Proto-Hmong-Mien
Proto-language (reconstructed) · historical / hidden variety
Proto-Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Hmong-Mien family of southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. On comparative-linguistic grounds it is commonly dated to around 500 BCE (about 2500 years ago, the mid-1st millennium BCE), with a hypothetical homeland in the middle Yangtze region, though its time depth is contested and some instead link it to older Neolithic rice-farming cultures. Only part of its basic vocabulary can be securely reconstructed, so most cells here are left blank.
Where it is spoken
87 core words in Proto-Hmong-Mien
Sources
- Ratliff (2010) Hmong-Mien Language History
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Proto-language (reconstructed)
| Meaning | Proto-Hmong-Mien | Messapic | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Scythian | Tartessian | Liburnian | Iberian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | *ʔuwm /ʔuwm/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | *douˣ /dou/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | *hlaᴴ /hla/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Night | *hməŋH /hməŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Rain | *naŋ /naŋ/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wind | *N-cæwH /ncæw/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Earth | *N-təu /ntəu/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stone | *ʔrəu /ʔrəu/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mother | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | *pjaˣ /pja/ | ana /ˈana/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| I | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| You | *mu̯ei /mu̯ei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| We | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | *mpɔuᴴ /mpɔu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Head | *S-phreiX /S-pʰrei/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eye | *mu̯ɛjᴴ /mu̯ɛj/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | spou /spu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Ear | *mbræu /mbræu/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nose | *mbru̯iᴴ /mbru̯i/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mouth | *ɲɟuj /ɲɟuj/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tooth | *hmjinX /m̥jin/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tongue | *mblet /mblet/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | *bɔuˣ /bɔu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Foot | *towC /tow/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bone | *tshuŋX /tsʰuŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Blood | *ntshjamX /ntsʰjam/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | *ntju̯əŋᴴ /ntju̯əŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | *qluwˣ /qluw/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fish | *mbrəuX /mbrəu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bird | *m-nɔk /m-nɔk/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Butterfly | *mpleuᴴ /mpleu/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| House | *prəuˣ /prəu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Salt | *ntsjəuX /ntsjəu/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | *hup /hup/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sleep | *pu̯eiᴴ /pu̯ei/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| One | *ʔɨ /ʔɨ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | arima /arima/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ban /ban/ |
| Two | *ʔwei /ʔwei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | bi /bi/ |
| Three | *pjɔu /pjɔu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | irur /irur/ |
| Four | *plei /plei/ | — | — | — | — | — | laur /laur/ |
| Five | *prja /prja/ | — | — | — | — | — | borste /borste/ |
| Hundred | *pæk /pæk/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | *-ʔrɔŋᴴ /ʔrɔŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| New | *tshji̯əŋ /tsʰji̯əŋ/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Red | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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