gegnisht

Gheg Albanian

Indo-European (Albanian, Gheg — one of the two primary dialect groups alongside Tosk)

FamilyIndo-European (Albanian, Gheg — one of the two primary dialect groups alongside Tosk) Speakers~4.1M ScriptLatin (Albanian alphabet, plus â ê î û ŷ for nasal vowels in Gheg writing) CountriesAlbania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia Official inNo (Standard Albanian, codified in 1972 on a Tosk base, is the official form in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia — Gheg itself holds no official status anywhere) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3aln

Gheg is the northern half of Albanian, spoken above the Shkumbin river in northern Albania, across Kosovo, in north-western North Macedonia, Montenegro and the Preševo valley of Serbia. It keeps two things standard Albanian gave up: phonemic nasal vowels, written with a circumflex (hânë 'moon', nânë 'mother', dhâmb 'tooth'), and a genuine infinitive built from the particle me plus a participle — me ngranë 'to eat', me pi 'to drink' — where Tosk must use a subjunctive. It also escaped Tosk rhotacism, so 'name' is emën rather than emër and 'love' is dashni rather than dashuri, and it drops final unstressed ë with compensatory lengthening, giving shpi for shtëpi 'house'. Standard Albanian was built on Tosk in 1972, leaving Gheg with no official standing despite being spoken by more people. It remains fully vigorous in speech, in Kosovar media and music, and in a literary tradition running from Buzuku's 1555 missal through Gjergj Fishta.

Where it is spoken

Wear this language Pick the words you like, printed in the same typeface the map uses. Make a T-shirt from Gheg Albanian words →

87 core words in Gheg Albanian

Water

ujë

uj

Fire

zjarr

zjar

Sun

diell

diɫ

Moon

hânë

hɑ̃ːn

Star

yll

yɫ

Night

natë

naːt

Rain

shi

ʃi

Snow

borë

boːɾ

Wind

erë

eːɾ

Earth

dhé

ðɛ

Stone

gur

ɡuɾ

Mountain

mal

mal

Sea

det

dɛt

Mother

nânë

nɑ̃ːn

Father

baba

baˈba

Daughter

bijë

bij

I

unë

un

You

ti

ti

We

na

na

Name

emën

ˈɛ̃mən

Person

njeri

ɲɛˈɾi

Head

krye

kry

Eye

sy

sy

Ear

vesh

veʃ

Nose

hundë

hund

Mouth

gojë

ɡoj

Tooth

dhamb

ðamb

Tongue

gjuhë

ɟuːh

Hand

dorë

doːɾ

Foot

kâmbë

kamb

Heart

zemër

ˈzeməɾ

Bone

asht

aʃt

Blood

gjak

ɟak

Love

dashni

daʃˈni

Tree

dru

dɾu

Dog

qen

cen

Cat

mace

ˈmatsɛ

Fish

peshk

peʃk

Bird

zog

zɔɡ

Egg

vo

vo

Bear

ari

aˈri

Horse

kal

kal

House

shpi

ʃpi

Milk

tâmbël

ˈtambəl

Honey

mjaltë

mjalt

Salt

krypë

kryp

Wine

venë

vɛːn

Iron

hekur

ˈhɛkuɾ

Wheel

rrotë

roːt

Book

libër

ˈlibəɾ

Eat

me ngranë

me ŋɾaːn

Drink

me pi

me pi

Sleep

fle

fle

One

nji

ɲi

Two

dy

dy

Three

tre

tɾe

Four

katër

ˈkatər

Five

pesë

peːs

Hundred

njiqind

ɲiˈcind

Hello

tungjatjeta

tunɟatˈjeta

Thank you

faleminderit

falɛmindɛˈɾit

Good

mirë

miːɾ

New

i ri

i ɾi

Red

kuq

kuc

White

i bardhë

i barð

Black

i zi

i zi

Green

jeshil

jeˈʃil

Cuckoo

qyqe

ˈcyce

Woof

ham ham

ham ham

Computer

kompjuter

kompjuˈteɾ

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃi

Orange

portokall

pɔrtɔˈkalː

Ninety-nine

nantëdhjetë e nantë

nantəˈðjɛtə ɛ ˈnantə

Dopamine

dopaminë

dopaˈmin

At sign

et

ɛt

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Albanian, Gheg — one of the two primary dialect groups alongside Tosk)

Meaning Gheg AlbanianAlbanianArbëreshBulgarianGalicianItalianPortuguese
Water ujë /uj/ ujë /ujə/ ujë /ujə/ вода /voˈda/ auga /ˈawɣa/ acqua /ˈakkwa/ água /ˈaɡwɐ/
Fire zjarr /zjar/ zjarr /zjar/ zjarr /zjar/ огън /ˈɔɡɐn/ lume /ˈlume/ fuoco /ˈfwɔːko/ fogo /ˈfoɡu/
Sun diell /diɫ/ diell /diɛɫ/ diell /diɛɫ/ слънце /ˈslɤntsɛ/ sol /sɔl/ sole /ˈsoːle/ sol /sɔɫ/
Moon hânë /hɑ̃ːn/ hënë /hənə/ hëna /həna/ луна /loˈna/ lúa /ˈlua/ luna /ˈluːna/ lua /ˈluɐ/
Star yll /yɫ/ yll /yɫ/ ill /iɫ/ звезда /zvɛzˈda/ estrela /esˈtɾela/ stella /ˈstɛlla/ estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/
Night natë /naːt/ natë /ˈnatə/ natë /ˈnatə/ нощ /nɔʃt/ noite /ˈnojte/ notte /ˈnɔtte/ noite /ˈnojtɨ/
Rain shi /ʃi/ shi /ʃi/ shi /ʃi/ дъжд /dɤʃt/ choiva /ˈtʃoi̯βa/ pioggia /ˈpjɔddʒa/ chuva /ˈʃuvɐ/
Snow borë /boːɾ/ borë /bɔːɾə/ zborë /ˈzbɔɾə/ сняг /snʲak/ neve /ˈneβe/ neve /neːve/ neve /nɛvɨ/
Page 1/10

Open the interactive map: Word Map · HanMap · Name Map · Word Order · Tree

Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.

Made by Heuron Inc. · GitHub · cho@heuron.com · LangMap home