Náhuatl
Guerrero Nahuatl
Uto-Aztecan
Guerrero Nahuatl is a Central Nahuan language of the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken by around 150,000 people in the Sierra Norte/La Montaña region of Guerrero state, Mexico. Linguistically, it is one of the major Modern Nahuatl varieties alongside the Huasteca varieties (nch/nhw/nhe), with distinct phonological features such as the "saltillo" glottal stop in places where Classical Nahuatl had a /h/ or /ʔ/. Guerrero Nahuatl is part of the broader Modern Nahuatl dialect continuum descended from the Postclassic Aztec lingua franca, but with significant divergence from the Central Mexican varieties. The Guerrero region was a major Aztec frontier zone where the Triple Alliance encountered the Mixtec, Tlapanec, and Amuzgo peoples, contributing to lexical and phonological diversity in modern Guerrero Nahuatl.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Guerrero Nahuatl
Water
atl
/atɬ/
Fire
tletl
/tɬetɬ/
Sun
tonatih
/tonatih/
Moon
metztli
/metstɬi/
Star
sitlalin
/siˈtlalin/
Mother
nanan
/nanan/
Father
tatah
/tatah/
I
nejua
/neˈwa/
You
tejua
/teˈwa/
Name
tocaitl
/toˈkaitɬ/
Eye
ixtli
/iʃtli/
Hand
maitl
/maitɬ/
Heart
yolotl
/jolotɬ/
Love
tlazohtla
/tɬasoʔtɬa/
Tree
kuauitl
/kʷawitl/
House
kalli
/kalːi/
Dog
itzcuintli
/itskʷintli/
Cat
miston
/miston/
Eat
tlakua
/tɬakʷa/
Drink
atli
/atɬi/
One
ce
/se/
Two
ome
/ˈome/
Hello
niltze
/niltse/
Thank you
tlazohcamati
/tɬasoʔkamati/
Good
kuajli
/kʷahli/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Uto-Aztecan languages
| Meaning | Guerrero Nahuatl | Central Huasteca Nahuatl | Western Huasteca Nahuatl | Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl | Classical Nahuatl | Isthmus Nahuatl | Nawat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | ātl /aːtɬ/ | ahtli /aʔtli/ | at /at/ |
| Fire | tletl /tɬetɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlētl /tɬeːtɬ/ | tit /tit/ | tit /tit/ |
| Sun | tonatih /tonatih/ | tonati /tonati/ | tonati /tonati/ | tonatih /tonatih/ | tōnatiuh /toːnatiw/ | tonal /tonal/ | tunal /tunal/ |
| Moon | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | mētztli /meːtstɬi/ | metz /mets/ | metsti /metsti/ |
| Star | sitlalin /siˈtlalin/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | cītlālin /siːˈtlaːlin/ | sitlalin /siˈtlalin/ | sital /ˈsital/ |
| Mother | nanan /nanan/ | nana /nana/ | nana /nana/ | mama /mama/ | nāntli /naːntɬi/ | nan /nan/ | nan /nan/ |
| Father | tatah /tatah/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tahtli /tahtɬi/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ |
| I | nejua /neˈwa/ | na /na/ | na /na/ | na /na/ | nehhuātl /neʔˈwaːtɬ/ | naja /ˈnaha/ | naja /ˈnaha/ |
| You | tejua /teˈwa/ | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | tehhuātl /teʔˈwaːtɬ/ | taja /ˈtaha/ | taja /ˈtaha/ |
| Name | tocaitl /toˈkaitɬ/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tōcāitl /toːˈkaːitɬ/ | tocayotl /tokaˈjotɬ/ | tukay /ˈtukaj/ |
| Eye | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | īxtli /iːʃtɬi/ | ix /iʃ/ | ish /iʃ/ |
| Hand | maitl /maitɬ/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | māitl /maːitɬ/ | mahuit /mawit/ | mey /mei/ |
| Heart | yolotl /jolotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yōllōtl /joːlːoːtɬ/ | yolio /jolio/ | yulu /julu/ |
| Love | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazōhtla /tɬasoːhtɬa/ | nequi /neki/ | tasujta /tasuhta/ |
| Tree | kuauitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | cuahuit /kʷawit/ | kwawit /kʷawit/ |
| House | kalli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | cali /kali/ | kal /kal/ |
| Dog | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuīntli /itskʷiːntɬi/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | chichi /tʃitʃi/ |
| Cat | miston /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mīztōn /miːstoːn/ | miston /miston/ | mishin /miʃin/ |
| Eat | tlakua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tacua /takʷa/ | takwa /takwa/ |
| Drink | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | ātli /aːtɬi/ | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ |
| One | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | cē /seː/ | ce /se/ | se /se/ |
| Two | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ōme /ˈoːme/ | ome /ˈome/ | ume /ˈume/ |
| Hello | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | nimitzpaca /nimitspaka/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | ne pakua /ne pakwa/ |
| Thank you | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazōhcāmati /tɬasoːhkaːmati/ | tlazohcamati /tlasoʔkamati/ | padiush /padjuʃ/ |
| Good | kuajli /kʷahli/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | kwahli /kʷahli/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.