Khitan Language - Vocabulary

Vocabulary

There are several closed systems of Khitan lexical items for which systematic information is available. The following is a list of words in these closed systems that are similar to Mongolic. Mongolian equivalents are given after the English translation:

Seasons: heu.ur (spring=havar), ju.un (summer=zun), n.am.ur (autumn=namar), u.ul (winter=uvul).

Numerals: dz.ur.er (second=jir means two in Middle Mongolian), hu.ur.er (third=gurav means three in Mongolian), durer/duren (fourth=durvun), tau (five=tav), t.ad.o.ho (fifth=tavdahi), da.lo.er (seventh=dolo), is (nine=yesu), jau (hundred=jagun), ming (thousand=mingan). The Tungusic numerals of the Jurchen language differ significantly: three=ilan, five=shunja, seven=nadan, nine=uyun, hundred=tangu.

Animals: te.qo.a (chicken=taqia), ni.qo (dog=noqai), s.au.a (falcon=showoo in Daur, shuwuu means bird in Mongolian), em.a (goat=imaa), tau.li.a (rabbit=taulai; in Tungusic rabbit=gulmahun), mo.ri (horse=mori), uni (cow=uniye), mu.ho.o (snake=mogoi)

Directions: ud.ur (east=dorno), dzi.ge.n (left=jegun), bo.ra.ian (right=ba.ra.un), dau.ur.un (middle=dumda), xe.du.un (horizontal=kondelen), ja.cen.i (border=jaqa)

Time: suni (night=suni), n.on/n.on.de (for generations=onod, also "urug-in urugt"), ai (year=ai, uye), un.n/un.e (now, present=onoo)

Personal relations: c.i.is (blood=cisu), mo ku (female=em kun), deu (younger brother=de'u), n.ai.ci (friend=naiz), na.ha.an (uncle=nagacha), s.ia/s.en (good=sain), g.en.un (sadness, regret="genu-" means "to regret" in the letter of Arghun Khan), ku (person, man=kun, kumun)

Tribal administration: cau.ur (war=cagur, as in "tsa'urgalan dairakh"), g.ur (country=guren), nai/nai.d (heads, officials, "-d" is a plural suffix=noyan, noyad for plural), t.em- (to bestow a title=temdeg), qa (khan=qan), k.em (decree=kev refers to the law decreed by the tribal assembly, as in Yeke Kev or Great Law), us.gi (letter=useg), ui (matter=uil), qudug (blessed=qudug), xe.se.ge (part, section, province=keseg), ming.an (military unit of thousand=mingan),

Basic verbs: p.o (to become=bol-okh), p.o.ju (raise=bosgo-kh), on.a.an (fall PAST TENSE=unasan), x.ui.ri.ge.ei (to transfer=kurge-kh), u- (give=ug-ukh), sa- (to reside=sa'u-kh or suukh), ci.er (inscribe PAST TENSE=siileruun), a- (to be=a-kh, for example "savandaa akh aj l" in the Altan Tobchi in which the root "a-" in both "akh" and "aj" "means "to be")

Natural objects: eu.ul (cloud=e'ul or egule), s.eu.ka (dew=siguder), sair (moon=sar; in Tungusic moon="biya"), nair (sun=nar), m.em/m.ng (silver=mongo)

The Liaoshi records in Chapter 53:

國語謂是日為「討賽咿兒」。「討」五；「賽咿兒」，月也。 In the national (Khitan) language this day (5th day of the 5th lunar month) is called 'Tao Saiyier'. 'Tao' means five; 'Saiyier' means moon.

'Tao Saiyier' corresponds to Mongolian 'tawan sar' (fifth moon/month). The Turkic equivalent would be 'beshinchi ay' while the Tungusic equivalent would be 'sunja biya'.