This is a Swadesh list of words in Pashto, 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 | Pashto پښتو edit (65) | IPA (key) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I (1sg) | زه (zə) | zə |
| 2 | you (2sg) | ته (tə) | tə |
| 3 | he, she, it (3sg) | دی (day) (masculine), دا (dâ) (feminine) | d̪ai, d̪ɑ |
| 4 | we (1pl) | موږ (muẓ̌) | muʐ~muʝ~munɡ~miʒ |
| 5 | you (2pl) | تاسو (tāso), تاسې (tāse) | ˈtɑso, ˈtɑse |
| 6 | they (3pl) | دوی | d̪uj |
| 7 | this | دغه | d̪əɣa |
| 8 | that | هغه | haɣə |
| 9 | here | دلته | ˈd̪əlt̪a |
| 10 | there | هلته | ˈhalta |
| 11 | who | څوک (śok) | t͡sok |
| 12 | what | څه | |
| 13 | where | چېرې | |
| 14 | when | کله (kəla) | kəla |
| 15 | how | څنګه (tsanga) | ˈt͡səŋˌɡə |
| 16 | not | نه (nə) | nə |
| 17 | all | ټول | |
| 18 | many | ډېر (ḍér) | ɖer |
| 19 | some | ځينې (źine) | ˈdzine~ˈzine |
| 20 | few | لږ (lëģ) | ləɡ~ləʝ~ləʐ~ləʒ |
| 21 | other | بل (bël) | bël |
| 22 | one | يو (yaw) | jaw |
| 23 | two | دوه (dwa) | dwa |
| 24 | three | درې (dre) | d̪re |
| 25 | four | څلور (calor) | t͡sa.lor~t͡salwor~t͡salwur |
| 26 | five | پنځه | pinˈdzə~pinˈzə |
| 27 | big | غټ (ǧaṭ) | ɣaʈ |
| 28 | long | اوږد (uģd) | uʐd̪~ uɡd̪~wuɡd̪~wuʒd̪~uˈɡəd |
| 29 | wide | ||
| 30 | thick | ||
| 31 | heavy | ||
| 32 | small | ||
| 33 | short | ||
| 34 | narrow | ||
| 35 | thin | ||
| 36 | woman | ښځه (ẍëźa) | ʂəˈd͡za~xəˈd͡za~ˈçəd͡za |
| 37 | man (adult male) | سړی (saṛáy) | sa.ɺ̢aˈɪ |
| 38 | man (human being) | انسان | |
| 39 | child | ||
| 40 | wife | ||
| 41 | husband | ||
| 42 | mother | مور (mor) | mor |
| 43 | father | پلار (plār) | |
| 44 | animal | ||
| 45 | fish | کب | kab |
| 46 | bird | مرغه | |
| 47 | dog | سپی | spaɪ~spe |
| 48 | louse | ||
| 49 | snake | ||
| 50 | worm | ||
| 51 | tree | ||
| 52 | forest | ||
| 53 | stick | لښته | |
| 54 | fruit | ||
| 55 | seed | ||
| 56 | leaf | ||
| 57 | root | ||
| 58 | bark (of a tree) | ||
| 59 | flower | ګل (gul) | ɡwəl~ɡʊl |
| 60 | grass | ||
| 61 | rope | ||
| 62 | skin | ||
| 63 | meat | ||
| 64 | blood | ||
| 65 | bone | ||
| 66 | fat (noun) | ||
| 67 | egg | هګۍ (hagë́y) | həɡəi~əŋɡəi |
| 68 | horn | ||
| 69 | tail | ||
| 70 | feather | ||
| 71 | hair | ویښتان | |
| 72 | head | سر | |
| 73 | ear | غوږ | |
| 74 | eye | سترګه | |
| 75 | nose | پوزه | |
| 76 | mouth | خوله | |
| 77 | tooth | غاښ | |
| 78 | tongue (organ) | ژبه | |
| 79 | fingernail | نوک | |
| 80 | foot | پښه | |
| 81 | leg | پښه | |
| 82 | knee | زنګون | |
| 83 | hand | لاس | |
| 84 | wing | وزر | |
| 85 | belly | خیټه | |
| 86 | guts | لړمون | |
| 87 | neck | غاړه | |
| 88 | back | شا | |
| 89 | breast | سینه | |
| 90 | heart | زړه | |
| 91 | liver | ځيګر | |
| 92 | to drink | ||
| 93 | to eat | ||
| 94 | to bite | ||
| 95 | to suck | ||
| 96 | to spit | ||
| 97 | to vomit | ||
| 98 | to blow | ||
| 99 | to breathe | ||
| 100 | to laugh | ||
| 101 | to see | ||
| 102 | to hear | ||
| 103 | to know | ||
| 104 | to think | ||
| 105 | to smell | ||
| 106 | to fear | ||
| 107 | to sleep | ||
| 108 | to live | ||
| 109 | to die | ||
| 110 | to kill | ||
| 111 | to fight | ||
| 112 | to hunt | ||
| 113 | to hit | ||
| 114 | to cut | ||
| 115 | to split | ||
| 116 | to stab | ||
| 117 | to scratch | ||
| 118 | to dig | ||
| 119 | to swim | ||
| 120 | to fly | ||
| 121 | to walk | ||
| 122 | to come | ||
| 123 | to lie (as in a bed) | ||
| 124 | to sit | ||
| 125 | to stand | ||
| 126 | to turn (intransitive) | ||
| 127 | to fall | ||
| 128 | to give | ||
| 129 | to hold | ||
| 130 | to squeeze | ||
| 131 | to rub | ||
| 132 | to wash | ||
| 133 | to wipe | ||
| 134 | to pull | ||
| 135 | to push | ||
| 136 | to throw | ||
| 137 | to tie | ||
| 138 | to sew | ||
| 139 | to count | ||
| 140 | to say | ||
| 141 | to sing | ||
| 142 | to play | ||
| 143 | to float | ||
| 144 | to flow | ||
| 145 | to freeze | ||
| 146 | to swell | ||
| 147 | sun | لمر | lamar |
| 148 | moon | سپوږمۍ | spoʐˈməi, spoɡˈməi |
| 149 | star | ستوری | st̪oˈ.rai |
| 150 | water | اوبه | obə |
| 151 | rain | ||
| 152 | river | ||
| 153 | lake | ||
| 154 | sea | ||
| 155 | salt | ||
| 156 | stone | ||
| 157 | sand | ||
| 158 | dust | ||
| 159 | earth | ||
| 160 | cloud | ||
| 161 | fog | ||
| 162 | sky | ||
| 163 | wind | ||
| 164 | snow | ||
| 165 | ice | ||
| 166 | smoke | ||
| 167 | fire | ||
| 168 | ash | ||
| 169 | to burn | ||
| 170 | road | ||
| 171 | mountain | ||
| 172 | red | ||
| 173 | green | ||
| 174 | yellow | ||
| 175 | white | ||
| 176 | black | ||
| 177 | night | ||
| 178 | day | ||
| 179 | year | ||
| 180 | warm | ||
| 181 | cold | ||
| 182 | full | ||
| 183 | new | ||
| 184 | old | ||
| 185 | good | ||
| 186 | bad | ||
| 187 | rotten | ||
| 188 | dirty | ||
| 189 | straight | ||
| 190 | round | ||
| 191 | sharp (as a knife) | ||
| 192 | dull (as a knife) | ||
| 193 | smooth | ||
| 194 | wet | ||
| 195 | dry | ||
| 196 | correct | ||
| 197 | near | ||
| 198 | far | ||
| 199 | right | ||
| 200 | left | ||
| 201 | at | ||
| 202 | in | ||
| 203 | with | ||
| 204 | and | ||
| 205 | if | ||
| 206 | because | ||
| 207 | name | نوم |