Phrase guide

Swadesh list

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A list of vocabulary with universal test meanings and concepts.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Named after the American linguist Morris Swadesh.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: قَائِمَة سواديش — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Catalan: llista Swadesh — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Chinese Mandarin: 斯瓦迪士核心詞列表 /斯瓦迪士核心词列表 (Sīwǎdíshì héxīncí lièbiǎo) — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Czech: Swadeshův seznam — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Finnish: Swadesh-luettelo — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • French: liste Swadesh — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Galician: lista Swadesh — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Galician: ceifa Swadesh — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Georgian: სვოდეშის სია (svodešis sia) — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • German: Swadesh-Liste — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Japanese: スワデシュ・リスト (Suwadeshu-risuto) — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Kabyle: tabdart n swadic — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Kazakh: Сводеш тізімі (Svodeş tızımı) — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Korean: 스와데시 리스트 (Seuwadesi riseuteu) — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Mongolian: Cводешийн жагсаалт (Cvodešiin žagsaalt) — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Persian: فهرست سوادش (fehrest-e sûvâdeš) — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Polish: Lista Swadesha — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Portuguese: lista de Swadesh — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Russian: спи́сок Сво́деша (spísok Svódeša) — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Spanish: lista Swadesh — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Swedish: swadeshlista — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Swedish: Swadesh-lista — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"
  • Turkish: Swadesh Listesi — lists of vocabulary intended to be available in all languages, so-called "universals"