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
20 core words in Yucatec Maya
Water
jaʼ
/haʔ/
Fire
kʼáakʼ
/kʼaːkʼ/
Sun
kʼiin
/kʼiːn/
Moon
uj
/uh/
Mother
naʼ
/naʔ/
Father
taata
/taːta/
Eat
jaant
/haːnt/
Drink
ukʼul
/ukʼul/
Love
yaakuntej
/jaːkunteh/
Heart
puksiʼikʼal
/puksiʔikʼal/
Tree
cheʼ
/tʃeʔ/
House
naj
/nah/
Dog
peekʼ
/peːkʼ/
Cat
miis
/miːs/
Hand
kʼabʼ
/kʼaɓ/
Eye
ich
/itʃ/
Hello
baʼax ka waʼalik
/baʔaʃ ka waʔalik/
Thank you
dios boʼotik
/dios boʔotik/
One
jun
/hun/
Good
maʼalob
/maʔalob/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Mayan (Yucatecan) languages
| Meaning | Yucatec Maya | Itzá Maya | Classical Maya | Tabasco Chontal | Tojolabal | Uspanteko | Tzeltal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | jaʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ | haʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /haʔ/ | jaʼ /xaʔ/ |
| Fire | kʼáakʼ /kʼaːkʼ/ | kʼakʼ /kʼakʼ/ | kʼahkʼ /kʼahkʼ/ | kʼakʼ /kʼakʼ/ | kʼakʼ /kʼakʼ/ | qʼaqʼ /qʼaqʼ/ | kʼaal /kʼaːl/ |
| Sun | kʼiin /kʼiːn/ | kʼin /kʼin/ | kʼin /kʼin/ | kʼin /kʼin/ | kʼakʼu /kʼakʼu/ | qʼiij /qʼiːh/ | kʼajkʼal /kʼaxkʼal/ |
| Moon | uj /uh/ | uj /uh/ | uh /uh/ | ä /æ/ | ixaw /iʃaw/ | ikʼ /ikʼ/ | u /u/ |
| Mother | naʼ /naʔ/ | naʼ /naʔ/ | naʼ /naʔ/ | naʼ /naʔ/ | nan /nan/ | nan /nan/ | meʼ /meʔ/ |
| Father | taata /taːta/ | tat /tat/ | yuum /juːm/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ |
| Eat | jaant /haːnt/ | jant /hant/ | wiʼij /wiʔiχ/ | weʼ /weʔ/ | waʼel /waʔel/ | waʼ /waʔ/ | weʼel /weʔel/ |
| Drink | ukʼul /ukʼul/ | ukʼ /ukʼ/ | ukʼ /ukʼ/ | ukʼe /ukʼe/ | ukʼ /ukʼ/ | ukʼ /ukʼ/ | uchʼel /utʃʼel/ |
| Love | yaakuntej /jaːkunteh/ | yakunti /jakunti/ | yaah /jaːh/ | kʼuxbe /kʼuʃbe/ | skʼana /skʼana/ | lóqʼ /lóqʼ/ | kʼanbey /kʼanbej/ |
| Heart | puksiʼikʼal /puksiʔikʼal/ | pukʼsikʼal /pukʼsikʼal/ | pixan /piʃan/ | pixan /piʃan/ | alma /alma/ | kʼuʼx /kʼuʔʃ/ | oʼtan /oʔtan/ |
| Tree | cheʼ /tʃeʔ/ | cheʼ /tʃeʔ/ | cheʼ /tʃeʔ/ | teʼ /teʔ/ | teʼ /teʔ/ | cheʼ /tʃeʔ/ | teʼ /teʔ/ |
| House | naj /nah/ | nah /nah/ | otoch /otoːtʃ/ | otot /otot/ | naj /nah/ | jaa /haː/ | na /na/ |
| Dog | peekʼ /peːkʼ/ | pekʼ /pekʼ/ | peekʼ /peːkʼ/ | pekʼ /pekʼ/ | tsʼiʼ /tsʼiʔ/ | tzʼiʼ /tsʼiʔ/ | tsʼiʼ /tsʼiʔ/ |
| Cat | miis /miːs/ | mis /mis/ | miis /miːs/ | mis /mis/ | mis /mis/ | mis /mis/ | mis /mis/ |
| Hand | kʼabʼ /kʼaɓ/ | kʼab /kʼab/ | kʼab /kʼab/ | kʼä /kʼæ/ | kʼabʼ /kʼaɓ/ | qʼab /qʼab/ | kʼab /kʼab/ |
| Eye | ich /itʃ/ | ich /itʃ/ | ich /itʃ/ | wich /witʃ/ | satej /sateh/ | wach /watʃ/ | sit /sit/ |
| 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/ | saʼbʼal /saʔbal/ | banti winik /banti winik/ |
| Thank you | dios boʼotik /dios boʔotik/ | dios bʼotik /dios botik/ | nibʼoolal /nibʼoːlal/ | dios boʼtik /dios boʔtik/ | yuj /juh/ | maltyox /maltjoʃ/ | wokol awal /wokol awal/ |
| One | jun /hun/ | jun /hun/ | jun /hun/ | un /un/ | jun /hun/ | jun /hun/ | jun /xun/ |
| Good | maʼalob /maʔalob/ | malobʼ /malob/ | utz /uts/ | tsʼak /tsʼak/ | lek /lek/ | utz /uts/ | lek /lek/ |
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