Okinawan language

Not to be confused withOkinawan Japanese.

TheOkinawan language(Trùng 縄 khẩu,ウチナーグチ,Uchināguchi,[ʔut͡ɕinaːɡut͡ɕi]) orCentral Okinawanis a NorthernRyukyuan languagespoken primarily in the southern half of theisland of Okinawa,as well as in the surrounding islands ofKerama,Kumejima,Tonaki,Aguniand a number of smaller peripheral islands.Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as theKunigami language.Both languages are listed byUNESCOasendangered.

Okinawan
Trùng 縄 khẩu ウチナーグチ(Uchinaaguchi)
Pronunciation	[ʔut͡ɕinaːɡut͡ɕi]
Native to	Japan
Region	SouthernOkinawa Islands
Native speakers	1.2 million (2020)
Language family	Japonic Ryukyuan Northern Ryukyuan Okinawan
Writing system	Japanese Okinawan Rōmaji
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ryu
Glottolog	cent2126
ELP	South-Central Okinawan
Linguasphere	45-CAC-ai 45-CAC-aj 45-CAC-ak
Northern Okinawan orKunigami South–Central Okinawan orShuri–Naha
Okinawan is classified as Severely Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects,theShuri–Nahavariant is generally recognized as thede factostandard,as it had been used as the official language of theRyukyu Kingdomsince the reign of KingShō Shin(1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regional and literary standard,which thus flourished insongsandpoemswritten during that era.

Today, most Okinawans speakOkinawan Japanese,although a number of people still speak the Okinawan language, most often the elderly. Within Japan, Okinawan is often not seen as a language unto itself but is referred to as the Okinawan dialect(Trùng 縄 phương ngôn,Okinawa hōgen)or more specifically the Central and Southern Okinawan dialects(Trùng 縄 trung nam bộ chư phương ngôn,Okinawa Chūnanbu Sho hōgen).Okinawan speakers are undergoinglanguage shiftas they switch to Japanese, since language use in Okinawa today is far from stable. Okinawans are assimilating and accenting standard Japanese due to the similarity of the two languages, the standardized and centralized education system, the media, business and social contact with mainlanders and previous attempts from Japan to suppress the native languages.Okinawan is still kept alive in popular music, tourist shows and in theaters featuring a local drama calleduchinā shibai,which depict local customs and manners.

History

Pre-Ryukyu Kingdom

Okinawan is aJaponic language,derived fromProto-Japonicand is therefore related toJapanese.The split between Old Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages has been estimated to have occurred as early as the 1st century AD to as late as the 12th century AD. Chinese and Japanese characters were first introduced by a Japanese missionary in 1265.

Ryukyu Kingdom era

Pre-Satsuma

Hiraganawas a much more popular writing system thankanji;thus, Okinawan poems were commonly written solely inhiraganaor with little kanji. Okinawan became the official language under KingShō Shin.TheOmoro Sōshi,a compilation of ancient Ryukyuan poems, was written in an early form of Okinawan, known as Old Okinawan.

Post-Satsuma to annexation

After Ryukyu became a vassal ofSatsuma Domain,kanji gained more prominence in poetry; however, official Ryukyuan documents were written inClassical Chinese.During this time, the language gradually evolved into Modern Okinawan.

In 1609, the Ryukyu Kingdomwas colonizedby the Satsuma Domain in the south of Japan. However, Satsuma did not fully invade the Ryukyu in fear of colliding with China, which had a stronger trading relationship with the Ryukyu at the time.

Japanese annexation to end of World War II

When Ryukyu was annexed by Japan in 1879, the majority of people on Okinawa Island spoke Okinawan. Within 10 years, the Japanese government began an assimilation policy ofJapanization,where Ryukyuan languages were gradually suppressed. The education system was the heart of Japanization, where Okinawan children were taught Japanese and punished for speaking their native language, being told that their language was just a "dialect". By 1945, many Okinawans spoke Japanese, and many were bilingual. During theBattle of Okinawa,some Okinawans were killed by Japanese soldiers for speaking Okinawan.

Language shift to Japanese in Ryukyu/Okinawa began in 1879 when the Japanese government annexed Ryukyu and established Okinawa Prefecture. The prefectural office mainly consisted of people fromKagoshima Prefecturewhere theSatsuma Domainused to be. This caused the modernization of Okinawa as well as language shift to Japanese. As a result, Japanese became the standard language for administration, education, media, and literature.

In 1902, the National Language Research Council(Quốc ngữ điều tra ủy viên hội)began the linguistic unification of Japan to Standard Japanese. This caused the linguistic stigmatization of many local varieties in Japan including Okinawan. As the discrimination accelerated, Okinawans themselves started to abandon their languages and shifted to Standard Japanese.

Okinawan dialect card,similar toWelsh Notin Wales, were adopted in Okinawa, Japan.

American occupation

Under American administration, there was an attempt to revive and standardize Okinawan, but this proved difficult and was shelved in favor of Japanese. GeneralDouglas MacArthurattempted to promote Okinawan languages and culture through education.Multiple English words were introduced.

Return to Japan to present day

After Okinawa's reversion to Japanese sovereignty, Japanese continued to be the dominant language used, and the majority of the youngest generations only speakOkinawan Japanese.There have been attempts to revive Okinawan by notable people such asByron FijaandSeijin Noborikawa,but few native Okinawans know the language.

Outside of Japan

Sign inOkinawa Uno(acoloniainBolivia), in Spanish and Okinawan: the text readsめんそ〜れ オキナワへ,Menso~re Okinawa-e.

The Okinawan language is still spoken by communities of Okinawan immigrants inBrazil.The first immigrants from the island of Okinawa to Brazil landed in thePort of Santosin 1908 drawn by the hint of work and farmable land. Once in a new country and far from their homeland, they found themselves in a place where there was no prohibition of their language, allowing them to willingly speak, celebrate and preserve their speech and culture, up to the present day. Currently the Okinawan-Japanese centers and communities in theState of São Pauloare a world reference to this language helping it to stay alive.

Classification

Okinawan is sometimes grouped with Kunigami as the Okinawan languages; however, not all linguists accept this grouping, some claiming that Kunigami is a dialect of Okinawan.Okinawan is also grouped with Amami (or the Amami languages) as the Northern Ryukyuan languages.

Dialect of the Japanese language

Since the creation of Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawan has been labeled a dialect of Japanese as part of a policy of assimilation. Later, Japanese linguists, such asTōjō Misao,who studied the Ryukyuan languages argued that they are indeed dialects. This is due to the misconception that Japan is a homogeneous state (one people, one language, one nation), and classifying the Ryukyuan languages as such would discredit this assumption.The present-day official stance of the Japanese government remains that Okinawan is a dialect, and it is common within the Japanese population for it to be called trùng 縄 phương ngôn(okinawa hōgen)or trùng 縄 biện(okinawa-ben),which means "Okinawa dialect (ofJapanese) ". The policy of assimilation, coupled with increased interaction between Japan and Okinawa through media and economics, has led to the development ofOkinawan Japanese,which is a dialect of Japanese influenced by the Okinawan and Kunigami languages. Japanese and Okinawan only share 60% of the same vocabulary, despite both being Japonic languages.

Dialects of the Ryukyuan language

Okinawan linguist Seizen Nakasone states that the Ryukyuan languages are in fact groupings of similar dialects. As each community has its own distinct dialect, there is no "one language". Nakasone attributes this diversity to the isolation caused by immobility, citing the story of his mother who wanted to visit the town ofNagobut never made the 25 km trip before she died of old age.

The contemporary dialects in Ryukyuan language are divided into three large groups: Amami-Okinawa dialects, Miyako-Yaeyama dialects, and the Yonaguni dialect. All of them are mutually unintelligible.Amamiis located in theKagoshima prefecturebut it belongs to the Ryukyuan group linguistically. TheYonaguni dialectis very different in phonetics from the other groups but it comes closest to theYaeyama dialectlexically.

Its own distinct language

Outside Japan, Okinawan is considered a separate language from Japanese. This was first proposed byBasil Hall Chamberlain,who compared the relationship between Okinawan and Japanese to that of theRomance languages.UNESCOhas marked it as an endangered language.

Sociolinguistics

UNESCO listed six Okinawan language varieties as endangered languages in 2009.The endangerment of Okinawan is largely due to the shift to Standard Japanese. Throughout history, Okinawan languages have been treated as dialects of Standard Japanese. For instance, in the 20th century, many schools used "dialect tags" to punish the students who spoke in Okinawan.Consequently, many of the remaining speakers today are choosing not to transmit their languages to younger generations due to the stigmatization of the languages in the past.

There have been several revitalization efforts made to reverse this language shift. However, Okinawan is still poorly taught in formal institutions due to the lack of support from the Okinawan Education Council: education in Okinawa is conducted exclusively in Japanese, and children do not study Okinawan as their second language at school. As a result, at least two generations of Okinawans have grown up without any proficiency in their local languages both at home and school.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	iiː		uuː
Close-Mid	eeː		ooː
Open		aaː

The Okinawan language has five vowels, all of which may be long or short, though the short vowels/e/and/o/are quite rare,as they occur only in a few native Okinawan words with heavy syllables with the pattern/Ceɴ/or/Coɴ/,such as/meɴsoːɾeː/mensōrē"welcome" or/toɴɸaː/tonfā.The close back vowels/u/and/uː/are truly rounded, rather than thecompressed vowelsof standard Japanese.

Consonants

The Okinawan language counts some 20 distinctive segments shown in the chart below, with major allophones presented in parentheses.

IPA chart of Okinawan consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Alveolo- palatal	Palatal	Labio- velar	Velar	Uvular/ Glottal
Nasal	m	n				(ŋ)	(ɴ)
Plosive	pb	td	t͡ɕd͡ʑ		kʷɡʷ	kɡ	ʔ
Fricative	ɸ	s(z)	(ɕ)	(ç)			h
Flap		ɾ
Approximant				j	w

The only consonant that can occur as a syllable coda is thearchiphoneme|n|.Many analyses treat it as an additional phoneme/N/,themoraic nasal,though it never contrasts with/n/or/m/.

The consonant system of the Okinawan language is fairly similar to that of standard Japanese, but it does present a few differences on thephonemicandallophoniclevel. Namely, Okinawan retains the labialized consonants/kʷ/and/ɡʷ/which were lost inLate Middle Japanese,possesses a glottal stop/ʔ/,features a voiceless bilabial fricative/ɸ/distinct from the aspirate/h/,and has two distinctiveaffricateswhich arose from a number of differentsound processes.Additionally, Okinawan lacks the major allophones[t͡s]and[d͡z]found in Japanese, having historically fronted the vowel/u/to/i/after the alveolars/tdsz/,consequently merging[t͡su]tsuinto[t͡ɕi]chi,[su]suinto[ɕi]shi,and both[d͡zu]dzuand[zu]zuinto[d͡ʑi]ji.It also lacks/z/as a distinctive phoneme, having merged it into/d͡ʑ/.

Bilabial and glottal fricatives

The bilabial fricative/ɸ/has sometimes been transcribed as the cluster/hw/,since, like Japanese,/h/allophonically labializes into[ɸ]before the high vowel/u/,and/ɸ/does not occur before the rounded vowel/o/.This suggests that an overlap between/ɸ/and/h/exists, and so the contrast in front of other vowels can be denoted through labialization. However, this analysis fails to take account of the fact that Okinawan has not fully undergone the diachronic change*/p/→/ɸ/→*/h/as in Japanese, and that the suggested clusterization and labialization into*/hw/is unmotivated.Consequently, the existence of/ɸ/must be regarded as independent of/h/,even though the two overlap. Barring a few words that resulted from the former change, the aspirate/h/also arose from the odd lenition of/k/and/s/,as well as words loaned from other dialects. Before the glide/j/and the high vowel/i/,it is pronounced closer to[ç],as in Japanese.

Palatalization

The plosive consonants/t/and/k/historically palatalized and affricated into/t͡ɕ/before and occasionally following the glide/j/and the high vowel/i/:*/kiri/→/t͡ɕiɾi/chiri"fog", and*/k(i)jora/→/t͡ɕuɾa/chura-"beautiful". This change preceded vowel raising, so that instances where/i/arose from*/e/did not trigger palatalization:*/ke/→/kiː/kī"hair". Their voiced counterparts/d/and/ɡ/underwent the same effect, becoming/d͡ʑ/under such conditions:*/unaɡi/→/ʔɴnad͡ʑi/Qnnaji"eel", and*/nokoɡiri/→/nukud͡ʑiɾi/nukujiri"saw"; but*/kaɡeɴ/→/kaɡiɴ/kagin"seasoning".

Both/t/and/d/may or may not also allophonically affricate before the mid vowel/e/,though this pronunciation is increasingly rare. Similarly, the fricative consonant/s/palatalizes into[ɕ]before the glide/j/and the vowel/i/,including when/i/historically derives from/e/:*/sekai/→[ɕikeː]shikē"world". It may also palatalize before the vowel/e/,especially so in the context oftopicalization:[duɕi]dushi→[duɕeː]dusēordushē"(topic) friend ".

In general, sequences containing the palatal consonant/j/are relatively rare and tend to exhibit depalatalization. For example,/mj/tends to merge with/n/([mjaːku]myāku→[naːku]nāku"Miyako");*/rj/has merged into/ɾ/and/d/(*/rjuː/→/ɾuː/rū~/duː/dū"dragon" ); and/sj/has mostly become/s/(/sjui/shui→/sui/sui"Shuri").

Flapping and fortition

The voiced plosive/d/and the flap/ɾ/tend to merge, with the first becoming a flap in word-medial position, and the second sometimes becoming a plosive in word-initial position. For example,/ɾuː/rū"dragon" may be strengthened into/duː/dū,and/hasidu/hashidu"door" conversely flaps into/hasiɾu/hashiru.The two sounds do, however, still remain distinct in a number of words and verbal constructions.

Glottal stop

Okinawan also features a distinctive glottal stop/ʔ/that historically arose from a process of glottalization of word-initial vowels.Hence, all vowels in Okinawan are predictably glottalized at the beginning of words (*/ame/→/ʔami/ami"rain" ), save for a few exceptions. High vowel loss or assimilation following this process created a contrast with glottalized approximants and nasal consonants.Compare*/uwa/→/ʔwa/Qwa"pig" to/wa/wa"I", or*/ine/→/ʔɴni/Qnni"rice plant" to*/mune/→/ɴni/nni"chest".

Moraic nasal

Themoraic nasal/N/has been posited in most descriptions of Okinawan phonology. Like Japanese,/N/(transcribed using the small capital/ɴ/) occupies a fullmoraand its precise place of articulation will vary depending on the following consonant. Before other labial consonants, it will be pronounced closer to asyllabicbilabial nasal[m̩],as in/ʔɴma/[ʔm̩ma]Qnma"horse". Before velar and labiovelar consonants, it will be pronounced as a syllabicvelar nasal[ŋ̍],as in/biɴɡata/[biŋ̍ɡata]bingata,a method of dying clothes. And before alveolar and alveolo-palatal consonants, it becomes a syllabicalveolar nasal/n̩/,as in/kaɴda/[kan̩da]kanda"vine". In some varieties, it instead becomes a syllabicuvular nasal[ɴ̩].Elsewhere, its exact realization remains unspecified, and it may vary depending on the first sound of the next word or morpheme. In isolation and at the end of utterances, it is realized as a velar nasal[ŋ̍].

Correspondences with Japanese

Correspondences between Japanese and Okinawan

Japanese	Okinawan	Notes
/e/	/iː/
/i/
/a/	/a/
/o/	/u/
/u/
/ai/	/eː/
/ae/
/au/	/oː/
/ao/
/aja/
/k/	/k/	/ɡ/also occurs
/ka/	/ka/	/ha/also occurs
/ki/	/t͡ɕi/	[t͡ɕi]
/ku/	/ku/	/hu/,[ɸu]also occurs
/si/	/si/	/hi/,[çi]also occurs
/su/	/si/	[ɕi];formerly distinguished as[si] /hi/[çi]also occurs
/tu/	/t͡ɕi/	[t͡ɕi];formerly distinguished as[t͡si]
/da/	/ra/	[d]and[ɾ]have merged
/de/	/ri/
/do/	/ru/
/ni/	/ni/	Moraic/ɴ/also occurs
/nu/	/nu/
/ha/	/ɸa/~/ha/	/pa/also occurs, but rarely
/hi/	/pi/~/hi/
/he/
/mi/	/mi/	Moraic/ɴ/also occurs
/mu/	/mu/
/ri/	/i/	/iri/is unaffected
/wa/	/wa/	Tends to become/a/medially

Orthography

Further information:Okinawan writing system

TheTamaoton no Hinomon(Ngọc lăng の bi văn), referred to as theTamaudun no Hinomonin modern Japanese, is the oldest known inscription of Okinawan using both hiragana and kanji.

The Okinawan language was historically written using an admixture ofkanjiandhiragana.The hiragana syllabary is believed to have first been introduced from mainland Japan to the Ryukyu Kingdom some time during the reign of kingShuntenin the early thirteenth century.It is likely that Okinawans were already in contact withhanzi(Chinese characters)due to extensive trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and China, Japan and Korea. However, hiragana gained more widespread acceptance throughout the Ryukyu Islands, and most documents and letters were exclusively transcribed using this script, in contrast to in Japan where writing solely in hiragana was considered "women's script". TheOmoro Sōshi(おもろさうし), a sixteenth-century compilation of songs and poetry,and a few preserved writs of appointments dating from the same century were written solely in Hiragana.Kanjiwere gradually adopted due to the growing influence of mainland Japan and to the linguistic affinity between the Okinawan and Japanese languages.However, it was mainly limited to affairs of high importance and to documents sent towards the mainland. The oldest inscription of Okinawan exemplifying its use along with Hiragana can be found on a stonesteleat theTamaudunmausoleum, dating back to 1501.

After theinvasion of Okinawaby theShimazu clanof Satsuma in 1609, Okinawan ceased to be used in official affairs.It was replaced by standard Japanese writing and a form of Classical Chinese writing known askanbun.Despite this change, Okinawan still continued to prosper in local literature up until the nineteenth century. Following theMeiji Restoration,the Japanese government abolished thedomain systemand formally annexed the Ryukyu Islands to Japan as theOkinawa Prefecturein 1879.To promote national unity, the government then introduced standard education and opened Japanese-language schools based on theTokyo dialect.Students were discouraged and chastised for speaking or even writing in the local "dialect", notably through the use of "dialect cards"(Phương ngôn trát). As a result, Okinawan gradually ceased to be written entirely until the American takeover in 1945.

Since then, Japanese and American scholars have variously transcribed the regional language using a number of ad hoc romanization schemes or thekatakanasyllabary to demarcate its foreign nature with standard Japanese. Proponents of Okinawan tend to be more traditionalist and continue to write the language using hiragana with kanji. In any case, no standard or consensus concerning spelling issues has ever been formalized, so discrepancies between modern literary works are common.

Syllabary

Technically, they are not syllables, but rathermorae.Each mora in Okinawan will consist of one or two kana characters. If two, then a smaller version of kana follows the normal sized kana. In each cell of the table below, the top row is the kana (hiragana to the left, katakana to the right of the dot), the middle row in rōmaji (Hepburn romanization), and the bottom row in IPA.

		Vowel
		a	i	u	e	o	ya	yi	yu	ye	yo	wa	wi	wu	we	wo	n
Consonant	(none)	あ・ア a [a]	い・イ i [i]	う・ウ u [u]	え・エ e [e]	お・オ o [o]	や・ヤ ya [ja]	いぃ・イィ yi [ji]	ゆ・ユ yu [ju]	えぇ・エェ ye [je]	よ・ヨ yo [jo]	わ・ワ wa [wa]	ゐ・ヰ wi [wi]	をぅ・ヲゥ wu [wu]	ゑ・ヱ we [we]	を・ヲ wo [wo]	ん・ン n [ɴ]([n̩],[ŋ̣],[ṃ])
Q (glottal stop)	あ・ア Qa [ʔa]	い・イ Qi [ʔi]	う・ウ Qu [ʔu]	え・エ Qe [ʔe]	お・オ Qo [ʔo]	っや・ッヤ Qya [ʔʲa]		っゆ・ッユ Qyu [ʔʲu]		っよ・ッヨ Qyo [ʔʲo]	っわ・ッワ Qwa [ʔʷa]	っゐ・ッヰ Qwi [ʔʷi]		っゑ・ッヱ Qwe [ʔʷe]	っを・ッヲ Qwo [ʔʷo]	っん・ッン Qn [ʔɴ]([ʔn̩],[ʔṃ])
k	か・カ ka [ka]	き・キ ki [ki]	く・ク ku [ku]	け・ケ ke [ke]	こ・コ ko [ko]	きゃ・キャ kya [kʲa]		きゅ・キュ kyu [kʲu]		きょ・キョ kyo [kʲo]	くゎ・クヮ kwa [kʷa]	くぃ・クィ kwi [kʷi]		くぇ・クェ kwe [kʷe]	くぉ・クォ kwo [kʷo]
g	が・ガ ga [ɡa]	ぎ・ギ gi [ɡi]	ぐ・グ gu [ɡu]	げ・ゲ ge [ɡe]	ご・ゴ go [ɡo]	ぎゃ・ギャ gya [ɡʲa]		ぎゅ・ギュ gyu [ɡʲu]		ぎょ・ギョ gyo [ɡʲo]	ぐゎ・グヮ gwa [ɡʷa]	ぐぃ・グィ gwi [ɡʷi]		ぐぇ・グェ gwe [ɡʷe]	ぐぉ・グォ gwo [ɡʷo]
s	さ・サ sa [sa]	すぃ・スィ si [si]	す・ス su [su]	せ・セ se [se]	そ・ソ so [so]
sh	しゃ・シャ sha [ɕa]	し・シ shi [ɕi]	しゅ・シュ shu [ɕu]	しぇ・シェ she [ɕe]	しょ・ショ sho [ɕo]
z	ざ・ザ za [za]	ずぃ・ズィ zi [zi]	ず・ズ zu [zu]	ぜ・ゼ ze [ze]	ぞ・ゾ zo [zo]
j	じゃ・ジャ (ぢゃ・ヂャ) ja [dʑa]	じ・ジ (ぢ・ヂ) ji [dʑi]	じゅ・ヂュ (ぢゅ・ヂュ) ju [dʑu]	じぇ・ジェ (ぢぇ・ヂェ) je [dʑe]	じょ・ジョ (ぢょ・ヂョ) jo [dʑo]
t	た・タ ta [ta]	てぃ・ティ ti [ti]	とぅ・トゥ tu [tu]	て・テ te [te]	と・ト to [to]
d	だ・ダ da [da]	でぃ・ディ di [di]	どぅ・ドゥ du [du]	で・デ de [de]	ど・ド do [do]
ts	つぁ・ツァ tsa [t͡sa]	つぃ・ツィ tsi [t͡si]	つ・ツ tsu [t͡su]	つぇ・ツェ tse [t͡se]	つぉ・ツォ tso [t͡so]
ch	ちゃ・チャ cha [t͡ɕa]	ち・チ chi [t͡ɕi]	ちゅ・チュ chu [t͡ɕu]	ちぇ・チェ che [t͡ɕe]	ちょ・チョ cho [t͡ɕo]	ya		yu		yo
n	な・ナ na [na]	に・ニ ni [ni]	ぬ・ヌ nu [nu]	ね・ネ ne [ne]	の・ノ no [no]	にゃ・ニャ nya [ɲa]		にゅ・ニュ nyu [ɲu]		にょ・ニョ nyo [ɲo]	long vowel double consonant 〜 ( あ, い, う, え, お ) ・ー ~(a, i, u, e, o) ~[Vː] っ・ッ (Any consonant) [Cː]
h	は・ハ ha [ha]	ひ・ヒ hi [çi]		へ・ヘ he [he]	ほ・ホ ho [ho]	ひゃ・ヒャ hya [ça]		ひゅ・ヒュ hyu [çu]		ひょ・ヒョ hyo [ço]
f	ふぁ・ファ fa [ɸa]	ふぃ・フィ fi [ɸi]	ふ・フ fu/hu [ɸu]	ふぇ・フェ fe [ɸe]	ふぉ・フォ fo [ɸo]
b	ば・バ ba [ba]	び・ビ bi [bi]	ぶ・ブ bu [bu]	べ・ベ be [be]	ぼ・ボ bo [bo]
p	ぱ・パ pa [pa]	ぴ・ピ pi [pi]	ぷ・プ pu [pu]	ぺ・ペ pe [pe]	ぽ・ポ po [po]
m	ま・マ ma [ma]	み・ミ mi [mi]	む・ム mu [mu]	め・メ me [me]	も・モ mo [mo]	みゃ・ミャ mya [mʲa]		みゅ・ミュ myu [mʲu]		みょ・ミョ myo [mʲo]
r	ら・ラ ra [ɾa]	り・リ ri [ɾi]	る・ル ru [ɾu]	れ・レ re [ɾe]	ろ・ロ ro [ɾo]	りゃ・リャ rya [ɾʲa]		りゅ・リュ ryu [ɾʲu]		りょ・リョ ryo [ɾʲo]

Grammar

Okinawan follows asubject–object–verbword order and makes large use of particles as in Japanese. Okinawan retains a number of Japonic grammatical features also found inOld Japanesebut lost (or highly restricted) inModern Japanese,such as a distinction between the terminal form (Chung chỉ hình) and the attributive form (Liên thể hình), the genitive function ofがga(lost in the Shuri dialect), the nominative function ofぬnu(cf. Japanese:のno), as well as honorific/plain distribution ofgaandnuin nominative use.

Okinawan conjugation, for comparison in the framework of Classical Japanese

Thư ちゅん "to write" Classical Japanese:Thư くkaku
		Shuri		Classical Japanese
Irrealis	Vị nhiên hình	Thư か	kaka-	Thư か	kaka-
Continuative	Liên dụng hình	Thư ち	kachi-	Thư き	kaki-
Terminal	Chung chỉ hình	Thư ちゅん	kachun	Thư く	kaku
Attributive	Liên thể hình	Thư ちゅる	kachuru	Thư く	kaku
Realis	Dĩ nhiên hình	Thư き	kaki-	Thư け	kake-
Imperative	Mệnh lệnh hình	Thư き	kaki	Thư け	kake

One etymology given for the-unand-uruendings is the continuative form suffixed withuri( "to be; to exist", cf.Classical Japanese:Cư りwori):-undeveloped from the terminal formuri;-urudeveloped from the attributive formuru,i.e.:

• kachuruderives fromkachi-uru;
• kachunderives fromkachi-uri;and
• yumun( "to read", cf. Japanese:Đọc むyomu) derives fromyumi+uri.

A similar etymology is given for the terminal-sanand attributive-saruendings for adjectives: the stem suffixed withさsa(nominalises adjectives, i.e. high → height, hot → heat), suffixed withari( "to be; to exist; to have", cf. Classical Japanese:Hữu りari), i.e.:

• takasan( "high; tall", cf. Japanese:Cao いtakai) derives fromtaka-sa-ari;
• achisan( "hot; warm", cf. Japanese:Thử いatsui) derives fromatsu-sa-ari;and
• yutasaru( "good; pleasant", cf. Japanese: Phong かなyutakana"abundant; plentiful" ) derives fromyuta-sa-aru.

Parts of speech

Nature of the part of speech in a sentence							Part of speech
Independent	No conjugation	Can become a subject					Noun ( danh từ )
							Pronoun ( đại danh từ )
		Cannot become a subject		Other words come after	Modifies	Modifies a declinable word	Adverb ( phó từ )
						Modifies a substantive	Prenominal adjective ( liên thể từ )
					Connects		Conjunction ( tiếp 続 từ )
				Other words may not come after			Interjection / exclamation ( cảm động từ )
	Conjugates	Declinable word	Shows movements		Conclusive form ends in "ん(n)"		Verb ( động từ )
			Shows the property or state		Conclusive form ends in "さん(san)"		Adjective ( hình dung từ )
			Shows existence or decision of a certain thing		"やん(yan)"attaches to a substantive such as a noun		Existential-identificative verb ( tồn tại động từ )
			Shows state of existence of events		"やん(yan)"attaches to the word that shows state		Adjectival verb ( hình dung động từ )
Dependent	Conjugates	Makes up for the meanings of conjugated words			Conclusive form ends in "ん(n)"		Auxiliary Verb ( trợ động từ )
	No conjugation	Attaches to other words and shows the relationship between words					Particle ( trợ từ )
		Attaches to the head of a word and adds meaning or makes a new word					Prefix ( tiếp đầu ngữ )
		Attaches to the end of a word and adds meaning or makes a new word					Suffix ( tiếp vĩ ngữ )

Nouns ( danh từ )

Nouns are classified as independent, non-conjugating part of speech that can become a subject of a sentence

Pronouns ( đại danh từ )

Pronouns are classified the same as nouns, except that pronouns are more broad.

Okinawan pronouns

		Singular				Plural
		Personal	Demonstrative			Personal	Demonstrative
			Thing	Place	Direction		Thing	Place	Direction
1st person		Ngã ん(wan) わー(wā) わみ(wami)				Ngã đạt(wattā) いがろー(igarō)
2nd person		やー(yā) やーみ(yāmi) なー(nā) なーみ(nāmi) Ngự sở(unju)				いったー(ittā) なったー(nattā) うんじゅなーたー(unjunātā)
3rd person	Proximal	くり(kuri)	くり(kuri)	くま(kuma)	くま(kuma) くがた(kugata)	くったー(kuttā)	くったー(kuttā)	くま(kuma)	くま(kuma) くがた(kugata)
	Medial	うり(uri)	うり(uri)	うま(uma)	うま(uma) うがた(ugata)	うったー(uttā)	うったー(uttā)	うま(uma)	うま(uma) うがた(ugata)
	Distal	あり(ari)	あり(ari)	あま(ama)	あま(ama) あがた(agata)	あったー(attā)	あったー(attā)	あま(ama)	あま(ama) あがた(agata)
Indefinite		たー(tā) た(ta)	じる(jiru)	まー(mā)	まー(mā) まーかた(mākata)	たったー(tattā)	じる(jiru)	まー(mā)	まー(mā) まーかた(mākata)

Adverbs ( phó từ )

Adverbs are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech that cannot become a subject of a sentence and modifies a declinable word ( dụng ngôn; verbs, adverbs, adjectives) that comes after the adverb. There are two main categories to adverbs and several subcategories within each category, as shown in the table below.

Okinawan adverbs

	Adverbs that shows state or condition
	Okinawan	Japanese	English	Example
Time	ひっちー(hitchī)	しょっちゅう(shotchū) いつも(itsumo) Thủy chung(shijū)	Always	あぬ Anu Phu phụ(ふぃとぅんだー) fitundā ひっちー, hitchī, たっくゎいむっくゎい takkwaimukkwai びけーそーん. bikēsōn. あぬPhu phụ(ふぃとぅんだー)ひっちー,たっくゎいむっくゎい びけーそーん. Anu fitundā hitchī, takkwaimukkwai bikēsōn. あの Ano Phu phụ fūfu は wa いつも, itsumo, Ký り thiêm って yorisotte ばかり bakari いる. iru. あの phu phụ はいつも,Ký り thiêm って ばかり いる. Ano fūfu wa itsumo, yorisotte bakari iru. That couple isalwayssticking close.
	まーるけーてぃ(mārukēti)	たまに(tamani)	Occasionally	Tử(くゎ)ー Kwā まーるけーてぃ, mārukēti, Thân(うや) uya ぬ nu Gia thế(かしー)しーが kashīshīga Hành(い)ちゅん. ichun. Tử(くゎ)ーまーるけーてぃ,Thân(うや)ぬGia thế(かしー)しーがHành(い)ちゅん. Kwā mārukēti, uya nu kashīshīga ichun. Tử cung Kodomo は wa たまに, tamani, Thân oya の no Thủ vân い tetsudai に ni Hành く. iku. Tử cung はたまに,Thân の thủ vân い に hành く. Kodomo wa tamani, oya no tetsudai ni iku. The kidoccasionallygoes to help his/her parent.
	ちゃーき(chāki)	Trực ぐ(sugu)	Already	くぬ Kunu Xa(くるま)ー kurumā ちゃーき, chāki, けーやんでぃとーんたん. kēyanditōntan. くぬXa(くるま)ーちゃーき,けーやんでぃとーんたん. Kunu kurumā chāki, kēyanditōntan. この Kono Xa kuruma は wa Trực ぐ, sugu, 壊れて kowarete しまっていた. shimatteita. この xa はTrực ぐ,壊れて しまっていた. Kono kuruma wa sugu, kowarete shimatteita. This car brokealready.
	やがてぃ(yagati)	やがて	Shortly	やがてぃ, Yagati, Thái dương(てぃだ) tida ぬ nu Lạc(う)てぃゆしが, utiyushiga, Ngự sở(うんじょ)ー unjuō Lai(く)ーん. kūn. やがてぃ,Thái dương(てぃだ)ぬLạc(う)てぃゆしが,Ngự sở(うんじょ)ーLai(く)ーん. Yagati, tida nu utiyushiga, unjuō kūn. やがて, Yagate, Thái dương taiyō が ga Lạc ちるが, ochiruga, あなた anata は wa こない. konai. やがて,Thái dương が lạc ちるが, あなた は こない. Yagate, taiyō ga ochiruga, anata wa konai. The sun will disappearshortly,but you are not here.
	Vị だ(nāda)	まだ(mada)	Yet	Bỉ nữ(あり)が Ariga Đảm(ちもー) chimō Vị(なー)だ, nāda, Trực(のー)らん. nōran. Bỉ nữ(あり)がĐảm(ちもー)Vị(なー)だ,Trực(のー)らん. Ariga chimō nāda, nōran. Bỉ nữ Kanojo の no Cơ hiềm kigen は wa まだ, mada, Trực らない. naoranai. Bỉ nữ の cơ hiềm はまだ,Trực らない. Kanojo no kigen wa mada, naoranai. Her mood hasyetto become better.
	ちゃー(chā)	いつも(itsumo)	Always	あま Ama ぬ nu Khuyển(いのー) inō ちゃー, chā, あびとーん. abitōn. あま ぬKhuyển(いのー)ちゃー,あびとーん. Ama nu inō chā, abitōn. あそこ Asoko の no Khuyển inu は wa いつも, itsumo, Phệ えている. hoeteiru. あそこ の khuyển は いつも, phệ えている. Asoko no inu wa itsumo, hoeteiru. The dog over there isalwaysbarking.
	ちゅてーや(chutēya)	Thiếu しは(sukoshiwa) ちょっとは(chottowa)	A little	ちゅてーや, Chutēya, Đãi(ま)っちょーきよー. matchōkiyō. ちゅてーや,Đãi(ま)っちょーきよー. Chutēya, matchōkiyō. Thiếu しは, Sukoshiwa, Đãi っておいてよ. matteoiteyo. Thiếu しは,Đãi っておいてよ. Sukoshiwa, matteoiteyo. Waita little.
	あっとぅむす(attumusu)	Cấp に(kyūni)	Suddenly	どぅし Dushi ぬ nu あっとぅむす, attumusu, はっLai(ち)ょーたんどー. hachōtandō. どぅし ぬあっとぅむす,はっLai(ち)ょーたんどー. Dushi nu attumusu, hachōtandō. Hữu đạt Tomodachi が ga Cấp に, kyūni, Lai ていたよ. kiteitayo. Hữu đạt がCấp に,Lai ていたよ. Tomodachi ga kyūni, kiteitayo. My friend suddenly came.
	まるひーじーや(maruhījīya)	Phổ đoạn は(fudanwa)	Normally	Lân(とぅない) Tunai ぬ nu Tam lang chủ(さんだーすー) Sandāsū や ya まるひーじーや maruhījīya Tẩm(に)んてぃどぅCư(う)ゆる. nintidūyuru. Lân(とぅない)ぬTam lang chủ(さんだーすー)やまるひーじーやTẩm(に)んてぃどぅCư(う)ゆる. Tunai nu Sandāsū ya maruhījīya nintidūyuru. Lân Tonari の no Tam lang gia は Sandā-jī Phổ đoạn は fudanwa Tẩm ている. neteiru. Lân の tam lang gia はPhổ đoạn はTẩm ている. Tonari no Sandā-jī fudanwa neteiru. Sanda is normally sleeping.
	いっとぅちゃー(ittuchā)	しばらくは(shibarakuwa)	A little while	いっとぅちゃー, Ittuchā, Môn khẩu(じょーぐち) jōguchi んじ nji Đãi(ま)っちょーけー. matchōkē. いっとぅちゃー,Môn khẩu(じょーぐち)んじĐãi(ま)っちょーけー. Ittuchā, jōguchi nji matchōkē. しばらくは, Shibarakuwa, Môn mon で de Đãi っておけ. matteoke. しばらくは,Môn で đãi っておけ. Shibarakuwa, mon de matteoke. Wait at the gatea little while.
Quantity	いふぃ(ifi)	Thiếu し(sukoshi)	A little	Tam lang(さんだー), Sandā, いふぇー, ifē, Nhữ(やー) yā たまし tamashi から kara Phân(わ)きてぃThủ(とぅ)らせー. wakititurasē. Tam lang(さんだー),いふぇー,Nhữ(やー)たまし からPhân(わ)きてぃThủ(とぅ)らせー. Sandā, ifē, yā tamashi kara wakititurasē. Tam lang, Sandā, Thiếu し sukoshi は wa Quân kimi の no Phân bun から kara Phân けてくれ. waketekure. Tam lang,Thiếu しは quân の phân から phân けてくれ. Sandā, sukoshi wa kimi no bun kara waketekure. Sanda, please share a little bit of yours.
	ちゃっさきー(chassakī)	Trạch sơn(takusan)	Many, a lot of	Ngự chủ tiền(うすめー) Usumē や ya Sơn(やま) yama から kara ちゃっさきー, chassakī, Tân(たむん), tamun, Trì(む)ちLai(ち)ぇーん. muchichēn. Ngự chủ tiền(うすめー)やSơn(やま)からちゃっさきー,Tân(たむん),Trì(む)ちLai(ち)ぇーん. Usumē ya yama kara chassakī, tamun, muchichēn. お gia さん Ojī-san は wa Sơn yama から kara Trạch sơn, takusan, Tân maki を wo Trì ってきてある. mottekitearu. お gia さん は sơn からTrạch sơn,Tân を trì ってきてある. Ojī-san wa yama kara takusan, maki wo mottekitearu. The old man brought a lot of firewood.
	はてぃるか(hatiruka)	Tùy phân(zuibun)	A lot	Tạc nhật(ちぬー) Chinū や ya はてぃるか, hatiruka, Bộ(あ)っちゃん. atchan. Tạc nhật(ちぬー)やはてぃるか,Bộ(あ)っちゃん. Chinū ya hatiruka, atchan. Tạc nhật Kinō は wa Tùy phân, zuibun, Bộ いた. aruita. Tạc nhật はTùy phân,Bộ いた. Kinō wa zuibun, aruita. I walked a lot yesterday.
	ぐゎさない(gwasanai)	わんさか(wansaka)	Abundant	Ngã đạt(わったー) Wattā Điền(はる) haru んかい nkai や ya Thử(うーじぇー) ūjē ぐゎさない, gwasanai, まんどーんどー. mandōndō. Ngã đạt(わったー)Điền(はる)んかい やThử(うーじぇー)ぐゎさない,まんどーんどー. Wattā haru nkai ya ūjē gwasanai, mandōndō. Tư đạt Watashitachi の no Điền hatake に ni は wa Sa đường thử satōkibi は wa わんさか wansaka あるよ. aruyo. Tư đạt の điền に は sa đường thử はわんさかあるよ. Watashitachi no hatake ni wa satōkibi wa wansaka aruyo. We have abundant sugar cane in our farm.
	Mãn っちゃきー(mitchakī) Mãn っちゃかー(mitchakā)	Nhất bôi(ippai)	A lot	Dụ(んむ) Nmu やれー, yarē, しんめーん shinmēn Oa(なーび) nābi んかい nkai Mãn(み)っちゃきー mitchakī (Mãn(み)っちゃかー), (mitchakā), あんどー. andō. Dụ(んむ)やれー, しんめーんOa(なーび)んかいMãn(み)っちゃきー(Mãn(み)っちゃかー), あんどー. Nmu yarē, shinmēn nābi nkai mitchakī (mitchakā), andō. Dụ Imo なら nara Đại oa ōnabe に, ni, Nhất bôi, ippai, あるよ. aruyo. Dụ なら đại oa に,Nhất bôi,あるよ. Imo nara ōnabe ni, ippai, aruyo. We have a lot of potatoes in the big pot.
	ゆっかりうっさ(yukkariussa)	Tùy phân(zuibun)	A lot	Mịch mãn(いくまん) Ikuman んかい nkai や ya Thanh(ちゅ)らNhan(かーぎ) churakāgi ぬ nu ゆっかりうっさ, yukkariussa, Cư(う)ゆ uyu んでぃ. ndi. Mịch mãn(いくまん)んかい やThanh(ちゅ)らNhan(かーぎ)ぬゆっかりうっさ,Cư(う)ゆ んでぃ. Ikuman nkai ya churakāgi nu yukkariussa, uyu ndi. Mịch mãn Itoman に ni は wa Mỹ nhân bijin が ga Tùy phân, zuibun, いる iru そうだ. sōda. Mịch mãn に は mỹ nhân がTùy phân,いる そうだ. Itoman ni wa bijin ga zuibun, iru sōda. I heard that there are a lot of beautiful women in Itoman.
	うすまさ(usumasa)	Khủng ろしく(osoroshiku)	Extremely, a lot of	がじゃんBản(びら) Gajanbira んかい nkai や ya うすまさ, usumasa, がじゃん gajan ぬ nu Cư(う)ゆた uyuta んでぃ. ndi. がじゃんBản(びら)んかい やうすまさ,がじゃん ぬCư(う)ゆた んでぃ. Gajanbira nkai ya usumasa, gajan nu uyuta ndi. ガジャンビラ Gajanbira に ni は wa Khủng ろしく, osoroshiku, Văn ka が ga いた ita そうだ. sōda. ガジャンビラ に はKhủng ろしく,Văn が いた そうだ. Gajanbira ni wa osoroshiku, ka ga ita sōda. I heard that there were a lot of mosquitoes in Gajanbira.
	まんたきー(mantakī)	Nhất bôi(ippai)	Full, a lot	Thủy(みじ)ー Mijī まんたきー, mantakī, Nhập(い)りてぃ, iriti, たじらしよー. dajirashiyō. Thủy(みじ)ーまんたきー,Nhập(い)りてぃ, たじらしよー. Mijī mantakī, iriti, dajirashiyō. Thủy Mizu は wa Nhất bôi, ippai, Nhập れて, irete, Phần いてね. taitene. Thủy はNhất bôi,Nhập れて, phần いてね. Mizu wa ippai, irete, taitene. Put full of water and heat it.
	なーふぃん(nāfin)	もっと(motto)	More	くぬ Kunu Thang(ゆ) yu んかい nkai Thủy(みじぇー), mijē, なーふぃん, nāfin, んべーてぃNgô(くぃ)れー. nbētikwirē. くぬThang(ゆ)んかいThủy(みじぇー),なーふぃん,んべーてぃNgô(くぃ)れー. Kunu yu nkai mijē, nāfin, nbētikwirē. この Kono お thang oyu に ni Thủy mizu を wo もっと, motto, Túc してくれ. tashitekure. この お thang に thủy をもっと,Túc してくれ. Kono oyu ni mizu wo motto, tashitekure. Add more water to this hot water.
	Khinh ってんぐゎ(kattengwa)	Thiếu しだけ(sukoshidake)	A little	Kim nhật(ちゅー) Chiyū ぬ nu Trì phạn(むちばん) muchiban めーや mēya Khinh(か)ってんぐゎ, kattengwa, Dung(い)りてぃThủ(とぅ)らせー. irititurasē. Kim nhật(ちゅー)ぬTrì phạn(むちばん)めーやKhinh(か)ってんぐゎ,Dung(い)りてぃThủ(とぅ)らせー. Chiyū nu muchiban mēya kattengwa, irititurasē. Kim nhật Kyō の no Biện đương bentō は wa Thiếu しだけ, sukoshidake, Nhập れてちょうだい. iretechōdai. Kim nhật の biện đương はThiếu しだけ,Nhập れてちょうだい. Kyō no bentō wa sukoshidake, iretechōdai. Please give me just a little for today'sbentobox.
Degree	でーじな(dējina)	Đại 変(taihen)	Very	Ngự sở(うんじゅ) Unju が ga Tam tuyến(さんしん) sanshin ぬ nu Bì(かー) kā や ya でーじな, dējina, Thượng đẳng(じょーとー) jōtō やんやー. yan'yā Ngự sở(うんじゅ)がTam tuyến(さんしん)ぬBì(かー)やでーじな,Thượng đẳng(じょーとー)やんやー. Unju ga sanshin nu kā ya dējina, jōtō yan'yā あなた Anata の no Tam vị tuyến shamisen の no Bì kawa は wa Đại 変, taihen, Thượng đẳng jōtō ですね. desune. あなた の tam vị tuyến の bì はĐại 変,Thượng đẳng ですね. Anata no shamisen no kawa wa taihen, jōtō desune. The leather of yourshamisenis expensive.
	じまま(jimama)	Tùy phân(zuibun)	Fairly, quite	Ngã(わ)んねー Wannē Nhược さいに wakasainī ーや ya じまま, jimama, Miễn cường(びんちょー) binchō しゃん. shan. Ngã(わ)んねー nhược さいに ーやじまま,Miễn cường(びんちょー)しゃん. Wannē wakasainī ya jimama, binchō shan. Tư Watashi は wa Nhược い khoảnh wakaikoro は, wa, Tùy phân, zuibun, Miễn cường benkyō した. shita. Tư は nhược い khoảnh は,Tùy phân,Miễn cường した. Watashi wa wakaikoro wa, zuibun, benkyō shita. When I was young, I used to study quite a lot.
	よねー(yonē)	そんなには(sonnaniwa)	Not too much	Kim độ(くんどぅ) Kundu ぬ nu Chính nguyệt(しょーぐゎち) shōgwachi え e よねー, yonē, ゆくららんさー. yukuraransā. Kim độ(くんどぅ)ぬChính nguyệt(しょーぐゎち)えよねー,ゆくららんさー. Kundu nu shōgwachi e yonē, yukuraransā. Kim độ Kondo の no Chính nguyệt shōgatsu は, wa, そんなには, sonnaniwa, Hưu めないな. yasumenaina. Kim độ の chính nguyệt は,そんなには,Hưu めないな. Kondo no shōgatsu wa, sonnaniwa, yasumenaina. I cannot rest too much during this New Year's celebration.
	いーるく(īruku)	Lương く(yoku)	Often	くぬ hải んじえいーるく,Vịnh(うい)じゅんどー. Kunu umi nji e īruku, uijundō. この hải では,Lương く,Vịnh ぐよ. Kono umi de wa, yoku, oyoguyo. I often swim in this ocean.
	にりるか(niriruka)	うんざりするほど(unzarisuruhodo)	To a sickening degree	Tạc nhật(ちぬー)やにりるか,Hà(にー),かやーちゃん. Chinū ya niriruka, nī, kayāchan. Tạc nhật は,うんざりするほど,Hà を vận んだ. Kinō wa, unzarisuruhodo, ni wo hokonda. I carried luggage to a sickening degree yesterday.
	わじるか(wajiruka)	Nộ るほど(okoruhodo)	To the extent someone gets irritated	Thứ lang(じらー)がTác(ちゅく)たる thư loại やKhóa trường(かちょー)がわじるか,Gian vi(ばっぺー)とーたん. Jirā ga chukutaru shorui ya kachō ga wajiruka, bappētōtan. Thứ lang が tác った thư loại は khóa trường がNộ るほど,Gian vi っていた. Jirā ga tsukutta shorui wa kachō ga okoruhodo, machigetteita. The documents that Jira made had so many errors that the department chief got irritated.
	あいゆか(aiyuka)	とても(totemo)	Very	Ngã(わ)んねーあいゆか,Tràng(わた)ぬBệnh(や)でぃ, ひらきとーたん. Wannē aiyuka, wata nu yadi, hirakitōtan. Tư はとても,お phúc が thống くて, しゃがんでいた. Watashi wa totemo, onaka ga itakute, shagandeita. I had a very bad stomach ache and was squatting down.
	ゆくん(yukun)	Dư kế(yokei)	Even more	いったーHuynh(やっちい)やゆくん,ちじどぅやる. Ittā yatchī ya yukun, chijiduyaru. Quân đạt の huynh はDư kế,Đà mục だ. Kimitachi no ani wa yokei, dame da. Your brother is even worse.
	たった(tatta)	Dư kế(yokei)	Even more	Thời gian ぬKinh(た)ちいねー,Bỉ(あり)がBệnh(やんめー)やたった,Ác(わ)っさなゆんどー. Jikan nu tachīnē, ari ga yanmē ya tatta, wassanayundō. Thời gian が kinh てば, bỉ の bệnh khí はDư kế,Ác くなるよ. Jikan ga tateba, kare no byōki wa yokei, warukunaruyo. If you wait longer, his illness will be even worse.
	ちゅふぁーら(chufāra)	Nhất bôi(ippai)	Full, enough	むのー なー,ちゅふぁーら,Thực(か)だん. Munō nā, chufāra, kadan. Thực sự はもう,Nhất bôi,Thực べた. Shokuji wa mō, ippai, tabeta. I have already had enough food
	あんすかー(ansukā)	それほどは(sorehodowa)	Not so...	Chủ(すー)やTam tuyến(さんしん)やあんすかー,Thượng thủ(じょーじ)えあらん. Sū ya sanshin ya ansukā, jōji earan. お phụ さんは tam vị tuyến はそれほどは,Thượng thủ ではない. Otō-san wa shamisen sorehodowa jōzu dewanai. Father is not so good at shamisen.
	Tán ん tán んとぅ(chinchintu)	Tán り tán りに(chirijirini)	Dispersed, scattered	くまぬまんぐらーTán(ち)んTán(ち)んとぅどぅ,Gia(やー)やーたる. Kuma nu mangurā chinchintu du, yā yātaru. この biên りはTán り tán りにGia がなった. Kono atari wa chirijirini ie ga natta. Houses were scattered in this area.
Situation	Tảo く(hēku)	Tảo く(hayaku)	Quickly	Kim nhật(ちゅー)やTảo(へー)く,Tiễn(す)てぃThủ(とぅ)らしよー. Chū ya hēku, sutiturashiyō. Kim nhật はTảo く,Tập まってくれよ. Kyō wa hayaku, atsumattekureyo. Please gather quickly today.
	ようんなー(younnā)	ゆっくり(yukkuri)	Slowly	むのーHoảng(あわ)Hoảng てぃらんようい,ようんなー,Thực(か)めー. Munō awatiran'youi, younnā, kamē. Thực sự は hoảng てず,ゆっくり,Thực べよ. Shokuji wa awatezu, yukkuri, tabeyo. Don't rush when you eat, eat slowly.
	なんくる(nankuru)	Tự ずと(onozuto)	Naturally	とーないねー,なんくる,じんぶんぬんXuất(ん)じてぃLai(ち)ゅーさに. Tōnainē, nankuru, jinbunmen njitichūsani. いざとなれば,Tự ずと,Tri huệ も xuất てくるだろう. Iza to nareba, onozuto, chie mo detekuru darō. When the time comes, ideas will automatically come to our minds.
	ゆったいくゎったい(yuttaikwattai)	どんぶらこと(donburakoto)	Adverb for something heavy floating down on water	Xuyên(かー)ぬThượng(うい)ぬBàng(はた)から まぎĐào(むむ)ぬゆったいくゎったい,Lưu(るー)りてぃLai(ち)ゃん. Kā nu ui nu hata kara magi mumu nu yuttaikwattai, rūritichan. Xuyên の thượng の phương から đại きな đào がどんぶらこと,Lưu れて lai た. Kawa no ue no hō kara ōkina momo ga donburakoto, nagaretekita. A giant peach came floating down the river.
	なぐりなぐりとぅ(nagurinaguritu)	なごりなごりと(nagorinagorito)	Reluctantly, Nostalgically	なぐりなぐりとぅ,Biệt りぬAi tạt(えーさち)すん. Nagurinaguritu, wakari nu ēsachi sun. なごりなごりと,Biệt れの ai tạt をする. Nagorinagorito, wakare no aisatsu wo suru. We said goodbye reluctantly.
	しんじんとぅ(shinjintu)	しみじみと(shimijimito)	Nostalgically	しんじんとぅ,Tiết ca やてぃん, ca てぃんだ. Shinjintu, fushiuta yatin, utatinda. しみじみと,Tiết ca でも, ca ってみよう. Shimijimito, fushiuta demo, utattemiyō. Let's sing a traditional song nostalgically.
	Thứ đệ thứ đệ(shidēshidē)	Thứ đệ に(shidaini)	Gradually	Thái dương(てぃだ)ーTây(いりー)んかいThứ đệ thứ đệ(しでーしでー),Lạc(う)てぃてぃ hành ちゅん. Tidā irī nkai shidēshidē, utitīchun. Thái dương は tây へThứ đệ に,Thẩm んで hành く. Taiyō wa nishi he shidaini, shizundeiku. The sun gradually sets to the west.
	ちゅらーさ(churāsa)	Tàn らず(nokorazu)	Completely	Ô(がらさー)ぬ ちりĐại(ぶくる),ちゅらーさ,きざあちねーらん. Garasā nu chiribukuru, churāsa, kizāchinēran. Ô がゴミ đại を,Tàn らず,Ngư ってしまった. Karasu ga gomibukuro, nokorazu, asatteshimatta. The crows completely rummaged through the garbage bags.
	どぅく(duku)	あまりにも(amarinimo)	Too much, excessively	どぅく,ゆくしびけー, しーねー,Phạt(ばち),Bị(かん)じゅん. Duku, yukushi bikē, shīnē, bachi, kanjun. あまりにも,Hư ばかりついたら, phạt が đương たる. Amarinimo, uso bakari tsuitara, batsu ga ataru. If you tell too many lies, you will incur divine punishment.
	だんだんだんだん(dandandandan)	Đoạn 々(dandan)	Gradually	Nhữ(なー)Địch(ふぁんそー)ぬÂm(うとぅ)おだんだんだんだん,ましなとおん. Nā fansō nu utu o dandandandan, mashinatōn. あなたの địch の âm はĐoạn 々,Lương くなっている. Anata no fue no oto wa dandan, yokunatteiru. You are gradually becoming better at playing flute.
	Thứ đệ に(shidēni)	Thứ đệ に(shidaini)	Gradually	いがろうん,Thứ đệ(しでえ)に,Niên(とぅし),Thủ(とぅ)たんやあ. Igaroun, shidēni, tushi, tutan'yā. Ngã 々もThứ đệ にTuế を thủ ったね. Wareware mo shidaini toshi wo totta ne. We have gradually gotten old.
	どぅくだら(dukudara)	ひどく(hidoku)	Badly	どぅくだら,ひみちしいねえ,Y giả(いさ)んかい chẩn しらんでえ. Dukudara, himichi shīnē, isa nkai mishirandē. ひどく,せき込んだら, y giả に chẩn せないと. Hidoku, seki kondara, isha ni misenaito. If you start to cough badly, you have to go see a doctor.
	まっすぐ(massugu)	まっすぐ(massugu)	Straight	くまから あまんかいまっすぐ,Hành ちいねえ, hải んかいXuất(ん)じゆん. Kuma kara ama nkai massugu, ichīnē, umi nkai njiyun. ここからあそこへ,まっすぐ,Hành くと, hải に xuất る. Koko kara asoko he, massugu, ikuto, umi ni deru. If you go straight from there, you will see the ocean.
	まっとうば(mattouba)	Chính しく(tadashiku)	Correctly	Nhữ(なー)やTrùng 縄 khẩu(うちなーぐちぇ)ーまっとうば,Sử(ちか)りよお. Nā ya uchināguchē mattouba, chikariyō. Quân は trùng 縄 ngữ をChính しくSử ってよ. Kimi wa okinawago wo tadashiku tsukatteyo. Please use Okinawan correctly.
	だってぃどぅ(dattidu)	ちゃんと(chanto)	Properly	Gia(やー)やだってぃどぅ,Tác(ちゅく)ゆんどお. Yā ya dattidu, chukuyundō. Gia はちゃんと,Tác るんだよ. Ie wa chanto, tsukurundayo. You must build a house properly.
	だてん(daten)	きちんと(kichinto)	Neatly	あんまあやKim nhật(ちゅう)やだてん,すがとおん. Anmā ya chū ya daten, sugatōn. Mẫu は kim nhật はきちんと,Thân なりを chỉnh えている. Haha wa kyō wa kichinto, minari wo totonoeteiru. My mother has dressed neatly today.
	さっぱっとぅ(sappattu)	さっぱり(sappari)	Freshly	Đoạn phát(だんぱち)さあに,さっぱっとぅ,そおん. Danpachi sāni, sappattu, sōn. Tán phát をして,さっぱりしている. Sanbatsu wo shite, sappari shiteiru. Looking fresh after a haircut.
	しかっとぅ(shikattu)	しっかり(shikkari)	Carefully	Thân(うや)ぬNgôn(ゆ)し,しかっとぅ,Văn(ち)ちょうきよお. Uya nu yushi, shikattu, chichoukiyō. Thân の ngôn うことをしっかり,Văn いておけよ. Oya no iukoto wo shikkari, kiiteokeyo. Listen to your parents carefully.
	うかっとぅお(ukattuo)	うかつには(ukatsuniwa)	Thoughtlessly, carelessly	あんしん, thí nghiệm ー,うかっとぅお,Thụ きららん. Anshin, shikennō, ukattuo, ukiraran. それでも, thí nghiệm はうかつにはThụ けられない. Soredemo, shiken wa ukatsuniwa ukerarenai. You cannot take the exam thoughtlessly.
	たった(tatta)	Dư kế(yokei)	Even more	うぬBệnh(やんめー)や にじいねえ,たった,Ác(わ)っさなゆんどお. Unu yanmē ya nijīnē, tatta, wassanayundō. その bệnh khí は ngã mạn すると,Dư kế,Ác くなるよ. Sono byōki wa gaman suru to, yokei, warukunaruyo. If you endure your illness too much, it will get even worse.
Adverbs that shows judgement
	Okinawan	Japanese	English	Example
Assumption	むし(mushi)	もし(moshi)	If	むし, Mushi, Ngôn いばっぺえしいねえ, ībappēshīnē, Như hà(いちゃ) icha すか. suka. むし,Ngôn いばっぺえしいねえ,Như hà(いちゃ)すか. Mushi, ībappēshīnē, icha suka. もし, Moshi, Ngôn い gian vi えたら, iimachigaetara, どう dō するか. suruka. もし,Ngôn い gian vi えたら, どう するか. Moshi, iimachigaetara, dō suruka. What would we doifwe said something wrong.
	たとぅい(tatui)	Lệ え(tatoe)	Even if	たとぅい, Tatui, Đại phong(うふかじ) ufukaji ぬ nu Xuy ちん, fuchin, くぬ kunu Gia(やあ) yā や ya Đảo(とお)おりらん. tōoriran. たとぅい,Đại phong(うふかじ)ぬ xuy ちん, くぬGia(やあ)やĐảo(とお)おりらん. Tatui, ufukaji nu fuchin, kunu yā ya tōoriran. Lệ え, Tatoe, Đại phong ōkaze が ga Xuy いても, fuitemo, この kono Gia ie は wa Đảo れない. taorenai. Lệ え,Đại phong が xuy いても, この gia は đảo れない. Tatoe, ōkaze ga fuitemo, kono ie wa taorenai. Even if a strong wind blew, this house will not fall down.
	Lệ れー(taturē)	Lệ えば(tatoeba)	For example, if you compare	Lệ れー, Taturē, Trùng 縄(うちなー) Uchinā や ya Đại hòa(やまとぅ) Yamatu ぬ nu ハワイ Hawai やさ. yasa. Lệ れー,Trùng 縄(うちなー)やĐại hòa(やまとぅ)ぬ ハワイ やさ. Taturē, Uchinā ya Yamatu nu Hawai yasa. Lệ えば Tatoteba Trùng 縄 Okinawa は wa Nhật bổn Nihon の no ハワイ Hawai さ. sa. Lệ えば trùng 縄 は nhật bổn の ハワイ さ. Tatoteba Okinawa wa Nihon no Hawai sa. If you compare, Okinawa is like Japan's Hawaii.
Supposition	いやりん(iyarin)	きっと ( いかにも )(kitto (ikanimo))	Indeed, surely	いやりん, Iyarin, くぬ kunu Điểu(すーさー) sūsā や ya Sơn nguyên(やんばる) yanbaru くぇーな kwēna どぅ du やさに. yasani. いやりん,くぬĐiểu(すーさー)やSơn nguyên(やんばる)くぇーな どぅ やさに. Iyarin, kunu sūsā ya yanbaru kwēna du yasani. きっと Kitto ( いかにも ), (ikanimo), この kono Điểu tori は wa Sơn nguyên yanbaru クイナ kuina なの nano だろうか. darōka. きっと( いかにも ),この điểu は sơn nguyên クイナ なの だろうか. Kitto (ikanimo), kono tori wa yanbaru kuina nano darōka. Surely this bird must be anOkinawa rail.
	まさか(masaka)	まさか(masaka)	No way, no idea, unlikely, it is impossible that...	まさか, Masaka, ちゅ chu Thôn(しま) shima んかい nkai 従 đệ(いちく) ichiku ぬ nu しまゆ shimayu んでー, ndē, Tư(うまー)んたん. umāntan. まさか,ちゅThôn(しま)んかい従 đệ(いちく)ぬ しまゆ んでー,Tư(うまー)んたん. Masaka, chu shima nkai ichiku nu shimayu ndē, umāntan. まさか, Masaka, Đồng じ onaji Thôn mura に ni 従 đệ itoko が ga Trụ んでいる sundeiru とは towa Tư わなかった. omowanakatta. まさか,Đồng じ thôn に 従 đệ が trụ んでいる とは tư わなかった. Masaka, onaji mura ni itoko ga sundeiru towa omowanakatta. I had no idea that my cousin lived in the same village.
	むしや(mushiya)	もしや(moshiya)	By chance	むしや,うんじょーNgã(わん)とぅちるめーや あらに. もしや,あなたは tư と đồng じ tuế ではないだろうか. Are you as old as I am by any chance?
	むしか(mushika)	もしや(moshiya)	Perhaps	むしか,Kim khoảnh(なまぐる),Ngã sự(わあくとぅ),Tâm phối(しわ)しえCư(う)らんさに. もしや,Kim khoảnh, tư のことを tâm phối していないだろうな. Perhaps, they might be worried about me now.
	まさか(masaka)	まさか(masaka)	No way, no idea, unlikely, it is impossible that...	まさか,Kim nhật(ちゅう)や うTế(まち)いんでえTư(うま)あんたん. Masaka chūya umachī ndē umāntan まさか,Kim nhật はウマチーとは tư わなかった. I had no idea that today was the festival day.
	あたまに(atamani)	ほんとに(hontoni)	Really (intensifier)	あたまに,Kim nhật(ちゅう)やThử(あち)さっさあやあ. ほんとに,Kim nhật は thử いねえ. It's really hot today.
Wish	どうでぃん(doudin)	どうか(dōka)	Please	どうでぃん,Ngã(わあ)がNgự nguyện(うにげ)え,Văn(ち)ちたぼうり. どうか,Tư のお nguyện いを văn いてください. Please could you do me a favor?
	たんでぃ(tandi)	どうぞ(dōzo)	Please	たんでぃ,Ngã(わん)にんかいThủy(みじ),Ẩm(ぬ)まちNgô(くぃ)みそおれえ. どうぞ,Tư に thủy を ẩm ましてください. Please let me drink some water.
	Tất じ(kannaji)	Tất ず(kanarazu)	Always, have to	Nhị nam(じな)ぬうやTất(かんな)じ,サッカー bộ んかいNhập(い)ゆんでぃ. Nhị nam はTất ず,サッカー bộ に nhập るんだと. The second oldest son has to join the soccer team.
	Như hà しん(chāshin)	どうしても(dōshitemo)	Have to, at any cost	あぬÁnh họa(えいぐゎ),Như hà(ちゃあ)しん,Kiến(ん)じいぶしゃん. あの ánh họa をどうしても, kiến たい. I want to watch the movie at any cost.
Doubt	Như hà し(chāshi)	どうやって(dōyatte)	How	くぬパソコンやNhư hà(ちゃあ)し,Động(んじゅ)かすが. このパソコンはどうやって,Động かすのか. How do you use this computer?
	みったい(mittai)	Nhất thể(ittai)	Really	みったい,うんじゅおー, ngã どぅỨc(うせ)えとおるい. Nhất thể,あなたは tư を mã lộc にしているのか. Really, are you making fun of me?
	あんすか(ansuka)	そんなに(sonnani)	So much, really	Hậu(くし)ぬあばあやあんすか,Ca thượng thủ(うたじょうじい)やんなあ. Hậu lân りのあ tỷ さんはそんなに,Ca が thượng thủ なのか. Is the lady next door really good at singing?
	Hà んち(nūnchi)	Hà cố(naze)	Why	Hà(ぬう)んち,Phụ(すう)や hành かんが. Hà cố, phụ は hành かないか. Why doesn't father want to go?
Denial or negation	あちらん(achiran)	Nhất hướng に(ikkōni)	Completely, at all	ちゃっさ, あさがちしん,あちらんTiền(めー)あがちんならん. いくら, tiêu っても,Nhất hướng に,Tiền に tiến むことも xuất lai ない. No matter how much we hurry, we cannot make any progress at all.
	じょーい(jōi)	Tuyệt đối(zettai)	Definitely	うぬ thạch ーĐồng(わらび)のーじょーい,Trì(む)っちいゆさん. この thạch は tử cung はTuyệt đối,Trì てない. This rock, the childdefinitelycannot hold.
	ちゃっさん(chassan)	Độ を siêu して(do o koshite)	Go too far	ちゃっさん,Du(あし)ばんしえーまし. Độ を siêu して,Du ばない phương が lương い. You should not go too far when you're playing.
	いふぃん(ifin)	Thiếu しも(sukoshimo)	At all	どぅく,Mang(いちゅな)さぬ,いふぃん,ゆくららん. あまりにも, mang しくて,Thiếu しも,Hưu めない. I'm so busy I cannot rest at all.
	Như hà ん(chān)	どうすることも(dōsurukotomo)	Cannot do anything	じかじんVăn(ち)かんくとぅ,Như hà(ちゃー)ん,ならん. Ngôn うことも văn かないから,どうすることもXuất lai ない. They don't listen, so I cannot do anything.
Decision	じゅんに(junni)	Bổn đương に(hontōni)	Really, truly	くぬTam tuyến(さんしん)やじゅんに,Tú vật(そうむん)やっさー. この tam vị tuyến はBổn đương に,Lập phái なものだな. This is a truly amazing Sanshin.
	Tất じ(kannaji)	Tất ず(kanarazu)	Definitely	Ngã(わ)んねーTất(かんな)じ,Ngự sở(うんじゅ)ぬSở(とぅくる)んかい hành ちゃん. Tư はTất ず,あなたの sở に hành く. I will definitely go to your place.
	うん như おりー(ungutuorī)	そのような sự(sonoyōnakoto)	Such a thing	うんNhư(ぐと)ーりーや đương いTiền(めー)なかい,Thùy(たー)がん なゆん. そのような sựは, đương nhiên, thùy にでもできる. Anybody can do such a thing.
Others	いちゃんだん(ichandan)	むやみに(muyamini)	Recklessly	Tích(んかし)んNhân(ちょ)ーいちゃんだん,Chiến, そーたん. Tích の nhân はむやみにChiến tranh をしていた. People used to recklessly start wars in the past.
	うったてぃ(uttati)	わざと(wazato)	On purpose	あんぐゎーなかいKiến(ん)だりーんねーし,Nhị tuế(にーせー)やうったてぃ,どぅPhản(げー)りゆたん. Nữ の tử に kiến られようと, thanh niên はわざと,転びよった. The boy fell on purpose so that the girl would notice him.
	なー(nā)	もう(mō)	Already	Khách(ちゃこ)ーなー,Khứ(は)いたん. お khách さんはもう, hành ってしまった. The guests are already gone.

Prenominal adjectives ( liên thể từ )

Prenominal adjectives ( liên thể từ )

Prenominal adjectives are classified the same as adverbs, except instead of modifying a declinable word, it modifies a substantive ( thể ngôn; nouns and pronouns).
Okinawan	Japanese	English
いぃー(yī)	Lương い(ii)	good

Conjunctions ( tiếp 続 từ )

Conjunctions ( tiếp 続 từ )

Conjunctions are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech that connects words coming after to words coming before.
Okinawan	Japanese	English
あんさびーくとぅ(ansabīkutu)	そういうわけですから(sō iu wake desukara)	"For that reason"
あんし(anshi)	それで(sorede) それから(sorekara)	"And then"
やくとぅ(yakutu)	だから(dakara)	"So"
やしが(yashiga)	しかし(shikashi) そうではあるが(sōde wa aruga)	"But"

Interjections and exclamations ( cảm động từ )

Interjections and exclamations ( cảm động từ )

Interjections are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech, where it does not modify or connect anything, and other words may not come after it.
Okinawan	Japanese	English	Notes
あい(ai)	おや(oya)	Oh / wow	Kinh きの khí trì ちを biểu す Expression of surprise
あきさみよー(akisamiyō)	あらまあ(aramā)	Oh dear	Expression of dismay, concern, or worry
あきとーなー(akitōnā)	おやまあ(oyamā)	Oh dear	Thất bại した thời や kinh いた thời などに phát する Expression of dismay, concern, or worry
うー(ū)	はい(hai)	Yes	Honorific "yes"
あいびらん(aibiran) をぅーをぅー(wūwū)	いいえ(īe)	No	Mục thượng の nhân に đối して dụng いる Honorific "no"
だー(dā)	おい(oi) どれ(dore) ほら(hora)	Hey
とー(tō)	ほら(hora) よし(yoshi)	All right	Expression of pleasure, joy, or permission
とーとー(tōtō)	よしよし(yoshiyoshi) ほらほら(horahora)
はっさみよー(hassamiyō)	おやまあ(oyamā)	Oh dear	Ngốc れ phản った thời などに phát する ngữ
んちゃ(ncha)	なるほど(naruhodo) やっぱり(yappari) Dư định thông りだ(yoteidōrida)	Sure enough, As I expected

Verbs ( động từ )

Verbs are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows movements. The conclusive form ends in ん(n).

Adjectives ( hình dung từ )

Adjectives are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows property or state. The conclusive form ends in さん(san).

( tồn tại động từ )

Tồn tại động từ are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows existence or decision of a certain thing. やん(yan)attaches to a substantive.

Adjectival verbs ( hình dung động từ )

Adjectival verbs are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows the state of existence of events. やん(yan)attaches to words that shows state.

Auxiliary verbs ( trợ động từ )

Auxiliary verbs ( trợ động từ )

Auxiliary verbs are classified as a dependent, conjugating part of speech that makes up the meanings of conjugated words. The conclusive form ends in ん(n).
Okinawan	Japanese	English	Example
あぎーん(agīn) あぎゆん(agiyun)	しつつある(shitsutsuaru)
ぎさん(gisan)	そうだ(sōda)
ぐとーん(gutōn)	のようだ(noyōda)
しみゆん(shimiyun) すん(sun)	させる(saseru)
ぶさん(busan)	したい(shitai)	want to
みしぇーびーん(mishēbīn)	なさいます(nasaimasu)
みしぇーん(mishēn)	なさる(nasaru)
ゆーすん(yūsun)	ことができる(kotogadekiru)	be able to
りゆん(riyun) りーん(rīn)	れる(reru) られる(rareru)

Particles ( trợ từ )

Particles ( trợ từ )

Case markers ( cách trợ từ )
Attaches to a substantive and marks the relationship between other words.
Okinawan	Japanese	Notes/English	Example
ぬ(nu) が(ga)	が(ga)	Nominative case. Normally ぬ(nu),but が(ga)is used for pronouns and names.	Khuyển(いん)ぬあびゆん.Ngã(わあ)があびゆん. KhuyểnがPhệ える. TưがĐiệp る.
ぬ(nu)	の(no)	Genitive case; possessor.	Đồn(うわー)ぬNhục(しし),Thực(か)みーねー,Thể(からだ)んかいましやん. ĐồnのNhục を thực べると thể に lương い.
Ø (Archaic:ゆ(yu))	を(wo)	Accusative case. Modern Okinawan does not use a direct object particle, like casual Japanese speech. "yu" exists mainly in old literary composition.
っし(sshi)	で(de)	Instrumental case; the means by which something is achieved.	バスっしHành(い)ちゃびら. バスでHành こう. Let's gobybus.
さーに(sāni)			Trùng 縄 khẩu(うちなーぐち)さーにThủ chỉ(てぃがみ)Thư(か)ちゃん. Trùng 縄 ngữでThủ chỉ を thư いた. I wrote the letterinOkinawan.
なかい(nakai)・んかい(nkai)	へ(e)・に(ni)	Dative case; indirect object, benefactor, goal of motion. Thủ đoạn ・ phương pháp	Trùng 縄(うちなー)んかいめんそーれー! Trùng 縄へようこそ! WelcometoOkinawa!
をぅとーてぃ(wutōti)・をぅてぃ(wuti)		Locative case; marks the location where an action takes place, usually pertaining to an animate subject. Derives from the participle form of the verb をぅん wun "to be, to exist".	くまをぅとーてぃKhế(ゆくぃ)Dục(ぶ)さん. ここでHưu みたい. I want to rest (at) here.
やか(yaka)	より(yori)	"as much as"; upper limit	Bỉ(あり)やかĐại hòa khẩu(やまとぅぐち)ぬ thượng thủ(じょおじ)やあらん. BỉよりNhật bổn ngữ が thượng thủ ではない. My Japanese isn'tas good ashis.
から(kara)	から(kara)	Ablative case; source, cause. Khởi điểm
なーりー(nārī)		Tràng sở ・ vị trí
んじ(nji)	で(de)	Tràng sở
ん(n)		Sở chúc đẳng
ぬ→ “〜している” “〜である” “〜い・しい” pp459.
とぅ(tu)	と(to)	Tương thủ
んでぃ(ndi)	と(to)	Quotative.
に(ni)		Thời ・ tràng sở đẳng
Adverbial Particles ( phó trợ từ )
Okinawan	Japanese	Notes/English	Example
びけー(bikē)	だけ(dake)
びけーん(bikēn)	ばかり(bakari)	"only; limit"	ローマ tự(じ)びけーんぬ thư vật(すむち). ローマ tựばかりの thư vật. Aromajionlybook.
だき(daki)	だけ(dake)
までぃ(madi)	まで(made)	"up to, until, as far as"	くぬ điện xa(でんしゃ)あ, thủ lí(しゅい)までぃHành(い)ちゃびーん. Quy(けー)るまでぃĐãi(ま)ちょーいびーん. この điện xa は thủ lí まで hành く. Quy るまでĐãi つ. This train goesas far asShuri. I'll waituntilyou come home.
くれー(kurē)	ぐらい(gurai)	"around, about, approximately"	Thập phân(じっぷん)くれーかかゆん. Thập phânぐらいかかる. It will takeabout10 minutes.
ふどぅ(fudu)	ほど(hodo)
あたい(atai)	ぐらい(gurai)Đẳng	as much as; upper limit.	うぬ kiến vật(たてぃむの)ー tư(うむ)ゆるあたいCao(たか)こーねーやびらん. あの kiến vật は tư うぐらいCao くないよ. That building is notas tall asyou imagine it to be.
んちょーん(nchōn)	さえ(sae)
うっさ(ussa)	だけ(dake)Đẳng
うっぴ(uppi)	だけ(dake)Đẳng		Tẩm(に)んじ dục(ぶ)しゃるうっぴTẩm(に)んでぃん tế(す)まびいん. Tẩm たいだけTẩm ていいよ. You can sleepas much asyou want.
うひ(uhi)	だけ(dake)Đẳng
さく(saku)	ほど(hodo),だけ(dake)
Binding particles ( hệ trợ từ )
Okinawan	Japanese	Notes/English	Example
や(ya)	は(wa)	Topic particle for long vowels, proper nouns, or names. For other nouns, the particle fuses with short vowels. a → ā, i → ē, u → ō, e → ē, o → ō, n → nō. Pronoun ngã ん (wan?) (I) becomes topicalized as ngã んねー (wannē?) instead of ngã んのー (wannō?) or ngã んや (wan'ya?), although the latter does appear in some musical or literary works.
あー(ā)
えー(ē)
おー(ō)
のー(nō)
ん(n)	も(mo)	"Also"
やてぃん(yatin)	でも(demo)	"even, also in"	Vũ trụ(うちゅー)からやてぃんVạn lí(まんり)ぬ trường thành(ちょーじょー)ぬ kiến(み)いゆん. Đại hòa(やまとぅ)やてぃんいんちりーん khẩu(ぐち)を miễn cường(びんちょー)すん. Vạn lí の trường thành は vũ trụ からでもKiến れる. Nhật bổnでもAnh ngữ を tập う The Great Wall of China canevenbe seen from space.Also inJapan, we study English.
がん(gan)	でも(demo)
ぬん(nun)	でも(demo)
しか(shika)	しか(shika)
てぃらむん(tiramun)	たるもの(tarumono)
とぅか(tuka)	とか(toka) や(ya)
どぅ(du)	ぞ(zo) こそ(koso)
る(ru)	ぞ(zo) こそ(koso)
Sentence-ending particles ( chung trợ từ )
Okinawan	Japanese	Notes/English	Example
が(ga) やが(yaga)	か(ka)	Final interrogatory particle
み(mi)	か(ka)	Final interrogatory particle
に(ni)		Khả phủ nghi vấn
い(i)		Cường điều nghi vấn
がやー(gayā)	かな(kana)
さに(sani)	だろう(darō)
なー(nā)	の(no)	Final particle expressing vấn いかけ・ niệm áp し
ばー(bā)		Khinh い nghi vấn
どー(dō)	ぞ(zo) よ(yo)
よ(yo)	よ(yo)
ふー(fū)		Khinh く ngôn う
な(na)	な(na)	Prohibitive
え(e)		Mệnh lệnh
さ(sa)	さ(sa)
でむね(demune)		Đoạn định
せー(sē)		Đoạn định
Interjectory Particles ( gian đầu trợ từ )
Okinawan	Japanese	Notes/English	Example
てー(tē)	ね(ne)Đẳng
よ(yo) よお(yō)	ね(ne) よ(yo)Đẳng
や(ya) やあ(yā)	ぬ(nu) よ(yo)Đẳng
なー(nā)	ね(ne)Đẳng
さり(sari)	ねえ(nē)Đẳng
ひゃー(hyā)		Ý ngoại, khinh miệt
Conjunctive particles ( tiếp 続 trợ từ )

Others

Copula

Okinawan	Past tense	Japanese
あびーん(abīn) いびーん(ibīn)	A	ます(masu)
		です(desu)
やいびーん(yaibīn)
でーびる(dēbiru)	A
		でございます(degozaimasu)

Question words ( nghi vấn từ )

Okinawan	Japanese	English
いくち(ikuchi)	いくつ(ikutsu)	"How much"
いち(ichi)	いつ(itsu)	"When"
じる(jiru)	どれ(dore)	"Which"
たー(tā)	Thùy(dare)	"Who"
たったー(tattā)	Thùy 々(daredare)	"Who" (plural)
ちゃー(chā)	どう(dō)	"How" (in what way)
ちぁっさ(chassa)	どれだけ(doredake) いくら(ikura)	"How much"
ちゃっぴ(chappi) ちゃぬあたい(chanuatai)	どれほど(dorehodo)	"How"
ちゃぬ(chanu)	どの(dono) どのような(donoyōna)	"What kind"
ぬー(nū)	Hà(nani)	"What"
ぬーんち(nūnchi)	どうして(dōshite)	"Why"
まー(mā)	どこ(doko)	"Where"

Syntax

The basic word order issubject–object–verb.

Okinawan is amarked nominative language(with the accusative being unmarked) that also shows minoractive–stativevariation in intransitive verbs relating to existence or emergence. In existence or emergence verbs, the subject may be optionally unmarked (except for pronouns and proper names, which must be marked withga), and marked human subjects cannot usegaanymore, but rather always with the often-inanimate markernu.

Example

Sample text in Standard Okinawan (Shuri-Naha dialect)

In Kanji

Nhân gian ー thùy ん sinh まりやぎーなー tự do やい, また, đỗng đại thiết に tư ゆる can とぅ đỗng thủ らんでぃる can ー, thùy やてぃんゆぬ như thụ かとーるむんやん. Nhân gian ー nguyên からいー củ ぬ bị わとーくとぅ, hỗ ーに huynh đệ やんでぃる khảo ーさーに sự に đương たらんだれーならん. (without ruby)

Nhân gian(にんじの)ーThùy(たー)んSinh(ん)まりやぎーなーTự do(じゆ)やい, また,Đỗng(どぅー)Đại thiết(てーしち)にTư(うむ)ゆるCan(ちむ)とぅĐỗng(どぅー)Thủ(まむ)らんでぃるCan(ちも)ー,Thùy(たー)やてぃんゆぬNhư(ぐとぅ)Thụ(さじゃ)かとーるむんやん.Nhân gian(にんじの)ーNguyên(むーとぅ)からいーCủ(かに)ぬBị(すな)わとーくとぅ,Hỗ(たげ)ーにHuynh đệ(ちょーでー)やんでぃるKhảo(かんげ)ーさーにSự(くとぅ)にĐương(あ)たらんだれーならん. (with ruby)

Transliteration

Ninjinō tā n 'nmariyagīnā jiyu yai, mata, dū tēshichi ni umuyuru chimu tu dū mamurandiru chimō, tā yatin yunugutu sajakatōru mun yan. Ninjinō mūtu kara īka ni nu sunawatōkutu, tagē ni chōdēyandiru kangēsā ni kutu ni atarandarē naran. (UDHRArticle 1)

See also

• Okinawan Japanese,the language most commonly spoken in Okinawa today

References

• Brown, Keith; Ogilvie, Sarah (2008).Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world.Elsevier.ISBN978-0-08-087774-7.
• Curry, Stewart A. (2004).Small Linguistics: Phonological history and lexical loans in Nakijin dialect Okinawan.Ph.D. - East Asian Languages and Literatures (Japanese), University of Hawaii at Manoa.hdl:10125/11526.
• Davis, Christopher (2013)."The Role of Focus Particles in Wh-Interrogatives: Evidence from a Southern Ryukyuan Language"(PDF).University of the Ryukyus. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 20 April 2014.Retrieved19 April2014.
• Ishikawa, Takeo (April 2002).Tân しいまちづくり phong kiến thành thị(PDF).しまてぃ(in Japanese) (21).Retrieved14 March2011.
• Kaplan, Robert B. (2008).Language Planning and Policy in Asia: Japan, Nepal, Taiwan and Chinese characters.Multilingual Matters.ISBN978-1-84769-095-1.
• Kerr, George H. (2000).Okinawa, the history of an island people.Tuttle Publishing.ISBN978-0-8048-2087-5.
• Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009) [first published 1951 by SIL],Ethnologue: Languages of the World(16 ed.), Dallas: SIL International,ISBN9781556712166,OL19636399W
• Miyara, Shinsho (2009)."Two Types of Nasal in Okinawa"(PDF).Ngôn ngữ nghiên cứu ( Gengo Kenkyu ).Retrieved25 December2010.
• Moseley, Christopher (2010)."Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger"(3rd ed.). UNESCO Publishing.Retrieved25 December2010.
• Noguchi, Mary Goebel; Fotos, Sandra (2001).Proto-Japanese: issues and prospects.Multilingual Matters.ISBN978-1-85359-490-8.
• Noguchi, M.G. (2001).Studies in Japanese Bilingualism.Multilingual Matters Ltd.ISBN978-1853594892.
• Takara, Kurayoshi (1994–1995)."King and Priestess: Spiritual and Political Power in Ancient Ryukyu"(PDF).The Ryukyuanist(27).Retrieved23 January2011.
• Tanji, Miyume (2006).Myth, protest and struggle in Okinawa.Taylor & Francis.ISBN978-0-415-36500-0.
• "Worldwide Heritages in Okinawa: Tamaudun".Trùng 縄スタイル(in Japanese) (7). Duệ xuất bản xã. 10 July 2005.ISBN978-4-7779-0333-7.Retrieved14 March2011.
• Kodansha – encyclopedia of Japan.Vol. 6. Kodansha. 1983.ISBN978-0-87011-626-1.
• Working papers in linguistics.Vol. 9. Dept. of Linguistics, University of Hawaii. 1977.
• "King Shunten 1187-1237".Okinawa Prefectural Government. 2003.Retrieved14 March2011.

External links

• Thủ lí ・ na bá phương ngôn khái thuyết ( thủ lí ・ na bá phương ngôn âm thanh データベース )
• うちなあぐちby Kiyoshi Fiza, an Okinawan language writer.
• JLect - Okinawa Language-Dialect Dictionary (definitions and meanings)