This is a Swadesh list of words in Awadhi, compared with definitions in English.
American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.
| № | English | Awadhi अवधी (avdhī) edit (112) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | I (1sg) | मैं (ma͠i) |
| 2 | you (2sg) | तुइ (tui), तुम (tum) (formal) |
| 3 | he, she, it (3sg) | इउ (iu) (masculine proximal), यहु (yahu) (masculine proximal), या (yā) (feminine proximal), यह (yah) (feminine proximal), ऊ (ū) (masculine distal), वहु (vahu) (masculine distal), वा (vā) (feminine distal), वह (vah) (feminine distal) |
| 4 | we (1pl) | हम (ham) |
| 5 | you (2pl) | तुम (tum) |
| 6 | they (3pl) | ई (ī) (proximal), उइ (ui) (distal) |
| 7 | this | इउ (iu) (masculine proximal), यहु (yahu) (masculine proximal), या (yā) (feminine proximal), यह (yah) (feminine proximal) |
| 8 | that | ऊ (ū) (masculine distal), वहु (vahu) (masculine distal), वा (vā) (feminine distal), वह (vah) (feminine distal) |
| 9 | here | हिआँ (hiā̃) |
| 10 | there | हुआँ (huā̃) |
| 11 | who | को (ko), कौन (kaun) |
| 12 | what | का (kā) |
| 13 | where | कहाँ (kahā̃), कहँवा (kahãvā) (Eastern Awadhi) |
| 14 | when | कब (kab), कब्बै (kabbai) (Eastern Awadhi) |
| 15 | how | कैस (kais), कस (kas), कैसे (kaise) |
| 16 | not | नाई (nāī), नाहीं (nāhī̃), नहीं (nahī̃) |
| 17 | all | सब (sab) |
| 18 | many | बहुत (bahut), ढेर (ḍher) |
| 19 | some | |
| 20 | few | थोरा (thorā) |
| 21 | other | आन (ān) |
| 22 | one | एक (ek), याक (yāk) (dialectal) |
| 23 | two | दुइ (dui) |
| 24 | three | तीन (tīni) |
| 25 | four | चार (cāri) |
| 26 | five | पाँच (pā̃c), पान (pān) (dialectal) |
| 27 | big | बड़ा (baṛā) |
| 28 | long | लंबा (lambā) |
| 29 | wide | |
| 30 | thick | सहन (sahan) |
| 31 | heavy | गरू (garū) |
| 32 | small | छोट (choṭ) |
| 33 | short | |
| 34 | narrow | |
| 35 | thin | पातर (pātar), दूबर (dūbar) |
| 36 | woman | औरत (aurat) |
| 37 | man (adult male) | मनई (manaī), अदमी (admī) |
| 38 | man (human being) | जना (janā) |
| 39 | child | |
| 40 | wife | मेहारू (mehārū), मेहरवा (meharvā), इस्तिरी (istirī) |
| 41 | husband | भतेरा (bhaterā) |
| 42 | mother | |
| 43 | father | |
| 44 | animal | |
| 45 | fish | मछरी (machrī) |
| 46 | bird | चिरैया (ciraiyā) |
| 47 | dog | कुतवा (kutvā) |
| 48 | louse | जुँआ (jũā) |
| 49 | snake | साँप (sā̃pu) |
| 50 | worm | |
| 51 | tree | बिरवा (birvā) |
| 52 | forest | |
| 53 | stick | लाठी (lāṭhī), स्वाँटा (svā̃ṭā), छड़ी (chaṛī) |
| 54 | fruit | फल (phal) |
| 55 | seed | बिआ (biā) |
| 56 | leaf | पाती (pātī) |
| 57 | root | |
| 58 | bark (of a tree) | |
| 59 | flower | फूल (phūl) |
| 60 | grass | |
| 61 | rope | |
| 62 | skin | |
| 63 | meat | |
| 64 | blood | रकत (rakat) |
| 65 | bone | हाँड़ (hā̃ṛ) |
| 66 | fat (noun) | |
| 67 | egg | |
| 68 | horn | सींग (sīṅg) |
| 69 | tail | |
| 70 | feather | |
| 71 | hair | |
| 72 | head | |
| 73 | ear | कान (kān) |
| 74 | eye | आँखि (ā̃khi) |
| 75 | nose | |
| 76 | mouth | मुह (muh) |
| 77 | tooth | दाँत (dā̃t) |
| 78 | tongue (organ) | जीभ (jībh) |
| 79 | fingernail | नह (nah) |
| 80 | foot | गोड़ (goṛ) |
| 81 | leg | टाँग (ṭāṅg) |
| 82 | knee | |
| 83 | hand | हाँथ (hā̃th), हाथ (hāthu) |
| 84 | wing | |
| 85 | belly | पेट (peṭ) |
| 86 | guts | |
| 87 | neck | घींच (ghī̃c), घोंटुआ (ghõṭuā) |
| 88 | back | पीठ (pīṭh) |
| 89 | breast | आँचर (ā̃car) |
| 90 | heart | |
| 91 | liver | |
| 92 | to drink | |
| 93 | to eat | खावब (khāvab) |
| 94 | to bite | काटब (kāṭab) |
| 95 | to suck | |
| 96 | to spit | |
| 97 | to vomit | |
| 98 | to blow | |
| 99 | to breathe | |
| 100 | to laugh | हँसब (hãsab) |
| 101 | to see | देखब (dekhab) |
| 102 | to hear | सुनब (sunab) |
| 103 | to know | जानब (jānab) |
| 104 | to think | |
| 105 | to smell | सूँघब (sūṅghab) |
| 106 | to fear | |
| 107 | to sleep | |
| 108 | to live | |
| 109 | to die | मरब (marab) |
| 110 | to kill | मारब (mārab) |
| 111 | to fight | |
| 112 | to hunt | |
| 113 | to hit | मारब (mārab) |
| 114 | to cut | काटब (kāṭab) |
| 115 | to split | |
| 116 | to stab | |
| 117 | to scratch | |
| 118 | to dig | |
| 119 | to swim | |
| 120 | to fly | उड़ब (uṛab) |
| 121 | to walk | |
| 122 | to come | |
| 123 | to lie (as in a bed) | |
| 124 | to sit | बैठब (baiṭhab) |
| 125 | to stand | ठाढ़ होब (ṭhāṛh hob) |
| 126 | to turn (intransitive) | |
| 127 | to fall | गिरब (girab) |
| 128 | to give | देब (deb) |
| 129 | to hold | |
| 130 | to squeeze | |
| 131 | to rub | |
| 132 | to wash | धोवब (dhovab) |
| 133 | to wipe | पोंछब (põchab) |
| 134 | to pull | |
| 135 | to push | |
| 136 | to throw | |
| 137 | to tie | बाँधब (bāndhab) |
| 138 | to sew | सिंअब (sĩab) |
| 139 | to count | गनब (ganab) |
| 140 | to say | कहब (kahab) |
| 141 | to sing | |
| 142 | to play | |
| 143 | to float | |
| 144 | to flow | |
| 145 | to freeze | |
| 146 | to swell | |
| 147 | sun | |
| 148 | moon | |
| 149 | star | नखत (nakhat) |
| 150 | water | पानी (pānī) |
| 151 | rain | |
| 152 | river | |
| 153 | lake | |
| 154 | sea | |
| 155 | salt | लोन (lon), नोन (non) |
| 156 | stone | पाथर (pāthar) |
| 157 | sand | |
| 158 | dust | |
| 159 | earth | भुइँ (bhuĩ) |
| 160 | cloud | |
| 161 | fog | |
| 162 | sky | |
| 163 | wind | बजार (bajāri) |
| 164 | snow | |
| 165 | ice | |
| 166 | smoke | |
| 167 | fire | आग (āgi), आगी (āgī) |
| 168 | ash | |
| 169 | to burn | जरब (jarab) (intransitive), जारब (jārab) (transitive) |
| 170 | road | |
| 171 | mountain | |
| 172 | red | लाल (lāl) |
| 173 | green | |
| 174 | yellow | |
| 175 | white | सपेत (sapet), उजर (ujar) |
| 176 | black | करिआ (kariā) |
| 177 | night | |
| 178 | day | |
| 179 | year | |
| 180 | warm | तात (tāt) |
| 181 | cold | ठंढ (ṭhaṇḍh), जूड़ (jūṛ), सील (sīl) |
| 182 | full | |
| 183 | new | |
| 184 | old | बूढ़ (būṛh) (person) |
| 185 | good | नीक (nīk), आछा (āchā) |
| 186 | bad | खराब (kharāb) |
| 187 | rotten | |
| 188 | dirty | |
| 189 | straight | |
| 190 | round | |
| 191 | sharp (as a knife) | पैन (pain) |
| 192 | dull (as a knife) | |
| 193 | smooth | चीकन (cīkan) |
| 194 | wet | गील (gīl) |
| 195 | dry | सूख (sūkh) |
| 196 | correct | साँच (sā̃cu) (true) |
| 197 | near | नेरे (nere), नगीचे (nagīce), तीर (tīr) |
| 198 | far | दूर (dūri) |
| 199 | right | |
| 200 | left | |
| 201 | at | पे (pe), पर (par), परिहाँ (parihā̃) |
| 202 | in | मे (me), मा (mā), मैहाँ (maihā̃) |
| 203 | with | साथ (sāth) |
| 204 | and | अउ (au), औ (au) |
| 205 | if | |
| 206 | because | |
| 207 | name |