Haausqyaix

Bouyei

Kra-Dai (Tai, Northern)

FamilyKra-Dai (Tai, Northern) Speakers~3M ScriptLatin (Buyei) / Chinese characters / Old Bouyei script CountriesChina (Guizhou, Yunnan) Official inNo (recognized minority) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3pcc

Bouyei (Buyei) is closely related to Northern Zhuang, with which it forms a dialect continuum. The Romanized Bouyei orthography uses tone letters (l, x, z, q, h, j) at syllable end to mark its 6-8 tones. It has a long literary tradition using Chinese-character-based scripts for ritual texts.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Bouyei

Water

raamx

/raːm˧˩/

Fire

feih

/fei˧˩/

Sun

ngonzbyaaiz

/ŋon˩˩pjaːi˩˩/

Moon

ronh

/roːn˧˩/

Mother

meeh

/meː˧˩/

Father

poh

/poː˧˩/

Eat

gianl

/ɡian˧˥/

Drink

gunl

/ɡuŋ˧˥/

Love

gaais

/ɡaːi˥˧/

Heart

saamh

/saːm˧˩/

Tree

faix

/fai˧˩/

House

ranz

/raŋ˩˩/

Dog

ma

/ma˨˦/

Cat

meeuq

/meːu˧˧/

Hand

faengz

/faŋ˩˩/

Eye

daa

/daː˨˦/

Hello

meez ndil

/meː˩˩ ndi˧˥/

Thank you

gangzhainh

/ɡaŋ˩˩haiŋ˧˩/

One

ndeeul

/ndeːu˧˥/

Good

ndil

/ndi˧˥/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Kra-Dai (Tai, Northern) languages

Meaning BouyeiZhuangTàyNùngThai SongThaiGaozhou Yue
Water raamx /raːm˧˩/ /ɣam˦/ nặm /naːm˨˩/ nặm /naːm˨˩/ น้ำ /nam˧˩/ น้ำ /nam˧˥/ /sɵi˧˥/
Fire feih /fei˧˩/ /fei˧˥/ phầy /fəj˨˩/ fầy /fəj˨˩/ ไฟ /faj˧˩/ ไฟ /faj˧/ /fɔ˧˥/
Sun ngonzbyaaiz /ŋon˩˩pjaːi˩˩/ /taŋ˧˥ŋon˧˥/ tha vằn /tʰaː˧˧vən˨˩/ tha vằn /tʰaː˧˧vən˨˩/ ตะวัน /ta˩˧ wan˧/ ดวงอาทิตย์ /duaŋ˧ʔaː˧tʰit˧˥/ 日头 /jɐt˨tʰɐu˧˧/
Moon ronh /roːn˧˩/ /dan˥/ bươn /bɯən˧˧/ boon /boːn˧˧/ เดือน /dɯːan˧/ ดวงจันทร์ /duaŋ˧t͡ɕan˧/ 月光 /jyt˨kwɔŋ˥˥/
Mother meeh /meː˧˩/ 𫱆 /me˨/ mẻ /mɛ˨˩˧/ /mɛ˨˩˧/ แม่ /mɛː˧˩/ แม่ /mɛː˥˩/ 妈妈 /maː˥˥maː˥˥/
Father poh /poː˧˩/ boh /po˧/ /pɔ˨˩/ /pɔ˨˩/ พ่อ /pʰɔː˧˩/ พ่อ /pʰɔː˥˩/ 爸爸 /paː˨˩paː˨˩/
Eat gianl /ɡian˧˥/ gwn /kɯn˨˦/ kin /kin˧˧/ kin /kin˧˧/ กิน /kin˧/ กิน /kin˧/ /sɪk˨˨/
Drink gunl /ɡuŋ˧˥/ gwn /kɯn˨˦ɣam˦/ uống /uəŋ˧˥/ kin nặm /kin˧˧naːm˨˩/ ดื่ม /dɯːm˧˩/ ดื่ม /dɯːm˨˩/ /jɐm˧˥/
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