Mexicaneru
Isthmus Nahuatl
Uto-Aztecan
Isthmus Nahuatl (also Mecayapan-Pajapan Nahuatl, Náhuatl del Istmo) is one of the ~30 modern Nahuatl varieties of Mexico, spoken in three municipalities of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec area in Veracruz. The Nahuan family (descended from Classical Nahuatl nci, the literary language of the Aztec Empire) divides into Eastern Nahuan (including Isthmus) vs. Western Nahuan vs. Pochutec extinct branches. Isthmus Nahuatl is part of the eastern variant cluster, mutually unintelligible with the larger Huasteca Nahuatl (nhe) and Sierra de Puebla Nahuatl varieties. Bilingual education programs since the 1990s have produced standardized literacy materials, with Isthmus Nahuatl notable for preserving classical Nahuatl features (saltillo glottal stops, vowel length distinctions) lost in some western varieties.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Isthmus Nahuatl
Water
ahtli
/aʔtli/
Fire
tit
/tit/
Sun
tonal
/tonal/
Moon
metz
/mets/
Star
sitlalin
/siˈtlalin/
Mother
nan
/nan/
Father
tat
/tat/
I
naja
/ˈnaha/
You
taja
/ˈtaha/
Name
tocayotl
/tokaˈjotɬ/
Eye
ix
/iʃ/
Hand
mahuit
/mawit/
Heart
yolio
/jolio/
Love
nequi
/neki/
Tree
cuahuit
/kʷawit/
House
cali
/kali/
Dog
itzcuintli
/itskʷintli/
Cat
miston
/miston/
Eat
tacua
/takʷa/
Drink
ati
/ati/
One
ce
/se/
Two
ome
/ˈome/
Hello
niltze
/niltse/
Thank you
tlazohcamati
/tlasoʔkamati/
Good
cualli
/kʷalːi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Uto-Aztecan languages
| Meaning | Isthmus Nahuatl | Central Huasteca Nahuatl | Western Huasteca Nahuatl | Nawat | Guerrero Nahuatl | Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl | Classical Nahuatl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ahtli /aʔtli/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | at /at/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | ātl /aːtɬ/ |
| Fire | tit /tit/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tit /tit/ | tletl /tɬetɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlētl /tɬeːtɬ/ |
| Sun | tonal /tonal/ | tonati /tonati/ | tonati /tonati/ | tunal /tunal/ | tonatih /tonatih/ | tonatih /tonatih/ | tōnatiuh /toːnatiw/ |
| Moon | metz /mets/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metsti /metsti/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | mētztli /meːtstɬi/ |
| Star | sitlalin /siˈtlalin/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sital /ˈsital/ | sitlalin /siˈtlalin/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | cītlālin /siːˈtlaːlin/ |
| Mother | nan /nan/ | nana /nana/ | nana /nana/ | nan /nan/ | nanan /nanan/ | mama /mama/ | nāntli /naːntɬi/ |
| Father | tat /tat/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tat /tat/ | tatah /tatah/ | tata /tata/ | tahtli /tahtɬi/ |
| I | naja /ˈnaha/ | na /na/ | na /na/ | naja /ˈnaha/ | nejua /neˈwa/ | na /na/ | nehhuātl /neʔˈwaːtɬ/ |
| You | taja /ˈtaha/ | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | taja /ˈtaha/ | tejua /teˈwa/ | ta /ta/ | tehhuātl /teʔˈwaːtɬ/ |
| Name | tocayotl /tokaˈjotɬ/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tukay /ˈtukaj/ | tocaitl /toˈkaitɬ/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tōcāitl /toːˈkaːitɬ/ |
| Eye | ix /iʃ/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ish /iʃ/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | īxtli /iːʃtɬi/ |
| Hand | mahuit /mawit/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | mey /mei/ | maitl /maitɬ/ | maitl /maitl/ | māitl /maːitɬ/ |
| Heart | yolio /jolio/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yulu /julu/ | yolotl /jolotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yōllōtl /joːlːoːtɬ/ |
| Love | nequi /neki/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tasujta /tasuhta/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazōhtla /tɬasoːhtɬa/ |
| Tree | cuahuit /kʷawit/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | kwawit /kʷawit/ | kuauitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ |
| House | cali /kali/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | kal /kal/ | kalli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ |
| Dog | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | chichi /tʃitʃi/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuīntli /itskʷiːntɬi/ |
| Cat | miston /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mishin /miʃin/ | miston /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mīztōn /miːstoːn/ |
| Eat | tacua /takʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | takwa /takwa/ | tlakua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ |
| Drink | ati /ati/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | ati /ati/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | ātli /aːtɬi/ |
| One | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | se /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | cē /seː/ |
| Two | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ume /ˈume/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ōme /ˈoːme/ |
| Hello | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | ne pakua /ne pakwa/ | niltze /niltse/ | nimitzpaca /nimitspaka/ | niltze /niltse/ |
| Thank you | tlazohcamati /tlasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | padiush /padjuʃ/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazōhcāmati /tɬasoːhkaːmati/ |
| Good | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | kwahli /kʷahli/ | kuajli /kʷahli/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.