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 is the earliest documented true alphabet (preceding Phoenician), and the Ugaritic mythological texts (Baal Cycle) provide essential cultural context for understanding the Hebrew Bible.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Ugaritic
Water
𐎎𐎊
/maju/
Fire
𐎛𐎌𐎚
/ʔiʃt/
Sun
𐎌𐎔𐎌
/ʃapʃ/
Moon
𐎊𐎗𐎈
/jaːriχ/
Mother
𐎜𐎎
/ʔumm/
Father
𐎜𐎁
/ʔabu/
Eat
𐎍𐎈𐎎
/laħam/
Drink
𐎌𐎚𐎊
/ʃataju/
Love
𐎜𐎈𐎁
/ʔaːhab/
Heart
𐎍𐎁
/libbu/
Tree
𐎓𐎕
/ʕasˤu/
House
𐎁𐎚
/bajtu/
Dog
𐎋𐎍𐎁
/kalbu/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
𐎊𐎄
/jadu/
Eye
𐎓𐎐
/ʕajnu/
Hello
𐎌𐎍𐎎
/ʃalaːmu/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
𐎀𐎈𐎄
/ʔaːħadu/
Good
𐎉𐎁
/tˤaːbu/
Sources
- Tropper (2000) — Ugaritische Grammatik
- Glottolog: ugar1238
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Northwest Semitic) languages
| Meaning | Ugaritic | Punic | Phoenician | Old Aramaic | Sabaean | Ge'ez | Biblical Hebrew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 𐎎𐎊 /maju/ | 𐤌𐤉𐤌 /majim/ | 𐤌𐤌 /majim/ | מין /majin/ | 𐩣𐩺 /maːʔ/ | ማይ /maːj/ | מים /majim/ |
| Fire | 𐎛𐎌𐎚 /ʔiʃt/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | אש /ʔɛʃ/ | 𐩱𐩪 /ʔas/ | እሳት /ʔəsaːt/ | אש /ʔeʃ/ |
| Sun | 𐎌𐎔𐎌 /ʃapʃ/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | שמש /ʃamʃ/ | 𐩦𐩣𐩪 /ʃams/ | ፀሐይ /sˤaħaj/ | שמש /ʃemeʃ/ |
| Moon | 𐎊𐎗𐎈 /jaːriχ/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jeraħ/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jaræħ/ | שהר /sahr/ | 𐩥𐩧𐩭 /warkʰ/ | ወርኅ /warχ/ | ירח /jɔːreːaħ/ |
| Mother | 𐎜𐎎 /ʔumm/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | אמ /ʔem/ | 𐩱𐩣 /ʔumm/ | እም /ʔəmm/ | אם /ʔeːm/ |
| Father | 𐎜𐎁 /ʔabu/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔav/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔab/ | אב /ʔab/ | 𐩱𐩨 /ʔab/ | አብ /ʔab/ | אב /ʔɔːv/ |
| Eat | 𐎍𐎈𐎎 /laħam/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | אכל /ʔakal/ | 𐩱𐩫𐩡 /ʔakal/ | በልዐ /balʕa/ | אכל /ʔɔːxal/ |
| Drink | 𐎌𐎚𐎊 /ʃataju/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | שתה /ʃataː/ | 𐩪𐩩𐩺 /ʃataja/ | ሰትየ /satja/ | שתה /ʃɔːθɔː/ |
| Love | 𐎜𐎈𐎁 /ʔaːhab/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | רחם /raħem/ | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | አፍቀረ /ʔafqara/ | אהב /ʔɔːhav/ |
| Heart | 𐎍𐎁 /libbu/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | לב /leb/ | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | ልብ /ləbb/ | לב /leːv/ |
| Tree | 𐎓𐎕 /ʕasˤu/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕeʦʕ/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ | 𐩲𐩳 /ʕaːð/ | ዕፅ /ʕasˤ/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ |
| House | 𐎁𐎚 /bajtu/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | בית /beːt/ | 𐩨𐩺𐩩 /bajt/ | ቤት /beːt/ | בית /bajiθ/ |
| Dog | 𐎋𐎍𐎁 /kalbu/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | כלב /kalb/ | 𐩫𐩡𐩨 /kalb/ | ከልብ /kalb/ | כלב /kelev/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤓 /ʃunaːr/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ድሙ /dəmmu/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | 𐎊𐎄 /jadu/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | יד /jad/ | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | እድ /ʔəd/ | יד /jɔːð/ |
| Eye | 𐎓𐎐 /ʕajnu/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | עין /ʕajn/ | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | ዐይን /ʕajn/ | עין /ʕajin/ |
| Hello | 𐎌𐎍𐎎 /ʃalaːmu/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | שלם /ʃəlaːm/ | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | ሰላም /salaːm/ | שלום /ʃɔːloːm/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | ምስጋና /məsɡaːnaː/ | תודה /toːðɔː/ |
| One | 𐎀𐎈𐎄 /ʔaːħadu/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | חד /ħad/ | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | አሐዱ /ʔaħadu/ | אחד /ʔeħɔːð/ |
| Good | 𐎉𐎁 /tˤaːbu/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | טב /tˤab/ | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | ሠናይ /sanaːj/ | טוב /tˤoːv/ |
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