Li Niha
Nias
Austronesian
Nias (Li Niha, "language of Niha [the people]") is the principal Austronesian language of Nias Island, an offshore island in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The Nias people are famous for their megalithic stone-jumping warrior culture (hombo batu — leaping over stone columns), traditional Omo Hada dome-shaped chiefly houses, and the Nias festival of Faulokho. Linguistically, Nias has Sundic Austronesian features: voice/focus alternations, classifier-like noun particles, and a rich pronoun system. Two main dialect groups exist: Northern Nias (Niha Bawöra) and Southern Nias (Niha Maenamölö), with Brown's 2001 grammar focused on Southern.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Nias
Water
idanö
/idanø/
Fire
alitö
/aˈlitɤ/
Sun
luo
/luo/
Moon
bawa
/bawa/
Star
döfi
/døfi/
Mother
ina
/ina/
Father
amada
/amada/
I
ya'o
/jaʔo/
You
ya'ugö
/jaʔugø/
Name
döi
/døi/
Eye
hörö
/høɾø/
Hand
tanga
/taŋa/
Heart
tödö
/tødø/
Love
fa'omasi
/faʔomasi/
Tree
eu
/eu/
House
omo
/omo/
Dog
asu
/asu/
Cat
mao
/mao/
Eat
manga
/maŋa/
Drink
badu
/badu/
One
sara
/saɾa/
Two
dua
/dua/
Hello
ya'ahowu
/jaʔahowu/
Thank you
saohagölö
/saohaɡølø/
Good
sökhi
/søkʰi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian languages
| Meaning | Nias | Batak Angkola | Mandar | Toba Batak | Bunun | Simalungun Batak | Old Javanese (Kawi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | idanö /idanø/ | aek /aek/ | uai /uai/ | aek /aek/ | danum /danum/ | bah /bah/ | ꦮꦫꦶꦃ /warih/ |
| Fire | alitö /aˈlitɤ/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | sapuz /sapuz/ | apuy /apuj/ | ꦄꦒ꧀ꦤꦶ /aɡni/ |
| Sun | luo /luo/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | mata allo /mata alːo/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | vali /vali/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | ꦱꦸꦂꦪ /suɾja/ |
| Moon | bawa /bawa/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulang /bulaŋ/ | bulan /bulan/ | buan /buan/ | bulan /bulan/ | ꦕꦤ꧀ꦢꦿ /tʃandra/ |
| Star | döfi /døfi/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bittoeng /bittoeŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintuhan /bintuhan/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | ꦭꦶꦤ꧀ꦠꦁ /lintaŋ/ |
| Mother | ina /ina/ | inang /inaŋ/ | indo /indo/ | ina /ina/ | tina /tina/ | inang /inaŋ/ | ꦆꦧꦸ /ibu/ |
| Father | amada /amada/ | amang /amaŋ/ | ama /ama/ | ama /ama/ | tama /tama/ | bapa /bapa/ | ꦫꦩ /rama/ |
| I | ya'o /jaʔo/ | au /au/ | iyau /ijau/ | au /au/ | saikin /saikin/ | ahu /ahu/ | ꦄꦏꦸ /aku/ |
| You | ya'ugö /jaʔugø/ | ho /ho/ | io /iʔo/ | ho /ho/ | suu /suʔu/ | ho /ho/ | ꦏꦶꦠ /kita/ |
| Name | döi /døi/ | goar /goar/ | sanga /saŋa/ | goar /goar/ | ngaan /ŋaan/ | goran /goran/ | ꦔꦫꦤ꧀ /ŋaran/ |
| Eye | hörö /høɾø/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | ꦩꦠ /mata/ |
| Hand | tanga /taŋa/ | tangan /taŋan/ | lima /lima/ | tangan /taŋan/ | ima /ima/ | tangan /taŋan/ | ꦠꦔꦤ꧀ /taŋan/ |
| Heart | tödö /tødø/ | roha /roha/ | ate /ate/ | roha /roha/ | is-ang /isaŋ/ | uhur /uhur/ | ꦲꦠꦶ /hati/ |
| Love | fa'omasi /faʔomasi/ | holong /holoŋ/ | mappinawa /mapːinawa/ | holong /holoŋ/ | madaidaz /madaidaz/ | holong /holoŋ/ | ꦱꦶꦃ /sih/ |
| Tree | eu /eu/ | hayu /haju/ | kaju /kaju/ | hau /hau/ | kahu /kahu/ | hayu /haju/ | ꦏꦪꦸ /kaju/ |
| House | omo /omo/ | bagas /baɡas/ | boyang /bojaŋ/ | jabu /dʒabu/ | lumaq /lumaq/ | rumah /rumah/ | ꦈꦩꦃ /umah/ |
| Dog | asu /asu/ | asu /asu/ | asu /asu/ | biang /biaŋ/ | asu /asu/ | baliang /baliaŋ/ | ꦄꦱꦸ /asu/ |
| Cat | mao /mao/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | mio /mio/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | ngingiyaw /ŋiŋijaw/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | ꦩꦺꦴꦁ /moŋ/ |
| Eat | manga /maŋa/ | mangan /maŋan/ | ma'ande /maʔande/ | mangan /maŋan/ | maun /maun/ | mangan /maŋan/ | ꦄꦩꦔꦤ꧀ /amaŋan/ |
| Drink | badu /badu/ | minum /minum/ | minung /minuŋ/ | minum /minum/ | muqun /muqun/ | minum /minum/ | ꦄꦩꦶꦤꦸꦩ꧀ /aminum/ |
| One | sara /saɾa/ | sada /sada/ | mesa /mesa/ | sada /sada/ | tasa /tasa/ | sada /sada/ | ꦌꦏ /eka/ |
| Two | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | dusa /dusa/ | dua /dua/ | ꦫ꧀ꦮ /rwa/ |
| Hello | ya'ahowu /jaʔahowu/ | horas /horas/ | salama' ma'ondong /salamaʔ maʔondoŋ/ | horas /horas/ | uninang /uninaŋ/ | horas /horas/ | ꦫꦲꦪꦸ /rahaju/ |
| Thank you | saohagölö /saohaɡølø/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | kuru' sumanga' /kuɾuʔ sumaŋaʔ/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | uninang /uninaŋ/ | diatebei /diatebei/ | ꦤꦸꦮꦸꦤ꧀ /nuwun/ |
| Good | sökhi /søkʰi/ | denggan /deŋɡan/ | macoa /matʃoa/ | denggan /deŋɡan/ | masial /masial/ | dear /dear/ | ꦲꦪꦸ /haju/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.