𐤐𐤍𐤊
Punic
Afro-Asiatic (Northwest Semitic, Canaanite) · historical / hidden variety
Punic was the late variety of Phoenician spoken across the Carthaginian commercial empire and its successor states from Cádiz to Sardinia, Malta, Sicily, and the Maghreb coast. After the Roman destruction of Carthage in 146 BCE, it persisted as a regional language in North Africa for centuries — Augustine of Hippo, writing in the late 4th century CE, attested its continued vernacular use. Neo-Punic developed cursive letterforms increasingly distinct from the older Phoenician monumental script.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Punic
Water
𐤌𐤉𐤌
/majim/
Fire
𐤀𐤔
/ʔeʃ/
Sun
𐤔𐤌𐤔
/ʃameʃ/
Moon
𐤉𐤓𐤇
/jeraħ/
Star
𐤊𐤊𐤁
/koːkab/
Mother
𐤀𐤌
/ʔem/
Father
𐤀𐤁
/ʔav/
I
𐤀𐤍𐤊
/ʔanoːk/
You
𐤀𐤕
/ʔatta/
Name
𐤔𐤌
/ʃem/
Eye
𐤏𐤍
/ʕajin/
Hand
𐤉𐤃
/jad/
Heart
𐤋𐤁
/lib/
Love
𐤀𐤇𐤁
/ʔaheb/
Tree
𐤏𐤑
/ʕesˤ/
House
𐤁𐤕
/bajit/
Dog
𐤊𐤋𐤁
/kalb/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
𐤀𐤊𐤋
/ʔakal/
Drink
𐤔𐤕
/ʃat/
One
𐤀𐤇𐤃
/ʔeħad/
Two
𐤔𐤍𐤌
/ʃnem/
Hello
𐤔𐤋𐤌
/ʃalom/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
𐤈𐤁
/tˤob/
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Northwest Semitic, Canaanite) languages
| Meaning | Punic | Phoenician | Old Aramaic | Ugaritic | Sabaean | Biblical Hebrew | Mishnaic Hebrew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 𐤌𐤉𐤌 /majim/ | 𐤌𐤌 /meːm/ | מין /majin/ | 𐎎𐎊 /maju/ | 𐩣𐩥 /maw/ | מים /majim/ | מים /majim/ |
| Fire | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | נור /nuːr/ | 𐎛𐎌𐎚 /ʔiʃt/ | 𐩱𐩪 /ʔas/ | אש /ʔeʃ/ | אש /ʔeʃ/ |
| Sun | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | שמש /ʃamʃ/ | 𐎌𐎔𐎌 /ʃapʃ/ | 𐩦𐩣𐩪 /ʃams/ | שמש /ʃemeʃ/ | חמה /ħamːa/ |
| Moon | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jeraħ/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jaræħ/ | שהר /sahr/ | 𐎊𐎗𐎈 /jaːriχ/ | 𐩥𐩧𐩭 /warχ/ | ירח /jɔːreːaħ/ | לבנה /levɑnɑ/ |
| Star | 𐤊𐤊𐤁 /koːkab/ | 𐤊𐤊𐤁 /koːkab/ | כוכב /kawkab/ | 𐎋𐎁𐎋𐎁 /kabkabu/ | 𐩫𐩨𐩫𐩨 /kabkab/ | כּוֹכָב /koːˈxaːv/ | כּוֹכָב /koˈxav/ |
| Mother | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | אמ /ʔem/ | 𐎜𐎎 /ʔumm/ | 𐩱𐩣 /ʔumm/ | אם /ʔeːm/ | אם /ʔem/ |
| Father | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔav/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔab/ | אב /ʔab/ | 𐎜𐎁 /ʔabu/ | 𐩱𐩨 /ʔab/ | אב /ʔɔːv/ | אב /ʔɑv/ |
| I | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 /ʔanoːk/ | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 /ʔanoːkiː/ | אנה /ʔanaː/ | 𐎀𐎐𐎋 /ʔanaːku/ | 𐩱𐩬 /ʔana/ | אֲנִי /ʔaˈniː/ | אֲנִי /ʔaˈni/ |
| You | 𐤀𐤕 /ʔatta/ | 𐤀𐤕 /ʔatta/ | אנת /ʔantaː/ | 𐎀𐎚 /ʔatta/ | 𐩱𐩬𐩩 /ʔanta/ | אַתָּה /ʔatˈtaː/ | אַתָּה /ʔaˈta/ |
| Name | 𐤔𐤌 /ʃem/ | 𐤔𐤌 /ʃem/ | שם /ʃum/ | 𐎌𐎎 /ʃumu/ | 𐩪𐩣 /sim/ | שֵׁם /ʃeːm/ | שֵׁם /ʃem/ |
| Eye | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | עין /ʕajn/ | 𐎓𐎐 /ʕajnu/ | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | עין /ʕajin/ | עין /ʕajin/ |
| Hand | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | יד /jad/ | 𐎊𐎄 /jadu/ | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | יד /jɔːð/ | יד /jɑd/ |
| Heart | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | לב /leb/ | 𐎍𐎁 /libbu/ | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | לב /leːv/ | לב /lev/ |
| Love | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | רחם /raħem/ | 𐎜𐎈𐎁 /ʔaːhab/ | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | אהב /ʔɔːhav/ | אהבה /ʔɑhɑvɑ/ |
| Tree | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ | 𐎓𐎕 /ʕasˤu/ | 𐩲𐩳 /ʕaːð/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ | אילן /ʔilɑn/ |
| House | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | בית /beːt/ | 𐎁𐎚 /bajtu/ | 𐩨𐩺𐩩 /bajt/ | בית /bajiθ/ | בית /bajit/ |
| Dog | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | כלב /kalb/ | 𐎋𐎍𐎁 /kalbu/ | 𐩫𐩡𐩨 /kalb/ | כלב /kelev/ | כלב /kelev/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤓 /ʃunaːr/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | חתול /ħɑtul/ |
| Eat | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | אכל /ʔakal/ | 𐎍𐎈𐎎 /laħam/ | 𐩱𐩫𐩡 /ʔakal/ | אכל /ʔɔːxal/ | אוכל /ʔoχel/ |
| Drink | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | שתה /ʃataː/ | 𐎌𐎚𐎊 /ʃataju/ | 𐩪𐩩𐩺 /ʃataja/ | שתה /ʃɔːθɔː/ | שותה /ʃote/ |
| One | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | חד /ħad/ | 𐎀𐎈𐎄 /ʔaːħadu/ | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | אחד /ʔeħɔːð/ | אחד /ʔeħɑd/ |
| Two | 𐤔𐤍𐤌 /ʃnem/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤌 /ʃnem/ | תרין /treːn/ | 𐎘𐎐 /θnaː/ | 𐩻𐩬𐩺 /θanay/ | שְׁנַיִם /ʃəˈnajim/ | שְׁנַיִם /ʃəˈnajim/ |
| Hello | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | שלם /ʃəlaːm/ | 𐎌𐎍𐎎 /ʃalaːmu/ | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | שלום /ʃɔːloːm/ | שלום /ʃɑlom/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | תודה /toːðɔː/ | תודה /todɑ/ |
| Good | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | טב /tˤab/ | 𐎉𐎁 /tˤaːbu/ | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | טוב /tˤoːv/ | טוב /tov/ |
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