The Swadesh lists are two lists of words, 100 and 207 words long, created by the American linguist Morris Swadesh during the 1940s and 50s. They were developed to investigate the relation between a pair of languages using lexicostatistics. They are also used to predict how long ago divergence from a parent language has occurred through a field of study called glottochronology.

The 207 word list includes words which may not occur in a particular language -- the numbers four and five, sea, ice, snow, and mountain, for example.


It has been suggested that the Swadesh list is useful in learning new languages, giving a basic knowledge of vocabulary which will allow communication without worrying too much about grammar and syntax.

Swadesh List

Position	English
1	I
2	you (singular)
3	he
4	we
5	you (plural)
6	they
7	this
8	that
9	here
10	there
11	who
12	what
13	where
14	when
15	how
16	not
17	all
18	many
19	some
20	few
21	other
22	one
23	two
24	three
25	four
26	five
27	big
28	long
29	wide
30	thick
31	heavy
32	small
33	short
34	narrow
35	thin
36	woman
37	man (as an adult)
38	man (as a human)
39	child
40	wife
41	husband
42	mother
43	father
44	animal
45	fish
46	bird
47	dog
48	louse
49	snake
50	worm
51	tree
52	forest
53	stick (wood)
54	fruit
55	seed
56	leaf
57	root
58	bark (tree)
59	flower
60	grass
61	rope
62	skin (tissue)
63	meat
64	blood
65	bone
66	fat (substance)
67	egg
68	horn
69	tail
70	feather
71	hair
72	head
73	ear
74	eye
75	nose
76	mouth
77	tooth
78	tongue
79	fingernail
80	foot
81	leg
82	knee
83	hand
84	wing
85	belly
86	guts
87	neck
88	back
89	breast
90	heart
91	liver
92	to drink
93	to eat
94	to bite
95	to suck
96	to spit
97	to vomit
98	to blow (wind)
99	to breathe
100	to laugh
101	to see
102	to hear
103	to know
104	to think
105	to smell (sense)
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 lie down)
124	to sit
125	to stand
126	to turn
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
148	moon
149	star
150	water
151	rain
152	river
153	lake
154	sea
155	salt
156	stone
157	sand
158	dust
159	earth (soil)
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 (cf night)
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
192	dull
193	smooth
194	wet
195	dry
196	right (true)
197	near
198	far
199	right (direction)
200	left (direction)
201	at
202	in
203	with
204	and
205	if
206	because
207	name