Iu Mienh

Iu Mien

Hmong-Mien (Mienic branch)

FamilyHmong-Mien (Mienic branch) Speakers~800K ScriptLatin (Iu Mien Unified Script, devised 1984); formerly written with Chinese characters CountriesChina (Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, Jiangxi), Vietnam, Laos, Thailand; diaspora in the United States Official innone (spoken by part of China's officially recognized Yao nationality) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3ium

Iu Mien is a tonal language of the Mienic branch of the Hmong-Mien language family, spoken by roughly 800,000 people, mainly the Iu Mien (the largest subgroup of China's Yao nationality). Most speakers live in southern China (Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan and neighbouring provinces), with sizeable communities in northern Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, plus a diaspora in the United States following the Vietnam War. It was formerly written with Chinese characters; a Latin-based Iu Mien Unified Script was created in 1984, marking its eight tones with final letters.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Iu Mien

Water

wuom

wuom˧

Fire

douz

tou˨˧

Sun

mbaʼhnoi

ban̥oi˧

Moon

hlaax

l̥aː˨˧

Star

hleix

l̥ei˨˧

Night

muonh

muon˧˩

Rain

mbiungc

biuŋ˨˩

Snow

sorng

sɔŋ˧

Wind

nziaaux

dzjaːu˨˧

Earth

ndau

ndau˧

Stone

laʼbieiv

ʔlapiei˦

Mountain

mbong

bɔŋ˧

Sea

koiv

kʰoi˦

Mother

maa

maː˧

Father

diex

tie˨˧

Daughter

sieqv

sieʔ˥˥

I

yie

ji˧

You

meih

mei˧˩

We

yie mbuo

ji˧ buo˧

Name

mbuox

buo˨˧

Person

mienh

mjen˧˩

Head

mʼnqorngv

m̩ɡɔŋ˦

Eye

mʼzing

m̩tsiŋ˧

Ear

mʼnormh

m̩nɔm˧˩

Nose

mbaʼzorng

batsɔŋ˧

Mouth

nzuih

dzui˧˩

Tooth

nyaah

ɲaː˧˩

Tongue

mbietc

biet˨˩

Hand

buoz

puo˨˧

Foot

zaux

tsau˨˧

Heart

mbaʼy-fim

mbai˧fim˧

Bone

mbungv

buŋ˦

Blood

nziaamh

dzjaːm˧˩

Poop

nqaiv

ɡai˦

Love

hnamv

n̥am˦

Tree

ndiangx

ndiaŋ˨˧

Dog

juv

tɕu˦

Cat

mbao

mbao˧

Fish

mbiauz

biau˨˧

Bird

norqc

nɔʔ˨˩

Butterfly

sopc bang

sop˨˩ paŋ˧

Egg

jaux

tɕau˨˧

Bear

jiepv

tɕiep˦

Horse

maaz

maː˨˧

House

biauv

piau˦

Milk

nyorx

ɲɔ˨˧

Honey

mueiz-dorngh

muei˨˧tɔŋ˧˩

Salt

nzauv

dzau˦

Wine

aʼngunc diuv

aŋun˨˩ tiu˦

Rice

mbiauh

biau˧˩

Iron

hlieqv

l̥ieʔ˥˥

Wheel

yienh

jien˧˩

Silk

fei

fei˧

Book

sou

sou˧

Eat

nyanc

ɲan˨˩

Drink

hopv

hop˦

Sleep

mʼnjormh

m̩ɟɔm˧˩

One

yietc

jiet˨˩

Two

i

i˧

Three

buo

puo˧

Four

biei

pjei˧

Five

biaa

pjaː˧

Hundred

baeqv

pæʔ˥˥

Hello

yiem-longx

jiem˧loŋ˨˧

Thank you

laengz

læŋ˨˧

Good

longx

loŋ˨˧

New

siang

siaŋ˧

Red

siqv

siʔ˥˥

White

baeqc

pæʔ˨˩

Black

jieqv

tɕieʔ˥˥

Green

maeng

mæŋ˧

Blue

mbuov

buo˦

Cuckoo

norqc jaangh iuv

nɔʔ˨˩ jaːŋ˧˩ ʔiu˦

Tea

zaah

tsaː˧˩

Coffee

gaafae

kaː˧fæ˧

Sugar

dorngh

tɔŋ˧˩

Orange

gaam-zaiv

kaːm˧tsai˦

Ninety-nine

juov ziepc juov

tɕuo˦ tsiep˨˩ tɕuo˦

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Hmong-Mien (Mienic branch)

Meaning Iu MienHainaneseBouyeiTaishaneseZhuangHailu HakkaShanghai Wu
Water wuom /wuom˧/ 水 /tui˨˩˧/ raamx /ðaːm˧˩/ 水 /ɬui˧˧/ 淰 /ɣam˦˨/ 水 /ʃui˨˦/ 水 /sz̩˧˥/
Fire douz /tou˨˧/ 火 /hue˨˩˧/ feih /fei˧˩/ 火 /fɔ˥˥/ 火 /fei˧˩/ 火 /fo˨˦/ 火 /hu˧˥/
Sun mbaʼhnoi /ban̥oi˧/ 日头 /zit˧ hau˧˩/ ngonzbyaaiz /ŋon˩˩pjaːi˩˩/ 日头 /ɲit˨˨ heu˧˧/ 日 /taŋ˧˥ŋon˧˥/ 日頭 /ŋit˥ tʰeu˥˥/ 太阳 /tʰa˧ ɦiã˩/
Moon hlaax /l̥aː˨˧/ 月 /vue˧˧/ ronh /roːn˧˩/ 月光 /ɲut˧˧ kwɔŋ˨˨/ 月 /ɗɯːn˨˦/ 月光 /ŋiet˨ koŋ˥˧/ 月亮 /ɲyəʔ˩˨ liã˩/
Star hleix /l̥ei˨˧/ 星 /sɛ˨˧/ ndaux /ɗaːu˧˧/ 星 /ɬaŋ˧˧/ ndaundeiq /ɗaːu˨˦ɗei˧˥/ 星仔 /siaŋ˥˧ ɤ˥˥/ 星 /ɕin˥˧/
Night muonh /muon˧˩/ 暝头 /mɛ˧˩ hau˧˩/ haemh /ham˧˩/ 夜晚 /jɛ˧˨ man˧˧/ haemh /ham˧/ 暗晡夜 /am˩˩ pu˥˧ ʒa˧˧/ 夜里 /ɦia˨˧ li˨˧/
Rain mbiungc /biuŋ˨˩/ 雨 /hɔu˧˧/ — 雨 /ji˨˩/ 雰 /fɯn˨˦/ 雨 /ʒi˨˦/ 雨 /ɦy˨˧/
Snow sorng /sɔŋ˧/ 雪 /te˥˥/ nail /nɐi˨˦/ 雪 /ɬet˥˥/ 𱁣 /nai˨˦/ 雪 /siet˥/ 雪 /ɕiɪʔ˥/
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