Zomi Spelling Guide & Normalization Rules¶

Based on analysis of the Zomi dataset (80K+ lines) and native speaker corrections.

1. Vowel Length Rules (Long vs Short vowels)¶

Long vowels are meaning-distinguishing. Use them when the tone is held longer.

Long Vowel	Meaning	Short Vowel	Meaning
`paai`	go, walk	`pai`	throw away
`zaaw`	pay back (debt)	`zaw`	weak, no strength
`taawm`	picking up	`tawm`	less, not enough
`khaai`	hanging, hung on	`khai`	(no other meaning – keep short)
`siing`	shaking, vegetable	`sing`	wood
`daam`	good, healthy, positive	–	–
`khua`	place, country, hometown	–	–
`khuadam`	cool, breezy (khua + dam)	–	–
`sanggam`	sibling	–	–
`sanggampa`	brother (sanggam + pa)	–	–
`sanggamnu`	sister (sanggam + nu)	–	–
`nu`	mother, female	–	–
`Laisiangtho`	Bible, Holy Scripture	`lai` (paper) + `siang` (clean/pure) + `tho`
`Baibul`	Bible (Mizoram-influenced – avoid)	Borrowed from English "Bible"
`doong`	collecting, to collect	`dong`	ask, asking
`paawl`	group (paawl khat)	`pawl`	stripe (zebra stripe)
`ngeen`	fishnet	`ngen`	ask, requesting
`toom`	horse unhappy (moving around)	`tom`	short
`tual`	ground	`tul`	thousand
`tuul`	lasting very long time	`tul`	thousand
`kual`/`kuaal`	circling around	`kul`	gate
`Ziing`	early morning, dark, unclear	`Zing`	very sudden sound
`Ziingsang`	early morning (preferred over Ziinglam)	–	–
`luung`	mind	–	–
`laam`	dance	`lam`	path, way
`la`	song	`la`	take (same spelling, context/tone distinguishes)
`lai`	paper, written text	–	–
`laisiangtho`	Bible, holy scripture	`lai` (paper) + `siang` (clean) + `tho` (?)
`laapi`	big song (`la` + `pi`)	`lampi`	road, walking path, trail (lam + pi)
`gaan`	animal	`gan`	(short form)
`gaanlam`	animal path	`ganlam`	(short form)
`gaam`	wild lands, jungle (rooming wildlife)	`gam`	land, country (general)
`suung`	(deep) inside, interior	`sung`	inside
`gaamsung`	jungle interior (gaam + sung, preferred over gaamsuung)	–	–
`Zo`	victory, Zo people	–	–
`Topa`	Lord (Tedim Zomi – correct)	`Toupa`	Mizoram-influenced spelling (avoid)

Time expression note: Tuni Ziingsang = "today early morning" (preferred). Use Ziingsang for morning, not Ziinglam.

Inside note: sung for general "inside", suung for "deep inside, interior". For compound gaam + sung → gaamsung (jungle interior) is preferred over gaamsuung.

Time expressions¶

Phrase	Meaning	Usage
`Sagih ni sung`	for the whole 7 days (throughout)	durative, continuous
`Sagih ni in`	in 7 days (within)	punctual/within timeframe
`Tuni Ziingsang`	today early morning	preferred form

Common verbs¶

Word	Meaning	Notes
`thobaih`	wake up	`thobaih hi` = woke up
`tho`	wake/get up	`thota` = already up
`nei`	have, possess (ownership)	`Ke'n computer ka nei hi`
`zang`	use, utilize	`Ke'n computer ka zang hi`
`kong`	I (subject prefix with object)	`Kei'n nang kong it hi` (I love you)

Critical distinction: `kei'n` ≠ `ken`¶

These are completely different words that sound similar when spoken lazily:

Word	Meaning	Example
`Kei'n`	I (agentive subject) – `Kei` + `in`	`Kei'n nang kong it hi` = I love you
`Ken`	Don't! (negative imperative)	`Lawng ken!` = Don't touch!
`Kei ing`	It is I / I am (declarative)	`Hih kei ing` = This is I
`ing`	I am (first person marker)	`Hiah om ing` = Here I am

The apostrophe in kei'n is critical:

Proper	Lazy Spelling	Problem
`Kei'n nang kong it`	`Ken nang kong it`	Now it reads "Don't you..." instead of "I love you"
`Lawng kei'n` (my touching)	`Lawng ken`	Now it reads "Don't touch" instead of "my touching"
`Topa'n` (Lord + agentive)	`Topan`	Looks like a completely different word

ken = "don't" is a standalone negative command word. It has nothing to do with Kei'n. The only reason they get confused is lazy pronunciation/spelling by people who drop the apostrophe.

Note on kei vs ke: Kei is the full word for "I/me." Ke is the shortened form used in Ke'n (kei + 'n). The Ke form only appears with the apostrophe – never alone.

The particle `pi` = big, huge¶

pi attaches to nouns to mean "big/huge":

Word	Breakdown	Meaning
`tuipi`	tui (water) + pi	ocean
`lampi`	lam (path) + pi	road, street
`laapi`	la (song) + pi	big song

Water vocabulary¶

Word	Meaning	Notes
`tui`	water	general term
`tuipi`	ocean	big water
`lui`	stream	–
`luitui`	stream water	lui + tui
`guuntui`	small stream	smaller than ocean
`hawktui`	sweat	swear water
`teu`	waterfall	fallen water by cliff

Greetings¶

Phrase	Pronunciation	Meaning	Breakdown
`Dammaw?`	Daammaw? (long aa)	Are you well? / How are you?	`daam` (good) + `maw?` (question)
`Damma`	–	Answer: "well/okay"	Short reply to Dammaw?
`Dammah`	–	Answer with authority/anger	Adding `h` = more powerful tone
`Dam takin`	–	Slowly, cooly	`dam` + `takin` (adverb)
`Damahmah`	–	Very good, very thankful	`dam` + `mahmah` (reduplication for emphasis)
`Lungdam`	–	Happy, grateful	`lung` (heart/mind) + `dam` (good)
`Khuadam`	–	Cool, breezy (weather)	`khua` (place) + `dam` (good)

Tone pattern: Adding h to the end of a word makes it more authoritative, angry, or powerful – just like i vs ih and le vs leh: - Damma = calm reply | Dammah = strong/angry reply - A hoih = it's good | A hoih mah = it's VERY good (emphatic)

Note: Spelled Dammaw? but pronounced with a long aa – Daammaw?. The short spelling is standard writing; the long vowel is how it's actually spoken.

General rule: If a word has no meaning conflict with another word, no long vowel needed. If multiple meanings exist, use long vowels to disambiguate.

2. `ia` vs `i` – Distinct Words (Do NOT normalize)¶

ia-form	Meaning	i-form	Meaning
`hiah`	right here	`hi`	is (end sentence)
`ciah`	already went/gone (ciah khin)	`cih`	say/tell
`diang`	jump	`ding`	for, future marker
`siam`	very good, talented / pray to for luck	`sim`	reading, counting, challenge
`liang`	shoulder, above to hang on	`ling`	thorn
`khia`	drop, kick out, let go	–	–
`khiat`	already dropped (past of khia)	`khat`	one
`siat`	broken (past of sia), rooster's ankle spike	`sit`	using less, saving
`pial`	ran off path	`pil`	smart, intelligent, wise
`piang`	appear	–	–
`ciang`	shepherd's flock (tuucing)	`cing`	suffix – merge to previous

Particle: khin = end of sentence (keep separate)

3. `ua` vs `u` – Distinct Words (Do NOT normalize)¶

ua-form	Meaning	u-form	Meaning
`thuak`	take damage/hits, endure	–	–
`luah`	take over, scoop (past of luak)	`luh`	jumped unexpectedly (ki luh)
`suak`	born, appear	`suk`	down, downhill (mual suk), or past of `su` (nudge)
`puak`	past of pua (carry on back)	`puk`	fell down
`suang`	rock	`sung`	inside
`tual`	ground	`tul`	thousand
`tuul`	lasting very long (past of tul)	`tul`	thousand
`kual`/`kuaal`	circling around	`kul`	gate

4. `aw` vs `o` – Distinct Words (Do NOT normalize)¶

aw-form	Meaning	o-form	Meaning
`daawng`	answer, reply	`dong`	ask, asking
`zaw`	weak, no strength	`Zo`	victory, Zo people
`khawm`	gathering together	`khom`	good enough
`tawm`	less, not enough	`tom`	short

Agentive `'n` = Short form of `in`¶

The agentive marker 'n is the preferred short form of the particle in. Use it for readability: - Zeisu in → Zeisu'n (writen form) → Zeisun (normalized) - Kei in → Ke'n (written form) → Ken (normalized) - Topa in → Topa'n (written form) → Topan (normalized)

The apostrophe signals "this is the short form" to the reader's eye, making it faster to parse than the fully merged Zeisuin or Keiin.

Subject-verb agreement: When ke'n is the subject (agentive), the verb prefix ka- also agrees: - Ke'n computer ka nei hi = "I have a computer" - Ke'n computer ka zang hi = "I used the computer"

5. Merge Rules¶

These particles/suffixes should be merged with the preceding word:

Particle	Function	Example
`ki`	reflexive/middle prefix (merge RIGHT)	`ki` + `cing` → `kicing`, `ki` + `khawm` → `kikhawm`
`cing`	suffix for readability	`ki` + `cing` → `kicing`, `tuu` + `cing` → `tuucing`
`gah`	berry/hanging suffix	`sing` + `gah` → `Singgah`, `haai` + `gah` → `haaigah`
`te`	plural (like English "s")	`mi` + `te` → `mite`
`ding`	future/volitional marker	`paai` + `ding` → `paaiding`, `sem` + `ding` → `semding`
`ta`	perfective/resultative marker	`om` + `ta` → `omta`, `thei` + `ta` → `theita`
`ah`	locative postposition	`khawm` + `ah` → `khawmah`, `inn` + `ah` → `innah`
`pa`	particle	`To` + `pa` → `Topa`
`pi`	particle	`kha` + `pi` → `khapi`
`in`	agentive/instrumental	merge to preceding word
`'n` / `’n`	agentive marker (short form of `in`)	`Topa'n` → `Topan`, `Zeisu'n` → `Zeisun`, `ke'n` → `ken`

6. Final -ing¶

Final -ing is correct – keep it. Do NOT change to -in.

Examples: ding (not din), bang (not ban), hong (not hon)

7. Plural Rules¶

Form	Meaning	Usage
`-te`	plural marker	Merge with preceding word: `mite`, `kote`, `note`, `amaute`
`teng`	picking, all of it	Standalone word (not a plural suffix)

8. Consonants¶

Aspiration (kh/k, ph/p, th/t)¶

Phonemic – keep distinct as written.

ng/g¶

gah = berry suffix – merge with preceding word
gen = tell, say
ngen = ask, request

9. Normalization Pipeline¶

Preserve ALL vowel length distinctions (do NOT normalize)
Do NOT normalize ia/i, ua/u, aw/o – they are different words
Merge plural te with preceding word
Merge agentive 'n with preceding word (remove apostrophe)
Merge cing with preceding word
Merge gah (berry) with preceding word
Merge pa, pi, in particles (existing rule)
Keep -ing final, not -in
Keep te merged even with agentive: mite + 'n → miten

10. Numbering System¶

Base Numbers¶

Number	Zomi	Notes
0	`bem`	zero, circle
1	`khat`
2	`nih`
3	`thuum`	long uu
4	`lii`	long ii
5	`ngaa`	long aa
6	`guk`
7	`sagih`
8	`giat`
9	`kua`
10	`sawm`

Tens, Hundreds, Thousands¶

Number	Zomi	Breakdown
10	`sawm`
100	`zakhat`	za + khat
200	`zanih`	za + nih
300	`zahthuum`	zah- + thuum
400	`zahlii`	zah- + lii
500	`zahngaa`	zah- + ngaa
1,000	`tulkhat`	tul + khat
2,000	`tulnih`	tul + nih
5,000	`tulngaa`	tul + ngaa
10,000	`tulsawm`	tul + sawm
30,000	`tulsawmthuum`	tul + sawm + thuum
50,000	`tulsawmngaa`	tul + sawm + ngaa
100,000	`tengkhat`	teng + khat
400,000	`tengzalii`	teng + za + lii
800,000	`tengzagiat`	teng + za + giat
1,000,000	`tankhat`	tan + khat
3,000,000	`tamthuum`	tan/thuum
6,000,000	`tangguk`	tan + guk

Number Prefixes¶

Prefix	Value	Example
`za-` / `zah-`	hundred	`zakhat` (100), `zahthuum` (300)
`tul-`	thousand	`tulkhat` (1000)
`teng-`	hundred-thousand	`tengkhat` (100,000)
`tan-` / `tam-`	million	`tankhat` (1,000,000)

Note: The prefix changes from za- to zah- before certain numbers (thuum, lii, ngaa) – likely a phonological assimilation rule.

11. Style Notes¶

`le` vs `leh` (and, with)¶

le – smooth, conversational tone (recommended for general use)
leh – aggressive, high-blood-pressure, emphatic

Use le for natural reading flow. Reserve leh for strong emphasis or urgent situations.

`i` vs `ih` (we, our – first person plural prefix)¶

i – smooth, conversational (recommended)
ih – powerful, angry, authoritative

Example: i kikhawmding hi (conversational) vs ih kikhawmding hi (authoritative)

Verb note: `khawm` vs `khop`¶

khawm = gathering together (e.g., ki khawm → kikhawm)
khop = (do not use for gathering – khawm is correct)

12. Normalization Pipeline¶

Preserve ALL vowel length distinctions (do NOT normalize)
Do NOT normalize ia/i, ua/u, aw/o – they are different words
Keep -ing final, not -in
Merge prefix ki to following word (RIGHT side)
Merge cing suffix to preceding word
Merge gah (berry) suffix to preceding word
Merge plural te with preceding word
Merge future ding with preceding word
Merge perfective ta with preceding word
Merge locative ah with preceding word
Merge pa, pi, in particles
Merge agentive 'n with preceding word (remove apostrophe)
Chain rule: mite + 'n → miten, paaiding + in → paaidingin

13. Examples of Normalized Text¶

Before	After
`mi te`	`mite`
`Topa'n`	`Topan`
`mite'n`	`miten`
`ki cing`	`kicing`
`sing gah`	`Singgah`
`tuu cing`	`tuucing`
`pa te`	`pate`
`ka paai ding`	`ka paaiding`
`om ta`	`omta`
`khawm ah`	`khawmah`
`paai ding in`	`paaidingin`

14. Sample Text (Corrected)¶

Tuni Ziingsang, ka thobaih hi. Amaute tawh gaamsungah kapaai uh hi. Zeisu'n kei hong it a, Tuaalah i laamding hi. Sagih ni in, gaamdaiah ka paaiding hi. Laapiah gaanlam kineih hi. Singgah le haaigah ka neita hi.

Merges applied: - Zeisu + 'n → Zeisun - Tuala + ah → Tuaalah (there + locative) - laam + ding → laamding - paai + ding → paaiding - gaamdai + ah → gaamdaiah - Laapi + ah → Laapiah - gaanlam → (gaan + lam, animal + path) - ki + neih → kineih - Sing + gah → Singgah - haai + gah → haaigah - nei + ta → neita

Key distinctions: - gaan (animal) ≠ gan (short form) - gaam (jungle/wild) ≠ gam (land/country) - laam (dance) ≠ lam (path) - laapi (street) ≠ lampi (variant) - paai (go) ≠ pai (throw away) - Ziingsang (early morning) preferred over Ziinglam - Sagih ni in (within 7 days) ≠ Sagih ni sung (for 7 days straight) - thobaih hi (woke up) preferred verb form

Note on agentive 'n: attaches only to the last word of a noun phrase. - Topa Zeisu'n → Topa Zeisun (NOT Topan Zeisun) - ke'n = shortened kei + 'n → ken