Karjalan kieli

Karelian

Uralic (Finnic)

FamilyUralic (Finnic) Speakers~25K ScriptLatin (Finnish-style) CountriesRussia (Republic of Karelia), Finland Official inRepublic of Karelia (recognized) Vitalitydefinitely endangered ISO 639-3krl

Karelian (karjala) is a Finnic Uralic language closely related to Finnish, spoken by ~25-36K people in the Russian Republic of Karelia, Tver Oblast (a 17th-century enclave of Karelians who fled to Russia after the 1617 Treaty of Stolbovo) and eastern Finland. It splits into three main dialect groups: Karelian Proper (north & south), Livvi-Karelian (Olonets Karelian), and Ludic — sometimes treated as separate languages. UNESCO classes it as definitely endangered. Russia recognizes it regionally but it has no official language status in the Republic of Karelia (which uses only Russian, the only Russian republic without a co-official titular language). The famous Kalevala oral epic was collected from Karelian rune singers in Viena Karelia by Elias Lönnrot in 1835, becoming the foundational text of Finnish national identity. A modern unified Latin orthography was standardized in 2007.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Karelian

Water

vesi

ˈvesʲi

Fire

tuli

ˈtuli

Sun

päivä

ˈpæivæ

Moon

kuu

kuː

Star

tähti

ˈtʲæhtʲi

Night

yö

yø

Rain

vihma

ˈvihmɑ

Snow

lumi

lumi

Wind

tuuli

ˈtuːlʲi

Earth

mua

mua

Stone

kivi

ˈkivi

Mountain

vuara

ˈvuara

Sea

meri

ˈmeri

Mother

muamo

ˈmuamo

Father

tuatto

ˈtuatto

Daughter

tytär

ˈtʲytʲær

I

mie

mie

You

sie

sie

We

myö

myø

Name

nimi

ˈnʲimi

Person

ihmini

ˈihminʲi

Head

piä

piæ

Eye

šilmä

ˈʃilmæ

Ear

korva

ˈkorva

Nose

nenä

ˈnenæ

Mouth

šuu

ʃuː

Tooth

hammaš

ˈhɑmːɑʃ

Tongue

kieli

ˈkie̯lʲi

Hand

käsi

ˈkæsʲi

Foot

jalka

jɑlkɑ

Heart

syväin

ˈsyvæin

Bone

luu

luː

Blood

veri

ˈverʲi

Poop

šitta

ˈʃitta

Love

tykätä

ˈtykætæ

Tree

puu

puː

Dog

koira

ˈkoirɑ

Cat

kišša

ˈkiʃːɑ

Fish

kala

ˈkɑlɑ

Bird

lintu

ˈlʲintu

Butterfly

liipukkaini

ˈliːpukːɑini

Egg

muna

muna

Bear

kontie

ˈkontie̯

Horse

hepo

ˈhepo

House

koti

ˈkoti

Milk

maito

ˈmaito

Honey

mesi

ˈmesi

Salt

šuola

ˈʃuola

Wine

viina

ˈviːna

Rice

risu

ˈrisu

Chocolate

šokolada

ˈʃokolada

Iron

rauta

ˈrauta

Wheel

pyörä

ˈpyøræ

Silk

šulku

ˈʃulku

Book

kirja

ˈkirja

Eat

šyyvvä

ˈʃyːvːæ

Drink

juuvva

ˈjuːvːa

Sleep

muata

ˈmuɑtɑ

One

yksi

ˈyksʲi

Two

kakši

ˈkakʃi

Three

kolme

ˈkolme

Four

nellä

ˈnʲelʲːæ

Five

viisi

ˈviːsʲi

Hundred

šata

ˈʃata

Hello

terveh

ˈterveh

Thank you

passibo

ˈpassibo

Good

hyvä

ˈhyvæ

New

uuši

ˈuːʃi

Red

ruškie

ˈruʃkie̯

White

valkie

ˈvɑlkie

Black

mušta

ˈmuʃta

Green

vihanta

ˈvihanta

Blue

sinini

ˈsinini

Cuckoo

käki

ˈkæki

Computer

tiedokoneh

ˈtie̯dokoneh

Tea

čuaju

ˈtʃuaju

Coffee

kahvi

ˈkahvi

Sugar

šokeri

ˈʃokeri

Orange

apelʼsiini

ˈɑpelʲsiːni

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Uralic (Finnic)

Meaning KarelianLivvi-KarelianMeänkieliKven FinnishVoticFinnishVeps
Water vesi /ˈvesʲi/ vezi /ˈvezi/ vesi /ˈʋesi/ vesi /ˈʋesi/ vesi /ˈvesi/ vesi /ʋesi/ vezi /ˈvezi/
Fire tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /tuli/ lämoi /ˈlæmoi/
Sun päivä /ˈpæivæ/ päivy /ˈpæivy/ aurinko /ˈɑuriŋko/ aurinko /ˈɑuriŋko/ päivä /ˈpæivæ/ aurinko /ɑuriŋko/ päiväine /ˈpæivæine/
Moon kuu /kuː/ kuudam /ˈkuːdɑm/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ ku /ku/
Star tähti /ˈtʲæhtʲi/ tiähti /ˈtiæxti/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähtaz /ˈtæhtaz/
Night yö /yø/ yö /yø/ yö /yø/ yö /yø/ öö /øː/ yö /yø/ ö /ø/
Rain vihma /ˈvihmɑ/ vihmu /ˈvihmu/ sae /sae/ sađet /ˈsɑðet/ vihma /ˈvihma/ sade /ˈsɑde/ vihm /ˈvihm/
Snow lumi /lumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /lumi/ lumi /lumi/
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