Runasimi
Quechua
Quechuan
Quechua (Runa Simi, "human speech") is a Quechuan language family with ~8M speakers across the Andes — co-official in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Inca imperial lingua franca; Cuzco-Bolivian Southern Quechua is most prestigious. Latin orthography standardized by Peru 1985, Bolivia 1984. SOV agglutinative with extensive evidentiality and verbal morphology.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Quechua
Water
yaku
/jaku/
Fire
nina
/nina/
Sun
inti
/inti/
Moon
killa
/kiʎa/
Mother
mama
/mama/
Father
tayta
/tajta/
Eat
mikhuy
/mikʰuj/
Drink
upyay
/upjaj/
Love
munay
/munaj/
Heart
sunqu
/suŋqu/
Tree
sacha
/satʃa/
House
wasi
/wasi/
Dog
allqu
/aʎqu/
Cat
misi
/misi/
Hand
maki
/maki/
Eye
ñawi
/ɲawi/
Hello
allillanchu
/aʎiʎantʃu/
Thank you
sulpayki
/sulpajki/
One
huk
/huk/
Good
allin
/aʎin/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Quechuan languages
| Meaning | Quechua | Classical Quechua | Cusco Quechua | Ayacucho Quechua | Aymara | Misak | Papiamento |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | yaku /jaku/ | yaku /jaku/ | unu /unu/ | yaku /jaku/ | uma /uma/ | unø /unø/ | awa /awa/ |
| Fire | nina /nina/ | nina /nina/ | nina /nina/ | nina /nina/ | nina /nina/ | nipi /nipi/ | kandela /kandela/ |
| Sun | inti /inti/ | inti /inti/ | inti /inti/ | inti /inti/ | inti /inti/ | shi /ʃi/ | solo /solo/ |
| Moon | killa /kiʎa/ | killa /kiʎa/ | killa /kiʎa/ | killa /kiʎa/ | phaxsi /pʰaχsi/ | atru /atɾu/ | luna /luna/ |
| Mother | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | tayta /tajta/ | tayta /tajta/ | tayta /tajta/ | tayta /tajta/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ |
| Eat | mikhuy /mikʰuj/ | mikhuy /mikʰuj/ | mikhuy /mikʰuj/ | mikuy /mikuj/ | manqʼaña /manqʼaɲa/ | mɵ /mɵ/ | kome /kome/ |
| Drink | upyay /upjaj/ | upyay /upjaj/ | upyay /upjaj/ | upyay /upjaj/ | umaña /umaɲa/ | ushi /uʃi/ | bebe /bebe/ |
| Love | munay /munaj/ | munay /munaj/ | munay /munaj/ | kuyay /kujaj/ | munasiña /munasiɲa/ | kausrap /kawsɾap/ | amor /amor/ |
| Heart | sunqu /suŋqu/ | sunqu /suŋqu/ | sunqu /suŋqu/ | sunqu /suŋqu/ | chuyma /tʃujma/ | mun /mun/ | kurason /kurason/ |
| Tree | sacha /satʃa/ | sach'a /satʃʼa/ | sachʼa /satʃʼa/ | sacha /satʃa/ | quqa /quqa/ | yu /ju/ | palu /palu/ |
| House | wasi /wasi/ | wasi /wasi/ | wasi /wasi/ | wasi /wasi/ | uta /uta/ | ya /ja/ | kas /kas/ |
| Dog | allqu /aʎqu/ | allqu /aʎqu/ | allqu /aʎqu/ | allqu /aʎqu/ | anu /anu/ | kuchi /kutʃi/ | kacho /katʃo/ |
| Cat | misi /misi/ | misi /misi/ | misi /misi/ | michi /mitʃi/ | phisi /pʰisi/ | mishi /miʃi/ | pushi /puʃi/ |
| Hand | maki /maki/ | maki /maki/ | maki /maki/ | maki /maki/ | ampara /ampaɾa/ | mar /maɾ/ | man /man/ |
| Eye | ñawi /ɲawi/ | ñawi /ɲawi/ | ñawi /ɲawi/ | ñawi /ɲawi/ | nayra /najɾa/ | kab /kab/ | wowo /wowo/ |
| Hello | allillanchu /aʎiʎantʃu/ | rimaykullayki /rimajkuʎajki/ | rimaykullayki /rimajkuʎajki/ | napaykullayki /napajkuʎajki/ | kamisaki /kamisaki/ | ma'rik /maʔɾik/ | bon dia /bon dia/ |
| Thank you | sulpayki /sulpajki/ | añay /aɲaj/ | añay /aɲaj/ | añay /aɲaj/ | yuspagara /juspaɣaɾa/ | payn /pajn/ | danki /daŋki/ |
| One | huk /huk/ | huk /huk/ | huk /huk/ | huk /huk/ | maya /maja/ | kan /kan/ | un /un/ |
| Good | allin /aʎin/ | allin /aʎin/ | allin /aʎin/ | allin /aʎin/ | suma /suma/ | kausrik /kawsɾik/ | bon /bon/ |
Word order compared
Compare with major world languages
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