{"id":941,"date":"2024-10-19T22:28:14","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T22:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toponomastics.com\/en\/?p=941"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:58:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T23:58:39","slug":"swadesh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toponomastics.com\/en\/swadesh\/","title":{"rendered":"Swadesh 207 list"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cSwadesh list\u201d is a compilation of basic vocabulary items used in historical linguistics to compare languages and their relatedness.
This list was originally compiled to focus on the core vocabulary, the items most likely to persist in a language over the millennia.
Swadesh collection of words was also intended to avoid borrowing, based on the idea that \u2018cultural\u2019 vocabulary is more prone to borrowing than \u2018intimate\u2019 vocabulary. By limiting the list of words to intimate vocabulary, the words should be resistant to borrowing. (Swadesh, 1952)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. I<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. you (singular)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. they (singular)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. we<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. you (plural)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. they (plural)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. this<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. that<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. here<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. there<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. who<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. what<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. where<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  14. when<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  15. how<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  16. not<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  17. all<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  18. many<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  19. some<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  20. few<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  21. other<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  22. one<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  23. two<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  24. three<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  25. four<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  26. five<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  27. big<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  28. long<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  29. wide<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  30. thick<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  31. heavy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  32. small<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  33. short<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  34. narrow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  35. thin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  36. woman<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  37. man (adult male)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  38. man (human being)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  39. child<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  40. wife<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  41. husband<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  42. mother<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  43. father<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  44. animal<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  45. fish<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  46. bird<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  47. dog<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  48. louse<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  49. snake<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  50. worm<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  51. tree<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  52. forest<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  53. stick<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  54. fruit<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  55. seed<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  56. leaf<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  57. root<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  58. bark (of a tree)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  59. flower<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  60. grass<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  61. rope<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  62. skin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  63. meat<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  64. blood<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  65. bone<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  66. fat (noun)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  67. egg<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  68. horn<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  69. tail<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  70. feather<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  71. hair<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  72. head<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  73. ear<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  74. eye<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  75. nose<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  76. mouth<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  77. tooth<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  78. tongue (organ)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  79. fingernail<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  80. foot<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  81. leg<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  82. knee<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  83. hand<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  84. wing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  85. belly<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  86. guts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  87. neck<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  88. back<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  89. breast<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  90. heart<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  91. liver<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  92. to drink<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  93. to eat<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  94. to bite<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  95. to suck<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  96. to spit<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  97. to vomit<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  98. to blow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  99. to breathe<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  100. to laugh<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  101. to see<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  102. to hear<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  103. to know<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  104. to think<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  105. to smell<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  106. to fear<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  107. to sleep<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  108. to live<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  109. to die<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  110. to kill<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  111. to fight<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  112. to hunt<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  113. to hit<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  114. to cut<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  115. to split<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  116. to stab<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  117. to scratch<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  118. to dig<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  119. to swim<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  120. to fly<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  121. to walk<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  122. to come<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  123. to lie (as in a bed)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  124. to sit<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  125. to stand<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  126. to turn (intransitive)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  127. to fall<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  128. to give<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  129. to hold<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  130. to squeeze<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  131. to rub<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  132. to wash<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  133. to wipe<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  134. to pull<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  135. to push<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  136. to throw<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  137. to tie<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  138. to sew<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  139. to count<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  140. to say<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  141. to sing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  142. to play<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  143. to float<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  144. to flow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  145. to freeze<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  146. to swell<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  147. sun<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  148. moon<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  149. star<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  150. water<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  151. rain<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  152. river<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  153. lake<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  154. sea<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  155. salt<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  156. stone<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  157. sand<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  158. dust<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  159. earth<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  160. cloud<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  161. fog<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  162. sky<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  163. wind<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  164. snow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  165. ice<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  166. smoke<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  167. fire<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  168. ash<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  169. to burn<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  170. road<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  171. mountain<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  172. red<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  173. green<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  174. yellow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  175. white<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  176. black<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  177. night<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  178. day<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  179. year<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  180. warm<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  181. cold<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  182. full<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  183. new<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  184. old<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  185. good<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  186. bad<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  187. rotten<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  188. dirty<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  189. straight<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  190. round<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  191. sharp (as a knife)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  192. dull (as a knife)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  193. smooth<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  194. wet<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  195. dry<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  196. correct<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  197. near<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  198. far<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  199. right<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  200. left<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  201. at<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  202. in<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  203. with<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  204. and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  205. if<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  206. because<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  207. name<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cSwadesh list\u201d is a compilation of basic vocabulary items used in historical linguistics to compare languages and their relatedness.This list was originally compiled to focus on the core vocabulary, the items most likely to persist in a language over the millennia.Swadesh collection of words was also intended to avoid borrowing, based on the idea that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-basics"],"yoast_head":"\nSwadesh 207 list - Toponomastics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/toponomastics.com\/en\/swadesh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swadesh 207 list - 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