpa.ter/ | — /—/ |
| I | 'íin /ʔíːn/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | n!aa /ŋ͡ʘaː/ | — /—/ | eko /ˈeko/ | — /—/ |
| You | 'íim /ʔíːm/ | — /—/ | tu /tuː/ | n!uu /ŋ͡ʘuː/ | — /—/ | tu /tuː/ | — /—/ |
| Name | wéeye't /ˈweːjeʔt/ | — /—/ | nome /ˈnome/ | m!ii /m͡ʘiː/ | — /—/ | nomen /ˈnomen/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | tupke /tupke/ | — /—/ | manuv-e /ma.ˈnu.we/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | timine /timine/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | siuei /siwei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | init /init/ | iltiŕ /iltir̥/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | cíq'a·mqal /tsiqa·mqal/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | hipise /hipise/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | pipafo /ˈpi.pa.foː/ | — /—/ |
| One | nakz /naks/ | ban /ban/ | unu /ˈu.nu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | oinos /ˈoi̯.nos/ | — /—/ |
| Two | lepít /lɛˈpit/ | bi /bi/ | dur /dur/ | r!ii /ɽ͡ʘiː/ | *ʔwei /ʔwei/ | duo /ˈduo/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | ʔehé /ʔehe/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | Qe'ci'yew'yew' /kets͡iyewyew/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | taz /taz/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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