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
20 core words in Punic
Water
𐤌𐤉𐤌
/majim/
Fire
𐤀𐤔
/ʔeʃ/
Sun
𐤔𐤌𐤔
/ʃameʃ/
Moon
𐤉𐤓𐤇
/jeraħ/
Mother
𐤀𐤌
/ʔem/
Father
𐤀𐤁
/ʔav/
Eat
𐤀𐤊𐤋
/ʔakal/
Drink
𐤔𐤕
/ʃat/
Love
𐤀𐤇𐤁
/ʔaheb/
Heart
𐤋𐤁
/lib/
Tree
𐤏𐤑
/ʕeʦʕ/
House
𐤁𐤕
/bajit/
Dog
𐤊𐤋𐤁
/kalb/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
𐤉𐤃
/jad/
Eye
𐤏𐤍
/ʕajin/
Hello
𐤔𐤋𐤌
/ʃalom/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
𐤀𐤇𐤃
/ʔeħad/
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 /majim/ | מין /majin/ | 𐎎𐎊 /maju/ | 𐩣𐩺 /maːʔ/ | מים /majim/ | מים /majim/ |
| Fire | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | אש /ʔɛʃ/ | 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 /warkʰ/ | ירח /jɔːreːaħ/ | לבנה /levɑnɑ/ |
| 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/ |
| 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/ |
| Love | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | רחם /raħem/ | 𐎜𐎈𐎁 /ʔaːhab/ | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | אהב /ʔɔːhav/ | אהבה /ʔɑhɑvɑ/ |
| Heart | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | לב /leb/ | 𐎍𐎁 /libbu/ | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | לב /leːv/ | לב /lev/ |
| Tree | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕeʦʕ/ | 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/ |
| Hand | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | יד /jad/ | 𐎊𐎄 /jadu/ | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | יד /jɔːð/ | יד /jɑd/ |
| Eye | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | עין /ʕajn/ | 𐎓𐎐 /ʕajnu/ | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | עין /ʕajin/ | עין /ʕajin/ |
| Hello | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | שלם /ʃəlaːm/ | 𐎌𐎍𐎎 /ʃalaːmu/ | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | שלום /ʃɔːloːm/ | שלום /ʃɑlom/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | תודה /toːðɔː/ | תודה /todɑ/ |
| One | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | חד /ħad/ | 𐎀𐎈𐎄 /ʔaːħadu/ | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | אחד /ʔeħɔːð/ | אחד /ʔeħɑd/ |
| Good | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | טב /tˤab/ | 𐎉𐎁 /tˤaːbu/ | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | טוב /tˤoːv/ | טוב /tov/ |
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