For further information, including the full final version of the list, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list .American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.
No.
English
Novial
1
I
me
2
you (singular)
vu
3
he , she , it
lo
4
we
nus
5
you (plural)
vus
6
they
los
7
this
disi
8
that
ti
9
here
hir
10
there
dar
11
who
que
12
what
quum
13
where
vor
14
when
quand
15
how
quam
16
not
non
17
all
omni
18
many
multi
19
some
kelki
20
few
poki
21
other
altri
22
one
un uni
23
two
du
24
three
tri
25
four
quar
26
five
sink
27
big
grandi
28
long
longi
29
wide
larji
30
thick
gros grosi
31
heavy
grav gravi
32
small
mikri
33
short
kurti
34
narrow
angusti
35
thin
tenu tenui
36
woman
homa fema
37
man (adult male)
homo viro
38
man (human being)
home
39
child
infante
40
wife
marita
41
husband
marito
42
mother
matra
43
father
patro
44
animal
animale
45
fish
fishe
46
bird
fogle
47
dog
hunde
48
louse
lause
49
snake
serpente
50
worm
verme
51
tree
arbre
52
forest
foreste
53
stick
bastone
54
fruit
frukte
55
seed
seme
56
leaf
folie
57
root
radike
58
bark (of a tree)
kortise
59
flower
flore
60
grass
gasone
61
rope
korde
62
skin
pele
63
meat
karne
64
blood
sange
65
bone
ose
66
fat (noun)
grasi
67
egg
ove
68
horn
korne
69
tail
kaude
70
feather
plume
71
hair
hare
72
head
kape
73
ear
orele
74
eye
okule
75
nose
nase
76
mouth
boke
77
tooth
dente
78
tongue (organ)
lange tunge
79
fingernail
ungle
80
foot
pede
81
leg
gambe
82
knee
genu
83
hand
manu
84
wing
ale
85
belly
ventre
86
guts
intestines
87
neck
kole
88
back
dorse
89
breast
pektore bruste
90
heart
kordie
91
liver
hepate
92
to drink
drinka
93
to eat
manja
94
to bite
morda
95
to suck
suka
96
to spit
sputa
97
to vomit
vomi
98
to blow
sufla
99
to breathe
spira
100
to laugh
rida
101
to see
vida
102
to hear
audi
103
to know
sava konosa
104
to think
pensa
105
to smell
flara
106
to fear
tima pavora
107
to sleep
dormi
108
to live
viva
109
to die
mori
110
to kill
tua
111
to fight
kombata
112
to hunt
chasa
113
to hit
frapa
114
to cut
seka
115
to split
fenda
116
to stab
pika
117
to scratch
grata
118
to dig
fosa
119
to swim
svima
120
to fly
vola
121
to walk
marcha
122
to come
veni
123
to lie (as in a bed)
lia
124
to sit
sida
125
to stand
stea
126
to turn (intransitive)
rota
127
to fall
fala
128
to give
dona
129
to hold
tena
130
to squeeze
klema
131
to rub
frota
132
to wash
lava
133
to wipe
visha
134
to pull
tira
135
to push
shova
136
to throw
jeta
137
to tie
liga
138
to sew
suta
139
to count
konta nombra
140
to say
dikte
141
to sing
kanta
142
to play
plea
143
to float
flota
144
to flow
flua
145
to freeze
frosta glasieska konjela
146
to swell
infla plugrandeska
147
sun
sune
148
moon
lune
149
star
astre stele
150
water
aque
151
rain
pluve
152
river
fluvie
153
lake
lage
154
sea
mare
155
salt
sale
156
stone
petre
157
sand
sande
158
dust
polve
159
earth
tere
160
cloud
nube
161
fog
neble
162
sky
siele
163
wind
vente
164
snow
nive
165
ice
glasie
166
smoke
fume
167
fire
faire
168
ash
sindre
169
to burn
brula kombuste
170
road
rade vie strade
171
mountain
monte
172
red
red redi
173
green
verdi
174
yellow
gelbi
175
white
blanki
176
black
nigri
177
night
nokte
178
day
jorne
179
year
yare
180
warm
varm varmi
181
cold
koldi
182
full
plen pleni
183
new
nov novi
184
old
old oldi
185
good
bon boni
186
bad
mal mali
187
rotten
putrit putriti
188
dirty
sordid sordidi
189
straight
rekt rekti
190
round
rond rondi
191
sharp (as a knife)
akut akuti
192
dull (as a knife)
obtus obtusi
193
smooth
glati
194
wet
dessik dessiki
195
dry
sik siki
196
correct
just justi
197
near
proxim
198
far
ferni
199
right
dextri
200
left
lefti
201
at
an che
202
in
in
203
with
kun
204
and
e
205
if
si
206
because
pro ke
207
name
nome
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
(edit this template )