𘬱𘬻𘭟 𘬐𘭦𘬰
Khitan
Para-Mongolic (Mongolic-Khitan branch, debated)
Khitan was the language of the Liao dynasty (907–1125 CE), spoken by the Khitan people who ruled a vast empire stretching from Manchuria to Central Asia. The Khitan developed two writing systems — the Large Script and the Small Script — both of which remain only partially deciphered, with perhaps 20% of the Small Script characters confidently read. This entry preserves only readings that are confidently attested in bilingual Liao inscriptions, Chinese transliterations of Khitan names, or the scholarly reconstructions of Kane (2009) and Aisin Gioro Ulhicun; all other entries are marked with an em-dash. Khitan numbers are the best-attested vocabulary, showing clear cognacy with Mongolian and Manchu.
Where it is spoken
Han character readings in Khitan
| Character | Meaning | Reading | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | one | 𘬣am | /am/ | |
| 二 | two | jur | /dʒur/ | |
| 三 | three | hur | /hur/ | |
| 四 | four | dur | /dur/ | |
| 五 | five | tau | /tʰau/ | |
| 六 | six | nil | /nil/ | |
| 七 | seven | dolo | /dolo/ | |
| 九 | nine | is | /is/ | |
| 十 | ten | par | /par/ | |
| 天 | sky | teŋri | /tʰeŋri/ | |
| 日 | sun | nair | /nair/ | |
| 月 | moon | 𘭧sair | /sair/ | |
| 山 | mountain | ula | /ʊla/ | |
| 水 | water | us | /ʊs/ | |
| 火 | fire | gal | /ɡal/ | |
| 馬 | horse | 𘲜𘰣mori | /mori/ | |
| 人 | person | 𘯥ku | /kʰu/ |
Sources
- Kane, Daniel. The Kitan Language and Script. Brill, 2009.
- Aisin Gioro Ulhicun (愛新覺羅·烏拉熙春). Kitan Studies. Kyoto University, 2004–2012.
- Liu Fengzhu (劉鳳翥). Qidan Wenzi Yanjiu (契丹文字研究). Zhonghua Shuju, 2014.
- Andrew West. BabelStone Khitan Script Resources. babelstone.co.uk/Khitan.
- Wu Yingzhe & Janhunen, Juha. New Materials on the Khitan Small Script. SOAS, 2010.
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Mongolic (Para-Mongolic)
| Meaning | Khitan | Proto-Japonic-Koreanic | Iberian | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Tartessian | Liburnian | Messapic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | 𘲺 /nair/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | 𘭧 /sair/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Night | 𘰷𘭌 /suni/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Earth | 𘱗𘱮 /neue/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mother | 𘬝 /mo/ | *əma /əma/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | 𘲐 /ai/ | *əpa /əpa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ana /ˈana/ |
| Daughter | — /—/ | — | — | — | — | — | bilia /ˈbilia/ |
| I | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| You | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| We | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | 𘱤𘰣 /iri/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Person | 𘯥 /ku/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Head | — /—/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eye | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tooth | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tongue | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bone | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Blood | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | 𘰕𘯛 /ɲiqo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fish | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Horse | 𘲜𘰣 /mori/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Iron | 𘮾𘮒 /tumur/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | 𘬣 /am/ | — /—/ | ban /ban/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | 𘲝 /dʒur/ | — /—/ | bi /bi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Three | 𘯙 /hur/ | — /—/ | irur /irur/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Four | 𘲂 /dur/ | — | laur /laur/ | — | — | — | — |
| Five | 𘬦 /tau/ | — | borste /borste/ | — | — | — | — |
| Hundred | 𘬕 /dʒau/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | 𘬥𘱛 /ʃia/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| New | 𘬥𘭛 /ʃɛn/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Red | 𘱄𘱹𘰹 /ljauqu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Black | 𘯍𘲚 /jou/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Han readings compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Para-Mongolic (Mongolic-Khitan branch, debated)
| Character | Khitan | Proto-Mongolic | Manchu | Jurchen | Proto-Tungusic | Sibe | Korean Hanja-hun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | am /am/ | *nigen /*niɡen/ | emu /emu/ | emu /emu/ | *əmun /*əmun/ | emu /əmu/ | han /han/ |
| 二 | jur /dʒur/ | *qoyar /*qojar/ | juwe /dʒuwə/ | juwe /dʑuwe/ | *dʒuər /*dʒuər/ | juwe /dʑuwə/ | du /tu/ |
| 三 | hur /hur/ | *gurba(n) /*ɡurban/ | ilan /ilan/ | ilan /ilan/ | *ilan /*ilan/ | ilan /ilan/ | se /se/ |
| 四 | dur /dur/ | *dörbe(n) /*dœrben/ | duin /duin/ | duin /duin/ | *dügin /*dyɡin/ | duin /duin/ | ne /nɛ/ |
| 五 | tau /tʰau/ | *tabu(n) /*tabun/ | sunja /sundʒa/ | sunja /sundʑa/ | *tuɲga /*tuɲɡa/ | sunja /sundʑa/ | daseot /tasʌt̚/ |
| 六 | nil /nil/ | *jirguɣa(n) /*dʒirɣuɣan/ | ninggun /niŋɡun/ | ninggun /niŋɡun/ | *ɲuŋun /*ɲuŋun/ | ninggun /niŋɢun/ | yeoseot /jʌsʌt̚/ |
| 七 | dolo /dolo/ | *doluɣa(n) /*doluɣan/ | nadan /nadan/ | nadan /nadan/ | *nadan /*nadan/ | nadan /nadan/ | ilgop /ilɡop̚/ |
| 九 | is /is/ | *yersü(n) /*jersyn/ | uyun /ujun/ | uyun /ujun/ | *xəgün /*xəɡyn/ | uyun /ujun/ | ahop /ahop̚/ |
| 十 | par /par/ | *harba(n) /*harban/ | juwan /dʒuwan/ | juwan /dʑuwan/ | *dʒuwan /*dʒuwan/ | juwan /dʑuwan/ | yeol /jʌl/ |
| 天 | teŋri /tʰeŋri/ | *teŋri /*teŋri/ | abka /abka/ | abka /abka/ | *abka /*abka/ | abka /apka/ | haneul /hanɯl/ |
| 日 | nair /nair/ | *naran /*naran/ | šun /ʃun/ | šun /ʃun/ | *siun /*siun/ | šun /ɕun/ | nal /nal/ |
| 月 | sair /sair/ | *sara(n) /*saran/ | biya /bija/ | biya /bija/ | *bēga /*beːɡa/ | biya /bija/ | dal /tal/ |
| 山 | ula /ʊla/ | *agula /*aɣula/ | alin /alin/ | alin /alin/ | *xada /*xada/ | alin /alin/ | me /me/ |
| 水 | us /ʊs/ | *usu(n) /*usun/ | muke /mukə/ | muke /muke/ | *mū /*muː/ | muke /mutɕə/ | mul /mul/ |
| 火 | gal /ɡal/ | *gal /*ɡal/ | tuwa /tuwa/ | tuwa /tuwa/ | *tōga /*toːɡa/ | tuwa /tuwa/ | bul /pul/ |
| 馬 | mori /mori/ | *mori(n) /*morin/ | morin /morin/ | morin /morin/ | *murin /*murin/ | morin /mɔrin/ | mal /mal/ |
| 人 | ku /kʰu/ | *kümün /*kymyn/ | niyalma /njalma/ | niyalma /njalma/ | *niama /*niama/ | niyalma /ɲalma/ | saram /saɾam/ |
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