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Master Inuktut (Syllabics) vocabulary while browsing the web. Free Chrome extension for language learners. Inuktut (Syllabics) is spoken by around 40,000 people. Inuktut is one of the strongest-surviving Indigenous languages in North America and is essential for engaging with Inuit governance, education, media and Arctic research in Nunavut and Nunavik.
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About Inuktut (Syllabics)
The word 'Inuktitut' literally means 'like a person' or 'like the Inuit,' combining inuk ('person') with -titut ('in the manner of'). The Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) word for house, illu, is the very same root as the Inuktut illu (ᐃᓪᓗ), a reminder that both languages descend from the Thule Inuit expansion across the Arctic.
Also known as: Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Inuktut Qaniujaaqpait
Speakers
around 40,000
Language Family
Eskimo-Aleut (Inuit)
Writing System
Inuktitut syllabics (Inuktut Qaniujaaqpait)
Difficulty
Very Hard
Spoken in
Why Learn Inuktut (Syllabics)?
Inuktut is one of the strongest-surviving Indigenous languages in North America and is essential for engaging with Inuit governance, education, media and Arctic research in Nunavut and Nunavik.
Common Inuktut (Syllabics) Words
Start your Inuktut (Syllabics) journey with these essential words and phrases.
ᐊᐃ
Hello
eye
ᐄ
Yes
ee
ᐋᒡᒐ
No
AHG-gah
ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ
Thank you
koo-yan-nah-MEEK
ᐃᒥᖅ
Water (for drinking)
IH-mik
ᓂᕿ
Food
NI-ki
ᐱᖃᑎ
Friend
pi-KAH-ti
ᐃᓪᓗ
House
IL-loo
ᓯᕿᓂᖅ
Sun
si-KI-nik
ᐅᓪᓗᖅ
Day
OOL-luk
ᐃᓄᐃᑦ
People (self-name)
IH-nu-it
ᓇᑦᓯᖅ
Ringed seal
NAHT-sik
ᓇᒡᓕᒋᕙᒋᑦ
I love you
nahl-li-GI-va-git
History of Inuktut (Syllabics)
The ancestors of today's Inuit arrived in Arctic Canada with the Thule expansion roughly 1,000 years ago, spreading from Alaska across the Arctic and gradually displacing the earlier Dorset culture. Anglican missionaries introduced a syllabic writing system adapted from the Cree syllabary in the 1860s and 1870s, and it was standardized alongside a Latin alphabet by the Inuit Cultural Institute in 1976. Nunavut became a Canadian territory in 1999 with Inuktitut as one of its official languages, and a further standardized Latin system, Inuktut Qaliujaaqpait, was adopted in 2019 to make the language easier to type and share across dialects.
Is Inuktut (Syllabics) Hard to Learn?
Inuktut is polysynthetic: a single word is built by stacking a long chain of suffixes onto a root, and can express what English needs a full sentence to say. Some dialects have several hundred distinct suffixes, and the language marks both the subject and the object of a verb through this suffix chain, an ergative-absolutive pattern with almost no equivalent in English. Learners must also master the syllabics writing system (qaniujaaqpait), in which each symbol represents a consonant-vowel pair and the same base shape rotates in space to show a different vowel, rather than being spelled letter by letter as in the Latin alphabet.
Learning Inuktut (Syllabics) Online: FAQ
Can I learn Inuktut (Syllabics) online for free?
Yes — Vocabo is a free Chrome extension that teaches you Inuktut (Syllabics) vocabulary while you browse the web. It replaces words and short phrases on pages you already read with their Inuktut (Syllabics) equivalents, so you pick up vocabulary passively — no sign-up, no ads, and no daily lesson grind.
Is Inuktut (Syllabics) on Duolingo?
No — Duolingo doesn't currently offer a Inuktut (Syllabics) course for English speakers. You can still learn Inuktut (Syllabics) online for free: Vocabo supports Inuktut (Syllabics) and builds your vocabulary naturally while you browse.
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