Tupinambá / Nhe'engatú
Tupinambá
Tupian (Tupi-Guarani, Subgroup III) · historical / hidden variety
Tupinambá (Old Tupi) was the dominant indigenous language of the Brazilian coast at European contact and the basis of the Jesuit Língua Geral that served as Brazil's colonial lingua franca into the 18th century. Typologically Tupi-Guarani: agglutinative, head-marking, with active-stative alignment and pervasive nasal harmony; its first grammar (Anchieta, 1595) is the earliest description of any South American language. It survives lexically in thousands of Brazilian Portuguese loanwords and place-names (Ipanema, Paraná, jaguar, piranha).
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Tupinambá
Water
'y
/ʔɨ/
Fire
tatá
/taˈta/
Sun
kuarasy
/kwaɾaˈsɨ/
Moon
iasy
/jaˈsɨ/
Star
jasytata
/jasɨtaˈta/
Mother
sy
/sɨ/
Father
tuba
/ˈtuβa/
I
ixé
/iˈʃɛ/
You
endé
/ẽˈdɛ/
Name
tera
/ˈtɛra/
Eye
t-esá
/teˈsa/
Hand
pó
/po/
Heart
nhe'ã
/ɲẽˈʔã/
Love
aûsub
/aˈwsuβ/
Tree
yby'rá
/ɨβɨˈɾa/
House
oka
/ˈoka/
Dog
îagûara
/jaˈɣwaɾa/
Cat
marakaîá
/maɾakaˈja/
Eat
'u
/ʔu/
Drink
'u
/ʔu/
One
oîepé
/ojeˈpe/
Two
mokõi
/moˈkõj/
Hello
ereîubé
/eɾejuˈβe/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
katu
/kaˈtu/
Cuckoo
anũ
/ãˈnũ/
Sources
- Anchieta, José de (1595) Arte de Grammatica da Lingoa Mais Usada na Costa do Brasil. Coimbra: Antonio de Mariz.
- Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida (1998/2013) Método Moderno de Tupi Antigo: a língua do Brasil dos primeiros séculos. São Paulo: Global.
- Rodrigues, Aryon Dall'Igna (1981) Estrutura do Tupinambá. In Lenguas Indígenas de America del Sur.
- Barbosa, A. Lemos (1956) Curso de Tupi Antigo. Rio de Janeiro: São José.
- Glottolog: Tupinamba
Words compared
Compared with related Tupian (Tupi-Guarani, Subgroup III) languages
| Meaning | Tupinambá | Nheengatu | Guaraní | Mbyá Guaraní | Greek | Xavante | Makasae |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 'y /ʔɨ/ | ig /iɡ/ | y /ɨ/ | y /ɨ/ | νερό /neˈɾo/ | a'ri /aʔɾi/ | ira /ˈira/ |
| Fire | tatá /taˈta/ | tatá /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tata /ta.ˈta/ | φωτιά /foˈtʲa/ | tsadã /tsaˈdɐ̃/ | ata /ˈata/ |
| Sun | kuarasy /kwaɾaˈsɨ/ | kuarasi /kwaɾasi/ | kuarahy /kwaɾahɨ/ | nhamandu /ɲã.mɑ̃.ˈdu/ | ήλιος /ˈiʎos/ | marã /maˈɾɐ̃/ | watu /ˈwatu/ |
| Moon | iasy /jaˈsɨ/ | yasi /jasi/ | jasy /dʒasɨ/ | jaxy /ʒa.ˈʃɨ/ | φεγγάρι /feˈŋɡaɾi/ | damã /daˈmɐ̃/ | uru /ˈuru/ |
| Star | jasytata /jasɨtaˈta/ | yasytatá /jasɨtaˈta/ | mbyja /mbɨˈdʒa/ | jaxy tata /dʒaʃɨ taˈta/ | αστέρι /aˈsteri/ | wasi /waˈsi/ | ipi /ipi/ |
| Mother | sy /sɨ/ | mãi /mãi/ | sy /sɨ/ | sy /ˈsɨ/ | μητέρα /miˈteɾa/ | atéze /aˈteze/ | ina /ˈina/ |
| Father | tuba /ˈtuβa/ | paiá /paja/ | túva /tuva/ | tupa /ˈtu.pa/ | πατέρας /paˈteɾas/ | adzé /aˈdze/ | baba /ˈbaba/ |
| I | ixé /iˈʃɛ/ | ixé /iˈʃe/ | che /ʃe/ | xee /ʃeː/ | εγώ /eˈɣo/ | wa /wa/ | ani /ani/ |
| You | endé /ẽˈdɛ/ | indé /ĩˈde/ | nde /nde/ | ndee /ndeː/ | εσύ /eˈsi/ | ã /ã/ | ai /ai/ |
| Name | tera /ˈtɛra/ | sera /seˈɾa/ | téra /ˈtera/ | téra /ˈteɾa/ | όνομα /ˈonoma/ | 'madö'ö /maˈdɤʔɤ/ | naran /naran/ |
| Eye | t-esá /teˈsa/ | sesa /sesa/ | tesa /tesa/ | ãg̃u /ɑ̃.ɡ̃u/ | μάτι /ˈmati/ | watimhã /watiˈmɦɐ̃/ | nana /ˈnana/ |
| Hand | pó /po/ | pó /po/ | po /po/ | tape /ta.ˈpe/ | χέρι /ˈçeɾi/ | wahé /waˈhe/ | tana /ˈtana/ |
| Heart | nhe'ã /ɲẽˈʔã/ | py'ã /pɨʔã/ | pyʼa /pɨʔa/ | py'a /pɨ.ˈa/ | καρδιά /kaɾˈðʲa/ | rimé /ɾiˈme/ | — /—/ |
| Love | aûsub /aˈwsuβ/ | saysu /sajsu/ | hayhu /haɨhu/ | rohayhu /ro.ha.ˈɨ.u/ | αγάπη /aˈɣapi/ | tsiboze /tsiˈboze/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | yby'rá /ɨβɨˈɾa/ | mira-vra /miɾavɾa/ | yvyra /ɨvɨɾa/ | yvyra /ɨ.vɨ.ˈra/ | δέντρο /ˈðendɾo/ | wazá /waˈza/ | ate /ˈate/ |
| House | oka /ˈoka/ | oka /oka/ | óga /oɡa/ | óga /ˈo.ɡa/ | σπίτι /ˈspiti/ | hoze /ˈhoze/ | oma /ˈoma/ |
| Dog | îagûara /jaˈɣwaɾa/ | yawara /jawaɾa/ | jagua /dʒaɡwa/ | asu /a.ˈsu/ | σκύλος /ˈscilos/ | wahopré /wahoˈpɾe/ | defa /ˈdɛfa/ |
| Cat | marakaîá /maɾakaˈja/ | mariwa /maɾiwa/ | mbarakaja /mbaɾakadʒa/ | jaguá /ʒa.ɡu.ˈa/ | γάτα /ˈɣata/ | tsabizá /tsabiˈza/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | 'u /ʔu/ | ku /ku/ | karu /kaˈɾu/ | jepota /ʒe.ˈpo.ta/ | τρώω /ˈtɾo.o/ | adzé /aˈdze/ | nawa /ˈnawa/ |
| Drink | 'u /ʔu/ | yú /ju/ | yʼu /ɨʔu/ | inumbo /i.ˈnum.bo/ | πίνω /ˈpino/ | a'ri /aʔɾi/ | gehe /ˈɡɛhɛ/ |
| One | oîepé /ojeˈpe/ | yepé /jepe/ | peteĩ /peteĩ/ | peteĩ /pe.te.ˈĩ/ | ένα /ˈena/ | dzama /ˈdzama/ | u /ʔu/ |
| Two | mokõi /moˈkõj/ | mukũi /muˈkũĩ/ | mokõi /mokõĩ/ | mokõi /mokõˈĩ/ | δύο /ˈðio/ | maparané /mapaɾaˈnɛ/ | lolae /loˈlae/ |
| Hello | ereîubé /eɾejuˈβe/ | poranga /poɾaŋɡa/ | mbaʼéichapa /mbaʔeitʃapa/ | mba'éichapa /m.ba.ˈe.i.ʃa.pa/ | γεια σου /ˈʝa su/ | wazéimhõ /wazeˈimɦɔ̃/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | katu /katu/ | aguyje /aɡuɨdʒe/ | aguyje /a.ɡu.ˈɨ.ʒe/ | ευχαριστώ /efxaɾiˈsto/ | adzé roma /aˈdze ˈɾoma/ | — /—/ |
| Good | katu /kaˈtu/ | katu /katu/ | porã /poɾã/ | porã /po.ˈrɑ̃/ | καλό /kaˈlo/ | a'rama /aʔaˈɾama/ | rau /rau/ |
| Cuckoo | anũ /ãˈnũ/ | anú /aˈnu/ | anó /aˈno/ | — | κούκος /ˈkukos/ | — | — |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.