Naqxi
Naxi
Sino-Tibetan (Naic/Loloish)
Naxi is famous for its Dongba pictographic script, the only living pictographic writing system in the world, used ritually by Naxi shamans. The everyday Latin orthography uses tone-bearing letters (l h q) appended to syllables.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Naxi
Water
gee
/ɡɯ˧/
Fire
mee
/mɯ˧/
Sun
ny-mei
/nĩ˧mi˧/
Moon
he-mei
/hɯ˧mi˧/
Mother
mei
/mei˧/
Father
av
/a˧/
Eat
zo
/d͡zo˧/
Drink
chil
/t͡ʂʰi˥/
Love
lai
/lɑ˧/
Heart
see-zai
/sɯ˧d͡zɑ˧/
Tree
si
/si˧/
House
pee-mei
/pɯ˧mi˧/
Dog
kee
/kʰɯ˧/
Cat
lai-mei
/lɑ˧mi˧/
Hand
lel
/lɯ˥/
Eye
nyi
/ɲi˧/
Hello
nyel-bbeq
/ɲɯ˥bɯ˨˩/
Thank you
jjuq jjuq
/d͡ʑɯ˨˩d͡ʑɯ˨˩/
One
ddee
/dɯ˧/
Good
ai
/ɑ˧/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Sino-Tibetan (Naic/Loloish) languages
| Meaning | Naxi | Azhe | Akha | Tangut | Yi (Nuosu) | Tujia | Pwo Karen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | gee /ɡɯ˧/ | ʑɿ /ʑɿ˧˧/ | i tsi /i˧tsɨ˧/ | 𗀚 /tjɨ˧/ | ꒉ /ʑɿ˧˧/ | zi /t͡sɨ˥˧/ | ထံ /tʰi˧/ |
| Fire | mee /mɯ˧/ | mi /mi˧˧/ | mji /mji˧/ | 𘎩 /me˧/ | ꃆꄔ /mu˨˩tu˥/ | mi /mi˥˧/ | မ့ၣ် /me˨˩/ |
| Sun | ny-mei /nĩ˧mi˧/ | ŋni /ŋnʲi˧˧/ | nyi ma /ɲi˧ma˧/ | 𘂴 /pjij˧˥/ | ꉘꁮ /ho˧˧bu˧˧/ | ni /ni˧˥/ | မုန် /mu˧/ |
| Moon | he-mei /hɯ˧mi˧/ | ɬɛ /ɬɛ˧˧/ | ba la /ba˧la˧/ | 𗏯 /lja˧˥/ | ꆪ /ɬɯ˨˩/ | nie /nie˧˥/ | လး /la˧/ |
| Mother | mei /mei˧/ | amo /amo˧˧/ | a ma /a˧ma˧/ | 𘎒 /ma˧˥/ | ꀊꂿ /a˧˧mo˧˧/ | a-mie /a˧mie˧/ | မိ /mu˧˥/ |
| Father | av /a˧/ | ada /ada˧˧/ | a da /a˧da˧/ | 𗥃 /pa˧/ | ꀊꀧ /a˧˧bo˧˧/ | a-pa /a˧pa˧/ | ဖါ /pa˧/ |
| Eat | zo /d͡zo˧/ | dza /dza˧˧/ | za /dza˧/ | 𗅋 /dzjij˧˥/ | ꋠ /dzɯ˧˧/ | za /t͡sa˨˩/ | အၢင် /ai˧˩/ |
| Drink | chil /t͡ʂʰi˥/ | du /du˧˧/ | tu /tu˧/ | 𘉞 /tʰjij˧˥/ | ꄸ /tu˧˧/ | da /ta˧/ | အူ /ɔ˧/ |
| Love | lai /lɑ˧/ | ŋa /ŋa˧˧/ | gaq /ɡaʔ˧/ | 𗙊 /lhjij˧˥/ | ꉂ /ŋɡu˧˧/ | aci /a˧˥t͡si˥/ | အဲင် /ai˧kʰe˧/ |
| Heart | see-zai /sɯ˧d͡zɑ˧/ | si /si˧˧/ | ne ma /ne˧ma˧/ | 𘃠 /njij˧˥/ | ꌋ /si˧˧/ | xin /ɕin˧/ | သး /tʰa˧/ |
| Tree | si /si˧/ | sɿ /sɿ˧˧/ | aq xeu /aʔ˧ɕeu˧/ | 𘀇 /sji˧/ | ꌩꁧ /sɿ˧˧bo˧˧/ | si /sɨ˧˥/ | သုၣ် /tʰoŋ˧/ |
| House | pee-mei /pɯ˧mi˧/ | ɣɯ /ɣɯ˧˧/ | nyma /ɲma˧/ | 𗩴 /kʰjwa˧˥/ | ꑳ /ji˧˧/ | li /li˧˥/ | ဟံၣ် /hi˧/ |
| Dog | kee /kʰɯ˧/ | kʰɯ /kʰɯ˧˧/ | jia /tɕa˧/ | 𗋒 /kʰwjɨ˧/ | ꈌ /kʰɯ˧˧/ | kvʼ /kʰə˨˩/ | ထွဲ /tʰwi˧/ |
| Cat | lai-mei /lɑ˧mi˧/ | vi /vi˧˧/ | a yi /a˧ji˧/ | 𗦷 /mji˧˥/ | ꀉꑐ /a˧˦ɲɛ˧˧/ | mau /mau˧/ | ဖၣ် /pə˧/ |
| Hand | lel /lɯ˥/ | la /la˧˧/ | la pa /la˧pa˧/ | 𘀔 /lje˧/ | ꇇ /lo˥/ | lo /lo˨˩/ | စူ /sɔ˨/ |
| Eye | nyi /ɲi˧/ | ȵi /ȵi˧˧/ | nyaq /ɲaʔ˧/ | 𗞴 /mjij˧/ | ꑓ /ɲɔ˧˧/ | mie /mie˨˩/ | မဲာ် /mɛ˧/ |
| Hello | nyel-bbeq /ɲɯ˥bɯ˨˩/ | mosu /mosu˧˧/ | u du la /u˧du˧la˧/ | — /—/ | ꂿꎆꈐ /mo˧˧su˧˧kɤ˧˧/ | shu shu /ʃu˧ʃu˧/ | နာမှၤ /na˧ʃi˧/ |
| Thank you | jjuq jjuq /d͡ʑɯ˨˩d͡ʑɯ˨˩/ | katɕʰɿ /katɕʰɿ˧˧/ | gv ya /ɡɯ˧ja˧/ | — /—/ | ꃰꊿ /vo˧˧tso˧˧/ | angzai /aŋ˧˥t͡sai˥/ | တၢ်ဘျုး /ta˧blu˧/ |
| One | ddee /dɯ˧/ | tsʰɿ /tsʰɿ˧˧/ | ti /ti˧/ | 𘈩 /lew˧˥/ | ꋍ /tsʰɿ˨˩/ | lao /lao˧˥/ | တ /ta˧˩/ |
| Good | ai /ɑ˧/ | mu /mu˧˧/ | jau /tɕau˧/ | 𗏁 /tsji˧/ | ꉾ /xɯ˧˧/ | ngaq /ŋaʔ˧˥/ | ဂ့ၤ /ɣai˧/ |
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