List of Ainu terms

The Ainu language of the Ainu people is distinct from those of the people around them.

The list is ordered alphabetically by romanization.

A

• aca (アチャ) - father; uncle; a middle-aged man (Ainu aca may mean either "father" or "uncle" depending on the dialect)
  • acapo (アチャポ) - uncle (also acipo アチポ in some dialects)
• ahun (アフン) - [sing.] to enter
  • ahup (アフプ) - [pl.] to enter
• ak （アㇰ）- younger brother (explicitly possessed form aki or akihi)
  • ku-aki (クアキ) - my younger brother
• am (アム) - claw, talon; nail (of a finger or a toe)
  • ampayaya (アムパヤヤ) - crab; cripple, a person whose ambulatory faculty is somehow impaired
• amam (アムアム、アマム) - rice; cereals (also amama アママ in some dialects)
• amip (アミプ) - clothes, clothing
• an (アン) - [sing.] to be (in a certain place), to exist (suppletive plural form is オカィ okay or オカ oka)
• an-noski (アンノㇱキ) - midnight (also annoske in some Ainu dialects)
• anun (アヌン) - stranger, outsider; another person, someone else('s), not oneself, not one's own
• apa (アパ) - doorway
• ape (アペ) - fire
  • Ape-Huci-Kamuy (アペフチカムイ) - name of the Ainu fire god (literally, "Fire-Grandmother-Deity")
• apto (アプト) - rain; [dial.] storm, thunderstorm (pronounced as ahto in some dialects)
• apu (アプ) - ice drift, sea ice (also ap in some dialects)
• arka (アラカ) - painful, sore, hurting (in some dialects pronounced as araka or arga)
• as (アシ) - [sing.] to stand; to fall (as rain, snow, etc.), to blow (as wind), to be produced, to be made, to be heard (as a sound, a voice, etc.)
• asam (アサム) - bottom; depths; foundation (also asama アサマ in some dialects)
• asir (アシリ) - to be new (cf. Nivkh c'ir "new," Tibetan gsar > sar "new, fresh," Japanese ara "new" ~ sara "brand new, never used; again, further, moreover," Korean say > sɛ "new," Chinese 新 xīn "new," etc.)
• aspa (アシパ) - to be deaf
  • aspap (アシパプ) - a deaf person, one who is unable to hear
• at (アッ) - string, cord; elm fibre
  • atni (アッニ) - Manchurian elm, Ulmus laciniata
• atte (アッテ) - [v.t.] to hang (it), to hang up, to suspend
• attus (アットゥㇱ) - traditional Ainu coat made from fibers harvested from the bark of the Manchurian elm or the Japanese linden[1]
• atu (アトゥ) - to vomit
• atusa (アトゥサ) - naked, bare
• atuy (アトゥイ) - sea, ocean (also アトゥイカ atuyka or アトゥイソ atuyso in some dialects)
• aw (アウ) - tongue (explicitly possessed form awe or awehe)
• ay (アイ) - thorn; arrow (explicitly possessed form aye or ayehe)
• aynu (アイヌ) - person; human, mankind; the traditional name for the Ainu people
  • Aynu-Mosir (アイヌモシㇼ) - the land of humans; the earth

C

• cape (チャペ) - cat (cf. Aomori, Akita, and Yamagata Japanese dialects chape ちゃぺ or chappe ちゃっぺ "cat")
• caranke (チャランケ) - appeal (n)
• casi (チャシ) - fence; enclosure; fortress, castle
• cep (チェプ) - fish, salmon (also ciep チエプ in some dialects)
• ci (チ) - penis, a male's private parts (explicitly possessed form ciye or ciyehe)
• ci- (チ) - we, a prefix that indicates a first person plural subject or possessor
• cikap （チカプ) - bird, [esp.] owl (cf. Chikap Kamuy)
• cip (チプ) - canoe, boat, ship
• cir (チリ) - bird
• cironnup (チロヌッㇷ゚ ) - fox
• cis (チシ) - to cry, to weep, to howl
  • cis-konci (チシコンチ) - a kerchief worn for a certain duration by a woman who has been bereaved of her husband; a widow's mourning headdress
• cise (チセ) - house/home
• ciw (チウ) - tide; current (of a stream, a river, or the sea); wave(s)
• ciw (チウ) - to stab, to pierce
• cuk （チュㇰ) - autumn
• cup （チュプ) - luminary, sun, moon; month

E

• e (エ) - [v.t.] to eat
• e- (エ) - thou, thy (second person singular prefix)
  • eani (エア二) - thou
• ekasi (エカシ) - grandfather; old man (also エカㇱ ekas in some dialects)
• emus (エムシ) - sword (explicitly possessed form エムシヒ emusihi)
• epuy (エプイ) - sprout, bud; flower (also エプイケ epuyke in some dialects; generally, the meaning of this word is either "sprout, bud" or otherwise "flower" depending on the dialect)
• erum (エルム) - mouse, rat (also エレム erem, エルム ermu, erumu, or エルムン erumun depending on the dialect)
• esaman (エサマン) - river otter
• ecinke (エチンケ) - turtle, tortoise (also エチンケウ ecinkew in some dialects)
• etu (エトゥ) - nose; beak; a projecting tip of anything, the end (of a projecting part)

H

• ham (ハム) - leaf
• hanke (ハンケ) - to be near
• hanku (ハンク) - navel (dialectal variants include hankapu ハンカプ, hankapuy ハンカプイ, hanka ハンカ, hanko ハンコ)
• hapo (ハポ) - mother
• hapur (ハプル) - to be weak, to be soft, to be gentle, to be quiet (also アプル apur in some dialects)
• harki (ハリキ) - left (左) (dialectal variants include harke ハリケ)
  • harki-sam (ハリキサム) - left side
• haw (ハウ) - voice (explicitly possessed form hawe ハウェ or hawehe ハウェへ)
• hayta (ハイタ) - not to be enough, to be insufficient, to come short of, to be lacking; to decrease; to be stupid, to be foolish
• hekaci (ヘカチ) - child (esp. a male one), boy, lad; son (also エカチ ekaci in some dialects; the plural form *hekaci-utar or *ekaci-utar may be fused to hekattar or ekattar and used as if singular)
• hem (ヘム)
  • hemanta (へマンタ) - what? (dialectal variants include hemata へマタ)
  • hempakpe (ヘンパクペ) - how many (things)? (in some older documents, this word is also recorded as hempak)
  • hempara (ヘンパラ) - when? (in some dialects, ネンパラ nempara may be used instead of hempara; cf. Ainu pa "year")
• hese (ヘセ) - to breathe; to sigh
• hok (ホク) - to buy (dialectal variants include hoh ホフ)
• hoku (ホク) - husband (explicitly possessed form hokuhu; dialectal variants include oku(hu))
• hom (ホム) - a knot (in wood); a joint (of bamboo)
  • nihom (ニホム) - a knot in wood, a knot in a tree (explicitly possessed form nihomi ニホミ; in some dialects, the two morphemes that compose this compound are maintained as separate words, i.e. ni hom instead of nihom)
  • tophom (トプホム) - a joint of bamboo (in some dialects, this form is maintained as two separate words, i.e. top hom instead of tophom)
• homar (ホマラ) - to be vague, to be faint, to be indistinct, to be dim (also オマラ omar in some dialects)
• hon (ホン) - belly, abdomen, stomach (explicitly possessed form honi ホニ or honihi ホニヒ)
• horkew (ホロケウ) - wolf (also horokew in some dialects)
• horse (ホロセ) - to rot, to decay; to be rotten, to be stinking, to be stale, to be sour (also ホッセ hosse)
• hot (ホッ) - twenty (used in counting)
  • hotne (ホッネ) - (to be) twenty
    • hotnen (ホッネン) - twenty persons
    • hotnep (ホッネプ) - twenty things
• hoynu (ホイヌ) - marten, sable
• hu (フ) - to be alive, to be living (said of a plant); to be raw, to be fresh, to be green
• huci (フチ) - grandmother; old woman (also フッチ hutci in some dialects)
• hum (フム) - sound, noise (explicitly possessed form フミ humi or フミヒ humihi)
• humpe (フンペ) - whale
• hur (フル) - hill, mountain
• hura (フラ) - a smell
  • hura at (フラ　アッ) - to smell, to be/become smelly/fragrant
  • hura nu (フラ　ヌ) - to smell, to sense a smell
• hure (フレ) - (to be) red
• husko (フシコ) - to be old, to be longstanding
• huttat (フッタッ) - bamboo grass (also フタッ hutat, フラス huras, ウラス uras, or フル huru depending on the dialect)

A collection of inaw

I

• ikka (イッカ) - to steal (also イシカ iska in some dialects)
  • ikkap (イッカプ) - thief
  • ikkakamuy (イッカカムイ) - thief
• ikuspe (イクシペ) - pillar, column
• imeru (イメル) - lightning
• inaw (イナウ) - sacred shaved stick, symbolizing a bird, used for prayer [2]
• ine (イネ)
  • inen (イネン) - four persons
  • inep (イネプ) - four things
• iomante (イオマンテ) - the Ainu bear festival [3] (sometimes pronounced as イヨマンテ iyomante, イヨマンデ iyomande, etc.; from i- ("it, something, someone," a prefix for vaguely indicating the object of a verb) + oman (to go) + -te (causative suffix))
• ipe （イペ） - [v.i.] to eat, to have a meal; [n.] fish (especially the likes of salmon, trout, or sturgeon)
  • somo ku-ipe na (ソモ　クイペ　ナ) - I won't eat.
• ipetam (イペタㇺ) - legendary Ainu sword [4] (literally, the "eating blade" or the "blade that eats (people)")
• ironne (イロンネ) - thick (as a flattish object)
• isam (イサㇺ) - not to exist, not to be, not to have; to be gone, not to be there anymore; to die (semantically equivalent to Japanese 無い, なくなる, or （～て）しまう)
• isepo (イセポ) - rabbit, hare (イソポ isopo in some dialects)
• itak (イタㇰ) - language
• iwaw (イワゥ) - sulfur (cf. Japanese 硫黄 iō "sulfur" < iwau)

K

• kam (カム) - meat, flesh (explicitly possessed form kami or kamihi)
• kamuy (カムイ) - god, spirit; bear; used as an element in some descriptive, euphemistic, or honorific names of animals and in some words describing persons who characteristically perform a certain action or behave in a certain manner (cf. Japanese *kamui > (Old Japanese) kamï > kami 'god')
• Kamuy-Kara-Puto-Ya-Mosir (カムイカラプトヤモシㇼ) - supposedly means "mouth of water"; refers to Karafuto, or the mouth of the Amur River
• Kamuy-Mosir (カムイモシㇼ) - "Land of the Gods"; heaven
• kamuy-nomi (カムイノミ) - to pray to the gods
• kanna (カンナ) - upper, above
• kanto (カント) - sky, heaven
• kap (カプ) - skin, fur, rind, peel, bark, outer covering of anything (explicitly possessed form kapu or kapuhu)
  • kapkar (カプカラ) - to skin, to peel, to remove the rind, to strip the bark
• kapap (カパプ) - bat (the flying mammal)
• kapar (カパラ) - thin (as a flattish object)
• kapiw (カピウ) - seagull
• kar (カラ) - to make, to prepare, to produce, to do
• karku (カㇻク) - nephew
• karus (カルシ) - mushroom
• katkemat (カッケマッ) - [honorific] wife; lady, woman of means or high status
• kawkaw (カウカウ) - hail, sleet
• kay (カイ) - to break (a long object, such as a bone), to snap
• kem (ケム) - blood
  • kemnu (ケㇺヌ) - to bleed
  • kemorit (ケモリッ) - a blood vessel; a vein or an artery (also kemrit ケムリッ)
  • kemus (ケムシ) - bloody, covered in blood, having blood all over
• kem (ケㇺ) - shortage of food, famine, hunger, starvation
  • kemekot　(ケメコッ) - to starve to death, to die of hunger
  • kemnoye　(ケㇺノイェ) - to starve to death, to die of hunger
  • kemus (ケムシ) - famished, starving; there is/was a famine
• kem (ケㇺ) - a needle
  • kemeyki　(ケメイキ) - to do needlework, to sew
• ker (ケレ) - footwear, shoe, boot (explicitly possessed form ケリ keri)
• kera (ケラ) - taste, flavor
• kes (ケシ) - end (explicitly possessed form ケセ kese or ケセへ kesehe)
• kes- (ケシ) - every (day, year, etc.)
• ki (キ) - to do
• ki (キ) - louse (esp. head louse)
  • urki (ウルキ) - louse
  • tayki (タイキ) - flea
• kikir (キキリ) - bug, insect, worm
• kim (キム) - mountain
• kimi (キミ) - maize (cf. Japanese Tōhoku and Oki dialects kimi "maize" < standard Japanese kibi "Proso millet")
• kina （キナ） - grass, herb, (edible or otherwise useful) plant; a kind of mat woven from dried bulrush leaves with decorative patterns executed in cotton cloth
• kira (キラ) - to run away, to flee, to escape
• kiraw (キラウ) - horn, antler (explicitly possessed form kirawe キラウェ or kirawehe キラウェへ)
• kiray (キライ) - comb
• kiror (キロロ) - strength, power, ability
• kisar (キサラ) - ear
• kitay (キタイ) - top of anything; summit, peak (of a mountain); roof (of a house)
• konci (コンチ) - hat; headscarf
• konru (コンル) - ice; [dial.] hail; [dial.] sleet
• kor (コロ) - to hold; to keep; to have
• kore (コレ) - to give (probably from the causative form of Ainu kor "to hold; to have," i.e. *kor-de > kor-e "to cause to hold; to cause to have" > kore "to give")
• Korpokkur (コロポックル) - name of a traditional Ainu folktale [5]
• kotan (コタン) - village, settlement; dwelling place
  • Kamuy-Kotan (カムイコタン) - Kamuikotan, a scenic area located in the valley of the Ishikari River (literally, "dwelling place of (a/the) god")
• ku (ク) - bow
• ku (ク) - to drink; to smoke (tobacco, etc.)
• ku- (ク) - I, my (a prefix that is attached to a verbal stem in order to indicate a first person singular subject, or to a nominal stem in order to indicate a first person singular possessor)
  • kuani (クアニ) - I (first person singular pronoun; also pronounced as カニ kani)
• kumi (クミ) - mold
  • kumius (クミウシ) - moldy, rotten and covered in mold
• kunki (クンキ) - nail (cf. Japanese 釘 kugi)
• kunne (クンネ) - black; dark
  • kunnecup (クンネチュプ) - the Moon (literally, "Black Luminary")
  • Kunashir (クナシリ) - Black (Is)land. Present day Kunashir Island.
• kur (クル) - shadow
• kur (クル) - person (cf. Korpokkur)
  • ku-kor kur (クコロ　クル) - my husband
• kut (クッ) - belt, girdle, waistband (explicitly possessed form クチ kuci or クチヒ kucihi)
• Kutune Shirka (クト゜ネシリカ) - name of a sacred Ainu epic

M

• makiri (マキリ) - knife
• mame (マメ) - bean or pea, pulses, legumes (cf. Japanese mame 'bean, pea, legumes')
• mata （マタ） - winter (also known as the "men's season" for the fact that it is a good time of year for men to hunt for furs)
  • mata-noski （マタノシキ） - midwinter
• mat (マッ) - wife; woman; [as prefix] female (explicitly possessed form マチ maci or マチヒ macihi)
  • matne (マッネ) - female
• matak (マタㇰ) - younger sister (from an elder sister's point of view)
  • a-mataki (アマタキ) (Classical), ku-mataki (クマタキ) (Colloquial), ku-kor matak (クコロ　マタク) - my younger sister (said by an elder sister)
• matkaci (マッカチ) - girl (also マチカチ macikaci in some dialects)
• matkarku (マッカㇻク) - niece
• mean (メアン) - (to be) cold (as the weather)
  • meekot (メエコッ) - to freeze to death; to starve due to frigid weather
• mem (メム) - spring, pool, a place where clear water wells up
• menoko (メノコ) - woman; [esp.] young woman; [in some contexts] daughter (cf. Japanese menoko 'woman; girl')
• mici (ミチ) - father (in some Ainu dialects, mici is formal and means something like "dead father" or "ancestor"; such dialects typically use aca in the regular meaning of "father")
• mina (ミナ) - to laugh
• mo (モ)
  • mokor (モコロ) - to sleep
  • mono (モノ) - quietly
• mori (モリ) - small hill, hillock, slope (cf. Japanese mori "forest; [dial.] Shinto shrine, sacred grove, holy place; [dial.] hill")
• mosir (モシㇼ) - land; territory; island
• moyuk (モユク) - tanuki
• mukkuri (ムックリ) - traditional Ainu Jew's harp
• mun (ムン) - grass, weed, (useless) plant
• munin (ムニン) - rotten
• muy (ムイ) - winnow (cf. Japanese mi "winnow" < Old Japanese mï < *mui)

N

• nan (ナン) - face (explicitly possessed form nanu ナヌ or nanuhu ナヌフ)
  • nanuwen (ナヌウェン) - ugly (literally, "its face is bad")
    • nanuwen-cep (ナヌウェンチェプ) - sea raven, shaggy sculpin, Hemitripterus villosus
• nanna (ナンナ) - mother (nanna was used in Sakhalin dialects; the variant nonno ノンノ was used by the Kuril Islands Ainu)
• nay (ナイ) - dale, valley (esp. one which has a stream or a marsh); stream, river (appears in some Hokkaido place names, e.g., Makomanai and Wakkanai)
• ne (ネ) - to be; to become
• ne (ネ)
  • nekone (ネコネ) - What's the matter?, What's wrong?
  • nen (ネン) - who
    • nenka (ネンカ) - someone, anyone, no one (e.g. nenka isam "There is no one (at all)")
  • nep (ネプ) - what; something, anything
    • nepka (ネプカ) - something, anything, nothing (e.g. nepka e eram an "Do you know something (about it)?", nepka isam "There is nothing (at all)")
  • newno (ネゥノ) - where, whence, whither
  • neyta (ネィタ) - where, whence, whither
• ni （ニ） - tree; wood
  • nitay (ニタイ) - woods, forest
• nirus (ニルシ) - gums (of the teeth)
• nis (ニシ) - sky, heaven, air; cloud
  • niskur (ニシクル) - cloud
• nisat (ニサッ) - morning, dawn; tomorrow
• nispa (ニㇱパ) - a master, an owner; a wealthy person, a rich man, the rich; a gentleman, a lord; an honorific title for a man, Mr.
• nit (ニッ) - handle; stick, rod; skewer, spit (possessed form ニチ nici)
• nitne (ニッネ) - to be hard, to be solid, to be firm
• nociw (ノチウ) - star
• nok (ノㇰ) - egg; testicle (cf. Nivkh ŋóik "egg")
• nokkew (ノッケゥ) - jaw (probably from Ainu not "chin; cape, promontory" + obsolete Ainu *kew "bone")
  • kanna-nokkew (カンナノッケゥ) - upper jaw
• nonno (ノンノ) - flower
• noski (ノシキ) - middle, center (variants include noske ノシケ)
• nospa (ノㇱパ) - to chase, to pursue, to run after, to follow
• not (ノッ) - chin; cape, promontory
• notak (ノタㇰ) - blade, cutting edge, sharp edge of a tool (explicitly possessed form ノタク notaku or ノタクフ notakuhu)
• noto (ノト) - calm (of the sea, etc.), lull (dialectal variants include neto ネト)
• noype (ノィペ) - brain; temples (of the head)
• nu (ヌ) - to hear, to listen
• numan (ヌマン) - yesterday
• nup (ヌプ) - (wild) field, plain, fen, tableland
  • nupka (ヌプカ) - id.
• nupe （ヌペ） - tears
• nupek (ヌペク) - light (dialectal variants include nipek and nikep; explicitly possessed form nupeki, nipeki, nikepihi, etc.)
• nupuri (ヌプリ) - mountain
• nusa （ヌサ） - a word that collectively describes an altar and the many inaw (a shaved stick used in an offertory ceremony) that decorate it

O

• ohaw （オハゥ） - ohaw, Ainu-style stew
• okay (オカイ), oka (オカ) - [pl.] to be (in a certain place), to exist (suppletive plural form of アン an)
• okkay (オッカィ) - a man, a male (also オッカヨ okkayo in some dialects)
• oman (オマン) - [sing.] to go
• omap （オマプ） - to love (one's child, etc.), to cherish, to hold dear (cf. Japanese omou < *omopu , which means "to think (that), to consider, to feel; to recall, to recollect, to remember; to imagine, to think of, to think about; to worry (about), to care (about), to love." Due to the poor correlation in the vowels, this may be a chance resemblance rather than a borrowing.)
• ona (オナ) - father (explicitly possessed form オナハ onaha)
• onkami (オンカミ) - worship/prayer/beseechment (cf. Japanese ogami, which has the same meanings)
• onne (オンネ) - to be old (of age); to grow old, to age
• osoma (オソマ) - feces
• osor (オソロ) - buttocks, derrière
• ota (オタ) - sand; sandy plain, sandy place, beach
• otop (オトプ) - hair (also エトプ etop in some dialects)
• oyra (オィラ) - to forget

P

• pa (パ) - head; top, summit
  • pake (パケ) - head; top, summit
• pa (パ) - year
• para (パラ) - wide (cf. Sapporo, Paramushir, Toyohara (Toyopara), etc.)
• pase (パセ) - to be heavy; to be important, to be valuable (also pasi in some dialects)
• pasuy (パスイ) - chopsticks (cf. Japanese * pasui > *pasi > hashi "chopsticks")
• paye (パイェ) - [pl. subj.] to go
• paykar （パィカㇻ） - spring (season)
• pe (ペ) - a thing, a person, one (who is/does ~)
• pe (ペ) - water (especially that which is non-potable, not intended for drinking, or laden with much dissolved or suspended matter), moisture, sap, juice (explicitly possessed form pehe ペヘ)
• peko (ペコ) - cow, cattle (cf. べこ beko "cow, cattle" in various Japanese dialects)
• pene (ペネ) - thoroughly rotten, soft with decay, rotten and sticky or slimy
• pet　（ペッ） - river (appears in Hokkaido place names as betsu, e.g., Noboribetsu)
• pewre (ペゥレ) - to be young
• pi (ピ) - seed, kernel, pip; pebble (as on a riverbed), small stone (explicitly possessed form piye ピイェ or piyehe ピイェヘ)
• pinne (ピンネ) - male
• pirka （ピリカ） - good, nice, fine, beautiful
  • pirka kur （ピリカクル） - a fine man (in the sense of "a good person, a virtuous person")
  • pirka okkay (ピリカオッカィ） - a fine man (in the sense of "a handsome man, a good-looking man")
  • pirka menoko （ピリカメノコ） - a beautiful woman, a fine young lady
  • pirka pa （ピリカパ）- a good year
• po (ポ) - a child, (in some dialects especially) a son; a juvenile, the young of anything (explicitly possessed form ポホ poho; also frequently used as a diminutive suffix)
• pok (ポク) -
  • pokna (ポクナ) - lower, under, below, beneath
• pok (ポク) - vulva, a female's private parts (explicitly possessed form poki or pokihi)
• pon (ポン) - small, little
  • ponmat (ポンマッ) - a concubine
• pone (ポネ) - bone (cf. Japanese *pone > hone "bone")
• poppe (ポッペ) - sweat, perspiration (formerly also ポプ pop in some dialects)
• poro (ポロ) - big, large
• poru (ポル) - cave, pit, hole (in rock, etc.)
• poyna (ポイナ) - rock, stone (esp. one that is large)
• pu （プ）- an elevated structure in which to store food and other valuables (the traditional Ainu equivalent of a shed or a warehouse)
• pukusa (プクサ) - a kind of wild plant that is prized by the Ainu for its pungent, garlic-like flavor (known in Japanese as Ainu negi "Ainu onion" or gyōja ninniku "wandering ascetic garlic")
• put (プッ) - a confluence (of two rivers); a mouth (of a body of water), an outlet
• puy (プィ) - a hole
• puyar (プヤラ) - a window (also ピヤラ piyar, プララ purar, プラィ puray, or プワラ puwar depending on the dialect)

R

• rakko (ラッコ) - a sea otter (borrowed into Japanese with the same form and meaning)
• ram （ラム） - heart (in the figurative sense), bosom, soul, mind; understanding, intellect
• ramat (ラマッ) - soul, spirit; meaning (of a word, etc.) (explicitly possessed form ramaci ラマチ)
• rap (ラプ) - feather; wing
• rar (ララ) - eyebrow (possessed form ラル raru or ラルフ raruhu)
  • rarnuma (ララヌマ) - eyebrow, the hair of the eyebrows
  • rarutur (ラルトゥル) - the space between the eyebrows
• rarak (ララク) - to be smooth; to be slippery
• ray (ライ) - to die
  • cupray (チュプライ) - eclipse
  • rayke (ライケ) - [sing. obj.] to kill (one thing), to cause (a singular object) to die
• re (レ) - name (explicitly possessed form レヘ rehe）
• re
  • rep (レプ) - three things (<*re pe)
  • ren (レン) - three persons (<*re niu)
• rekut (レクッ) - neck, throat (explicitly possessed form レクチ rekuci or レクチヒ rekucihi)
• rera (レラ) - wind
• respa (レスパ) - to raise (children, cattle, etc.)
  • u-respa (ウレスパ) - to live together, to cohabit
• retar (レタラ) - white
• ri （リ） - high, tall, lofty
• rir (リリ) - wave (of the sea)
• rimse (リムセ) - a dance; to dance; to jump up
• rep (レプ) - offshore, the offing, (out in the) sea
  • repun (レプン) - in the offing, offshore, out in the sea (cf. Rebun Island)
    • repunkamuy (レプンカムイ) - god of the sea; orca; (in Samani dialect) whale
• rok (ロク) - [pl. subj.] to sit
• ronnu (ロンヌ) - [pl. obj.] to kill (more than one thing), to massacre (occurs as ロンノ ronno in some dialects)
• ru (ル) - path, way, road, street
• rur (ルル) - (clear) soup, broth, gravy; the tide, the surface of the sea, sea water, sea, ocean
  • runnu (ルンヌ) - to be salty
• rus (ルシ) - fur, hide, skin (of an animal)
• ruska (ルシカ) - to get angry (often used in the form イルシカ i-ruska "to get angry about it")
• ruy (ルィ) - whetstone, grindstone
• ruyanpe (ルヤンペ) - rain; [dial.] storm

S

• sak （サク） - summer (also known as the "women's season" for the fact that it is a good time of year for women to cultivate plants or to gather wild botanical resources)
• sampe (サンペ) - heart, cardiac organ
• san (サン) - to go down, to descend; to flow along (as a river)
  • sanke (サンケ) - to send down, to cause to go down
• sani (サニ) - lineage, bloodline
• sapanpe (サパンペ) - men's ceremonial Ainu crown [6]
• sapo (サポ) - elder sister
• sar (サラ) - tail (explicitly possessed form sara サラ or saraha サラハ)
• sayo （サヨ） - sayo, Ainu-style porridge
• set (セッ) - bed; nest (explicitly possessed form セチ seci or セチヒ secihi)
• seta (セタ) - dog (recent dialectal variants include sita シタ; early records of the Ainu language also contain other variant forms of this word for "dog," such as sta, heta, and hida)
• sik (シク) - eye; eyesight (explicitly possessed form siki or sikihi)
  • sikiwen (シキウェン) - weak-eyed, weak-sighted (literally, "one's eye(sight) is bad")
  • sikkap (シㇰカㇷ゚) - eyelid
  • sikkes (シㇰケシ) - the outer end or outer corner of an eye
  • siknum (シクヌム) - eyeball
  • sikpa (シㇰパ) - the inner end or inner corner of an eye (also シㇰパケ sikpake)
  • sikrap (シㇰラプ) - eyelash (also シキラプ sikirap in some dialects)
• sikotan (シコタン）　－　Pleasant Village (present day Shikotan island)
• sine
  • sinep (シネプ) - one thing
  • sinen (シネン) - one person
• sinrit (シンリッ) - root (of a tree, etc.); (ancestral) roots, bloodline, pedigree
• sippo (シッポ) - salt (cf. Japanese shio < *sipo 'salt')
• sir (シリ) - weather; appearance; status, condition
  • sirkunne (シリクンネ) - dusk
  • sirpeker (シリペケレ) - dawn
• sir (シリ) - land; island
  • sir etok (シリ エトク) - the end of the Earth; the Shiretoko Peninsula
• sir (シリ) - mountain
• sisam (シサㇺ) - Japanese (or assimilated Ainus); (more generally) any foreigner, non-Ainus (cf. Nivkh /sezam/, /sizm/ "Japanese"; probably originally from Ainu si- "self (reflexive prefix)" + sam "near by, close to; side" or Ainu si- "self (reflexive prefix)" + isam "not to exist, not to be, not to have")
  • hure-sisam (フレシサㇺ) - Russian; (more generally) European (from Ainu hure "red" + sisam "Japanese; foreigner")
• sitoki (シトキ) - glass-bead necklace with a medallion
• siw (シウ) - bitter
• siwnin (シウニン) - blue, green, yellow
• siyuk (シユク) - a male bear (also シゥク siwk in some dialects)
• so (ソ) - waterfall, cascade
• sokkar (ソッカラ) - mat, rug
• soy (ソイ) - outside (also used as a postposition, e.g. cise-soy "outside of a house," "outside the house")
  • soyta
  • soyke
• su (ス) - pot, cauldron
• sum (スム) - oil (as food)
• suma (スマ) - stone
• sumari (シュマリ) - fox
• susam (スサム) - shishamo
• susu (スス) - willow

T

• takahka (タカッカ) - crab (Sakhalin Ainu)
• takne (タクネ) - to be short
• tamasay (タマサイ) - beaded necklace worn by women
• tanne (タンネ) - to be long
• tap (タプ) - shoulder, arm
  • tapsut (タプスッ) - shoulder
• tek (テク) - hand, arm (explicitly possessed form teke or tekihi)
• tere (テレ) - to wait for
• terke (テレケ) - to run; to jump (also terki in some dialects)
• teyne (テイネ) - (to get) wet, damp
• tomari （トマリ）- Shelter (Tomari city in Aomori)
• tonkori (トンコリ) - traditional Sakhalin Ainu stringed instrument (cf. Nivkh tynryn, a traditional stringed instrument of the Nivkhs)
• to (ト) - day
  • tanto (タント) - today
• to (ト) - lake, pond, puddle
• to (ト) - breast (possessed form トホ toho)
  • tope (トペ) - milk
• topen (トペン) - (to be) sweet
• tom (トム) - to shine, to sparkle, to twinkle
  • tomte (トムテ) - to cause to shine
  • tom tom (トムトム) - sparkling, twinkling, glowing, flashing
  • tonnatara (トンナタラ) - brilliant, resplendent, shining
• tompi (トムピ) - light, brilliance, sparkle, glow
• top (トプ) - bamboo
• topa (トパ) - flock, herd (usually appears in the explicitly possessed form topaha トパハ "a flock of ~," "a herd of ~")
• toy （トィ） - earth, soil, clay, mud, land; garden (also occasionally reduplicated to produce toytoy)
• tu (トゥ)
  • tup (トゥプ) - two things (< *tu pe)
  • tun (トゥン) - two persons (< *tu niu)
• tukar (トゥカラ) - seal (i.e. a sort of marine Pinniped; also tukkar, tukoro, or tokkari in some dialects)
• tuki (トゥキ) - (drinking) glass, [esp.] a saké cup (cf. Japanese 杯 sakazuki "a vessel from which one drinks an alcoholic beverage," from Old Japanese saka "alcoholic beverage" + tuki "drinking vessel")
• tunakay (トゥナカイ) - reindeer (borrowed into Japanese as トナカイ tonakai; also cf. Nivkh tlaŋi 'reindeer')
• tunas (トゥナシ) - to be early; to be quick
• tuntu (トゥントゥ) - pillar, column; post, stake
• tur (トゥル) - dirt, grime, filth
  • turtur (トゥルトゥル) - dirt, grime, filth
  • tursak (トゥルサク) - pure, clean, unsullied
• tura (トゥラ) - to be accompanied by, to bring somebody (along), to take with, to be in company with (cf. Japanese tsura < *tura 'company, associate, colleague')
• tures (トゥレシ) - (a male's) younger sister; (a male's) lover
• tus (トゥシ) - (a man's) concubine, (a woman's) fellow wife
• tusa (トゥサ) - to be cured, to heal up, to recover (from an illness)
  • tusare (トゥサレ) - to cure, to heal
• tusir (トゥシリ) - grave, tomb; graveyard, cemetery
• tuyma (トゥイマ) - to be far, to be distant

U

• uhuy (ウフイ) - to burn
• uk (ウク) - to take, to acquire, to receive, to accept
  • uyna (ウイナ) - [pl.] to take, to receive, to collect
• uku (ウク) - to blow
• umma (ウンマ) - horse (cf. Japanese うま uma "horse")
• una (ウナ), uyna (ウイナ) - ashes
  • unakutausi (ウナクタウシ) - a place where one disposes of ashes
• unarpe (ウナルペ) - aunt; middle-aged woman
• unci (ウンチ) - fire (mainly in Sakhalin dialects)
• upas (ウパㇱ) - snow (also オパㇱ opas in some dialects)
• urar (ウララ) - fog, clouds, mist, vapor
• usis (ウシㇱ) - hoof
• utari (ウタリ) - friend, companion, compatriot; relatives, kin; used by the Ainu to describe themselves, the politically correct term for the Ainu people; a suffix for marking the plural number (also ウタラ utar)

W

• wakka (ワッカ) - water (especially that which is potable or clean) (cf. Wakkaus Kamuy, the goddess of fresh water)
• wen (ウェン) - bad; cruel; poor
  • wenkur (ウェンクㇽ) - a pauper, a poor person
  • wenpe (ウェンペ) - a bad one; a bad thing; a bad person, an evil person, a villain
  • wenpekur (ウェンペクㇽ) - a bad person, an evil person, a villain

Y

• ya (ヤ) - net
• ya (ヤ) - land (as opposed to sea, river, etc.), shore, (river)bank
• yuk (ユク) - deer
• yam (ヤム) - cold (to the touch)
• yam (ヤム) - chestnut
• yup (ユプ) - older brother (explicitly possessed form yupi or yupihi)
  • yupo (ユポ) - older brother (dialectal variants include yuppo and yuhpo; probably from an earlier */yup-po/ < /yup/ "older brother" + /po/ "small; diminutive suffix")
• yukar (ユーカㇻ) - traditional Ainu sagas

References

Most of the content of this page was taken from the equivalent Japanese-language article, accessed March 27, 2006.

See also

Ainu-English Dictionary