LANGUAGE LEARNING | PHILOSOPHY
The Language With Only 100 Words
Learn WE XU, a philosophical conlang to understand the essence of human communication
Here’s We Xu, an oligolanguage designed to have the shortest vocabulary ever and at the same time the most profound meaning variety.
Inspiration comes from Asiatic traditions and Essentialist philosophy.
The language is very flexible and can be at the same time analytic, isolating, synthetic, fusional, agglutinative, polysynthetic or oligosynthetic depending on the speakers choices.
Words
Here’s the updated word list in We Xu, divided in radicals and compounds.
To form compound words and extend the vocabulary in every possible direction, you can juxtapose two or plus radicals to obtain a logical meaning that change depending on the context of speech.
Examples may be:
- si-lu-te (good-light-time) = good morning / good day
- du-fu (difficult-question) = unsolved
- wo-bo (large-mouth) = talkative
- ji-no (man-young) = boy
- pa-wo (person-big) = adult
- go-mo-mu (object-use-movement) = vehicle
- ru-mo (old-method) = tradition
- le-ni (water-animal) = fish
UDHR — Art. 1
To ni-pa no-li wi-ri he mi qa re he ju-pa. Ni-pa li-do de va he we, he ha-fe vi-mo we de wi-re.
To (all) ni-pa (being-person=human) no-li (new-life=born) wi-ri (sense-space=freedom) he (and) mi (equal) qa (with) re (dignity) he (and) ju-de-pa (law-of-person=right).
Ni-pa (human) li-do (be-give=endowed) de (of) va (reason, intelligence) he (and) we (conscience, soul), he (and) ha-fe-mo (have-do-method=must act) to-qa (all-togheter) qa (with) we (spirit, behavior) de (of) wi-de-re (sentiment-of-respect=brotherhood).
Beside every radical, the (possible) corresponding hànzì.
Every word can be used as noun, adjective, verb and adverb, depending on the context.
A single term can refere to a wide variety of synonyms.
You are free to create all the words you want.
Radicals List
— — — — — — —
ba 气
- air|atmosphere|sky|breath|odor|spirit|breeze|wind|heaven
be 事
- thing|object|entity|concept|abstract|theory|perception
bi 二
- two|double|ambivalent|couple|pair|dual|duality|doublet|dichotomy
bo 口
- mouth|aperture|rip|opening|door|gate|rim|cavity|beak|lips|orifice
bu 想
- idea|thought|thinking|belief|opinion|scheme|plan|suggestion|perception
da 答
- answer|solution|complete|resolution|explanation|observation|result|statement
de 的
- of|pertaining|referred|possession|about|appropriate to|regarding
di 维
- dimension|size|height|length|proportion|range|scope|magnitude
do 给
- give|donate|gift|present|confer|provide|grant|deliver|commit|allow
du 難
- difficult|complex|obscure|cryptic|arduous|challenging|laborious|tough
fa 易
- easy|simple|resolutive|naive|accessible|clear|obvious|straightforward
fe 做
- do|act|action|fact|achieve|work|make|operate|perform|execute|verb|function
fi 女
- woman|female|mother|girl|daughter|she|wife|feminine
fo 火
- fire|heat|hot|vigor|passion|anger|blaze|bonfire|inferno|rage|temper
fu 題
- question|doubt|curiosity|inquiry|investigation
ga 饌
- machine|engine|instrument
ge 饌
- eat|food|nourishment|ingest|feed|devour|chew|bite|nutriment|eatable
go 物
- physical object|tangible|concrete|body|corpse|frame|palpable
gu 戰
- fight|war|violence|conflict|dispute|argument|controversy|combat|struggle
ha 有
- have|possess|possession|acquire|get|obtain|retain|own|gain
he 和
- and|also|correlate|along with
hi 穩
- firm|solid|stable|strong|tight|sturdy
ho 哦
- oh!|oh?|(invocation)
hu 嗯
- uhm|mh (reflextion/doubt)
je 增
- plus|major|augmentation|more|addition
ji 男
- man|male|father|brother|guy|he|husband|son
jo 死
- death|end|dieing|perish|succumb|deadline|term|edge
ju 法
- law|norm|rule|definition|regulation|requirement|statute|legislation|decree
ka 性
- nature|genre|sex|quality|type|sexuality
ke 何
- why|because|consequence|cause|motive|result|how
ki 例
- example|proposition|possibility|precedent|pattern|illustration
ko 事
- matter|material|composition|element|thing|component|substance|ingredient
ku 知
- know|knowledge|knowing|experience|learn|realize|see|recognize|realize|apprehend|discern
la 位
- position|individuation|here|there|area|point|location|spot
le 水
- water|liquid|humid|beverage|drink|rain|refreshment
li 起
- be|being|life|existence|living|growth|precence
lo 遠
- far|distant|absent|absence|remote|isolated
lu 光
- light|white|limpid|candid|positive|bright|luminous|sniny|sunny
ma 异
- alternative|possibility|different|but|substitute|although
me 我
- I|me|mine|personal
mi 同
- similar|identical|like|alike|copy
mo 用
- use|way|method|mode|tool|device
mu 走
- go|move|movement|advance|climb|cross|drive|flow|fly|jump|leave|proceed|travel|run|walk|transfer|transport|shift|ship
na 迎
- hello|salute|greetings|welcome|peace
ne 不
- no|negative|nothing|nulle|false|opposite|contrary
ni 獸
- animal|beast|species|sentient|being
no 新
- new|fresh|young|juvenile
nu 數
- number|count|cypher
pa 人
- person|human|individual
pe 份
- part|section|portion|piece
pi 形
- image|form|apparence|icon
po 力
- force|power|ability
pu 純
- pure|clean|simple|candid
qa 同
- with|togheter|union|ensemble
qi 勁
- force|potence|power|will
qu 量
- quantity|number|capacity|quota|sum|volume|variety
ra 系
- relation|appartenence|possession|condition|system
re 敬
- respect|honor|dignity|esteem|deference|consideration|reverence|tribute|recognition
ri 空
- space|open|void|area|aperture|distance
ro 轮
- round|circle|circumference|ring
ru 舊
- old|past|vetuste|passed|aging
sa 上
- over|above|high|up|loud
se 感
- sense|perception|impression|sensitivity|sensibility|taste|touch|feel
si 實
- yes|affirmative|positive|good|true
so 睡
- sleep|stasis|rest|trance
su 下
- under|low|below|bottom|beneath|down|inferior|nether
ta 土
- earth|soil|land|stone|dust|globe|planet|ground|surface|terrain|dirt|mud
te 時
- time|duration|age|era
ti 小
- little|tiny|short|bit|small|young
to 全
- all|whole|totality|everyone|everything|total|group
tu 尔
- thou|you|referencing
va 想
- mind|intelligence|thinking
ve 看
- see|look|observe|regard|notice|recognize|spot|view|watch|identify|detect|examine|understand
vi 另
- you|other|another|more|alternative
vo 将
- will|desire|decision|determination|inclination|intention|wish|attitude
vu 變
- change|evolution|transformation|exapansion|progress|progression
wa 詳
- complete|detail|entire|exhaustive|outright
we 魂
- soul|spirit|essence|conscience|ego
wi 思
- sentiment|sensation|emotion|sense
wo 大
- big|grand|extended|large
wu 黑
- dark|obscure|black|negative|shade|dusk
xe 址
- place|location|area|zone|position
xi 穢
- dirty|ugly|repulsive|awful|horrid|hideous
xo 槽
- through|traverse|over|cross|roam|pass
xu 音
- sound|voice|word|verse|language|speech|communication
za 前
- before|precedent|past|back|previously|since|sooner
ze 安
- peace|serene|good|accord|love|friendship
zi 近
- near|intimate|adjacent|immediate|nearby|warm|neighbor
zo 後
- after|posterior|future|later|prospective|subsequent|imminent
zu 坏
- bad|evil|illness|atrocious|awful|dangerous|unhealthy|malady|sickness
© Ludovico Leone 2020
