romaniska tšimb / Kaale
Finnish Romani
Indo-European (Indo-Aryan, Romani, Northern, Romanichal-Kaale subgroup)
Finnish Romani (Kaale, autonymously romaniska tšimb) is the principal Northern Romani variety of Finland, where the Roma (called Romani-kalee or Kaale) settled in the 16th century after migrating from Britain via Sweden. As a Northern Romani branch member alongside British Romanichal (rmw) and Welsh Romani (rmd, extinct), Kaale shares Northern features (loss of dual, simplified case system) but has been heavily influenced by Finnish through 500+ years of contact. Notable for an extensive code-switching tradition with Finnish and a literary tradition since the 1990s including children's books and a New Testament (2008). The community size is ~10,000-12,000, making Finnish Roma one of the better-documented Roma populations.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Finnish Romani
Water
paani
/paːni/
Fire
jaak
/jaːk/
Sun
kham
/kʰam/
Moon
choon
/tʃʰoːn/
Mother
daij
/daij/
Father
daad
/daːd/
Eat
xal
/xal/
Drink
piel
/piel/
Love
kamel
/kamel/
Heart
llo
/lːo/
Tree
rukh
/rukʰ/
House
kher
/kʰer/
Dog
žukli
/ʒukli/
Cat
baari mačka
/baːri matʃka/
Hand
vast
/vast/
Eye
jakk
/jakː/
Hello
šukar diives
/ʃukaɾ diːves/
Thank you
naais
/naːis/
One
jekk
/jekː/
Good
šukar
/ʃukaɾ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Indo-Aryan, Romani, Northern, Romanichal-Kaale subgroup) languages
| Meaning | Finnish Romani | Vlax Romani | Romani | Chhattisgarhi | Awadhi | Caribbean Hindustani | Bagri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | paani /paːni/ | pani /pani/ | pani /ˈpani/ | पानी /paːni/ | पानी /paːniː/ | paani /paːni/ | पाणी /paːɳiː/ |
| Fire | jaak /jaːk/ | jag /jaɡ/ | jag /jaɡ/ | आगि /aːɡi/ | आगि /aːɡi/ | aag /aːɡ/ | आग /aːɡ/ |
| Sun | kham /kʰam/ | kham /kʰam/ | kham /kʰam/ | सूरज /suːrəj/ | सूरज /suːrəd͡ʒ/ | suuraj /suːɾəd͡ʒ/ | सूरज /suːraj/ |
| Moon | choon /tʃʰoːn/ | čhonut /tʃʰonut/ | čhon /tʃʰon/ | चंदा /tʃəndaː/ | चान /tʃaːn/ | caand /t͡ʃãːd/ | चंदो /tʃando/ |
| Mother | daij /daij/ | dej /dej/ | daj /ˈdaj/ | दाई /daːiː/ | मइया /məjjaː/ | mai /mai/ | माय /maːj/ |
| Father | daad /daːd/ | dad /dad/ | dad /ˈdad/ | ददा /dadaː/ | बाबू /baːbuː/ | baap /baːp/ | बाप /baːp/ |
| Eat | xal /xal/ | xav /xav/ | xal /ˈxal/ | खाना /kʰaːnaː/ | खाई /kʰaːiː/ | khaae /kʰaːe/ | खावणो /kʰaːʋɳo/ |
| Drink | piel /piel/ | pijav /pijav/ | pijel /pijɛl/ | पीना /piːnaː/ | पीई /piːiː/ | pi /pi/ | पीवणो /piːʋɳo/ |
| Love | kamel /kamel/ | kamel /kamel/ | kamiben /kamibɛn/ | मया /məjaː/ | पिरेम /pirem/ | piaar /piaːr/ | मया /məjaː/ |
| Heart | llo /lːo/ | ilo /ilo/ | jilo /dʒilo/ | हिरदा /hirdaː/ | हियाँ /hijãː/ | dil /dil/ | हिवड़ो /hivəɽo/ |
| Tree | rukh /rukʰ/ | kašt /kaʃt/ | rukh /ɾukʰ/ | रूख /ruːkʰ/ | रूख /ruːkʰ/ | ped /peɽ/ | रूख /ɾuːkʰ/ |
| House | kher /kʰer/ | kher /kʰer/ | kher /kʰɛɾ/ | घर /ɡʱər/ | घर /ɡʱər/ | ghar /ɡʱar/ | घर /ɡʱar/ |
| Dog | žukli /ʒukli/ | žukel /ʒukel/ | žukel /ʒukɛl/ | कुकुर /kukur/ | कुक्कुर /kukːur/ | kuttaa /kuttaː/ | कुत्तो /kutːo/ |
| Cat | baari mačka /baːri matʃka/ | mačka /matʃka/ | mačka /matʃka/ | बिलई /bilai/ | बिलारि /bilaːri/ | billii /billiː/ | मीनी /miːniː/ |
| Hand | vast /vast/ | vast /vast/ | vast /ˈvast/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ | haat /haːt/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ |
| Eye | jakk /jakː/ | jakh /jakʰ/ | jakh /jakʰ/ | आँखी /ãːkʰi/ | आँख /ãːkʰ/ | ankh /ãːkʰ/ | आंख /aːŋkʰ/ |
| Hello | šukar diives /ʃukaɾ diːves/ | t’aves baxtalo /tʼaves baxtalo/ | lačho dives /latʃʰo divɛs/ | जोहार /dʒoːɦaːr/ | राम राम /raːm raːm/ | namaste /namaste/ | खम्मा घणी /kʰəmːaː ɡʱəɳiː/ |
| Thank you | naais /naːis/ | najis tuke /najis tuke/ | nais tuke /najs tukɛ/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəʋaːd/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəbaːd/ | dhanyabaad /dʰanjabaːd/ | धन्यवाद /dʱanjabaːd/ |
| One | jekk /jekː/ | jek /jek/ | jekh /jɛkʰ/ | एक /eːk/ | एक /eːk/ | ek /ek/ | एक /eːk/ |
| Good | šukar /ʃukaɾ/ | mišto /miʃto/ | lačho /latʃʰo/ | बने /bəne/ | निक /nik/ | accha /at͡ʃt͡ʃʰa/ | चोखो /tʃoːkʰo/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.