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Vocabulary for Barry Brian Werger's Internet Quechua Lessons:

Bolivian/Cuzco Quechua Version


All words are used in Bolivian/Cuzco Quechua unless marked.

A note about orthography and regional differences: For brevity, I standardize orthography as follows:
  • The letters used (except in some borrowed words) are a, ch, chh, ch', i, j, k, kh, k', l, ll, m, n, p, ph, p', q, qh, q', r, s, t, u, w, y.
  • Some Quechua dialects, like those of Ecuador and Ayacucho, do not use glottalized (') or aspirated (h) consonants, and do not distinguish between q and k. In these dialects, k, kh, k', q, qh, and q' are not distinguished from one another. When looking up words, you may have to check all of these here. If translating in the other direction (i.e., from English or Spanish to Quechua), the best bet for these regions is to use "k" for all these sounds. Treat the variations of p, ch, and t similarly.
  • As a final letter, and before a consonant, "q" is often replaced with "j" (e.g., "noqanchiq" becomes "noqanchij" or "parlaqtin" becomes "parlajtin". Here, I put only the versions with "q"; when looking up words, keep this in mind.
  • the "h" of Cuzco Quechua is the same as the "j" of Bolivian Quechua. I'll use only the "j" here; replace these as necessary when looking up or writing Quechua words.
  • The vowels "e" and "o" are frequently used in written Bolivian/Cuzco Quechua. They are only properly used when the vowels "i" and "u" would appear in the same syllable as a "q" sound, since, when pronouncing properly, "i" and "u" near "q" naturally slur into "e" and "o". Since one properly pronounces these words by ATTEMPTING (futilely) to pronounce "i" and "u" near "q", I've standardized on using ONLY "i" and "u", such that "noqanchiq" and "noqancheq" are the same. Keep this in mind when looking up/writing words.
  • Where Cuzco 1st person plural inclusive and 2nd person plural conjugations end in "chis", the same Bolivian conjugations end in "chiq". I use the Bolivian version here (noqanchiq rather than noqanchis). Keep this in mind, and substitute as appropriate.
  • Words in Quechua followed by a question mark in quotes "(?)" are words I'm still in the process of verifying or regionalizing... use with caution!

    Contributions

    Please, send contributions towards this list to me at vocab@ullanta.com. Please send them in this format (quechua - english/spanish), and give as much information as possible on where you've found the words, and what region they pertain to!

    Special Thanks To Contributors so far:
    Eva Domes

    Vocabulary

  • Intiq chinkanan - sunset, west/oeste
  • Intiq lloqsinan - sunrise, east/oriente
  • Intiq yaykunan - sunset, west/oeste
  • alleq,alliq (?) - right/derecha (direction)
  • anqas - blue/azul
  • apay - to carry, take / llevar
  • aqha - corn beer/chicha
  • aqha-wasi - bar/bar
  • aycha - meat / carne
  • chawpipi - between/en medio
  • chunka - 10
  • chuqllu - corn on the cob/mazorca
  • ichuq (?) - left/izquierda (direction)
  • ima? - what/que
  • imayna? - how, what type/como, que tipo
  • iskay - 2
  • jamuy - to come/venir
  • jawa - outside/fuera, afuera
  • jayk'a? - how many, how much/cuanto/cuantos
  • jayk'aq? - when/cuando
  • jayt'ay - to kick / patear
  • jisq'on - 9
  • karu - far/lejos
  • kawsay - to live / vivir
  • kay - to be/ser, estar, existir
  • kaylla - close/cerca
  • kayllapi - here/aqui
  • kinsa - 3
  • lawa - soup (gruel) / lawa
  • llank'ay - to work/trabajar
  • llant'a - firewood / len~a
  • llaqta - town, community / pueblo, comunidad
  • llinp'i - color/color
  • lluq'e - left/izquierda (direction)
  • lluqsiy - to leave, exit/salir
  • mashka? - how many, how much/cuanto/cuantos
  • may? - where/donde
  • mayk'a? - how many, how much/cuanto/cuantos
  • mayk'aq? - when/cuando
  • mayqen? - which/cual
  • mikhuy - to eat / comer .
  • munay - to want / querer
  • n~awi - eye/ojo
  • pan~a - right/derecha (direction)
  • pachaq - 100
  • papa - potato / papa
  • papa - potato/papa
  • parlay - to speak / hablar
  • patapi - on/encima
  • phin~akuy - to be angry/enojarse
  • pi? - who/quien
  • pisqa - 5
  • puka - red/rojo
  • punku - door/puerta
  • puriy - to walk / caminar
  • pusaq - 8
  • q'ellu - yellow/amarillo
  • q'omer - green/verde
  • qanchis - 7
  • qari - man, husband/hombre,esposo
  • qawanta (?) - over/sobre
  • rantiy - to buy / comprar
  • soqta - 6
  • sumaq - good, well, wonderful/buenisimo, excelente
  • sunqu - heart/corazon
  • t'anta - bread / pan
  • takiy - to sing/cantar
  • tawa - 4
  • tawa - four/cuatro
  • uj - 1
  • ujyay - to drink/beber,tomar
  • ukhunta - inside/dentro
  • uray - below/abajo
  • waqay - to cry / llorar
  • waqpi - somewhere else/en otro lugar
  • waranqa - 1000
  • warmi - woman/mujer
  • wasi - house/casa
  • wasi - house/casa
  • wawa - baby, child/bebe, hijo
  • waylluy - love, adore/querer, adorar
  • wichay - a climb, ascent / subida
  • yachachiq - teacher/profesor
  • yachakuq - student/alumno
  • yachay - to know / saber
  • yaku - water/agua
  • yana - black/negro
  • yuraq - white/blanco