Proto-Sino-Tibetan
Proto-language (reconstructed) · historical / hidden variety
Proto-Sino-Tibetan is the reconstructed ancestor of the Sino-Tibetan (Trans-Himalayan) family — Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese and hundreds of others. It is tentatively placed in the upper Yellow River or eastern Himalayan area around 5500–3500 BCE. Its basic-vocabulary reconstruction is debated, so many cells are left blank.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Proto-Sino-Tibetan
Water
—
/—/
Fire
*mey
/mey/
Sun
*nəy
/nəy/
Moon
*s-la
/s-la/
Star
*s-kar
/s-kar/
Mother
*ma
/ma/
Father
*pa
/pa/
I
*ŋa
/ŋa/
You
*naŋ
/naŋ/
Name
*r-miŋ
/r-miŋ/
Eye
*s-mik
/s-mik/
Hand
*lak
/lak/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
*siŋ
/siŋ/
House
—
/—/
Dog
*d-kʷəy
/d-kʷəy/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
*dzya
/dzya/
Drink
—
/—/
One
*tik
/tik/
Two
*g-nis
/g-nis/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Matisoff (2003) Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman
- STEDT — Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus
Words compared
Compared with related Proto-language (reconstructed) languages
| Meaning | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | Pyu | Lardil | Yangkaal | Proto-Japonic-Koreanic | Phrygian | Damin (Lardil ceremonial register) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | — /—/ | ʔuy /uj/ | kantha /kanθa/ | ngogo /ŋoɡo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | *mey /mey/ | vyaŋ /wjaŋ/ | jalul /dʒalul/ | ngida /ŋida/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | l!ii /lǃiː/ |
| Sun | *nəy /nəy/ | ño /ɲo/ | thurara /θuɾaɾa/ | wargu /waɾɡu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | *s-la /s-la/ | hla /hla/ | kirdikir /kiɖikir/ | waldar /waldaɾ/ | — /—/ | masê /maˈseː/ | — /—/ |
| Star | *s-kar /s-kar/ | kar /karʔ/ | kambin /kambin/ | thurara /t̪uɾaɾa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | l*i /ʎ͡ʘi/ |
| Mother | *ma /ma/ | na /na/ | ngama /ŋama/ | ngama /ŋama/ | *əma /əma/ | mater /ˈmater/ | — /—/ |
| Father | *pa /pa/ | paʔ /paʔ/ | — /—/ | kanda /kanda/ | *əpa /əpa/ | atas /aˈtas/ | — /—/ |
| I | *ŋa /ŋa/ | ŋa /ŋa/ | ngada /ŋada/ | ngada /ŋada/ | — /—/ | az /az/ | n!aa /ŋ͡ʘaː/ |
| You | *naŋ /naŋ/ | naŋ /naŋ/ | nyingki /ɲiŋki/ | nyingka /ɲiŋka/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | n!uu /ŋ͡ʘuː/ |
| Name | *r-miŋ /r-miŋ/ | miŋ /miŋ/ | wangalk /waŋalk/ | warra /wara/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | m!ii /m͡ʘiː/ |
| Eye | *s-mik /s-mik/ | mik /mik/ | mela /mela/ | miibul /miːbul/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | *lak /lak/ | lak /lak/ | marra /maɾa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | *siŋ /siŋ/ | siŋ /siŋ/ | tungal /tuŋal/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | vaiŋ /waiŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | *d-kʷəy /d-kʷəy/ | kwiy /kwij/ | ngawu /ŋawu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | kan /kan/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | *dzya /dzya/ | cyaʔ /tɕaʔ/ | jitha /dʒiθa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | *tik /tik/ | te /te/ | kunngirr /kuŋŋir/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | *g-nis /g-nis/ | nit /nit/ | kiyarrng /kijaraŋ/ | kiyarrngka /kijaraŋka/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | r!ii /ɽ͡ʘiː/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.