Kuy
Austroasiatic (Katuic)
Kuy (ISO 639-3: kdt), also spelled Kuay or Kui, is a Western Katuic language of the Austroasiatic family spoken by roughly 450,000–500,000 people across northeastern Thailand, northern Cambodia, and southern Laos. It forms a dialect continuum that includes Kuuy, Kuay, and several regional varieties, and many speakers are bilingual in Thai, Khmer, or Lao. Kuy typically has SVO word order and a rich vowel system contrasting length as well as tense, clear versus lax, breathy phonation; these register differences also affect consonants and pitch. It has no single traditional script and is written locally in Thai, Khmer, Lao, or Latin-based community orthographies, with conventions differing by country and dialect.
Where it is spoken
87 core words in Kuy
Sources
- Ilia Peiros 2004, Austroasiatic lexicostatistical database (lexibank peirosaustroasiatic, language "Kui", kuyy1240), itself drawn from Prasert Srivises, Jerry W. Gainey & Theraphan L-Thongkum 1978, Kui (Suai)–Thai–English Dictionary (Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University, Indigenous Languages of Thailand Research Project)
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Austroasiatic (Katuic)
| Meaning | Kuy | Northern Khmer | Eastern Bru | Proto-Austroasiatic | Khmu | Bahnar | Khmer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | diaʔ /diaʔ/ | ទឹក /tɨʔ/ | daak /daːk/ | *ɗaːk /ɗaːk/ | ʔom /ʔom/ | đak /ɗaːk/ | ទឹក /tɨk/ |
| Fire | uh /ʔuh/ | ភ្លើង /pʰlɤːŋ/ | oih /ʔoiʔ/ | *ʔuːs /ʔuːs/ | pʰrɨə /pʰrɨə/ | unh /uɲ/ | ភ្លើង /pʰlɤːŋ/ |
| Sun | tʰaj /tʰaj/ | ថ្ងៃ /tʰŋaj/ | mat plei /mat plei/ | *tŋiːʔ /tŋiːʔ/ | mat briʔ /mat briʔ/ | măt ʼnăr /mat ʔnar/ | ព្រះអាទិត្យ /prĕəh ʔaːtɨt/ |
| Moon | luəŋ /luəŋ/ | ខែ /kʰɛː/ | kasai /kasai/ | *khe(ː)ʔ /kheːʔ/ | moŋ /moŋ/ | khei /kʰɛːj/ | ព្រះចន្ទ /prĕəh cɑn/ |
| Star | ntar /ntaːr/ | ផ្កាយ /pkaːj/ | mansơ /mənsɤ/ | *smʔaɲ /smʔaɲ/ | sərmeɲ /sərmeɲ/ | sơnglŏng /səŋlɔŋ/ | ផ្កាយ /pkaːj/ |
| Night | sadaw /sədaw/ | យប់ /jop/ | sadâu /sədaw/ | *cəːm /cəːm/ | psɨəm /psɨəm/ | măng /maŋ/ | យប់ /jup/ |
| Rain | məmia /məmia/ | ភ្លៀង /pʰliːɲ/ | mia /mia/ | *gmaʔ /ɡmaʔ/ | kəmaʔ /kəmaʔ/ | ʼmi /ʔmiː/ | ភ្លៀង /pʰliəŋ/ |
| Earth | ktɛːʔ /ktɛːʔ/ | ដី /ɗɛj/ | cutễq /kuteʔ/ | *tiʔ /tiʔ/ | pteʔ /pteʔ/ | teh /tɛh/ | ដី /dəj/ |
| Stone | tamaw /təmaw/ | ថ្ម /tʰmɑː/ | tamáu /təmaw/ | *tmɔʔ /tmɔʔ/ | glaŋ /ɡlaŋ/ | tơmo /təmo/ | ថ្ម /tʰmɑː/ |
| Mountain | bru /bru/ | ភ្នំ /pʰnom/ | cóh /kɔh/ | *bruʔ /bruʔ/ | mok /mok/ | kông /koːŋ/ | ភ្នំ /pʰnum/ |
| Sea | thle̤ː /tʰleː/ | — | dỡq mưt /dɤʔ mɨt/ | — | — | đak dơsĭ /ɗaːk dəsiʔ/ | សមុទ្រ /saˈmot/ |
| Mother | mə /mə/ | ម៉ែ /mɛː/ | amey /amej/ | *maʔ /maʔ/ | maʔ /maʔ/ | mei /mei/ | ម៉ែ /mae/ |
| Father | pə /pə/ | ឪ /ʔɤw/ | amung /amuŋ/ | *ɓa(ː)ʔ /ɓaːʔ/ | joŋ /joŋ/ | bă /bə/ | ប៉ា /paː/ |
| I | aɲ /ʔaɲ/ | អញ /ʔaɲ/ | cứq /kɯʔ/ | *ʔaɲ /ʔaɲ/ | oʔ /ʔoʔ/ | inh /iɲ/ | ខ្ញុំ /kʰɲom/ |
| You | may /maj/ | ឯង /ʔɛːɲ/ | mới /mɤːj/ | *miːʔ /miːʔ/ | meʔ /meʔ/ | ih /ʔih/ | ឯង /ʔaeŋ/ |
| We | hmai /m̥aj/ | យើង /jɤːŋ/ | hái / hếq /haj / heʔ/ | — /—/ | iʔ /ʔiʔ/ | bơn / nhon /bən / ɲon/ | យើង /jəːŋ/ |
| Name | mah /məh/ | ឈ្មោះ /cʰmoːh/ | ramoh /rəmɔːh/ | *ɟmuh /ɟmuh/ | sŋməh /sŋməh/ | anĕ /anɛ/ | ឈ្មោះ /cʰmuəh/ |
| Person | kuj /kuj/ | មនុស្ស /mnɨh/ | cũai /kuaj/ | *m-raʔ /mraʔ/ | gon /ɡon/ | bơngai /bəŋaːj/ | មនុស្ស /mɔˈnuh/ |
| Head | plɑː /plɑː/ | ក្បាល /kɓaːl/ | plỡ /plɤ/ | *ɓoːkʔ /ɓoːkʔ/ | kəmpoŋ /kəmpoŋ/ | kơl /kəl/ | ក្បាល /kbaːl/ |
| Eye | mɜ̤t /mɜt/ | ភ្នែក /pʰneːʔ/ | mat /mat/ | *mat /mat/ | mat /mat/ | mat /mat/ | ភ្នែក /pʰnɛːk/ |
| Ear | katɔr /kətɔr/ | ត្រចៀក /tciːʔ/ | cutũr /kutur/ | *Ctoːr /Ctoːr/ | rəməj /rəməj/ | đon /ɗɔːn/ | ត្រចៀក /trɑciək/ |
| Nose | muh /muh/ | ច្រមុះ /cmɔh/ | muh /muh/ | *muh /muh/ | muh /muh/ | muh /muh/ | ច្រមុះ /crɑmoh/ |
| Mouth | nɔh /nɔh/ | មាត់ /mɨət/ | bỗq /ɓoʔ/ | *miəŋʔ /miəŋʔ/ | tənɔh /tənɔh/ | ʼbơ̆r /ɓər/ | មាត់ /moət/ |
| Tooth | kaneːŋ /kəneːŋ/ | ធ្មេញ /tʰmeɲ/ | kanêng /kəneŋ/ | *lmVɲ /lməɲ/ | hraŋ /hraŋ/ | sơneng /səneŋ/ | ធ្មេញ /tʰmɨɲ/ |
| Tongue | ntaʔ /ntaʔ/ | អណ្ដាត /naːt/ | liayh /liajh/ | *lntaːk /lntaːk/ | həntak /həntak/ | rơpiêt /rəpiet/ | អណ្ដាត /ʔɑndaːt/ |
| Hand | təy /təj/ | ដៃ /ɗaj/ | ati /ati/ | *tiːʔ /tiːʔ/ | tiʔ /tiʔ/ | ti /ti/ | ដៃ /daj/ |
| Foot | ɟɯːŋ /ɟɯːŋ/ | ជើង /cɤːŋ/ | ayững /ajɨːŋ/ | *ɟəːŋ /ɟəːŋ/ | krwɛh /krwɛh/ | tơpang jơ̆ng /təpaːŋ ɟəŋ/ | ជើង /cəːŋ/ |
| Heart | chlaj /tʃʰlaj/ | បេះដូង /ɓɛh ɗoːŋ/ | plong /ploŋ/ | *nuːɕ /nuːɕ/ | tlɔːm ŋok /tlɔːm ŋok/ | blei /blei/ | បេះដូង /ɓeh doːŋ/ |
| Bone | hŋaːŋ /ŋ̊aːŋ/ | ឆ្អឹង /cʔɤŋ/ | nghang /ŋhaŋ/ | *cʔaːŋ /cʔaːŋ/ | cʼaaŋ /tʃʔaːŋ/ | kơting /kətiŋ/ | ឆ្អឹង /cʰʔəŋ/ |
| Blood | ʔəham /ʔəham/ | ឈាម /cʰiːəm/ | aham /ʔaham/ | *mham /mham/ | maːm /maːm/ | phăm /pʰam/ | ឈាម /cʰiəm/ |
| Poop | klɑːŋ /klɑːŋ/ | — | créq /kreʔ/ | *ʔicʔ /ʔicʔ/ | — | ĭch /ic/ | អាចម៍ /ʔacam/ |
| Love | phɯ /pʰɯ/ | ស្រឡាញ់ /slaɲ/ | hong /hoŋ/ | — /—/ | kɔɔh /kɔːh/ | rơngư /rəŋɨ/ | ស្នេហា /sneːhaː/ |
| Tree | ʔəŋ /ʔəŋ/ | ដើមឈើ /ɗɤːm cʰəː/ | aleng /aleŋ/ | *ɟɕɨːʔ /ɟɕɨːʔ/ | sʔɔːŋ /sʔɔːŋ/ | lông /loŋ/ | ដើមឈើ /daəm cʰɤː/ |
| Dog | ca /caː/ | ឆ្កែ /ckɛː/ | acho /atʃo/ | *cɔː /cɔː/ | sɔʔ /sɔʔ/ | kŏ /kɔʔ/ | ឆ្កែ /cʰkae/ |
| Cat | chhlɔːk /tʃʰlɔːk/ | ឆ្មា /cʰmaː/ | miew /mieu/ | — /—/ | mɛːw /mɛːw/ | miao /miao/ | ឆ្មា /cʰmaː/ |
| Fish | ka /kaː/ | ត្រី /trɛj/ | aka /ʔəka/ | *kaʔ /kaʔ/ | kaʼ /kaʔ/ | ka /kaː/ | ត្រី /trəj/ |
| Bird | cɛm /cɛm/ | — | chớm /tʃɤm/ | *ciːm /ciːm/ | sim /sim/ | sem /səm/ | សត្វស្លាប /sɑt slaːp/ |
| Butterfly | mphlaːp mphlaːp /mpʰlaːp mpʰlaːp/ | — | — | — | tlaːmpaːm /tlaːmpaːm/ | — | មេអំបៅ /meː ʔɑmbaw/ |
| Egg | nthrɛ̤ːl /ntʰrɛːl/ | ពង /puːəŋ/ | tarễl /tərel/ | *ktam /ktam/ | kədoŋ /kədoŋ/ | kơtăp /kətap/ | ពង /pɔŋ/ |
| House | pno /pno/ | ផ្ទះ /ptiəh/ | dung /duŋ/ | *ɲaːʔ /ɲaːʔ/ | gaːŋ /ɡaːŋ/ | hnam /hnam/ | ផ្ទះ /pʰtĕəh/ |
| Milk | nom /nom/ | ទឹកដោះ /tɨʔ ɗah/ | dỡq tóh /dɤʔ tɔh/ | — | — | đak toh /ɗaːk tɔh/ | ទឹកដោះគោ /tɨk ɗɑh koː/ |
| Salt | phɑ̤ːh /pʰɑːh/ | អំបិល /mmel/ | boi /ɓɔːj/ | *ɓɔːh /ɓɔːh/ | hmaar /hmaːr/ | boh /ɓɔh/ | អំបិល /ʔɑmbəl/ |
| Rice | ŋkaːw /ŋkaːw/ | បាយ /ɓaːj/ | — | *rŋkoːʔ /rŋkoːʔ/ | ʰŋɔʔ /ʰŋɔʔ/ | ʼba /ɓaː/ | អង្ករ /ʔɑŋˈkɑː/ |
| Iron | taːʔ /taːʔ/ | ដែក /ɗɛːʔ/ | tac /tak/ | — | cndroh /cndroh/ | bơxey /bəsɛːj/ | ដែក /ɗaek/ |
| Wheel | kɑŋ /kɑŋ/ | កង់ /kɑŋ/ | carvang /karvaŋ/ | — | — | tang-wang /taːŋ waːŋ/ | កង់ /kɑŋ/ |
| Silk | soːt /soːt/ | សូត្រ /soːt/ | dai /daj/ | — | — | — | សូត្រ /soːt/ |
| Eat | sap /sap/ | ស៊ី /siː/ | cha /tʃa/ | *ɟaː /ɟaː/ | mah /mah/ | sa /sa/ | ញ៉ាំ /ɲam/ |
| Drink | suəm /suəm/ | ផឹក /pʰɤʔ/ | ngoot /ŋoːt/ | *ɲuʔ /ɲuʔ/ | ʔɨək /ʔɨək/ | ngoah /ŋoah/ | ផឹក /pʰək/ |
| Sleep | ŋɛt /ŋɛt/ | ដេក /ɗeːʔ/ | bếq /ɓeʔ/ | *ɓic /ɓic/ | sih /sih/ | têp /tɛp/ | ដេក /deːk/ |
| One | mṳːy /muj/ | មួយ /muːj/ | muoi /muoi/ | *muːj /muːj/ | moj /moj/ | minh /miɲ/ | មួយ /muəj/ |
| Two | bia /bia/ | ពីរ /piːr/ | bar /ɓaːr/ | *ɓaːr /ɓaːr/ | baar /baːr/ | bar /ɓaːr/ | ពីរ /piː/ |
| Three | pei /pəj/ | បី /ɓɛj/ | pái /paːi/ | *peʔ /peʔ/ | peʼ /peʔ/ | pêng /peːŋ/ | បី /ɓəj/ |
| Four | apɔːn /ʔapɔːn/ | បួន /ɓuːn/ | pôn /põːn/ | *punʔ /punʔ/ | pon /pon/ | puăn /pwan/ | បួន /ɓuən/ |
| Five | asʌːŋ /ʔasʌːŋ/ | ប្រាំ /ɓram/ | sỡng /sɤŋ/ | *pɗam /pɗam/ | — | pơđăm /pəʔɗam/ | ប្រាំ /praːm/ |
| Hundred | muːj ruʌj /muːj ruʌj/ | រយ /ruːəj/ | culam /kulam/ | — | — | hreng /hreŋ/ | រយ /rɔːj/ |
| Hello | sabaaj /sabaːj/ | សួស្តី /suːəsdəj/ | te /te/ | — /—/ | lɔh /lɔh/ | ô /o/ | សួស្តី /suəsdəj/ |
| Thank you | khɔp /kʰɔp/ | អរគុណ /ʔɔːkun/ | kuhng /kuhŋ/ | — /—/ | ɔrkun /ʔɔrkun/ | kơbi /kəbi/ | អរគុណ /ʔɑːkun/ |
| Good | ɟɔ /ɟɔ/ | ល្អ /lʔɑː/ | huom /huom/ | — /—/ | ləʔ /ləʔ/ | ʼlơ̆ng /ʔləŋ/ | ល្អ /lʔɑː/ |
| New | tamaj /təmaj/ | ថ្មី /tʰmɛj/ | tamái /təmaj/ | *tmeːʔ /tmeːʔ/ | həmmeʔ /həmmeʔ/ | nao /ʔnao/ | ថ្មី /tʰməj/ |
| Red | kəsaw /kəsaw/ | ក្រហម /khɑːm/ | kusaw /kəsaw/ | *roːŋ /roːŋ/ | jim /jim/ | bre /ɓreː/ | ក្រហម /krɑhɑːm/ |
| White | buaʔ /buaʔ/ | ស /sɑː/ | cloc /klɔːk/ | *ɓɔːk /ɓɔːk/ | klɔɔk /klɔːk/ | kok /kɔːk/ | ស /sɑː/ |
| Black | twɛɲ /twɛɲ/ | ខ្មៅ /kʰmaw/ | cũm /kum/ | *Cjoŋ /Cjoŋ/ | hiəŋ /hiəŋ/ | găm /ɡam/ | ខ្មៅ /kmaw/ |
| Green | khew /kʰew/ | ខៀវ /kʰiːw/ | ramoong /rəmɔːŋ/ | — | siw /siw/ | jơk /ɟəːk/ | បៃតង /ɓajtɑːŋ/ |
| Tea | tɛː /tɛː/ | តែ /tɛː/ | — | — | — | — | តែ /tae/ |
| Sugar | ŋʔɑːj /ŋʔɑːj/ | ស្ករ /skɑːr/ | — | — | — | — | ស្ករ /skɑː/ |
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