Aldfrysk
Old Frisian
Indo-European · historical / hidden variety
Old Frisian was the West Germanic language of the Frisians from c. 1100 to c. 1500, the historical ancestor of modern West Frisian (fy), Saterland Frisian (stq), and North Frisian (frr). It is sister to Old English (ang) within the Anglo-Frisian subgroup, and the Frisian-English bond is one of the closest within Germanic — Old Frisian and Old English share the second Anglo-Frisian Brightening (front umlaut), the loss of the West Germanic nasal before fricatives, and many vocabulary items. Reconstructed primarily from the Skeltana-Riucht law code and other medieval manuscripts. After the late 15th century, Old Frisian gradually evolved into Middle Frisian and then modern Frisian varieties.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Old Frisian
Water
wetir
/vetiɾ/
Fire
fiur
/fjuːɾ/
Sun
sunne
/sunːe/
Moon
mōna
/moːnɑ/
Mother
moder
/moːdeɾ/
Father
feder
/fædeɾ/
Eat
eta
/etɑ/
Drink
drinka
/dɾinkɑ/
Love
minne
/minːe/
Heart
herte
/heɾte/
Tree
bām
/baːm/
House
hūs
/huːs/
Dog
hund
/hund/
Cat
katte
/katːe/
Hand
hond
/hond/
Eye
āge
/aːɣe/
Hello
heil
/heil/
Thank you
thank
/θank/
One
ān
/aːn/
Good
gōd
/ɡoːd/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European languages
| Meaning | Old Frisian | Old English | Old Saxon | Middle English | Low German | Old Norse | Kölsch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | wetir /vetiɾ/ | wæter /wæter/ | watar /ˈwatar/ | water /watər/ | Water /vɑːtɐ/ | vatn /vɑtn/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ |
| Fire | fiur /fjuːɾ/ | fȳr /fyːr/ | fiur /fiur/ | fyr /fyːr/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ | eldr /eldr/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ |
| Sun | sunne /sunːe/ | sunne /sunːe/ | sunna /ˈsunːa/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | Sünn /zʏn/ | sól /soːl/ | Sonn /zɔn/ |
| Moon | mōna /moːnɑ/ | mōna /moːnɑ/ | māno /ˈmaːno/ | mone /moːnə/ | Maand /mɑːnt/ | máni /mɑːni/ | Mond /moːnt/ |
| Mother | moder /moːdeɾ/ | mōdor /moːdor/ | muoder /ˈmuodər/ | moder /moːdər/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ | móðir /moːðir/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ |
| Father | feder /fædeɾ/ | fæder /fæder/ | fader /ˈfadər/ | fader /faːdər/ | Vader /fɑːdɐ/ | faðir /fɑðir/ | Vatter /fatɐ/ |
| Eat | eta /etɑ/ | etan /etɑn/ | etan /ˈetan/ | eten /eːtən/ | eten /eːtn̩/ | eta /etɑ/ | esse /ɛsə/ |
| Drink | drinka /dɾinkɑ/ | drincan /drinkɑn/ | drinkan /ˈdrinkan/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drinken /drɪŋkn̩/ | drekka /drekːɑ/ | drinke /dʁɪŋkə/ |
| Love | minne /minːe/ | lufu /luvu/ | minnea /ˈminːea/ | love /lʊvə/ | Leev /leːf/ | ást /ɑːst/ | Leev /leːf/ |
| Heart | herte /heɾte/ | heorte /ˈheorte/ | herta /ˈherta/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | Hart /haɐt/ | hjarta /hjɑrtɑ/ | Hätz /hɛts/ |
| Tree | bām /baːm/ | trēow /treːow/ | bōm /boːm/ | tre /treː/ | Boom /boːm/ | tré /treː/ | Boum /baʊm/ |
| House | hūs /huːs/ | hūs /huːs/ | hūs /huːs/ | hous /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ | hús /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ |
| Dog | hund /hund/ | hund /hund/ | hund /hund/ | hound /huːnd/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | hundr /hundr/ | Hongk /hoŋk/ |
| Cat | katte /katːe/ | catt /kɑtt/ | katta /ˈkatːa/ | catte /katːə/ | Katt /kat/ | kǫttr /kɔtːr/ | Katz /kats/ |
| Hand | hond /hond/ | hand /hɑnd/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ | Hand /hant/ | hǫnd /hɔnd/ | Hand /hant/ |
| Eye | āge /aːɣe/ | ēage /æːɑɣe/ | ōga /ˈoːɡa/ | eye /iːə/ | Oog /oːx/ | auga /ɑuɣɑ/ | Auch /aʊx/ |
| Hello | heil /heil/ | wes hāl /wes haːl/ | heil /heil/ | hail /hɛːl/ | Moin /mɔɪn/ | heill /hɛilː/ | Tach /tax/ |
| Thank you | thank /θank/ | þanc /θɑŋk/ | thank /θaŋk/ | gramercy /ɡraːmɛrsiː/ | Dankschöön /daŋkʃøːn/ | þǫkk /θɔkː/ | Dankeschön /daŋkəʃøːn/ |
| One | ān /aːn/ | ān /aːn/ | ēn /eːn/ | oon /oːn/ | een /eːn/ | einn /ɛinː/ | ein /aɪn/ |
| Good | gōd /ɡoːd/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ | good /ɡoːd/ | good /ɡoːt/ | góðr /ɡoːðr/ | joot /joːt/ |
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