Indo-European, also called Proto-Indo European (PIE), is a re-creation of a language spoken by people in Central Asia and Eastern Europe roughly 6,000 years ago. The original Indo-Europeans had no written language.

Indo-European Word	English Equivalent
mayter	mother
pehter	father
gwou	cow
oino	one
dwo	two
rei	three

The Indo-Aryans settled in India about 1650 B.C. Sanskrit, shown here, was the earliest written Indo-Aryan language. Since about A.D. 600, Sanskrit has used a syllabic alphabet called Devanagari, which developed from the Brahmi alphabet.

Indic Word	English Equivalent
matar	mother
pitar	father
gauh	cow
eka	one
dva	two
trei	three

Punjabi is the modern language of northwestern India and northeastern Pakistan. It uses two alphabets, Lahnda, which is related to Devanagari, and Gurmukhi.

Punjabi Word	English Equivalent
mata	mother
pita	father
gar	cow
ikk	one
do	two
tin	three

Urdu is the modern language of Pakistan. Urdu uses a modified Persian alphabet.

Urdu Word	English Equivalent
maan	mother
baap	father
gaae	cow
ek	one
dva	two
tin	three

Also called Bengali, Bangla is the modern language of Bangladesh and parts of eastern India. Bengali uses its own syllabic alphabet based on the Bramhi alphabet.

Bangla Word	English Equivalent
mahtah	mother
pitah	father
goru	cow
ack	one
dui	two
tin	three

Hindi is the main language of northern and central India today. Hindi uses the Devanagari syllabic alphabet.

Hindi Word	English Equivalent
mata	mother
pita, bapa	father
gaya	cow
ack	one
do	two
tina	three

Iranian speakers split off from the Indic speakers sometime before 600 B.C. and settled in Central Asia and present-day Iran. Avestan, the earliest written Iranian language, is very similar to the earliest forms of Sanskrit. Avestan uses its own alphabet based on the Aramaic alphabet of the Middle East.

Iranian Word	English Equivalent
matar	mother
pitar	father
gaus	cow
aeva	one
dva	two
thrayo	three

Kurdish is the modern language of many in eastern Turkey, northwestern Iraq and Iran, and parts of Syria and Azerbaijan. Kurdish is written in three alphabets, depending on the country. Kurds in Turkey use the Roman alphabet. Kurds in Iraq, Iran, and Syria use the Arabic alphabet. Kurds in Azerbaijan uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

Kurdish Word	English Equivalent
dayik, mader	mother
bawikm aba	father
celek	cow
yek	one
du	two
seh	three

Tajik is the language of Tajikistan as well as many people in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and western China. Tajik is so similar to modern Persian (Farsi or Dari) that many consider them the same language. Tajik is written with either the Cyrillic or Persian alphabets.

Tajik Word	English Equivalent
modar	mother
padar	father
gov	cow
yak	one
du	two
se	three

Also called Pashto, Pashtu is the main language of Afghanistan and is spoken by people in eastern Iran, Tajikstan, western Pakistan, and northwestern India. It uses its own alphabet based on the Arabic alphabet.

Pashtu Word	English Equivalent
mor	mother
plaar	father
ghwaa	cow
yaw	one
dwa	two
dre	three

Persian was an official language of government throughout Central Asia as well as Turkey and India for centuries. Today it is mainly spoke in Iran, where it is called Farsi, and Afghanistan, where it is called Dari. Tajik is also considered by many to be a form of Persian. Persian is written with its own alphabet based on the Arabic alphabet.

Persian Word	English Equivalent
madar	mother
pehdar	father
gahf	cow
yek	one
doh	two
seh	three

Latin was the language of the Romans and later of the Western Christian church. Today it is still used for scientific naming, legal phrases, and in some Roman Catholic documents. Most modern European languages use at least some Latin words and phrases. It is written with the Roman or Latin alphabet, which developed from the Greek and Phoenician alphabets.

Latin Word	English Equivalent
mater	mother
pater	father
bos, bovis	cow
unus	one
duo	two
tres	three

Portuguese is the modern language of Portugal and Brazil. It is also used as a second language in southern Africa. Portuguese uses the Roman alphabet.

Portuguese Word	English Equivalent
mae	mother
pai	father
vaca	cow
um	one
dois	two
tres	three

Also called Castilian, Spanish is the main modern language of Spain and Latin America. Spanish uses the Roman alphabet.

Spanish Word	English Equivalent
madre	mother
padre	father
vaca	cow
uno	one
dos	two
tres	three

French is the modern language of France, southeastern Belgium, western Switzerland, Quebec in Canada, and Haiti. It is also used as a second language in much of Africa. French uses the Roman alphabet.

French Word	English Equivalent
mere	mother
pere	father
vache	cow
un	one
deux	two
trois	three

Italian is the modern language of Italy and parts of southern Switzerland. Italian uses the Roman alphabet.

Italian Word	English Equivalent
madre	mother
padre	father
mucca, vacca	cow
uno	one
due	two
tre	three

Romanian is the modern language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian uses a modified version of the Roman alphabet and has also used the Cyrillic alphabet in the past.

Romanian Word	English Equivalent
mama	mother
tata, parinte	father
vaca	cow
unu	one
doi	two
trei	three

The Celtic languages were spoken from Galatia in modern Turkey to Ireland before the Roman Empire. Today Celtic languages survive only in isolated pockets along the Atlantic coast of Europe and the British Isles. Old Irish is the earliest widely written Celtic language. It used the Roman alphabet.

Celtic Word	English Equivalent
mathir	mother
athir	father
bou	cow
oen	one
da	two
tri	three

Welsh is spoken in Wales in western Great Britain. Almost all Welsh speakers also use English as an everyday language. Welsh uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Welsh Word	English Equivalent
mam	mother
tad	father
buwch	cow
un	one
dau	two
tri	three

Gaelic is the name of the indigenous languages of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Irish Gaelic is the most common, and even so Irish Gaelic is limited mainly to the west coast of Ireland. Most Gaelic speakers also speak English. Irish and Scottish Gaelic use a modified Roman alphabet.

Gaelic Word (Irish Gaelic)	English Equivalent
maithair	mother
athair	father
bo	cow
aon	one
do	two
tri	three

Germanic-speaking people settled in Scandinavia and north of the Alps sometime around 750 B.C. Germanic-speaking tribes were the main barbarian groups that invaded the Roman Empire in the A.D 300s and 400s. Gothic is the earliest widely written Germanic language, although it belongs to the extinct East Germanic family. Gothic was based on the Greek alphabet but included some Roman letters and Germanic Runes.

Germanic Word	English Equivalent
aithei	mother
fadar	father
kov	cow
ains	one
twai	two
drie	three

Dutch is the modern language of the Netherlands and some Caribbean islands. A version of Dutch called Flemish is the language of northern Belgium. Dutch uses the Roman alphabet.

Dutch Word	English Equivalent
ouder, moeder	mother
pater, vader	father
koe	cow
men	one
twee	two
drie	three

German is the modern language of Germany, Austria, and northern Switzerland. There are also German-speaking communities throughout Central and Eastern Europe. German uses the Roman alphabet. Written German capitalizes all nouns.

German Word	English Equivalent
Mutter	mother
Vater	father
Kuh	cow
ein	one
zwei	two
drie	three

English is the modern language of the British Isles, United States, Canada, several Caribbean islands, Australia, and New Zealand. English is widely used as a second language throughout much of the world. English has an unusually large number of words from other languages, especially French, Latin, and Greek. English uses the Roman alphabet.

English Words

mother

father

cow

one

two

three

Danish is the modern language of Denmark and many people in Greenland. Danish uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Danish Word	English Equivalent
moder	mother
fader	father
ko	cow
et, en	one
to	two
tre	three

Swedish is the modern language of Sweden and is also spoken in Denmark, Norway, and Finland. Swedish uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Swedish Word	English Equivalent
moder, mor	mother
far, fader	father
ko	cow
man, en	one
tva	two
tre	three

Norwegian is the modern language of Norway. Until the 1830s Norwegian was treated as a dialect of Danish. One written form of Norwegian called Bokmål (book language) is almost the same as written Danish. Norwegian uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Norwegian Word	English Equivalent
mor	mother
far	father
ku	cow
en	one
to	two
tre	three

Icelandic is the modern language of Iceland. Icelandic is very similar to Old Norse, the earliest written North Germanic language. Icelandic uses a significantly modified Roman alphabet.

Icelandic Word	English Equivalent
moour	mother
faoir	father
kyr	cow
einn	one
tvi	two
briggia	three

Baltic languages continue to use grammatical forms and pronunciations long abandoned by other Indo-European languages. Baltic languages were also among the last Indo-European languages to be written. The earliest written Baltic language was Old Prussian, first in A.D. 1300. Old Prussian used the Roman alphabet.

Baltic Word	English Equivalent
mate	mother
taws	father
kurwas	cow
ains	one
dwai	two
trijan	three

Slavic languages developed in the region of modern European Russia. They spread into Central Europe and the Balkans in the A.D. 500s. The earliest written Slavic language is Old Church Slavonic, developed by Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius and based on Old Bulgarian. Old Church Slavonic used its own alphabet developed by Cyril called Glagolithic, based on Greek cursive. A few centuries later a new alphabet was developed called Cyrillic, which was closer to printed Greek.

Slavic Word	English Equivalent
mati	mother
otici	father
krava	cow
inu	one
duva	two
trije	three

Latvian is the modern language of Latvia. Latvian uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Latvian Word	English Equivalent
mate	mother
teva	father
govs	cow
viens	one
divi	two
tris	three

Lithuanian is the modern language of Lithuania. Many linguists consider Lithuanian to be the oldest living Indo-European language. Lithuanian uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Lithuanian Word	English Equivalent
motina	mother
tevas	father
karves	cow
vienas	one
du	two
trys	three

Polish is the modern language of Poland and some communities in Belarus and Lithuania. Polish uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Polish Word	English Equivalent
matka	mother
ojciec	father
krowa	cow
jeden	one
dwoch	two
trzy	three

Czech is the modern language of the Czech Republic. Czech is very similar to Slovak. Czech uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Czech Word	English Equivalent
matka	mother
otec	father
krava	cow
jeden	one
dve	two
tri	three

Slovak is the modern language of Slovakia. Slovak is very similar to Czech. Slovak uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Slovak Word	English Equivalent
matka	mother
otec	father
krava	cow
jeden	one
dve	two
tri	three

Bulgarian is the modern language of Bulgaria. Bulgarian uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

Bulgarian Word	English Equivalent
mayka	mother
bashta	father
krava	cow
edno	one
dve	two
tri	three

Macedonian is the modern language of Macedonia. It is not related to Ancient Macedonian used by Alexander the Great. Macedonian uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

Macedonian Word	English Equivalent
majka	mother
tatko	father
krava	cow
eden	one
dva	two
tri	three

Serbo-Croatian is the modern language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and communities in Montenegro and Kosovo. Sometimes Serbo-Croatian is considered three different languages, Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian. In Serbia, Serbo-Croatian mainly uses the Cyrillic alphabet. In Croatia, it uses mainly the Roman alphabet. In Bosnia, both alphabets are used as well as a modified Arabic alphabet.

Serbo-Croatian Word	English Equivalent
majka	mother
otac	father
kravljeg	cow
jeden	one
dva	two
tri	three

Slovenian is the modern language of Slovenia. Slovenian uses a modified Roman alphabet.

Slovenian Word	English Equivalent
mati	mother
oceta	father
dojilje	cow
ena	one
dva	two
three	three

Ukrainian is the modern language of Ukraine. Ukrainian uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

Ukrainian Word	English Equivalent
mati	mother
bat'ka	father
korova	cow
odin	one
dva	two
tri	three

Belarusian is the modern language of Belarus. Belarusian uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

Belarusian Word	English Equivalent
maci	mother
bac'ki	father
karova	cow
adein	one
dva	two
tr'l	three

Russian is the modern language of Russia with large Russian-speaking communities in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

Russian Word	English Equivalent
matr	mother
otec	father
korova	cow
odin	one
dva	two
tri	three

Armenian is the modern language of Armenia with Armenian-speaking communities in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey. Armenian has its own alphabet, probably developed from the same alphabet as Avestan Persian.

Armenian Word	English Equivalent
mayr	mother
hayr	father
kov	cow
mek	one
yerku	two
yerek	three

Greek has the oldest written tradition in Europe. Its modern form is the language of Greece and Cyprus. Many words in other European languages came from Greek. Greek uses its own alphabet developed from the Phoenician alphabet. Greek was the first alphabet to include vowels.

Greek Word	English Equivalent
mitera	mother
pateraz	father
booeli	cow
ena	one
dyo	two
treiz	three

Albanian is the modern language of Albania and Kosovo, with significant communities in Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Albanian has used many alphabets, but its modern alphabet is a modified Roman alphabet.

Albanian Word	English Equivalent
nene	mother
baba	father
bageti	cow
nie	one
dy	two
tre	three