𐎜𐎂𐎗𐎚
Ugaritic
Afro-Asiatic (Northwest Semitic) · historical / hidden variety
Ugaritic was a Northwest Semitic language at the Bronze Age city of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria), c. 14th-12th centuries BCE. Its cuneiform alphabet of 30 signs, which predates Phoenician, is one of the earliest attested alphabets and preserves the earliest known alphabetic order (abecedary), though the ancestral Proto-Sinaitic/Proto-Canaanite alphabets are older; the Ugaritic mythological texts (Baal Cycle) provide essential cultural context for understanding the Hebrew Bible.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Ugaritic
Water
𐎎𐎊
/maju/
Fire
𐎛𐎌𐎚
/ʔiʃt/
Sun
𐎌𐎔𐎌
/ʃapʃ/
Moon
𐎊𐎗𐎈
/jaːriχ/
Star
𐎋𐎁𐎋𐎁
/kabkabu/
Mother
𐎜𐎎
/ʔumm/
Father
𐎜𐎁
/ʔabu/
I
𐎀𐎐𐎋
/ʔanaːku/
You
𐎀𐎚
/ʔatta/
Name
𐎌𐎎
/ʃumu/
Eye
𐎓𐎐
/ʕajnu/
Hand
𐎊𐎄
/jadu/
Heart
𐎍𐎁
/libbu/
Love
𐎜𐎈𐎁
/ʔaːhab/
Tree
𐎓𐎕
/ʕasˤu/
House
𐎁𐎚
/bajtu/
Dog
𐎋𐎍𐎁
/kalbu/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
𐎍𐎈𐎎
/laħam/
Drink
𐎌𐎚𐎊
/ʃataju/
One
𐎀𐎈𐎄
/ʔaːħadu/
Two
𐎘𐎐
/θnaː/
Hello
𐎌𐎍𐎎
/ʃalaːmu/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
𐎉𐎁
/tˤaːbu/
Sources
- Tropper (2000) — Ugaritische Grammatik
- Glottolog: ugar1238
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Northwest Semitic) languages
| Meaning | Ugaritic | Punic | Sabaean | Old Aramaic | Phoenician | Proto-Semitic | Quranic Arabic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 𐎎𐎊 /maju/ | 𐤌𐤉𐤌 /majim/ | 𐩣𐩥 /maw/ | מין /majin/ | 𐤌𐤌 /meːm/ | *māʔ- /māʔ-/ | ماء /maːʔ/ |
| Fire | 𐎛𐎌𐎚 /ʔiʃt/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | 𐩱𐩪 /ʔas/ | נור /nuːr/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | *ʔiš- /ʔiš-/ | نار /naːr/ |
| Sun | 𐎌𐎔𐎌 /ʃapʃ/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | 𐩦𐩣𐩪 /ʃams/ | שמש /ʃamʃ/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | *šamš- /šamš-/ | شمس /ʃams/ |
| Moon | 𐎊𐎗𐎈 /jaːriχ/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jeraħ/ | 𐩥𐩧𐩭 /warχ/ | שהר /sahr/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jaræħ/ | *warḫ- /warḫ-/ | قمر /qamar/ |
| Star | 𐎋𐎁𐎋𐎁 /kabkabu/ | 𐤊𐤊𐤁 /koːkab/ | 𐩫𐩨𐩫𐩨 /kabkab/ | כוכב /kawkab/ | 𐤊𐤊𐤁 /koːkab/ | *kawkab- /kawkab-/ | نجم /nadʒm/ |
| Mother | 𐎜𐎎 /ʔumm/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | 𐩱𐩣 /ʔumm/ | אמ /ʔem/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | *ʔimm- /ʔimm-/ | أم /ʔumm/ |
| Father | 𐎜𐎁 /ʔabu/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔav/ | 𐩱𐩨 /ʔab/ | אב /ʔab/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔab/ | *ʔab- /ʔab-/ | أب /ʔab/ |
| I | 𐎀𐎐𐎋 /ʔanaːku/ | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 /ʔanoːk/ | 𐩱𐩬 /ʔana/ | אנה /ʔanaː/ | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 /ʔanoːkiː/ | *ʔanāku /ʔanāku/ | أنا /ʔanaː/ |
| You | 𐎀𐎚 /ʔatta/ | 𐤀𐤕 /ʔatta/ | 𐩱𐩬𐩩 /ʔanta/ | אנת /ʔantaː/ | 𐤀𐤕 /ʔatta/ | *ʔanta /ʔanta/ | أنتَ /ʔanta/ |
| Name | 𐎌𐎎 /ʃumu/ | 𐤔𐤌 /ʃem/ | 𐩪𐩣 /sim/ | שם /ʃum/ | 𐤔𐤌 /ʃem/ | *šim- /šim-/ | اسم /ism/ |
| Eye | 𐎓𐎐 /ʕajnu/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | עין /ʕajn/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | *ʕayn- /ʕayn-/ | عين /ʕajn/ |
| Hand | 𐎊𐎄 /jadu/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | יד /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | *yad- /yad-/ | يد /jad/ |
| Heart | 𐎍𐎁 /libbu/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | לב /leb/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | *libb- /libb-/ | قلب /qalb/ |
| Love | 𐎜𐎈𐎁 /ʔaːhab/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | רחם /raħem/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | — /—/ | حب /ħubb/ |
| Tree | 𐎓𐎕 /ʕasˤu/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ | 𐩲𐩳 /ʕaːð/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ | *ʕiṣ́- /ʕiṣ́-/ | شجرة /ʃadʒara/ |
| House | 𐎁𐎚 /bajtu/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | 𐩨𐩺𐩩 /bajt/ | בית /beːt/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | *bayt- /bayt-/ | بيت /bajt/ |
| Dog | 𐎋𐎍𐎁 /kalbu/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | 𐩫𐩡𐩨 /kalb/ | כלב /kalb/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | *kalb- /kalb-/ | كلب /kalb/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤓 /ʃunaːr/ | — /—/ | قط /qitˤtˤ/ |
| Eat | 𐎍𐎈𐎎 /laħam/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | 𐩱𐩫𐩡 /ʔakal/ | אכל /ʔakal/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | *ʔakal- /ʔakal-/ | أكل /ʔakala/ |
| Drink | 𐎌𐎚𐎊 /ʃataju/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | 𐩪𐩩𐩺 /ʃataja/ | שתה /ʃataː/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | *šatay- /šatay-/ | شرب /ʃariba/ |
| One | 𐎀𐎈𐎄 /ʔaːħadu/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | חד /ħad/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | *ʔaḥad- /ʔaḥad-/ | واحد /waːħid/ |
| Two | 𐎘𐎐 /θnaː/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤌 /ʃnem/ | 𐩻𐩬𐩺 /θanay/ | תרין /treːn/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤌 /ʃnem/ | *ṯin- /ṯin-/ | اثنان /iθnaːn/ |
| Hello | 𐎌𐎍𐎎 /ʃalaːmu/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | שלם /ʃəlaːm/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | — /—/ | السلام عليكم /as.salaːmu ʕalajkum/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | الحمد لله /al.ħamdu lillaːh/ |
| Good | 𐎉𐎁 /tˤaːbu/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | טב /tˤab/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | *ṭāb- /ṭāb-/ | طيب /tˤajjib/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.