Mapudungun for English speakers

1. Flashcards

2. What is Mapudungun?

Mapudungun ("the speech of the land") is the language of the Mapuche people, spoken in central-southern Chile and neighbouring parts of Argentina. Estimates vary widely but run into the hundreds of thousands of speakers, with a strong revitalization movement.

It is unrelated to Spanish or any European language — it forms the small Araucanian family. Still, centuries of contact have left many loanwords in both directions: Chilean Spanish is full of Mapudungun (guata, pichintún, place names like Temuco, "water of the temu tree").

Why learn Mapudungun?

• It's already in Chilean Spanish — You'll recognize a surprising amount of vocabulary.
• A fascinating grammar — Agglutinative verbs, a dual number, and evidential marking reshape how you think about language.
• A living, dignified language — Learning it accompanies an ongoing cultural and political reclamation.
• Rooted in the land — The hills, rivers, and towns of the south only fully make sense in Mapudungun.

3. Core Vocabulary (1–66)

Core Mapudungun vocabulary (Unified Alphabet) with English translations. This is the exact deck used by the flashcard trainer above. The orthography isn't fully standardized; this guide uses the Unified Alphabet. Use the search box to filter.

4. Essential Grammar

Mapudungun is agglutinative and very verb-centred: a single verb-word can pack what English needs a whole sentence for. There is no grammatical gender.

Three numbers: singular, dual, plural

Beyond singular and plural there is a dual (exactly two). And "we" distinguishes whether it includes you:

Verbs build on a root + suffixes marking person, number, tense, and even the source of the information (evidentiality). The infinitive is cited with -n: amun (to go), kimün (to know).

Higher numbers are Quechua loans: pataka (100), warangka (1000).

5. Pronunciation

There are six vowels — the five Spanish-like ones plus ü. Several alphabets exist (Unified, Raguileo, Azümchefe); this guide uses the Unified one.

6. Common Mistakes

• Pronouncing tr as two sounds — it's a single retroflex consonant, not "t"+"r."
• Forgetting the dual — for exactly two people use the dual forms (inchiw, eymu), not the plural.
• Ignoring ü — it's a distinct vowel; küyen (moon) isn't "kuyen."
• Looking for gender — there's no masculine/feminine; don't force agreement.
• Mixing alphabets — Unified, Raguileo, and Azümchefe spell differently. Pick one (here, the Unified).

7. Learning Resources

• Kimeltuwe beginner — Free graphic materials (posters, vocabulary, grammar) that are very clear for starting out.
• Online Mapudungun–Spanish dictionaries all levels — Accessible for quick lookups (a Spanish bridge helps here).
• "Mapudungun. El habla mapuche" (Adalberto Salas) intermediate — A reference grammatical description for serious study.
• Mapuche community radio & programs intermediate — Authentic listening from the Araucanía and Wallmapu.
• iTalki & communities all levels — Find speakers to practice with (limited but valuable).

8. Culture & Context

Mari mari

The greeting mari mari (literally "ten ten") works at any time of day, often with peñi (brother, between men) or lamngen (brother/sister).

Wallmapu and the land

The idea of mapu (land) and Wallmapu (the Mapuche territory) is central: language, people (che), and land are joined in the very word mapuche, "people of the land."

9. Related Guides

• Mapudungun for Spanish speakers
• Quechua for English speakers
• All language guides
• All language guides