Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions ?
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||||
| Stop | b | t d | c | k g | q q˔ | ||
| Fricative | f v | s z | h | ||||
| Approximant | j | ||||||
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
|---|---|
| Approximant | w |
Vowel inventory:
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i i̽ | u |
| High-mid | e e̜ | o oː o˞ |
| Low-mid | ɛ | |
| Low | a aː |
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
Nouns have two cases:
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | If starts with vowel: Prefix sm- Else: Prefix smo˞- man (when doing the verb)
|
Prefix a- woman (when doing the verb)
|
| Plural | No affix men (when doing the verb)
|
No affix women (when doing the verb)
|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | If starts with vowel: Prefix vl- Else: Prefix vlo˞- (verb done to) man
|
If starts with vowel: Prefix o̠mgw- Else: Prefix o̠mgwɛ- (verb done to) woman
|
| Plural | Prefix o- (verb done to) men
|
If starts with vowel: Prefix i̽jj- Else: Prefix i̽jjo- (verb done to) women
|
| Definite | the
|
| Indefinite | a, some
|
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
Uses of indefinite article that differ from English:
| Nominative | Accusative | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | I
|
me
|
| 2nd singular | you
|
you
|
| 3rd singular masc | he, it
|
him, it
|
| 3rd singular fem | she, it
|
her, it
|
| 1st plural | we
|
us
|
| 2nd plural | you all
|
you all
|
| 3rd plural masc | they (masc)
|
them (masc)
|
| 3rd plural fem | they (fem)
|
them (fem)
|
| 1st singular | my
|
| 2nd singular | your
|
| 3rd singular masc | his
|
| 3rd singular fem | her
|
| 1st plural | our
|
| 2nd plural | your (pl)
|
| 3rd plural masc | their (masc)
|
| 3rd plural fem | their (fem)
|
| Present | No affix learn
|
| Past | If starts with vowel: Prefix ɛnts- Else: Prefix ɛntsu- learned
|
| Remote past | If starts with vowel: Prefix k- Else: Prefix ka- learned (long ago)
|
Zdaalish uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
| Future | Particle before the verb: qod - will learn
|
| Perfect | Prefix oː- have learned
|
Zdaalish has a base-10 number system:
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -
7 -
8 -
9 -
10 -
100 -
1000 -
Adjective → adverb = Prefix mo˞-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix hj-
Else: Prefix hje-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix oːs-
Else: Prefix oːsoː-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix no-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix i̽-
Noun to verb = If starts with vowel: Prefix fl-
Else: Prefix flo-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix b-
Else: Prefix be-
Tending to = If starts with vowel: Prefix e̜stj-
Else: Prefix e̜stjaː-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix vr-
Else: Prefix vre-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix ɛ-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix a-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix gri̽-
Diminutive = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix moː-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix str-
Else: Prefix stro˞-
Key: