P'urhépecha
Purépecha
isolate
Purépecha (P’urhépecha; ISO 639-3: tsz), historically called Tarascan, is an Indigenous language isolate spoken mainly in Michoacán, Mexico. Its principal regional groupings include the Lake Pátzcuaro area, the Sierra or Meseta, and the Cañada, with substantial variation within and between communities; many speakers prefer Purépecha because Tarascan is a colonial name. The language is strongly suffixing and agglutinative, has flexible constituent order described as both SVO and SOV, and uses extensive spatial and body-part suffixes. It is written in Latin-based orthographies, but spelling and grammatical standardization remain contested across regional varieties. Mexican law recognizes Purépecha and other Indigenous languages as national languages with the same validity as Spanish in their relevant settings, yet intergenerational shift to Spanish and uneven Indigenous-language schooling threaten transmission in many communities.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Purépecha
Water
itsï
/iˈtsɨ/
Fire
ch'ipiri
/tʃʰiˈpiɾi/
Sun
jurhiata
/xuɾˈjata/
Moon
kutsi
/ˈkutsi/
Star
jóskua
/ˈxoskwa/
Mother
nana
/ˈnana/
Father
tata
/ˈtata/
I
ji
/xi/
You
t'u
/tʼu/
Name
arhikua
/aɽiˈkwa/
Eye
éskua
/ˈeskwa/
Hand
jájki
/ˈhaxki/
Heart
mintsita
/minˈtsita/
Love
uémbekua
/weˈmbekwa/
Tree
anhatapu
/anaˈtapu/
House
taa
/ˈta/
Dog
uíchu
/ˈwitʃu/
Cat
misitu
/miˈsitu/
Eat
t'ireni
/tʰiˈɾeni/
Drink
xurhundini marhuatani
/xuɾˈu̥ndini maɾwaˈtani/
One
ma
/ˈma/
Two
tsimani
/tsiˈmani/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
diosï meyamu
/diosɨ meˈjamu/
Good
sesi
/ˈsesi/
Words compared
Compared with related isolate languages
| Meaning | Purépecha | Chavacano | Coastal Kadazan | Megleno-Romanian | Makasae | Lojban | Papuan Malay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | itsï /iˈtsɨ/ | agua /ˈaɡwa/ | waig /waiɡ/ | apâ /ˈapɨ/ | ira /ˈira/ | djacu /ˈdʒaʃu/ | air /aer/ |
| Fire | ch'ipiri /tʃʰiˈpiɾi/ | fuego /ˈfweɡo/ | tapui /taˈpui/ | foc /fok/ | ata /ˈata/ | fagri /ˈfaɡri/ | api /ˈapi/ |
| Sun | jurhiata /xuɾˈjata/ | sol /sol/ | tadau /taˈdau/ | soari /ˈsoari/ | watu /ˈwatu/ | solri /ˈsolri/ | matahari /mataˈhari/ |
| Moon | kutsi /ˈkutsi/ | luna /ˈluna/ | vuhan /ˈvuhan/ | lunâ /ˈlunɨ/ | uru /ˈuru/ | lunra /ˈlunra/ | bulan /ˈbulan/ |
| Star | jóskua /ˈxoskwa/ | estrella /esˈtɾeja/ | tombituon /tombituon/ | steauã /ˈste̯awə/ | ipi /ipi/ | tarci /ˈtarʃi/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ |
| Mother | nana /ˈnana/ | nana /ˈnana/ | tina /ˈtina/ | mumâ /ˈmumɨ/ | ina /ˈina/ | mamta /ˈmamta/ | mama /ˈmama/ |
| Father | tata /ˈtata/ | tata /ˈtata/ | tama /ˈtama/ | tatâ /ˈtatɨ/ | baba /ˈbaba/ | patfu /ˈpatfu/ | bapa /ˈbapa/ |
| I | ji /xi/ | yo /jo/ | zou /zou/ | io /jo/ | ani /ani/ | mi /mi/ | sa /sa/ |
| You | t'u /tʼu/ | tu /tu/ | ika /ika/ | tu /tu/ | ai /ai/ | do /do/ | ko /ko/ |
| Name | arhikua /aɽiˈkwa/ | nombre /ˈnombɾe/ | ngaran /ŋaran/ | numi /ˈnumi/ | naran /naran/ | cmene /ˈʃmene/ | nama /nama/ |
| Eye | éskua /ˈeskwa/ | ojo /ˈoho/ | mato /ˈmato/ | ocl /okl/ | nana /ˈnana/ | kanla /ˈkanla/ | mata /ˈmata/ |
| Hand | jájki /ˈhaxki/ | mano /ˈmano/ | longon /ˈloŋon/ | mâna /ˈmɨna/ | tana /ˈtana/ | xance /ˈxanʃe/ | tangan /ˈtaŋan/ |
| Heart | mintsita /minˈtsita/ | corazón /koraˈson/ | kosingan /koˈsiŋan/ | inima /ˈinima/ | — /—/ | risna /ˈrisna/ | hati /ˈhati/ |
| Love | uémbekua /weˈmbekwa/ | ama /ˈama/ | ohunod /oˈhunod/ | ublami /ˈublami/ | — /—/ | prami /ˈprami/ | sayang /ˈsajaŋ/ |
| Tree | anhatapu /anaˈtapu/ | árbol /ˈaɾbol/ | kayu /ˈkaju/ | lemnu /lemnu/ | ate /ˈate/ | tricu /ˈtriʃu/ | pohon /ˈpohon/ |
| House | taa /ˈta/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | walai /waˈlai/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | oma /ˈoma/ | zdani /ˈzdani/ | rumah /ˈrumah/ |
| Dog | uíchu /ˈwitʃu/ | perro /ˈpeɾo/ | tasu /ˈtasu/ | câni /ˈkɨni/ | defa /ˈdɛfa/ | gerku /ˈɡerku/ | anjing /ˈandʒiŋ/ |
| Cat | misitu /miˈsitu/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | tusing /ˈtusiŋ/ | mâța /ˈmɨtsa/ | — /—/ | mlatu /ˈmlatu/ | kucing /ˈkutʃiŋ/ |
| Eat | t'ireni /tʰiˈɾeni/ | come /koˈme/ | mangakan /maˈŋakan/ | mâcari /mɨˈkari/ | nawa /ˈnawa/ | citka /ˈʃitka/ | makan /ˈmakan/ |
| Drink | xurhundini marhuatani /xuɾˈu̥ndini maɾwaˈtani/ | bebe /beˈbe/ | monginum /moˈŋinum/ | beari /ˈbeari/ | gehe /ˈɡɛhɛ/ | pinxe /ˈpinxe/ | minum /ˈminum/ |
| One | ma /ˈma/ | uno /ˈuno/ | iso /ˈiso/ | unu /ˈunu/ | u /ʔu/ | pa /pa/ | satu /ˈsatu/ |
| Two | tsimani /tsiˈmani/ | dos /dos/ | duvo /duvo/ | doi /doj/ | lolae /loˈlae/ | re /re/ | dua /dua/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | buenas /ˈbwenas/ | kopivosian /kopiˈvosian/ | ubavu /uˈbavu/ | — /—/ | coi /ʃoj/ | halo /ˈhalo/ |
| Thank you | diosï meyamu /diosɨ meˈjamu/ | gracias /ˈɡɾasjas/ | pounsikou /pounˈsikou/ | hăirau /hɨiˈrau/ | — /—/ | ki'e /kiʔe/ | terima kasih /təˈrima ˈkasih/ |
| Good | sesi /ˈsesi/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | avasi /aˈvasi/ | bunu /ˈbunu/ | rau /rau/ | xamgu /ˈxamɡu/ | bae /ˈbae/ |
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