थारू

Tharu

Indo-European

FamilyIndo-European Speakers~2M (vibrant for Dangaura/Rana) ScriptDevanagari CountriesNepal Official inNo (Nepali is the official language; all mother tongues are languages of the nation under the 2015 Constitution) Vitalityvulnerable

Tharu is an Indo-Aryan language cluster of around 2 million speakers, primarily in the Terai lowlands of southern Nepal (Dang, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur districts) and adjacent areas of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India. The Tharu are an indigenous people who have inhabited the Terai for centuries, traditionally believed to have a degree of natural malaria resistance that allowed them to settle the formerly malarial lowlands. Linguistically, Tharu is part of the Eastern Indo-Aryan continuum, closely related to Bhojpuri (bho), Maithili (mai), and Awadhi (awa), but with distinctive Tharu vocabulary and dialect features. The ISO macrolanguage code "thr" specifically refers to Rana Tharu, while sister varieties like Dangaura Tharu (thl), Kochila Tharu (thq), and Chitwania Tharu (the) are linguistically distinct enough to be considered separate languages by some scholars. Despite vibrant speaker numbers, UNESCO classifies Tharu as vulnerable due to relentless Nepali and Hindi pressure in education and media.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Tharu

Water

पानी

paːniː

Fire

आगी

aːɡiː

Sun

सूरज

suːrədʒ

Moon

जोनी

dʒoːniː

Star

तारा

taːraː

Night

रात

raːt

Rain

मेंहें

mẽɦẽ

Snow

बरफ

bərəpʰ

Wind

ब्यार

bjaːr

Earth

माटी

maːʈiː

Stone

पथरा

pətʰraː

Mountain

पहाड़

pəɦaːɽ

Sea

समुंदर

səmundər

Mother

माई

maːiː

Father

बबा

bəbaː

Daughter

लौड़िया

ˈlɔːɽijaː

I

हम

ɦəm

You

तैं

tɛ̃ː

We

हमरे

ɦəmre

Name

नाओं

naːõ

Person

इंसान

insaːn

Head

मूड़

muːɽ

Eye

आँखी

ãːkʰiː

Ear

कान

kaːn

Nose

नाक

naːk

Mouth

मोहों

moɦõː

Tooth

दाँत

dãt

Tongue

जीभ

dʒiːbʱ

Hand

हाथ

haːtʰ

Foot

गोड़

ɡoːɽ

Heart

मन

man

Bone

हड्डा

həɖːaː

Blood

रगत

raɡat

Love

माया

maːjaː

Tree

पेंड़

pẽːɽ

Dog

कुकुर

kukur

Cat

बिलार

bilaːɾ

Fish

माछ

maːtʃʰ

Bird

चिरई

tʃiraiː

Egg

अंडा

əɳɖaː

Bear

भलुआ

bʱəluaː

Horse

घोड़ा

ɡʱoːɽaː

House

घर

ɡʱəɾ

Milk

दूद

duːd

Honey

सहद

səɦəd

Salt

नून

nuːn

Wine

दाखरस

daːkʰras

Iron

लोहो

loːɦo

Book

किताब

kitaːb

Eat

खानो

kʰaːno

Drink

पीनो

piːno

Sleep

सुतना

sutnaː

One

एक

eːk

Two

दुइ

dui

Three

तीन

tiːn

Four

चार

tʃaːr

Five

पाँच

pãːtʃ

Hundred

सौ

sau

Hello

राम राम

raːm raːm

Thank you

धन्यवाद

dʱənjəbaːd

Good

नीक

niːk

New

नया

nəjaː

Red

लाल

laːl

White

सफेद

səpʰeːd

Black

कारो

kaːro

Green

हरो

ɦəro

Blue

निलो

nilo

Ninety-nine

निन्यानवे

ninjaːnəʋe

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European

Meaning TharuAngikaAwadhiMagahiChhattisgarhiBhojpuriMaithili
Water पानी /paːniː/ पानी /paːniː/ पानी /paːniː/ पानी /paːni/ पानी /paːni/ पानी /paːniː/ पानि /paːni/
Fire आगी /aːɡiː/ आग /aːɡ/ आगि /aːɡi/ आग /aːɡ/ आगि /aːɡi/ आगि /aːɡɪ/ आगि /aːɡi/
Sun सूरज /suːrədʒ/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/ सूरज /suːrəj/ सुरुज /suɾudʒ/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/
Moon जोनी /dʒoːniː/ चान /tʃaːn/ चान /tʃaːn/ चान /tʃaːn/ चंदा /tʃəndaː/ चान /tʃaːn/ चान /tʃaːn/
Star तारा /taːraː/ तारा /taːraː/ तारा /taːraː/ तारा /taːraː/ तारा /taːraː/ तारा /taːɾaː/ तारा /taːraː/
Night रात /raːt/ रात /raːt/ राति /raːti/ रात /raːt/ रात /raːt/ राति /raːtɪ/ राति /raːti/
Rain मेंहें /mẽɦẽ/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/ बारिस /baːris/ बरखा /bəɾəkʰaː/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/
Snow बरफ /bərəpʰ/ बरफ /bərəf/ बरफ /bəɾəf/ बरफ /bərəf/ बरफ /bəɾəf/ बरफ /bəɾəf/ बरफ /bərəf/
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