Maya tʼaan
Yucatec Maya
Mayan (Yucatecan)
Yucatec Maya (Maaya tʼaan) is the most widely spoken Mayan language in Mexico, native to the Yucatán Peninsula (states of Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche), with ~770K speakers, plus communities in Belize and northern Guatemala. It is recognized as a national language by Mexico's Ley General de Derechos Lingüísticos (2003). Unlike most Mayan languages, Yucatec is tonal (high vs. low), preserves substantial inherited Mayan vocabulary, and has rich verb morphology with status (perfective/imperfective/subjunctive) suffixes. The colonial-era Books of Chilam Balam and the modern Maya literary movement attest a long literary tradition.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Yucatec Maya
Water
jaʼ
/haʔ/
Fire
kʼáakʼ
/kʼaːkʼ/
Sun
kʼiin
/kʼiːn/
Moon
uj
/uh/
Star
eekʼ
/eːkʼ/
Mother
naʼ
/naʔ/
Father
taata
/taːta/
I
teen
/teːn/
You
teech
/teːtʃ/
Name
kʼaabaʼ
/kʼaːɓaʔ/
Eye
ich
/itʃ/
Hand
kʼabʼ
/kʼaɓ/
Heart
puksiʼikʼal
/puksiʔikʼal/
Love
yaakuntej
/jaːkunteh/
Tree
cheʼ
/tʃeʔ/
House
naj
/nah/
Dog
peekʼ
/peːkʼ/
Cat
miis
/miːs/
Eat
jaant
/haːnt/
Drink
ukʼul
/ukʼul/
One
jun
/hun/
Two
kaʼ
/kaʔ/
Hello
baʼax ka waʼalik
/baʔaʃ ka waʔalik/
Thank you
dios boʼotik
/dios boʔotik/
Good
maʼalob
/maʔalob/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Mayan (Yucatecan) languages
| Meaning | Yucatec Maya | Itzá Maya | Classical Maya | Tabasco Chontal | Tojolabal | Chol | Tzeltal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | jaʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ | haʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ |
| Fire | kʼáakʼ /kʼaːkʼ/ | kʼakʼ /kʼakʼ/ | kʼahkʼ /kʼahkʼ/ | kʼakʼ /kʼakʼ/ | kʼakʼ /kʼakʼ/ | kʼajk /kʼahk/ | kʼajkʼ /kʼahkʼ/ |
| Sun | kʼiin /kʼiːn/ | kʼin /kʼin/ | kʼin /kʼin/ | kʼin /kʼin/ | kʼakʼu /kʼakʼu/ | kʼiñ /kʼiɲ/ | kʼajkʼal /kʼahkʼal/ |
| Moon | uj /uh/ | uj /uh/ | uh /uh/ | ä /æ/ | ixaw /iʃaw/ | uw /uw/ | u /u/ |
| Star | eekʼ /eːkʼ/ | ekʼ /ekʼ/ | ek' /eːkʼ/ | ekʼ /ʔekʼ/ | kʼanal /kʼanal/ | ekʼ /ʔekʼ/ | ekʼ /ekʼ/ |
| Mother | naʼ /naʔ/ | naʼ /naʔ/ | naʼ /naʔ/ | naʼ /naʔ/ | nan /nan/ | ñaʼ /ɲaʔ/ | meʼ /meʔ/ |
| Father | taata /taːta/ | tat /tat/ | yuum /juːm/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ |
| I | teen /teːn/ | ten /ten/ | hiin /hiːn/ | noʼon /noʔon/ | keʼn /keʔn/ | joñoñ /hoɲoɲ/ | joʼon /hoʔon/ |
| You | teech /teːtʃ/ | tech /tetʃ/ | hat /hat/ | neʼet /neʔet/ | weʼn /weʔn/ | jatyet /hatʲet/ | jaʼat /haʔat/ |
| Name | kʼaabaʼ /kʼaːɓaʔ/ | kʼabaʼ /kʼaɓaʔ/ | k'aba' /kʼaˈɓaʔ/ | kʼabaʼ /kʼaɓaʔ/ | bʼiʼil /ɓiʔil/ | kʼabaʼ /kʼaɓaʔ/ | biil /ɓiːl/ |
| Eye | ich /itʃ/ | ich /itʃ/ | ich /itʃ/ | wich /witʃ/ | satej /sateh/ | wut /wut/ | sit /sit/ |
| Hand | kʼabʼ /kʼaɓ/ | kʼab /kʼab/ | kʼab /kʼab/ | kʼä /kʼæ/ | kʼabʼ /kʼaɓ/ | kʼabʼ /kʼaɓ/ | kʼab /kʼab/ |
| Heart | puksiʼikʼal /puksiʔikʼal/ | pukʼsikʼal /pukʼsikʼal/ | pixan /piʃan/ | pixan /piʃan/ | altzil /altsil/ | pusʼikʼal /pusʼikʼal/ | oʼtan /oʔtan/ |
| Love | yaakuntej /jaːkunteh/ | yakunti /jakunti/ | yaah /jaːh/ | kʼuxbe /kʼuʃbe/ | skʼana /skʼana/ | kʼuxbiñ /kʼuʃbiɲ/ | kʼanbey /kʼanbej/ |
| Tree | cheʼ /tʃeʔ/ | cheʼ /tʃeʔ/ | cheʼ /tʃeʔ/ | teʼ /teʔ/ | teʼ /teʔ/ | teʼ /teʔ/ | teʼ /teʔ/ |
| House | naj /nah/ | nah /nah/ | otoch /otoːtʃ/ | otot /otot/ | naj /nah/ | otyot /otjot/ | na /na/ |
| Dog | peekʼ /peːkʼ/ | pekʼ /pekʼ/ | peekʼ /peːkʼ/ | pekʼ /pekʼ/ | tsʼiʼ /tsʼiʔ/ | tsʼiʼ /tsʼiʔ/ | tsʼiʼ /tsʼiʔ/ |
| Cat | miis /miːs/ | mis /mis/ | miis /miːs/ | mis /mis/ | mis /mis/ | mis /mis/ | mis /mis/ |
| Eat | jaant /haːnt/ | jant /hant/ | weʼ /weʔ/ | weʼ /weʔ/ | waʼel /waʔel/ | kʼux /kʼuʃ/ | weʼel /weʔel/ |
| Drink | ukʼul /ukʼul/ | ukʼ /ukʼ/ | ukʼ /ukʼ/ | ukʼe /ukʼe/ | ukʼ /ukʼ/ | ucʼ /utsʼ/ | uchʼel /utʃʼel/ |
| One | jun /hun/ | jun /hun/ | jun /hun/ | un /un/ | jun /hun/ | juñ /huɲ/ | jun /xun/ |
| Two | kaʼ /kaʔ/ | kaʼ /kaʔ/ | cha' /tʃaʔ/ | chaʼ /tʃaʔ/ | chabʼ /tʃaɓ/ | chaʼ /tʃaʔ/ | cheb /tʃeb/ |
| Hello | baʼax ka waʼalik /baʔaʃ ka waʔalik/ | bʼix a tʼan /biʃ a tʼan/ | bix a beel /biʃ a beːl/ | bin a bel /bin a bel/ | lekilukʼ /lekilukʼ/ | kabʼ /kaɓ/ | banti winik /banti winik/ |
| Thank you | dios boʼotik /dios boʔotik/ | dios bʼotik /dios botik/ | nibʼoolal /nibʼoːlal/ | dios boʼtik /dios boʔtik/ | yuj /juh/ | wokox /wokoʃ/ | wokol awal /wokol awal/ |
| Good | maʼalob /maʔalob/ | malobʼ /malob/ | utz /uts/ | tsʼak /tsʼak/ | lek /lek/ | utsat /utsat/ | lek /lek/ |
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