Shimaore
Maore Comorian
Niger-Congo (Bantu, Sabaki)
Maore Comorian (Shimaore; ISO 639-3: swb) is an Eastern Comorian Sabaki Bantu language spoken by roughly 80,000–152,000 people, chiefly on Mayotte in the Comoro archipelago. It is closest to Shindzwani of Anjouan and coexists on Mayotte with Kibushi and French, the territory’s sole official language. Shimaore has the Bantu noun-class and agreement system, rich verbal morphology, basic SVO order, a five-vowel system /i e a o u/, and contrasts implosive /ɓ ɗ/ with plain /b d/. Its vocabulary reflects long contact with Arabic, Malagasy, and French as well as inherited Sabaki forms. A departmental orthography adopted in 2020 provides both Latin and Arabic-script conventions, and the language is increasingly used in education, media, and local publications.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Maore Comorian
Water
maji
/maji/
Fire
moto
/moto/
Sun
jua
/dʒua/
Moon
mwezi
/mwezi/
Star
nyota
/ɲota/
Mother
mama
/mama/
Father
baba
/baba/
I
wami
/wami/
You
wawe
/wawe/
Name
dzina
/dzina/
Eye
jicho
/dʒiʃo/
Hand
mkono
/mkono/
Heart
moyo
/moʝo/
Love
mahaba
/mahaba/
Tree
mti
/mti/
House
nyumba
/njumba/
Dog
mbwa
/ɱbwa/
Cat
paka
/paka/
Eat
kula
/kula/
Drink
kunywa
/kuɲwa/
One
moja
/moja/
Two
mbili
/ᵐbili/
Hello
Habari
/habari/
Thank you
asante
/asante/
Good
nzuri
/ɲzuri/
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Bantu, Sabaki) languages
| Meaning | Maore Comorian | Comorian (Shikomori) | Swahili | Shambala | Sena | Nyaturu | Asu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | maji /maji/ | maji /madʒi/ | maji /madʒi/ | mazi /mazi/ | madzi /madzi/ | maazi /maːzi/ | mende /mende/ |
| Fire | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /ˈmoto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | mshika /mʃika/ |
| Sun | jua /dʒua/ | jua /dʒua/ | jua /dʒua/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | dzuwa /dzuwa/ | nzua /nzua/ | idhuva /iðuʋa/ |
| Moon | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /ᵐwezi/ | mwezi /ˈmwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwedzi /mwedzi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| Star | nyota /ɲota/ | nyota /ɲota/ | nyota /ˈɲota/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyeenyeeri /ɲeːɲeːri/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ |
| Mother | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /ˈmama/ | mama /mama/ | mai /mai/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /ɓaba/ | baba /ˈbaba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ | baba /baba/ |
| I | wami /wami/ | wami /wami/ | mimi /ˈmimi/ | niye /nije/ | ine /ine/ | une /une/ | mine /mine/ |
| You | wawe /wawe/ | wawe /wawe/ | wewe /ˈwewe/ | weye /weje/ | iwe /iwe/ | uwe /uwe/ | uwe /uwe/ |
| Name | dzina /dzina/ | dzina /dzina/ | jina /ˈdʒina/ | izina /izina/ | dzina /dzina/ | izina /izina/ | izina /izina/ |
| Eye | jicho /dʒiʃo/ | jicho /dʒitʃo/ | jicho /dʒitʃo/ | izo /izo/ | diso /diso/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ | iiso /iːso/ |
| Hand | mkono /mkono/ | mkono /ᵐkono/ | mkono /mˈkono/ | ukono /ukono/ | nkono /nkono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | mkono /mkono/ |
| Heart | moyo /moʝo/ | moyo /moyo/ | moyo /mojo/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | mtima /mtima/ | umutima /umutima/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ |
| Love | mahaba /mahaba/ | upendo /uːpendo/ | upendo /uˈpendo/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | kufuna /kufuna/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | lumba /lumba/ |
| Tree | mti /mti/ | mti /ᵐti/ | mti /ˈmti/ | mti /mti/ | mtengo /mteŋɡo/ | umuti /umuti/ | mti /mti/ |
| House | nyumba /njumba/ | nyumba /ɲũba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | mbwa /ɱbwa/ | mbwa /ᵐbwa/ | mbwa /ᵐbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /ˈpaka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | kula /kula/ | kula /kula/ | kula /ˈkula/ | kuya /kuja/ | kudya /kudja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ | kurya /kuɾja/ |
| Drink | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kʊɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ |
| One | moja /moja/ | moja /moːdʒa/ | moja /modʒa/ | imo /imo/ | posi /posi/ | umwe /umwe/ | imwe /imwe/ |
| Two | mbili /ᵐbili/ | mbili /mbili/ | mbili /mˈbili/ | mbili /mbili/ | piŵiri /piwiri/ | aviri /aβiri/ | avili /aβili/ |
| Hello | Habari /habari/ | Jeje / Bariza /dʒedʒe / baːriza/ | habari /haˈbari/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | mwadzukabwanji /mwadzukabwandʒi/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ |
| Thank you | asante /asante/ | Marahaba /marahaːba/ | asante /aˈsante/ | asante /asante/ | ndatenda /ndatenda/ | asante /aˈsante/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ |
| Good | nzuri /ɲzuri/ | nzuri /ⁿzuri/ | nzuri /ˈnzuri/ | hedi /hedi/ | nadidi /nadidi/ | kihi /kihi/ | mwamba /mwamba/ |
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