Pyu
Sino-Tibetan (Pyu) · historical / hidden variety
Pyu was spoken by the Pyu City-States of central Burma (Sri Ksetra, Beikthano, Halin) from the 4th to 12th centuries. It is a Sino-Tibetan language whose precise affiliation within the family is debated. The Pyu script (a Brahmic abugida) is partially deciphered; vocabulary is largely confined to Buddhist inscriptions on stupas. Many entries here are tentative or unattested.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Pyu
Water
ʔuy
/uj/
Fire
vyaŋ
/wjaŋ/
Sun
ño
/ɲo/
Moon
hla
/hla/
Star
kar
/karʔ/
Mother
na
/na/
Father
paʔ
/paʔ/
I
ŋa
/ŋa/
You
naŋ
/naŋ/
Name
miŋ
/miŋ/
Eye
mik
/mik/
Hand
lak
/lak/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
siŋ
/siŋ/
House
vaiŋ
/waiŋ/
Dog
kwiy
/kwij/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
cyaʔ
/tɕaʔ/
Drink
—
/—/
One
te
/te/
Two
nit
/nit/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Words compared
Compared with related Sino-Tibetan (Pyu) languages
| Meaning | Pyu | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | Lardil | Yangkaal | Yuchi | Kusunda | Old Burmese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ʔuy /uj/ | — /—/ | kantha /kanθa/ | ngogo /ŋoɡo/ | cha /tʃa/ | tang /tɑŋ/ | ရိ /riy/ |
| Fire | vyaŋ /wjaŋ/ | *mey /mey/ | jalul /dʒalul/ | ngida /ŋida/ | tsoda /tsoda/ | yu /ju/ | မိး /miːʔ/ |
| Sun | ño /ɲo/ | *nəy /nəy/ | thurara /θuɾaɾa/ | wargu /waɾɡu/ | dethla /dɛhla/ | nəm /nəm/ | နိ /niy/ |
| Moon | hla /hla/ | *s-la /s-la/ | kirdikir /kiɖikir/ | waldar /waldaɾ/ | zethla /zɛhla/ | pom /pom/ | လ /la/ |
| Star | kar /karʔ/ | *s-kar /s-kar/ | kambin /kambin/ | thurara /t̪uɾaɾa/ | weʼyv /weʔỹ/ | sam /sam/ | ကြယ် /kraj/ |
| Mother | na /na/ | *ma /ma/ | ngama /ŋama/ | ngama /ŋama/ | ahnʌh /ahnʌh/ | — /—/ | အမိ /ʔamiy/ |
| Father | paʔ /paʔ/ | *pa /pa/ | — /—/ | kanda /kanda/ | — /—/ | yi /ji/ | အဖ /ʔap/ |
| I | ŋa /ŋa/ | *ŋa /ŋa/ | ngada /ŋada/ | ngada /ŋada/ | di /di/ | tsi /tsi/ | ငာ /ŋaː/ |
| You | naŋ /naŋ/ | *naŋ /naŋ/ | nyingki /ɲiŋki/ | nyingka /ɲiŋka/ | tse /tse/ | nu /nu/ | နင် /naŋ/ |
| Name | miŋ /miŋ/ | *r-miŋ /r-miŋ/ | wangalk /waŋalk/ | warra /wara/ | tiʼe /tiʔe/ | gidzi /ɡidzi/ | အမည် /ʔamɲaɲ/ |
| Eye | mik /mik/ | *s-mik /s-mik/ | mela /mela/ | miibul /miːbul/ | shela /ʃela/ | gam /ɡam/ | မ္ယက် /mlak/ |
| Hand | lak /lak/ | *lak /lak/ | marra /maɾa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | gisi /ɡisi/ | လက် /lak/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | နှလုံး /hnaluːŋ/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ချစ် /klyit/ |
| Tree | siŋ /siŋ/ | *siŋ /siŋ/ | tungal /tuŋal/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | cigi /tsiɡi/ | သစ် /sit/ |
| House | vaiŋ /waiŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | tsotʔa /tsotʔa/ | gepa /ɡepa/ | အိမ် /ʔim/ |
| Dog | kwiy /kwij/ | *d-kʷəy /d-kʷəy/ | ngawu /ŋawu/ | — /—/ | shtsé /ʃtsɛ/ | agəi /aɡəi/ | ခုယ်း /kʰuj/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ကြောင် /klaŋ/ |
| Eat | cyaʔ /tɕaʔ/ | *dzya /dzya/ | jitha /dʒiθa/ | — /—/ | gʌ /ɡʌ/ | təim /təim/ | စား /tsaːʔ/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ၐုက် /suk/ |
| One | te /te/ | *tik /tik/ | kunngirr /kuŋŋir/ | — /—/ | hahgo /hahɡo/ | nu /nu/ | တ /tac/ |
| Two | nit /nit/ | *g-nis /g-nis/ | kiyarrng /kijaraŋ/ | kiyarrngka /kijaraŋka/ | nowe /nõˈwẽ/ | dukhu /dukʰu/ | နှစ် /n̥ik/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ကောင်း /kawŋ/ |
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