Vāx
Wa
Austroasiatic (Palaungic)
Wa (Vāx) is the largest Palaungic language and the dominant language of the de facto independent Wa State in Myanmar. Non-tonal (unusual for the region), with rich consonant clusters and glottal-stop final syllables. Closely related to Lawa, De’ang, and Bulang.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Wa
Water
rom
/rɔm/
Fire
ngo
/ŋo/
Sun
cangaiʔ
/tʃaŋaiʔ/
Moon
khaiʔ
/kʰaiʔ/
Mother
yaʔ
/jaʔ/
Father
paiʔ
/paiʔ/
Eat
cha
/tʃa/
Drink
ɔk
/ɔk/
Love
hak
/hak/
Heart
nuim
/nuim/
Tree
maiʔ
/maiʔ/
House
nyiex
/ɲiɛʔ/
Dog
so
/so/
Cat
meo
/meo/
Hand
tai
/tai/
Eye
ngai
/ŋai/
Hello
sao
/sao/
Thank you
ban prix
/ban priʔ/
One
ti
/ti/
Good
dim
/dim/
Words compared
Compared with related Austroasiatic (Palaungic) languages
| Meaning | Wa | Shwe Palaung | Mlabri | Khmu | Caribbean Javanese | Qʼeqchiʼ | Lisu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | rom /rɔm/ | ʔoːm /ʔoːm/ | om /om/ | ɔm /ʔɔm/ | banyu /baɲu/ | haʼ /haʔ/ | yi /ji/ |
| Fire | ngo /ŋo/ | ŋal /ŋal/ | ʔus /ʔus/ | ʔus /ʔus/ | geni /ɡəni/ | xam /ʃam/ | a-mi /ami/ |
| Sun | cangaiʔ /tʃaŋaiʔ/ | saŋi /saŋi/ | ŋay /ŋai/ | maŋ /maŋ/ | srengéngé /srəŋeŋe/ | saqʼe /saqʼe/ | mei-lo /mejlo/ |
| Moon | khaiʔ /kʰaiʔ/ | kɨr /kɨr/ | thel /tʰel/ | kee /keː/ | rembulan /rəmbulan/ | poo /poː/ | cha-mi /tʃami/ |
| Mother | yaʔ /jaʔ/ | mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ | mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ | mɔɔʔ /mɔːʔ/ | mbok /mbɔʔ/ | naʼ /naʔ/ | ma /ma/ |
| Father | paiʔ /paiʔ/ | paʔ /paʔ/ | paʔ /paʔ/ | ʔaaʔ /ʔaːʔ/ | pak /paʔ/ | yuwaʼ /juwaʔ/ | a-pa /apa/ |
| Eat | cha /tʃa/ | cha /tʃa/ | ʔiʔ /ʔiʔ/ | caa /tʃaː/ | mangan /maŋan/ | taawaʼ /tawaʔ/ | dza /tsa/ |
| Drink | ɔk /ɔk/ | ʔoːk /ʔoːk/ | ʔaa /ʔaː/ | ɲɔɔp /ɲɔːp/ | ngombé /ŋombe/ | ukʼ /ukʼ/ | dao /dao/ |
| Love | hak /hak/ | ʔiŋ /ʔiŋ/ | kraʔ /kraʔ/ | kɔɔh /kɔːh/ | tresno /trɛsno/ | rahok /rahok/ | gu-hpa /ɡupʰa/ |
| Heart | nuim /nuim/ | rɔŋ /rɔŋ/ | kɛm /kɛm/ | kruɛŋ /kruɛŋ/ | ati /ati/ | chʼoolej /tʃʼoːlej/ | ni-ma /nima/ |
| Tree | maiʔ /maiʔ/ | siʔ /siʔ/ | tɔn /tɔn/ | cmuul /tʃmuːl/ | wit /wit/ | cheʼ /tʃeʔ/ | shi-pa /ʃipa/ |
| House | nyiex /ɲiɛʔ/ | ɲɛh /ɲɛh/ | tu /tu/ | kaaŋ /kaːŋ/ | omah /omah/ | ochoch /otʃotʃ/ | hkyim /tɕim/ |
| Dog | so /so/ | so /so/ | cɛn /tɕɛn/ | cɔ /tʃɔ/ | asu /asu/ | tzʼiʼ /tsʼiʔ/ | kwe /kwɛ/ |
| Cat | meo /meo/ | mioʔ /mioʔ/ | meo /meo/ | meeo /meːo/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | mes /mes/ | a-nyi /aɲi/ |
| Hand | tai /tai/ | tiː /tiː/ | tiʔ /tiʔ/ | tii /tiː/ | tangan /taŋan/ | ruqʼ /ruqʼ/ | la /la/ |
| Eye | ngai /ŋai/ | ŋai /ŋai/ | mɔt /mɔt/ | ŋtaa /ŋtaː/ | mripat /mripat/ | xnaqʼ ru /ʃnaqʼ ru/ | mai-mei /majmei/ |
| Hello | sao /sao/ | vaː piə /vaː piə/ | hahɔ /haho/ | lɔh /lɔh/ | halo /halo/ | ma saʼ laachʼool /ma sa laːtʃʼoːl/ | ngo-lan /ŋolan/ |
| Thank you | ban prix /ban priʔ/ | kun cɔm /kun tʃɔm/ | knɔŋ /knoŋ/ | ɔrkun /ʔɔrkun/ | matur nuwun /matur nuwun/ | bantyox /bantjoʃ/ | ti-tu /titu/ |
| One | ti /ti/ | mu /mu/ | mɔy /mɔi/ | muei /muei/ | siji /sidʒi/ | jun /hun/ | ti /ti/ |
| Good | dim /dim/ | ʔɔm /ʔɔm/ | laʔ /laʔ/ | gee /ɡeː/ | apik /apik/ | us /us/ | nyi /ɲi/ |
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