Manchu/Lesson 2 - Nouns

To view this page in Manchu script, please visit here. Dialogue & Translation Manchu's word order is SOV(Subject-Object-Verb), similar to Japanese and Korean.ere haha oci mini ama.This man is my father.tere hehe oci mini eme.That woman is my mother.mini eme oci manju niyalma.My mother is Manchu.ere oci we i bithe?Whose book is this?ere oci mini eme i bithe.This is my mother's booksikse mini ama Harbin de genehe. Harbin de manjusa labdu.My father went to Harbin yesterday. There are many Manchus in Harbin.mini ama Harbin de ere manju gisun tacire bithe be udaha.In Harbin my father bought this Manchu language learning book.i ere bithe be mini eme de buhe.He gave this book to my mother.te mini eme inenggidari manju gisun be tacimbi.Now my mother studies Manchu everyday.mini eme hendume: "nikan gisun ci manju gisun ja".My mother says that Manchu is easier than Chinese................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Vocab ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Manchu VocabularyEnglish TranslationManchu VocabularyEnglish TranslationakūIsn't, there isn'tamaFatherararaPresent/future tense of arambi (to write) -beAccusative case markerbiTo havebitheBookbuhePast tense of bumbi (to give) -ciAblative case marker (from) -dariRepetitive suffix, each, every.. -deLocative/dative case marker (at/to)emeMotheremuOneereThisgenehePast tense of genembi (to go)gisunLanguagegurunCountryhahaManhairambiTo lovehalukanHotheheWomanhendumePresent tense of hendumbi (to say) with converb -meiHe/she -iGenitive case marker (of)ilhaFlowerinenggiDayinenggidariDailyisinahaTo have arrivedjaEasykomsoA fewlabduManymafaAncestral, grandfathermanjuManchumanjusaManchusminiMynikanHan ChineseniyalmaPersonniyengniyeriSpringociIs (conditional of ombi - to become)ohoBecame (past tense of ombi - to become) -saPlural markersikseYesterdaytacirePresent/future tense of tacimbi (to study)teNowtereThattubadeThere (literally tu-ba-de, at that place)udahaPast tense of udambi (to buy)weWho................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Grammar Nouns Manchu nouns have number and case but do not really have gender. Nouns can consist solely of a stem such as 'bithe' (book), be formed by adding suffixes to other words, or be formed by adding two nouns together such as 'ahūn deo' (brothers). The most common suffixes that can be added to words to form nouns include: ........................................................................................................................Suffixes used with verb stems Examples -n tacin – Learning. From the verb stem tacimbi (to study) -gan, -gen, -gon, -han, -hen, -hon nirugan – Drawing. From the verb stem nirumbi (to draw) -ku, -kū anakū - Key. From the verb stem anambi (to push) -cun buyecun - Love. From the verb stem buyembi (to love)Suffixes used with nouns and verbsExamples -si usisi – Farmer. From the noun usin (field) -ci aduci - Herdsman. From the noun adun (herd) -ji, -lji, -mji, -nju boigoji – Host. From the noun boigon (family)........................................................................................................................ Note: of the above suffixes, the suffixes –ku,-kū are used for instruments, the suffix –cun is used for abstract concepts, and the suffixes –si, -ci, and –ji are used to denote people by what they do (Gorelova, M. P.198). When adding suffixes to nouns, the final ‘-n’ is often dropped. Gender of Manchu Nouns Nouns usually do not have gender, although some obviously masculine nouns have masculine vowels, while feminine nouns have feminine vowels, e.g. haha (man), hehe (woman), ama (father) and eme (mother). Number: There are several ways to express the plural in Manchu: Through the use of the suffix -sa (-se, -so, -si) E.g. manjusa - Manchus Through use of one of the suffixes -ta, -te, -ri. This is mostly used for family relationships (note final 'n' is often omitted). E.g. amata - fathers The suffix '-ri' is only used with a few words. E.g. mafari - grandfathers/ancestors Through the use of adjectives like geren (many/all), eiten (all), tumen (a myriad) or verbally with gemu (all) E.g. tumen jaka - The myriad things (万物) Case Manchu has 5 different cases. Cases can be attached to the proceeding noun or written separately: Nominative (no suffix). This is the natural case and has no suffix. E.g. bithe - book Genitive (-i, -ni after -ng). This case is used to show the possessive. The suffix -i (-ni) can also be used for instrumental case which shows the means or cause of which something happens. E.g. ere oci mini eme i bithe - This is my mother's book (Possessive) E.g. mafa gurun i ilha - The fatherland's flowers (Possessive) E.g. manju gisun i arambi - To write by means of Manchu (Instrumental) Dative/Locative (-de). This case is used to show location or direction (at/to). E.g. Direction: Harbin de genehe - He went to Harbin (Dative) E.g. Location: Harbin de manjusa labdu - There are many Manchus in Harbin (Locative) E.g. Beijing de niyengniyeri isinaha - In Beijing spring has arrived Accusative (-be). This case is used to make a noun the direct object of an action. E.g. i ere bithe be mini eme de buha - He gave this book to my mother E.g. te mini eme inenggidari manju gisun be tacimbi - Now my mother studies Manchu everyday. E.g. be mafa gurun be hairambi - We love the fatherland Ablative (-ci). This case is used to show point of departure or for comparison. E.g. monggo gurun ci jihe niyalma - The people who came from Mongolia (Point of departure) E.g. nikan gisun ci manju gisun ja - Manchu is easier than Chinese (Comparison) E.g. emu inenggi ci emu inenggi halukan oho - Each day is hotter than the one before (Comparison) Lesson 1 (Pronunciation) ---- Contents ---- Lesson 3 (Pronouns)