Armâneashti
Aromanian
Romance (Eastern, Balkan)
Aromanian (Vlach, Armãneashti) is Romanian's closest living relative, traditionally spoken by ~250K transhumant pastoralist communities across the southern Balkans (Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia). Sister branch to Romanian within Eastern Romance, descended from Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire's Balkan Latin-speaking population. Phonologically more conservative than Romanian (preserves intervocalic /n/), and lexically more Greek-influenced. Uses Latin script with diacritics; recognized minority status in North Macedonia (1991).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Aromanian
Water
apâ
/ˈapɨ/
Fire
foc
/fok/
Sun
soare
/ˈso̯are/
Moon
lunâ
/ˈlunɨ/
Mother
mumâ
/ˈmumɨ/
Father
tatâ
/ˈtatɨ/
Eat
mâcari
/mɨˈkari/
Drink
beari
/ˈbeari/
Love
vreari
/ˈvreari/
Heart
inimâ
/ˈinimɨ/
Tree
arbur
/ˈarbur/
House
casâ
/ˈkasɨ/
Dog
câni
/ˈkɨni/
Cat
cãtushã
/kɨˈtuʃɨ/
Hand
mânâ
/ˈmɨnɨ/
Eye
oclju
/ˈokʎu/
Hello
bunâ-vã ziuâ
/ˈbunɨ vɨ ˈziwɨ/
Thank you
haristo
/hariˈsto/
One
unu
/ˈunu/
Good
bun
/bun/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Romance (Eastern, Balkan) languages
| Meaning | Aromanian | Megleno-Romanian | Romanian | Old Italian (Dantesque) | Emilian | Italian | Chavacano |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | apâ /ˈapɨ/ | apâ /ˈapɨ/ | apă /apə/ | acqua /ˈakːwa/ | âcua /ˈakwa/ | acqua /ˈakkwa/ | agua /ˈaɡwa/ |
| Fire | foc /fok/ | foc /fok/ | foc /fok/ | foco /ˈfɔko/ | fôg /ˈfoɡ/ | fuoco /ˈfwɔːko/ | fuego /ˈfweɡo/ |
| Sun | soare /ˈso̯are/ | soari /ˈsoari/ | soare /so̯are/ | sole /ˈsole/ | sôl /ˈsoːl/ | sole /ˈsoːle/ | sol /sol/ |
| Moon | lunâ /ˈlunɨ/ | lunâ /ˈlunɨ/ | lună /lunə/ | luna /ˈluna/ | lónna /ˈlonːa/ | luna /ˈluːna/ | luna /ˈluna/ |
| Mother | mumâ /ˈmumɨ/ | mumâ /ˈmumɨ/ | mamă /mamə/ | madre /ˈmaːdre/ | mèder /ˈmɛdɛɾ/ | madre /ˈmaːdre/ | nana /ˈnana/ |
| Father | tatâ /ˈtatɨ/ | tatâ /ˈtatɨ/ | tată /tatə/ | padre /ˈpaːdre/ | pèder /ˈpɛdɛɾ/ | padre /ˈpaːdre/ | tata /ˈtata/ |
| Eat | mâcari /mɨˈkari/ | mâcari /mɨˈkari/ | a mânca /a mɨnka/ | mangiare /manˈd͡ʒare/ | magnèr /maˈɲɛɾ/ | mangiare /manˈd͡ʒaːre/ | come /koˈme/ |
| Drink | beari /ˈbeari/ | beari /ˈbeari/ | a bea /a be̯a/ | bevere /ˈbevere/ | bevvre /ˈbevːɾe/ | bere /ˈbeːre/ | bebe /beˈbe/ |
| Love | vreari /ˈvreari/ | ublami /ˈublami/ | iubire /jubire/ | amore /aˈmore/ | amôr /aˈmoːɾ/ | amore /aˈmoːre/ | ama /ˈama/ |
| Heart | inimâ /ˈinimɨ/ | inima /ˈinima/ | inimă /inimə/ | core /ˈkɔre/ | côr /ˈkoːɾ/ | cuore /ˈkwɔːre/ | corazón /koraˈson/ |
| Tree | arbur /ˈarbur/ | lemnu /lemnu/ | copac /kopak/ | albero /ˈalbero/ | arbal /ˈaɾbal/ | albero /ˈalbero/ | árbol /ˈaɾbol/ |
| House | casâ /ˈkasɨ/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casă /kasə/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | cà /ˈka/ | casa /ˈkaːsa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ |
| Dog | câni /ˈkɨni/ | câni /ˈkɨni/ | câine /kɨine/ | cane /ˈkane/ | can /ˈkan/ | cane /ˈkaːne/ | perro /ˈpeɾo/ |
| Cat | cãtushã /kɨˈtuʃɨ/ | mâța /ˈmɨtsa/ | pisică /pisikə/ | gatto /ˈɡatːo/ | gât /ˈɡat/ | gatto /ˈɡatto/ | gato /ˈɡato/ |
| Hand | mânâ /ˈmɨnɨ/ | mâna /ˈmɨna/ | mână /mɨnə/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mân /ˈman/ | mano /ˈmaːno/ | mano /ˈmano/ |
| Eye | oclju /ˈokʎu/ | ocl /okl/ | ochi /okʲ/ | occhio /ˈɔkːjo/ | ucc /ˈutʃ/ | occhio /ˈɔkkjo/ | ojo /ˈoho/ |
| Hello | bunâ-vã ziuâ /ˈbunɨ vɨ ˈziwɨ/ | ubavu /uˈbavu/ | salut /salut/ | salute /saˈlute/ | cciô /ˈtʃoː/ | ciao /ˈt͡ʃaːo/ | buenas /ˈbwenas/ |
| Thank you | haristo /hariˈsto/ | hăirau /hɨiˈrau/ | mulțumesc /mult͡sumesk/ | mercede /merˈt͡ʃede/ | gràzie /ˈɡɾaːtsje/ | grazie /ˈɡratt͡sje/ | gracias /ˈɡɾasjas/ |
| One | unu /ˈunu/ | unu /ˈunu/ | unu /unu/ | uno /ˈuno/ | un /ˈun/ | uno /ˈuːno/ | uno /ˈuno/ |
| Good | bun /bun/ | bunu /ˈbunu/ | bun /bun/ | buono /ˈbwɔno/ | bón /ˈbon/ | buono /ˈbwɔːno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.