Learn Romani: Kalderash Vocabulary and Key Concepts

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the core grammatical concepts, cultural and historical terms, kinship relations, idioms, and vocabulary of Kalderash-Romani from Ronald Lee's Learn Romani.

Thematic grammar

Romani grammatical rules applying to words in the original vocabulary stock of Indian origin and items acquired on the journey westwards before Europe.

Athematic grammar

Romani grammatical rules applying to loan words acquired from other languages after crossing into Europe.

Oblique stem

The inflected accusative case stem upon which five other case endings (dative, prepositional, ablative, instrumental, and genitive) are built.

Primary verbs

Romani verbs typically possessing only one syllable and no suffix, which can be transitive or intransitive.

Causative verbs

Transitive verbs formed from primary verbs or nouns by adding suffixes like

Denominative verbs

Transitive verbs formed from adjectives by attaching the suffix

Inchoative verbs

Intransitive verbs formed from adjectives, past participles, or nouns that express 'become', 'get', or 'go' into a state.

Athematic verbs

Romani loan verbs ending in

Nominative case

The basic, uninflected form of a noun representing the subject of an action.

Accusative case

The inflected noun form used when a person or living animal is the direct object of an action.

Dative case

Case expressing 'for' or 'to' as an indirect object, formed by adding

Prepositional case

Locative case expressing 'at' or 'to' a person or location, formed by adding

Ablative case

Case expressing 'from' or 'away from', formed by adding

Instrumental case

Case expressing 'with' or 'by', formed by adding

Genitive case

Possessive case ending (

Vocative case

A distinct case form used to call, directly address, or invoke a person, deity, or spirit.

Subjunctive mood

A verbal mood linking two conjugated verbs with the conjunction to convey purpose, wish, or an English infinitive.

Continuous past tense

The imperfect tense formed by adding

Pluperfect tense

The past perfect tense formed by adding

Enclitics

Unstressed particles (, , ) that attach to adjectives, interrogatives, or prepositions to replace the verb 'to be'.

Privative particle bi-

A productive prefix meaning 'without' or 'un-' attached to adjectives, adverbs, or genitive nouns to express negation.

Defective verb

A verb existing in only a few forms, such as ('it is needed') and

Metathesis

The transposition of two phonemes within a word, such as becoming or

Ronald Lee

Native Kalderash speaker, author of Learn Romani, and lecturer on the Romani Diaspora at the University of Toronto.

Waso Russel Demitro

Canadian-Kalderash elder and mentor who co-compiled early Kalderash lexicons and contributed traditional stories.

Donald Kenrick

Romani linguistics scholar who co-designed the original 1970s Kalderash-Romani course with Ronald Lee.

Ian Hancock

Director of The Romani Archives and Documentation Center at the University of Texas at Austin who authored the foreword.

Mateo Maximoff

French-Kalderash author and storyteller whose folk tales and ethnographic texts are analyzed in the lessons.

Vlax-Romani

The dialect group of Romani that evolved over centuries in Romanian-speaking regions before spreading worldwide.

Kalderash

Coppersmith Roma belonging to the Vlax-Romani group, widely distributed across Europe, the Americas, and beyond.

Lovári

A subdivision and dialect of Vlax-Roma historically associated with horse-dealing in Central Europe.

Machwáya

A subdivision and dialect of Vlax-Roma originally from Serbia who immigrated to North America around 1900.

Churári

A subdivision and dialect of Vlax-Roma known traditionally as sieve-makers.

Romúngere dialects

Central non-Vlax Romani dialects historically spoken in Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

Yerli dialects

South Balkan non-Vlax Romani dialects spoken in Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

Sinti dialects

Non-Vlax Romani dialects spoken by Sinti groups in Western and Central Europe.

Welsh-Romani (Romnimus)

An inflected British-Romani dialect that survived in Wales until the mid-twentieth century.

Para-Romani

Non-inflected Romani varieties where Romani vocabulary is used within the grammatical framework of a non-Romani language.

Kris-Rromani

The judicial assembly of Romani elders that interprets customary law and settles community disputes.

Rrom Baro

An influential elder or leader serving as the local community representative for a kumpaniya.

Kumpaniya

An economic and residential group of Roma claiming a specific territory under Romani law.

Rromaniya

The traditional Romani code of conduct, cultural values, respect, and rules of purity and defilement.

Pomána

A memorial feast and mourning period for a deceased Romani person observed in three-month intervals for up to one year.

Romanestan

The concept of the Romani people as a non-territorial nation, or a Romani homeland.

Hêderlézi

A major spring festival celebrated by Muslim Roma in the Balkans, coinciding with St George's Day.

Zhamutro ánde tsêra

A son-in-law living and working with his bride's family to pay off the bridal offering (darro).

Darro

The traditional bridal offering provided during Kalderash marriage negotiations.

Fárma-katárka

In Kalderash folklore, a weaver of spells, herbal practitioner, or 'white witch'.

Slobuzhénya

Emancipation or freedom, denoting the 1864 abolition of Romani slavery in Romania.

Wipe tinning

A traditional Kalderash coppersmithing technique of replating copper mixing bowls with molten tin and sal ammoniac.

Kali-Legíya

The Black Legion, a Romani term referring to the Gestapo and Nazi forces during the Holocaust.

mobílo

Mobile phone.

maimúnka

Computer mouse.

lumiyáki-miriyázha

Internet, World Wide Web (literally 'world-web').

shêltèri

Shelter for refugees.

phandayimos

Detention centre, confinement, or enclosure.

shingale

Immigration officers or police (literally 'horned ones').

tonomáto

Jukebox.

Lanórdo

North.

Lasúdo

South.

Lasári

East.

Lamári

West.

wórta

Straight, straight ahead, directly, justly, or all right.

stêngo

Left (direction).

chacho

Right (direction); also true, real, genuine.

Devlésa!

'Go with God!' or 'Stay with God!' (traditional farewell greeting).

Te aven baxtale

'May you be fortunate / lucky' (traditional formal greeting to a group).

Sar bushos?

'What is your name?' (literally 'How are you called?').

Sar mai san?

'How are you?' (standard formal greeting in North American-Kalderash).

lavutári

Romani violinist or professional musician.

kapêlmáistoro

Band leader.

lávuta

Violin.

tóba

Drum.

tsímbalom

Cymbalom.

zúrna

Double-reed shawm.

ages

Today.

ánde

Into, in (used before feminine singular nouns).

avav

I come (first person singular present).

beshav

I sit, I am sitting.

chi

Not, do not (negative particle).

doháno

Tobacco.

Gazhi

Non-Romani woman, wife of a non-Romani man.

Gazho

Non-Romani man, husband of a non-Romani woman.

grasni

Mare.

grast

Horse (referring to a gelding).

harmasári

Stallion.

kerav

I do, I make.

kon?

Who? (interrogative pronoun).

lasharav

I repair, fix.

lil

Letter, document, or book.

mangav

I want, I desire.

manrro

Bread.

na

No (in answer to a question); also negative particle used in commands and the subjunctive mood.

phagav

I break, snap (a stick, bone, etc.).

phandav

I close, tie, lock.

phutrav

I open, undo.

piyav

I drink; also I smoke (tobacco).

rakli

Non-Romani girl.

raklo

Non-Romani boy.

ryat

Night.