Proto-Koreanic
Proto-language (reconstructed) · historical / hidden variety
Proto-Koreanic is the reconstructed ancestor of the Koreanic family — Korean and its historical stages, with Jeju as a divergent variety. It is placed on the Korean peninsula from roughly the 1st century BCE to the 7th century CE (the emergence of Old Korean). Koreanic has a shallow attested depth, so the reconstruction stays close to Old and Middle Korean.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Proto-Koreanic
Water
*mɨr
/mɨr/
Fire
*pɨr
/pɨr/
Sun
*hʌy
/hʌy/
Moon
*tʌr
/tʌr/
Star
*pyər
/pyər/
Mother
*emi
/emi/
Father
*api
/api/
I
*na
/na/
You
*ne
/ne/
Name
—
/—/
Eye
*nun
/nun/
Hand
*son
/son/
Heart
*mʌzʌm
/mʌzʌm/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
*namʌk
/namʌk/
House
—
/—/
Dog
—
/—/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
*mek-
/mek-/
Drink
—
/—/
One
*hʌnah
/hʌnah/
Two
*tur
/tur/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Lee & Ramsey (2011) A History of the Korean Language
- Vovin (2010) Koreo-Japonica
Words compared
Compared with related Proto-language (reconstructed) languages
| Meaning | Proto-Koreanic | Goryeo Korean | Old Korean (Silla) | Middle Korean | Umbrian | Proto-Japonic-Koreanic | Korean (Early Modern) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | *mɨr /mɨr/ | 沒 /*mwol/ | 勿 /*muɾ/ | 믈 /mɯl/ | utur /ˈu.tur/ | — /—/ | 믈 /mɯl/ |
| Fire | *pɨr /pɨr/ | 孛 /*pwol/ | 弗 /*puɾ/ | 블 /pɯl/ | pir /pir/ | — /—/ | 블 /pɯl/ |
| Sun | *hʌy /hʌy/ | 契 /*hʌi/ | 日 /*hai/ | ·ᄒᆡ /hʌj/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ᄒᆡ /hʌj/ |
| Moon | *tʌr /tʌr/ | 妲 /*tʌl/ | 月羅理 /*tʌrari/ | ᄃᆞᆯ /tʌl/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 달 /tal/ |
| Star | *pyər /pyər/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 별 /pjəl/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 별 /pjəl/ |
| Mother | *emi /emi/ | 丫彌 /*emi/ | 母史 /*əzi/ | 어미 /ʌmi/ | matrer /ˈma.trer/ | *əma /əma/ | 어미 /ʌmi/ |
| Father | *api /api/ | 丫秘 /*api/ | 父 /*api/ | 아비 /abi/ | patre /ˈpa.tre/ | *əpa /əpa/ | 아비 /abi/ |
| I | *na /na/ | — /—/ | 吾 /*na/ | 나 /na/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 나 /na/ |
| You | *ne /ne/ | — /—/ | 汝 /*nə/ | 너 /nə/ | tu /tuː/ | — /—/ | 너 /nə/ |
| Name | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 일훔 /iɾhum/ | nome /ˈnome/ | — /—/ | 일홈 /irhom/ |
| Eye | *nun /nun/ | 嫩 /*nwun/ | 目 /*nun/ | ·눈 /nun/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 눈 /nun/ |
| Hand | *son /son/ | 遜 /*swon/ | 孫 /*son/ | :손 /son/ | manuv-e /ma.ˈnu.we/ | — /—/ | 손 /son/ |
| Heart | *mʌzʌm /mʌzʌm/ | — /—/ | 心音 /*mʌsʌm/ | ᄆᆞᅀᆞᆷ /mʌzʌm/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 마음 /maɯm/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | 思良 /*sjaɾaŋ/ | ᄉᆞ랑 /sʌ.ɾaŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ᄉᆞ랑 /saɾaŋ/ |
| Tree | *namʌk /namʌk/ | 南記 /*namki/ | 那木 /*namok/ | 나모 /namo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 나모 /namo/ |
| House | — /—/ | 集 /*tɕip/ | 執 /*tɕip/ | 집 /tɕip/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 집 /tɕip/ |
| Dog | — /—/ | 家稀 /*kahi/ | 加伊 /*kahi/ | 가히 /kahi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 개 /kɛ/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 괴 /kwe/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 괴앙이 /kweaŋi/ |
| Eat | *mek- /mek-/ | — /—/ | 食 /*məkta/ | 먹다 /mʌk̚.ta/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 먹다 /mʌk̚t͈a/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | 飲 /*maɕita/ | 마시다 /maɕi.ta/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 마시다 /maɕida/ |
| One | *hʌnah /hʌnah/ | 河屯 /*hatwun/ | 一等 /*hʌnah/ | ᄒᆞ나 /hʌna/ | unu /ˈu.nu/ | — /—/ | 하나 /hana/ |
| Two | *tur /tur/ | 途孛 /*twubʌr/ | 二肹 /*tubɨɾ/ | 둟 /tulh/ | dur /dur/ | — /—/ | 둘 /tul/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 안녕ᄒᆞ쇼셔 /annjʌŋ hʌ.sjo.sjʌ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 안녕하시오 /annjʌŋ.ha.ɕi.o/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 고맙ᄉᆞᆸ나이다 /komap.sʌp.na.i.ta/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 고맙소이다 /komap.so.i.da/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | 好 /*tjoh/ | 됴타 /tjotʰa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 됴타 /tjotʰa/ |
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