ትግረ
Tigre
Afro-Asiatic (Semitic, Ethiopian)
Tigre (Xasa) is an Ethiopian Semitic (North) language spoken by ~1.3M in the Eritrean lowlands, closely related to Tigrinya and the liturgical Geʿez. Most Tigre speakers are Sunni Muslim pastoralists, distinguishing them culturally from the Christian Tigrinya highlanders. Despite the Ethiopic Geʿez script being available, Tigre is mostly written in adapted Arabic script reflecting its Muslim community, with limited Latin and Geʿez use. No standardized written tradition.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Tigre
Water
ማይ
/maj/
Fire
እሳት
/ʔəssat/
Sun
ጸሓይ
/tsʼəħaj/
Moon
ወርሕ
/waɾəħ/
Star
ኮከብ
/kokəb/
Mother
እሞ
/ʔəmmo/
Father
አቦ
/ʔabbo/
I
አነ
/ʔana/
You
አንታ
/ʔɨnta/
Name
ስም
/sɨm/
Eye
ዐይን
/ʕajn/
Hand
እድ
/ʔəd/
Heart
ልቢ
/ləbbi/
Love
ፍቅሪ
/fəqʼri/
Tree
ዕጨይ
/ʕətʃʼaj/
House
ቤት
/beːt/
Dog
ከልብ
/kalb/
Cat
ድሙ
/dəmmu/
Eat
በልዐ
/balʕa/
Drink
ሰትየ
/satja/
One
ሓዲ
/ħadi/
Two
ክልኦት
/kɨlʔot/
Hello
ሰላም
/salaːm/
Thank you
የቀንየለይ
/jəqanjəlej/
Good
ጽቡቕ
/tsʼəbbuqʼ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Semitic, Ethiopian) languages
| Meaning | Tigre | Ge'ez | Tigrinya | Sabaean | Old Aramaic | Sebat Bet Gurage | Amharic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ማይ /maj/ | ማይ /maːj/ | ማይ /maj/ | 𐩣𐩥 /maw/ | מין /majin/ | ሞዬ /moje/ | ውሃ /wɨha/ |
| Fire | እሳት /ʔəssat/ | እሳት /ʔəsaːt/ | ሓዊ /ħawi/ | 𐩱𐩪 /ʔas/ | נור /nuːr/ | እሳት /ɨsat/ | እሳት /ɨssat/ |
| Sun | ጸሓይ /tsʼəħaj/ | ፀሐይ /sˤaħaj/ | ጸሓይ /tsʼəħaj/ | 𐩦𐩣𐩪 /ʃams/ | שמש /ʃamʃ/ | ፀሐይ /tsʼɛhaj/ | ፀሐይ /tsʼɛhaj/ |
| Moon | ወርሕ /waɾəħ/ | ወርኅ /warχ/ | ወርሒ /wərħi/ | 𐩥𐩧𐩭 /warχ/ | שהר /sahr/ | ጨረቃ /tʃʼɛɾɛkʼa/ | ጨረቃ /tʃʼɛɾɛkʼa/ |
| Star | ኮከብ /kokəb/ | ኮከብ /kokab/ | ኮኸብ /koˈxəb/ | 𐩫𐩨𐩫𐩨 /kabkab/ | כוכב /kawkab/ | ኮከብ /kokəb/ | ኮከብ /kokəb/ |
| Mother | እሞ /ʔəmmo/ | እም /ʔəmm/ | ኣደ /ʔaddə/ | 𐩱𐩣 /ʔumm/ | אמ /ʔem/ | ኤንም /enɨm/ | እናት /ɨnnat/ |
| Father | አቦ /ʔabbo/ | አብ /ʔab/ | ኣቦ /ʔabbo/ | 𐩱𐩨 /ʔab/ | אב /ʔab/ | አባ /aba/ | አባት /abbat/ |
| I | አነ /ʔana/ | አነ /ʔana/ | ኣነ /ˈʔanä/ | 𐩱𐩬 /ʔana/ | אנה /ʔanaː/ | እያ /ɨja/ | እኔ /ɨne/ |
| You | አንታ /ʔɨnta/ | አንተ /ʔanta/ | ንስኻ /nɨsˈxa/ | 𐩱𐩬𐩩 /ʔanta/ | אנת /ʔantaː/ | አኸ /axə/ | አንተ /antə/ |
| Name | ስም /sɨm/ | ስም /səm/ | ስም /sɨm/ | 𐩪𐩣 /sim/ | שם /ʃum/ | ስም /sɨm/ | ስም /sɨm/ |
| Eye | ዐይን /ʕajn/ | ዐይን /ʕajn/ | ዓይኒ /ʕajni/ | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | עין /ʕajn/ | አይን /ajn/ | ዓይን /ajn/ |
| Hand | እድ /ʔəd/ | እድ /ʔəd/ | ኢድ /ʔid/ | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | יד /jad/ | እጅ /ɨdʒ/ | እጅ /ɨdʒː/ |
| Heart | ልቢ /ləbbi/ | ልብ /ləbb/ | ልቢ /lɨbbi/ | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | לב /leb/ | ልብ /lɨb/ | ልብ /lɨbb/ |
| Love | ፍቅሪ /fəqʼri/ | አፍቀረ /ʔafqara/ | ፍቕሪ /fɨqʼɾi/ | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | רחם /raħem/ | ፍቅር /fɨkʼɨr/ | ፍቅር /fɨkʼɨr/ |
| Tree | ዕጨይ /ʕətʃʼaj/ | ዕፅ /ʕasˤ/ | ኦም /ʔom/ | 𐩲𐩳 /ʕaːð/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ | ዛፍ /zaf/ | ዛፍ /zaf/ |
| House | ቤት /beːt/ | ቤት /beːt/ | ገዛ /ɡəza/ | 𐩨𐩺𐩩 /bajt/ | בית /beːt/ | ቤት /bet/ | ቤት /bet/ |
| Dog | ከልብ /kalb/ | ከልብ /kalb/ | ከልቢ /kəlbi/ | 𐩫𐩡𐩨 /kalb/ | כלב /kalb/ | ውሻ /wɨʃa/ | ውሻ /wɨʃʃa/ |
| Cat | ድሙ /dəmmu/ | ድሙ /dəmmu/ | ድሙ /dɨmmu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ድመት /dɨmɛt/ | ድመት /dɨmmɛt/ |
| Eat | በልዐ /balʕa/ | በልዐ /balʕa/ | ምብላዕ /mɨblaʕ/ | 𐩱𐩫𐩡 /ʔakal/ | אכל /ʔakal/ | ወቸ /wɛtʃɛ/ | መብላት /mɛblat/ |
| Drink | ሰትየ /satja/ | ሰትየ /satja/ | ምስታይ /mɨstaj/ | 𐩪𐩩𐩺 /ʃataja/ | שתה /ʃataː/ | ሰታ /sɛta/ | መጠጣት /mɛtʼɛtʼːat/ |
| One | ሓዲ /ħadi/ | አሐዱ /ʔaħadu/ | ሓደ /ħadə/ | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | חד /ħad/ | አት /at/ | አንድ /and/ |
| Two | ክልኦት /kɨlʔot/ | ክልኤ /kəlʔeː/ | ክልተ /kɨlˈtə/ | 𐩻𐩬𐩺 /θanay/ | תרין /treːn/ | ቌት /kʼʷət/ | ሁለት /hulət/ |
| Hello | ሰላም /salaːm/ | ሰላም /salaːm/ | ሰላም /səlam/ | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | שלם /ʃəlaːm/ | እንደምን /ɨndɛmɨn/ | ሰላም /sɛlam/ |
| Thank you | የቀንየለይ /jəqanjəlej/ | ምስጋና /məsɡaːnaː/ | የቐንየለይ /jɨqʼɨnjɨlɨj/ | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | — /—/ | ኣምስከነለንት /amɨskɛnɛlɛnt/ | አመሰግናለሁ /amɛsɛɡɡɨnallɛhu/ |
| Good | ጽቡቕ /tsʼəbbuqʼ/ | ሠናይ /sanaːj/ | ጽቡቕ /tsʼɨbuqʼ/ | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | טב /tˤab/ | ሞጨ /motʃɛ/ | ጥሩ /tʼɨru/ |
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