Pārthawānīg
Parthian
Indo-European (Iranian, Middle, Northwestern) · historical / hidden variety
Parthian was the language of the Parthian Empire (Arsacid dynasty, 247 BCE-224 CE) and a major Middle Iranian language alongside Middle Persian (Pahlavi). It used the Parthian script (a development of Imperial Aramaic) and later the Manichaean script in Manichaean Parthian texts from Central Asia. After the Sasanian dynasty took power in 224 CE, Parthian was gradually replaced by Pahlavi in administration but survived in Manichaean liturgy in Sogdiana and Turfan into the 9th c. Modern Kurdish, Balochi and Caspian languages descend from Northwestern Middle Iranian relatives.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Parthian
Water
āb
/aːb/
Fire
ādar
/aːdar/
Sun
xwar
/xwar/
Moon
māh
/maːh/
Mother
mād
/maːd/
Father
pid
/pid/
Eat
xward-
/xward/
Drink
pī-
/piː/
Love
friyādan
/frijaːdan/
Heart
zyrd
/zird/
Tree
dār
/daːr/
House
xānag
/xaːnaɡ/
Dog
spag
/spaɡ/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
dast
/dast/
Eye
čašm
/tʃaʃm/
Hello
drōd
/droːd/
Thank you
spās
/spaːs/
One
ēw
/eːw/
Good
nēw
/neːw/
Sources
- Durkin-Meisterernst (2004) Dictionary of Manichaean Middle Persian and Parthian
- Sundermann — Parthian language and literature
- Glottolog: part1239
- Ethnologue: xpr
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Iranian, Middle, Northwestern) languages
| Meaning | Parthian | Middle Persian (Pahlavi) | Sogdian | Persian (Classical) | Old Persian | Avestan | Scythian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | āb /aːb/ | 𐭠𐭯 /aːb/ | ʾāp /aːp/ | آب /aːb/ | 𐎠𐎱 /aːpi/ | 𐬁𐬞 /aːp/ | ap /ap/ |
| Fire | ādar /aːdar/ | 𐭠𐭲𐭱 /aːtaʃ/ | ʾātar /aːtar/ | آتش /aːtaʃ/ | 𐎠𐎫𐎼 /aːtar/ | 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /aːtar/ | ātar /aːtar/ |
| Sun | xwar /xwar/ | 𐭧𐭥𐭫𐭱𐭩𐭲 /xwarʃeːd/ | xwr /xwar/ | خورشید /xʷarʃeːd/ | 𐏃𐎢𐎺𐎼 /huwar/ | 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 /huwarə/ | hvar /xʷar/ |
| Moon | māh /maːh/ | 𐭬𐭠𐭧 /maːh/ | mʾx /maːx/ | ماه /maːh/ | 𐎶𐎠𐏃 /maːha/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬵 /maːh/ | māh /maːh/ |
| Mother | mād /maːd/ | 𐭬𐭠𐭲𐭫 /maːdar/ | mʾtr /maːtar/ | مادر /maːdar/ | 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎼 /maːtar/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /maːtar/ | mātar /maːtar/ |
| Father | pid /pid/ | 𐭯𐭩𐭲𐭫 /pidar/ | ptr /pitar/ | پدر /pidar/ | 𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠 /pitaː/ | 𐬞𐬌𐬙𐬀𐬭 /pitar/ | pitar /pitar/ |
| Eat | xward- /xward/ | 𐭧𐭥𐭫𐭲𐭭 /xwardan/ | xwartan /xwartan/ | خوردن /xʷurdan/ | 𐎧𐎼 /xar/ | 𐬑𐬬𐬀𐬭 /xwar/ | xwartan /xʷartan/ |
| Drink | pī- /piː/ | 𐭭𐭥𐭱𐭩𐭲𐭭 /noːʃiːdan/ | pi- /pi/ | آشامیدن /aːʃaːmiːdan/ | 𐎱𐎠 /paː/ | 𐬞𐬁 /paː/ | — /—/ |
| Love | friyādan /frijaːdan/ | 𐭲𐭥𐭱𐭩 /doːʃiː/ | frytk /friːtak/ | عشق /ʔiʃq/ | 𐎳𐎼𐎡𐎹 /frija/ | 𐬟𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 /frija/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | zyrd /zird/ | 𐭣𐭩𐭫 /dil/ | dyl /dil/ | دل /dil/ | 𐏀𐎼𐎭 /zard/ | 𐬰𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛 /zərəd/ | zard- /zard/ |
| Tree | dār /daːr/ | 𐭣𐭫𐭧𐭲 /draxt/ | drxt /draxt/ | درخت /diraxt/ | — /—/ | 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬯𐬀 /waesa/ | — /—/ |
| House | xānag /xaːnaɡ/ | 𐭧𐭠𐭭𐭪 /xaːnaɡ/ | kṯʾk /kaθaːk/ | خانه /xaːna/ | 𐎶𐎠𐎴𐎡𐎹 /maːnija/ | 𐬥𐬨𐬁𐬥𐬀 /nmaːna/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | spag /spaɡ/ | 𐭮𐭢 /saɡ/ | ʾkw /aːkuː/ | سگ /saɡ/ | 𐎿𐎱𐎣 /spaka/ | 𐬯𐬞𐬁 /spaː/ | spaka /spaka/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭡𐭢 /ɡurbaɡ/ | — /—/ | گربه /ɡurba/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | dast /dast/ | 𐭣𐭮𐭲 /dast/ | dst /dast/ | دست /dast/ | 𐎭𐎿𐎫 /dasta/ | 𐬰𐬀𐬯𐬙𐬀 /zasta/ | zasta /zasta/ |
| Eye | čašm /tʃaʃm/ | 𐭰𐭱𐭬 /tʃaʃm/ | cšm /tʃaʃm/ | چشم /t͡ʃaʃm/ | 𐏂𐏁𐎶𐎴 /tʃaʃman/ | 𐬗𐬀𐬱𐬨𐬀𐬥 /tʃaʃman/ | čašm /tʃaʃm/ |
| Hello | drōd /droːd/ | 𐭣𐭫𐭥𐭲 /droːd/ | drwd /druːd/ | درود /duruːd/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | spās /spaːs/ | 𐭮𐭯𐭠𐭮 /spaːs/ | — /—/ | سپاس /sipaːs/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | ēw /eːw/ | 𐭠𐭩𐭪 /eːk/ | yw /jɛw/ | یک /jak/ | 𐎠𐎡𐎺 /aiwa/ | 𐬀𐬉𐬬𐬀 /aewa/ | aiwa /aiwa/ |
| Good | nēw /neːw/ | 𐭥𐭩𐭧 /weh/ | nyk /neːk/ | نیک /neːk/ | 𐎴𐎡𐎲 /naiba/ | 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 /vohu/ | vohu /wohu/ |
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