Hədi

Hdi

Afro-Asiatic (Chadic, Central, Mafa-Bata subgroup)

FamilyAfro-Asiatic (Chadic, Central, Mafa-Bata subgroup) Speakers~30K ScriptLatin CountriesCameroon Official inNo (English/French in Cameroon; Arabic in northeast Nigeria) Vitalityvulnerable ISO 639-3xed

Hdi (formerly Hidé, Hide) is a Chadic language of the Mandara Mountains in northern Cameroon, near the Nigerian border. It is famous in linguistic literature for being one of the few documented African languages with an [+/-ATR] vowel harmony system fully comparable to West African Atlantic-Congo languages, despite its Afro-Asiatic affiliation. Hdi has a rich glottal-consonant inventory including voiced and voiceless implosives (ɓ, ɗ), and Frajzyngier's 2002 reference grammar is a major work in Chadic linguistics. The Hdi people are subsistence farmers in the rocky Mandara terrain.

Where it is spoken

Wear this language Pick the words you like, printed in the same typeface the map uses. Make a T-shirt from Hdi words →

87 core words in Hdi

Water

ìmí

ìmí

Fire

vú

vú

Sun

fìtík

fìtík

Moon

tili

tili

Star

tekwatsa

tekwatsa

Night

rvíɗìk

rvíɗìk

Wind

falak

falak

Earth

xàɗík

xàɗík

Stone

pala

pala

Mountain

ghwá

ɣʷá

Sea

drəf

drəf

Mother

má

má

Father

dá

dá

Daughter

makwa

makʷa

I

íí

íí

You

kághá

káɣá

We

ámú / áŋní

ámú / áŋní

Name

xgà

xɡà

Person

mndu

mndu

Head

ghəŋ

ɣəŋ

Eye

ìrí

ìrí

Ear

sləməŋ

ɬəməŋ

Nose

xtsíŋ

xtsíŋ

Mouth

wa

wa

Tooth

sliʼiŋ

ɬiʔiŋ

Tongue

ghanik

ɣanik

Hand

dzvú

dzvú

Foot

səla

səla

Heart

ŋùɗùf

ŋùɗùf

Bone

ghudzif

ɣudzif

Blood

us

us

Poop

ghúvì

ɣúvì

Love

ɗvú

ɗvú

Tree

fú

fú

Dog

krì

krì

Cat

ùvá

ùvá

Fish

klipi

klipi

Bird

ɗyak

ɗjak

Egg

slislik

ɬiɬik

Horse

plis

plis

House

hgá

hɡá

Milk

uʼa

uʔa

Honey

zuɗum

zuɗum

Salt

hlùghúl

ɬùɣúl

Wine

ima inabi

ima inabi

Iron

kfur

kfur

Book

deftera

deftera

Eat

za

za

Drink

sa

sa

Sleep

xàná

xàná

One

tùrtúkw

tùrtúkʷ

Two

xìs

xìs

Three

xkán

xkán

Four

fwaɗ

fwaɗ

Five

hùtáf

hùtáf

Hundred

dərmək

dərmək

Hello

zgú

zɡú

Thank you

ŋkáʼ

ŋkáʔ

Good

zɗá

zɗá

New

lfiɗa

lfiɗa

Red

dvá

dvá

White

ŋúhlín

ŋúɬín

Black

ŋəra

ŋəra

Green

kùzún-kùzún

kùzún kùzún

Sugar

súkùr

súkùr

Ninety-nine

təmbay mbsak təmbay mida

təmbaj mbsak təmbaj mida

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Afro-Asiatic (Chadic, Central, Mafa-Bata subgroup)

Meaning HdiDabaLingalaKeraAguarunaPirahãDakota
Water ìmí /ìmí/ yim /jim/ máí /máí/ kan /kan/ yumi /jumi/ pií /pií/ mní /mní/
Fire vú /vú/ kuhu /kuhu/ mɔ́tɔ /mɔ́tɔ/ cəwa /tʃə̄wā/ jii /hiː/ hoaí /hoaí/ phéta /pʰéta/
Sun fìtík /fìtík/ pic /pitʃ/ mói /mói/ cəwa /tʃə́wá/ etsá /ɨtsá/ hisí /hisí/ aŋpétuwí /aŋpétuwí/
Moon tili /tili/ təra /təra/ sánzá /sánzá/ kitir /kitiɾ/ nántu /nántu/ kaháíxáii /kaháíʔáii/ haŋyétuwí /haŋjétuwí/
Star tekwatsa /tekwatsa/ gəməzla /ɡəməɮa/ monzoto /monzɔtɔ/ seska /seska/ yaya /jaja/ — /—/ wičaȟpi /witʃaχpi/
Night rvíɗìk /rvíɗìk/ vùɗu /vùɗu/ butu /butu/ duugŋ /duːɡŋ/ kashi /kaʃi/ xahoái /ʔahoái/ haŋyetu /hãjetu/
Wind falak /falak/ mit /mit/ mopepe /mopepe/ kaŋkaw /kaŋkaw/ dase /dasɨ/ xohói /ʔohói/ tate /tateˀ/
Earth xàɗík /xàɗík/ xàyik /xàjik/ mabele /mabele/ seŋka /seŋka/ nugka /nuɡka/ bigí /biɡí/ makȟá /makʰá/
Page 1/9

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