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

20 core words in Nivkh

Water

чхар

/tʃxar/

Fire

тур

/tur/

Sun

керк

/kerk/

Moon

лоӈ

/loŋ/

Mother

ымык

/ɯmɯk/

Father

ытык

/ɯtɯk/

Eat

вид

/vid/

Drink

ракь

/rakʲ/

Love

орх

/orx/

Heart

ыӈ

/ɯŋ/

Tree

ча

/tʃa/

House

тыф

/tɯf/

Dog

каӈ

/kaŋ/

Cat

кошка

/koʂka/

Hand

кы

/kɯ/

Eye

ӈак

/ŋak/

Hello

ӈафӄа

/ŋafqa/

Thank you

туьмг

/tɯmɡ/

One

нён

/ɲon/

Good

пах

/pax/

Words compared

Compared with related Language isolate languages

Meaning NivkhNganasanShanNenetsScottish GaelicKhantyTulu
Water чхар /tʃxar/ быʼ /bɨʔ/ ၼမ်ႉ /nam/ ӣд /iːd/ uisge /ɯʃkʲə/ йиңк /jiŋk/ ನೀರ್ /niːɾ/
Fire тур /tur/ туй /tuj/ ၾႆး /faj/ ту /tu/ teine /ˈtʲɛnʲə/ тут /tut/ ತೂ /tuː/
Sun керк /kerk/ койка /kojka/ ဝၼ်း /wan/ хаер /xajer/ grian /kɾʲiən/ хатәл /xatəl/ ಸೂರ್ಯ /suːɾja/
Moon лоӈ /loŋ/ кичеа /kitʃea/ လိူၼ် /lɤn/ ирий /irij/ gealach /kʲaɫəx/ тылащ /tɯlaɕ/ ತಿಂಗೊಳು /tiŋɡoɭu/
Mother ымык /ɯmɯk/ ниӈӈы /niŋːɨ/ မႄႈ /mɛ/ небя /nebja/ màthair /maːhəɾʲ/ ӑңки /ɐŋki/ ಅಮ್ಮೆ /ammeː/
Father ытык /ɯtɯk/ десы /desɨ/ ပေႃႈ /pɔ/ нися /nʲisʲa/ athair /ahəɾʲ/ аӂи /adʑi/ ಅಪ್ಪೆ /appeː/
Eat вид /vid/ нягү /ɲaɡu/ ၵိၼ် /kin/ ёлась /jolasʲ/ ith /i/ лэты /lətɯ/ ತಿನ್ಪಿನಿ /tinpini/
Drink ракь /rakʲ/ быр /bɨr/ ဢိုၵ်ႇ /ʔuk/ я /ja/ òl /ɔːl/ яңхты /jaŋxtɯ/ ಪರ್ಪಿನಿ /paɾpini/
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