Нивхгу диф

Nivkh

Language isolate

FamilyLanguage isolate Speakers~200 ScriptCyrillic / Latin CountriesRussia (Sakhalin, Amur) Official inNo (recognized minority) Vitalityseverely endangered ISO 639-3niv

Nivkh (Gilyak) is a critically endangered language isolate spoken on Sakhalin Island and along the lower Amur River. It is unrelated to its Tungusic and Ainu neighbors and shows extraordinary morphological complexity, including consonant alternations conditioned by the preceding word.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Nivkh

Water

чхар

/tʃxar/

Fire

тур

/tur/

Sun

керк

/kerk/

Moon

лоӈ

/loŋ/

Star

уӈӷыр

/uɲɣɨr/

Mother

ымык

/ɯmɯk/

Father

ытык

/ɯtɯk/

I

ни

/ɲi/

You

чи

/tʃʰi/

Name

ӄа

/qʰa/

Eye

ӈак

/ŋak/

Hand

кы

/kɯ/

Heart

ыӈ

/ɯŋ/

Love

орх

/orx/

Tree

ча

/tʃa/

House

тыф

/tɯf/

Dog

каӈ

/kaŋ/

Cat

кошка

/koʂka/

Eat

вид

/vid/

Drink

ракь

/rakʲ/

One

нён

/ɲon/

Two

меӄр

/meqr/

Hello

ӈафӄа

/ŋafqa/

Thank you

туьмг

/tɯmɡ/

Good

пах

/pax/

Words compared

Compared with related Language isolate languages

Meaning NivkhDrungNganasanNenetsKolyma YukaghirMeadow MariScottish Gaelic
Water чхар /tʃxar/ ʃə /ʃə/ быʼ /bɨʔ/ ӣд /iːd/ оожии /oːʒiː/ вӱд /vyd/ uisge /ɯʃkʲə/
Fire тур /tur/ məə /məː/ туй /tuj/ ту /tu/ ло́чил /lótʃil/ тул /tul/ teine /ˈtʲɛnʲə/
Sun керк /kerk/ /nɯ/ коу /kou/ хаер /xajer/ пугэ /puɣe/ кече /ketʃe/ grian /kɾʲiən/
Moon лоӈ /loŋ/ məŋ /məŋ/ кичез̌әә /kitʃeðəː/ ирий /irij/ киндьэ /kindʲe/ тылзе /tɨlze/ gealach /kʲaɫəx/
Star уӈӷыр /uɲɣɨr/ əkɯr /əkɯr/ хотəдиə /xotəˈdʲiə/ нумгы /numˈɡɨ/ эҥэзэтчх /eŋezetʃχ/ шӱдыр /ˈʃydɨr/ reul /rial/
Mother ымык /ɯmɯk/ ma /ma/ ниӈӈы /niŋːɨ/ небя /nebja/ эмэй /emej/ ава /ava/ màthair /maːhəɾʲ/
Father ытык /ɯtɯk/ pa /pa/ десы /desɨ/ нися /nʲisʲa/ эчиэ /etʃiə/ ача /atʃa/ athair /ahəɾʲ/
I ни /ɲi/ nga /ŋa/ мəнə /məˈnə/ мань /manʲ/ мэт /met/ мый /mɨj/ mi /mi/
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