Proto-Uralic
Proto-language (reconstructed) · historical / hidden variety
Proto-Uralic is the reconstructed ancestor of the Uralic family (Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, the Sámi and the Samoyedic languages, among others). It is usually placed near the Ural Mountains or the middle Volga around 4000–2000 BCE. Fewer basic-vocabulary items can be securely reconstructed than for Indo-European, so many cells here are left blank.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Proto-Uralic
Water
*wete
/wete/
Fire
—
/—/
Sun
—
/—/
Moon
—
/—/
Star
—
/—/
Mother
—
/—/
Father
—
/—/
I
*mun
/mun/
You
*tun
/tun/
Name
*nimi
/nimi/
Eye
*śilmä
/śilmä/
Hand
*käti
/käti/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
*puwi
/puwi/
House
—
/—/
Dog
—
/—/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
*sewe-
/sewe-/
Drink
—
/—/
One
*ükte
/ükte/
Two
*kakta
/kakta/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Sammallahti (1988) Historical phonology of the Uralic languages
- UEW — Uralisches etymologisches Wörterbuch
Words compared
Compared with related Proto-language (reconstructed) languages
| Meaning | Proto-Uralic | Proto-Hmong-Mien | Goguryeo | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Tartessian | Liburnian | Meroitic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | *wete /wete/ | *ʔuwm /ʔuwm/ | 買 /*mai/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐦠𐦶 /ato/ |
| Fire | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐦨𐦯 /ˈmasa/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| I | *mun /mun/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| You | *tun /tun/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | *nimi /nimi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | *śilmä /śilmä/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | *käti /käti/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | *puwi /puwi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | *sewe- /sewe-/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | *ükte /ükte/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | *kakta /kakta/ | *ʔwei /ʔwei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| 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.