Amerindian languages * Native American tribes * What's new on our site today!

Vocabulary Words in the Salishan Language Family

These words are not spelled phonetically--each word is spelled according to the orthography of its own language, so if you're not familiar with these languages you will need to follow the links to see how to pronounce them. We are working on a second chart transcribed into IPA symbols. We have included twenty basic words, enough to give you a feeling for each language. All the nouns are singular and all the verbs are 3rd person singular ("he or she sings") because many Native American languages don't have a separate infinitive ("to sing") the way English and French do.

If you need to know a Salish word that is not currently on our page, you can take part in our American Indian translations fundraiser or visit our main Salishan languages site for more free resources.

Thanks for your interest in American Indian languages!

Salishan Word Sets

Interior Salish Central Salish Tsamosan Other
English (Français) Coeur d'Alene Columbian Okanagan Salish Cowichan Klallam Lushootseed Nooksack Straits Salish Twana Cowlitz Lower Chehalis Quinault Bella Coola
one (un) nek'we' naks naks nko'o nutsa nəc'u' dəč'u' nutso nət'sə' dakas utsus paw paw maw
two (deux) esel tko'is usil eseł yisella čəsə' sáli' sali čəsə usali salli sal salli lhwaas
three (trois) chi'łes tkałas kałis tsełe łi'xw łixw łixw łixw łixw cha'as kałi cha'ł cha'uła asmús
four (quatre) mus musus mus mos xa'asun ŋús búus mos ŋas busas mus mos mus mús
five (cinq) tsilcht tsilikst tsilikst tsił łkatsis łq'ášč cəlác łkačis łq'ečəs sts'hwas tsilats tsi'lčs tsilakis ts'ícw
man (homme) sqi'ltmkhw skaltumiax sqaltumiah skaltamiax sweke swəy'qə stubš sweyuka swəyqə' stibat siłimx sti'ixw sti'ixw kwtmts
woman (femme) smi'yem sma'am tłkłamiluh simmu'em slenni słáni słádəy' łannai słeni' sladai kuwił skeiklunłk skekłnał cnas
sun (soleil) ałdarench kosum xai'ałax spukani sumshasat sqwqwəy' łúkwał tsoxatsat sqwəqwəl sluqatl łuqał skalus tani'm snx
moon (lune) ałdarench suka'am sokemm saka'am ł'qalts łqayč' słukwálb łqałts łqel'č slutlub łuqał tani'm tani'm tl'uk
water (eau) sikwe' sa'ułq si'ulq se'ułku ka qwú alqwu' hotsim qwa ka kal'l kal ka'l qla



Back to the Native American Words homepage
Back to the Native American Language homepage



American Indians * Indian Art * Indian Names * Indian Tattoos

Would you like to help support our organization's work with endangered American Indian languages?

or buy some books through this link:

Native Languages of the Americas website © 1998-2007 * Contacts and FAQ page