𐎠𐎼𐎹
Old Persian
Indo-European (Iranian, Old, Southwestern) · historical / hidden variety
Old Persian was the language of the Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE) and the direct ancestor of Middle Persian (Pahlavi) and ultimately Modern Persian. It is attested in royal inscriptions of Darius I, Xerxes and successors (most famously the trilingual Behistun Inscription of c.520 BCE alongside Elamite and Akkadian, the key to deciphering cuneiform). Written in a unique semi-syllabic Old Persian cuneiform of ~36 signs, invented specifically for the script — distinct from the much older Sumerian-Akkadian cuneiform. The corpus is small but linguistically conservative, preserving Indo-European inflection.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Old Persian
Water
𐎠𐎱
/aːpi/
Fire
𐎠𐎫𐎼
/aːtar/
Sun
𐏃𐎢𐎺𐎼
/huwar/
Moon
𐎶𐎠𐏃
/maːha/
Star
𐎿𐎫𐎠𐎼
/staːra/
Mother
𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎼
/maːtar/
Father
𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠
/pitaː/
I
𐎠𐎭𐎶
/adam/
You
𐎬𐎢𐎺𐎶
/tuvam/
Name
𐎴𐎠𐎶
/naːma/
Eye
𐏂𐏁𐎶𐎴
/tʃaʃman/
Hand
𐎭𐎿𐎫
/dasta/
Heart
𐏀𐎼𐎭
/zard/
Love
𐎳𐎼𐎡𐎹
/frija/
Tree
—
/—/
House
𐎶𐎠𐎴𐎡𐎹
/maːnija/
Dog
𐎿𐎱𐎣
/spaka/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
𐎧𐎼
/xar/
Drink
𐎱𐎠
/paː/
One
𐎠𐎡𐎺
/aiwa/
Two
𐎯𐎢𐎺
/duva/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
𐎴𐎡𐎲
/naiba/
Sources
- Kent (1953) Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon
- Schmitt (2014) Wörterbuch der altpersischen Königsinschriften
- Glottolog: oldp1254
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Iranian, Old, Southwestern) languages
| Meaning | Old Persian | Avestan | Scythian | Parthian | Sogdian | Khotanese | Persian (Classical) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 𐎠𐎱 /aːpi/ | 𐬁𐬞 /aːp/ | ap /ap/ | āb /aːb/ | ʾāp /aːp/ | 𑀊𑀤𑀸 /uːdaː/ | آب /aːb/ |
| Fire | 𐎠𐎫𐎼 /aːtar/ | 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /aːtar/ | ātar /aːtar/ | ādar /aːdar/ | ʾātar /aːtar/ | 𑀆𑀢𑀭 /aːtar/ | آتش /aːtaʃ/ |
| Sun | 𐏃𐎢𐎺𐎼 /huwar/ | 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 /huwarə/ | hvar /xʷar/ | xwar /xwar/ | xwr /xwar/ | 𑀉𑀭𑁆𑀫 /urma/ | خورشید /xʷarʃeːd/ |
| Moon | 𐎶𐎠𐏃 /maːha/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬵 /maːh/ | māh /maːh/ | māh /maːh/ | mʾx /maːx/ | 𑀫𑀸𑀲𑁆𑀢 /maːsta/ | ماه /maːh/ |
| Star | 𐎿𐎫𐎠𐎼 /staːra/ | 𐬯𐬙𐬀𐬭 /star/ | star /staːr/ | astārag /asˈtaːraɡ/ | stāre /staːre/ | 𑀲𑁆𑀢𑀸𑀭 /staːra/ | ستاره /sitaːra/ |
| Mother | 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎼 /maːtar/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /maːtar/ | mātar /maːtar/ | mād /maːd/ | mʾtr /maːtar/ | 𑀫𑀸𑀢 /maːta/ | مادر /maːdar/ |
| Father | 𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠 /pitaː/ | 𐬞𐬌𐬙𐬀𐬭 /pitar/ | pitar /pitar/ | pid /pid/ | ptr /pitar/ | 𑀧𑀺𑀢 /pita/ | پدر /pidar/ |
| I | 𐎠𐎭𐎶 /adam/ | 𐬀𐬰𐬆𐬨 /azəm/ | azu /azu/ | az /az/ | azu /azu/ | aä /aːə/ | من /man/ |
| You | 𐎬𐎢𐎺𐎶 /tuvam/ | 𐬙𐬏𐬨 /tuːm/ | tu /tuː/ | tu /tuː/ | tγu /tɣu/ | 𑀢𑀽 /tuː/ | تو /toː/ |
| Name | 𐎴𐎠𐎶 /naːma/ | 𐬥𐬁𐬨𐬀𐬥 /naːman/ | nama /naːma/ | nām /naːm/ | nām /naːm/ | 𑀦𑀸𑀫 /naːma/ | نام /naːm/ |
| Eye | 𐏂𐏁𐎶𐎴 /tʃaʃman/ | 𐬗𐬀𐬱𐬨𐬀𐬥 /tʃaʃman/ | čašm /tʃaʃm/ | čašm /tʃaʃm/ | cšm /tʃaʃm/ | 𑀘𑁂𑀰𑁆𑀫𑀦𑁆 /tʃʰeʃman/ | چشم /tʃaʃm/ |
| Hand | 𐎭𐎿𐎫 /dasta/ | 𐬰𐬀𐬯𐬙𐬀 /zasta/ | zasta /zasta/ | dast /dast/ | dst /dast/ | 𑀤𑀲𑁆𑀢 /dasta/ | دست /dast/ |
| Heart | 𐏀𐎼𐎭 /zard/ | 𐬰𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛 /zərəd/ | zard- /zard/ | zyrd /zird/ | δrzy /ðərʒeː/ | 𑀬𑀲𑀭 (ysära) /zəra/ | دل /dil/ |
| Love | 𐎳𐎼𐎡𐎹 /frija/ | 𐬟𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 /frija/ | — /—/ | friyādan /frijaːdan/ | frytk /friːtak/ | 𑀅𑀭𑁆𑀭𑀽 /arːuː/ | عشق /ʔiʃq/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬯𐬀 /waesa/ | — /—/ | dār /daːr/ | drxt /draxt/ | 𑀤𑁆𑀭𑀼 /drːu/ | درخت /diraxt/ |
| House | 𐎶𐎠𐎴𐎡𐎹 /maːnija/ | 𐬥𐬨𐬁𐬥𐬀 /nmaːna/ | — /—/ | xānag /xaːnaɡ/ | kṯʾk /kaθaːk/ | 𑀩𑁆𑀬𑀸𑀳 /bjaːha/ | خانه /xaːna/ |
| Dog | 𐎿𐎱𐎣 /spaka/ | 𐬯𐬞𐬁 /spaː/ | spaka /spaka/ | spag /spaɡ/ | ʾkw /aːkuː/ | 𑀰𑀼 /ʂu/ | سگ /saɡ/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𑀰𑁆𑀰𑁆𑀭𑀅𑀼 /ʂʂarau/ | گربه /ɡurba/ |
| Eat | 𐎧𐎼 /xar/ | 𐬑𐬬𐬀𐬭 /xwar/ | xwartan /xʷartan/ | xward- /xward/ | xwartan /xwartan/ | 𑀧𑀭𑀢 /parætæ/ | خوردن /xʷurdan/ |
| Drink | 𐎱𐎠 /paː/ | 𐬞𐬁 /paː/ | — /—/ | pī- /piː/ | pi- /pi/ | 𑀧𑀻𑀅 /piːa/ | آشامیدن /aːʃaːmiːdan/ |
| One | 𐎠𐎡𐎺 /aiwa/ | 𐬀𐬉𐬬𐬀 /aewa/ | aiwa /aiwa/ | ēw /eːw/ | yw /jɛw/ | 𑀰𑁆𑀰𑀅𑀼 /ɕːau/ | یک /jak/ |
| Two | 𐎯𐎢𐎺 /duva/ | 𐬛𐬬𐬀 /dva/ | duva /duva/ | dō /doː/ | aδwa /aðwa/ | 𑀤𑀼𑀯 /duva/ | دو /doː/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | drōd /droːd/ | drwd /druːd/ | 𑀤𑁆𑀭𑀽𑀤𑀻 /drːuːdiː/ | درود /duruːd/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | spās /spaːs/ | — /—/ | 𑀧𑁆𑀬𑀰𑁆𑀢 /pjaʃta/ | سپاس /sipaːs/ |
| Good | 𐎴𐎡𐎲 /naiba/ | 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 /vohu/ | vohu /wohu/ | nēw /neːw/ | nyk /neːk/ | 𑀯𑀺𑀭𑀢𑁆𑀢 /viratːa/ | نیک /neːk/ |
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