View source for Mizo language

{{short description|Tibeto-Burman language spoken primarily in northeastern India}}

{{EngvarB|date=November 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Mizo
| nativename       = {{lang|lus|Mizo ṭawng}} or {{lang|lus|Duhlián ṭawng}}
| states           = 
| region           = *[[Mizoram]], India
*[[Chin State]] and [[Sagaing Region]], [[Languages of Myanmar|Myanmar]]
*[[Chittagong Hill Tracts]], Bangladesh
*Other regions inhabited by the [[Mizo diaspora]]
| ethnicity        = [[Mizo people|Mizo]]
| speakers         = 1,000,000+{{efn|830,846 in India, 189,000 in Myanmar, 70,000 in Bangladesh; in total, 1,089,846, not including the diaspora.}}
| date             = 2011–2022
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=censusindia.gov.in|access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Roy |first1=Esha |title=Why is Bangladesh driving Kuki refugees into Mizoram, a year after Myanmar militias did the same from Rakhine? |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/mizoram-kuki-tribal-asylum-seekers-bangladesh-8294558/ |access-date=12 November 2023 |work=The Indian Express |date=28 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Sino-Tibetan
| fam2             = [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]]
| fam3             = [[Central Tibeto-Burman languages|Central Tibeto-Burman]] (?)
| fam4             = [[Kuki-Chin-Naga languages|Kuki-Chin-Naga]]
| fam5             = [[Kuki-Chin languages|Kuki-Chin]]
| fam6             = [[Central Kuki-Chin languages|Central]]
| script           = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Mizo alphabet]])<ref name="e25"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kuki Mizo |url=https://kokborokoml.tripura.gov.in/kuki-mizo |website=Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages, Government of Tripura |access-date=30 August 2022}}</ref><br/>[[Bengali-Assamese script]]<ref name="e25">{{cite web |title=Mizo |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lus/ |website=Ethnologue |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172108/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lus/ |access-date=12 November 2023|archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>
| nation           = [[Mizoram]] (India)
| iso2             = lus
| iso3             = lus
| glotto           = lush1249
| glottorefname    = Mizo
| map              = File:Mizo Language Distribution Map.png
| mapsize          = 
| mapcaption       = {{legend|#7F191F|Regions where Mizo is educational, and official}}
{{legend|#C53A3A|Regions where Mizo is educational, but not official}}
{{legend|#DC7777|Regions where Mizo is not official and not educational}}
{{legend|#DBADAD|Regions with significant Mizo speakers, and where Mizo is a working language}}
| map2             = Lang Status 80-VU.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Mizo is classified as Vulnerable by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
}}
 	
'''Mizo''' is a [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] language spoken mainly in the Indian state of [[Mizoram]], where it is the [[official language]] and [[lingua franca]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2 November 2021|title=Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region, Mizoram State Information|url=https://mdoner.gov.in/about-north-east/mizoram|access-date=9 November 2021|website=Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region}}</ref> It is the mother tongue of the [[Mizo people]] and some members of the [[Mizo diaspora]]. Other than Mizoram, it is also spoken in [[Meghalaya]], [[Manipur]], [[Tripura]], and [[Assam]] states of India, [[Sagaing Region]] and [[Chin State]] in Myanmar, and [[Chittagong Hill Tracts]] of Bangladesh. It is mainly based on the Lusei dialect but it has also derived many words from its surrounding Mizo clans such as [[Hmar people|Hmar]], Pawi, etc.<ref>[http://mzuir.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/1034/1/R.%20Zothanliana,%20MIZO.pdf mzuir.inflibnet.ac.in] (PDF)</ref>

The language is also known as '''Duhlian''' and '''Lushai''', a colonial term, as the Duhlian people were the first among the [[Mizo people]] to be encountered by the [[British people|British]] in the course of [[British Empire|their colonial expansion]].<ref name="Lalthangliana">[http://www.vanglaini.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12917:mizo-tihin-tawng-a-nei-lo-tih-kha&catid=105:articles&Itemid=466/ Lalthangliana, B., ''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Mizo tihin ṭawng a nei lo<nowiki>'</nowiki> tih kha''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113115510/https://www.vanglaini.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12917%3Amizo-tihin-tawng-a-nei-lo-tih-kha&catid=105%3Aarticles&Itemid=466%2F |date=13 November 2020 }}, see also [http://stedt.berkeley.edu/about-st#TBlg Matisoff, 'Language names' section]</ref>

== Classification ==
Mizo is related to the other languages of the [[Sino-Tibetan language family]].<ref>Mc Kinnon, John and Wanat Bruksasri (Editors): The Higlangders of Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, [[Oxford University Press]], 1983, p. 65.</ref> The [[Zohnahtlak languages]] (which native Mizo speakers call ''Zohnahthlâk ṭawngho''/''Mizo ṭawngho'') have a substantial number of words in common.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanglaini.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12917:mizo-tihin-tawng-a-nei-lo-tih-kha&catid=105:articles&Itemid=466/|title=Vanglaini|website=www.vanglaini.org|access-date=14 January 2020|archive-date=13 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113115510/https://www.vanglaini.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12917%3Amizo-tihin-tawng-a-nei-lo-tih-kha&catid=105%3Aarticles&Itemid=466%2F|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Phonology==
===Vowels===
==== Monophthongs ====
Mizo has eight tones and intonations for each of the vowels ''a'', ''aw'', ''e'', ''i'' and ''u'', four of which are reduced tones and the other four long tones. The vowel ''o'' has only three tones, all of them of the reduced type. The vowels can be represented as follows:<ref name="Weidert">Weidert, Alfons, ''Component Analysis of Lushai Phonology'', Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV – Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, volume 2, Amsterdam: John Benjamins B.V., 1975.</ref>
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!|
!scope="col"| [[Front vowel|Front]]
!scope="col"| [[Central vowel|Central]]
!scope="col"| [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left"| '''[[Close vowel|Close]]'''
| i {{IPAblink|i}}, {{IPAblink|ɨ}}, {{IPAblink|iː}}
|style="background:#AAA"| &nbsp;
| u {{IPAblink|u}}, {{IPAblink|ʊ}}, {{IPAblink|ʊː}}
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left"| '''[[Mid vowel|Mid]]'''
| e {{IPAblink|e}}, {{IPAblink|ɛ}}, {{IPAblink|ɛː}}
|style="background:#AAA"| &nbsp;
| aw {{IPAblink|o}}, {{IPAblink|ɔ}}, {{IPAblink|ɔː}}
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left"| '''[[Open vowel|Open]]''' 
|colspan="3"| a {{IPAblink|ʌ}}, {{IPAblink|a}}, {{IPAblink|ɑ}}, {{IPAblink|ɑː}}, {{IPAblink|ä}}
|}

====Diphthongs====
{| class="wikitable"
|- align="center" cellpadding="4"
! Starting with '''a'''!!Starting with '''e'''!! Starting with '''i'''!! Starting with '''u'''
|- align="left"
| '''ai''' (<span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/aɪ̯/}}</span>, <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɑːi/}}</span> or <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ai/}}</span>)
| '''ei''' (<span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/eɪ̯/}}</span>, <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɛi/}}</span> or <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɛɪ̯/}}</span>)
| '''ia''' (<span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɪə̯/}}</span> <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɪa/}}</span>, <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ja/}}</span> or <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɪa̭/}}</span>)
| '''ua''' (<span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/u̯a/}}</span> or <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ua̭/}}</span>)
|- align="left"
| '''au''' (<span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/aʊ̯/}}</span>, <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɑːʊ̯/}}</span>)
| '''eu''' (<span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɛu/}}</span>, <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/eʊ/}}</span> or <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/eʊ̯/}}</span>)
| '''iu''' (<span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}}</span> or <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/iw/}}</span>)
| '''ui''' (<span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ɥi/}}</span> or <span style="font-size:larger">{{IPA|/ʔwi/}}</span>)
|}

====Triphthongs====
Mizo has the following [[triphthongs]]:
* '''iai''', as in ''iai'', ''p'''iai'''''
* '''iau''' as in ''r'''iau''''' ruau, ''t'''iau''''' tuau etc.
* '''uai''', as in '''uai''', ''z'''uai''''', ''t'''uai''''', ''v'''uai'''''
* '''uau''', as in riau ''r'''uau''''', tiau ''t'''uau''''', ''s'''uau''' s'''uau'''''

===Consonants===
Mizo has the following consonants, with the first symbol being its orthographical form and the second one its representation in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]:<ref name="Weidert"/>
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|- 
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|
! rowspan=2 | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! rowspan=2 | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! colspan=2 | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2 | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2 | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- 
! <small>[[Central consonant|central]]</small>
! <small>[[Lateral consonant|lateral]]</small>
|- 
! rowspan="5" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]/<br/>[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! <small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| p {{IPAblink|p}}
| t {{IPAblink|t}}
|   ch [t͡s]
|  tl [t͡l]
|  k {{IPAblink|k}}
| h {{IPAblink|ʔ}}<sup>1</sup>
|- 
! <small>[[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]</small>
| ph [{{IPA link|p}}{{IPA link|ʰ}}]
| th [{{IPA link|t}}{{IPA link|ʰ}}]
|  chh [t͡s{{IPA link|ʰ}}], [{{IPA link|tʃ}}{{IPA link|ʰ}}]
|   thl [t͡lʰ]
|  kh [{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|ʰ}}]
| 
|- 
! <small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| b {{IPAblink|b}}
| d {{IPAblink|d}}
|  
|   
|  
|
|-
!<small>[[Flap consonant|flap]]</small>
|
|
|ṭ [t͡ɾ]
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Flap consonant|aspirated flap]]</small>
|
|
|ṭh [t͡ɾʰ]
|
|
|
|- 
! rowspan=2| [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! <small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| f {{IPAblink|f}}
| s {{IPAblink|s}}
| 
|   
|    
|  h {{IPAblink|h}}
|- 
! <small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| v {{IPAblink|v}}
| z {{IPAblink|z}}
| 
|
|    
| 
|- 
! rowspan="3" | [[Sonorant]]
! <small>plain</small>
| m {{IPAblink|m}}
|n {{IPAblink|n}}
| r {{IPAblink|r}}
| l {{IPAblink|l}}
|   ng {{IPAblink|ŋ}}
|
|- 
! <small>[[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]</small>
| hm [{{IPA link|ʰ}}{{IPA link|m}}]
| hn [{{IPA link|ʰ}}{{IPA link|n}}]
| hr [{{IPA link|ʰ}}{{IPA link|r}}]
| hl [{{IPA link|ʰ}}{{IPA link|l}}]
|  ngh [{{IPA link|ʰ}}{{IPA link|ŋ}}]
|
|- 
! <small>[[glottalised]]<sup>1</sup></small>
|  
| 
| rh [{{IPA link|r}}{{IPA link|ʔ}}]
| lh [{{IPA link|l}}{{IPA link|ʔ}}]
| 
|    
|}

# The glottal and glottalised consonants appear only in final position.

===Tone===
Because differences in pitch and pitch contour can change the meanings of words, Mizo is a [[tonal language]]. Tone systems have developed independently in many daughter languages, largely by simplifications in the set of possible syllable-final and syllable-initial consonants. Typically, a distinction between voiceless and voiced initial consonants is replaced by a distinction between high and low tone, and falling and rising tones developed from syllable-final ''h'' and glottal stop, which themselves often reflect earlier consonants.

The eight tones and intonations that the vowel ''a'' (and the vowels ''aw'', ''e'', ''i'', ''u'', which constitutes all the tones in Mizo) can have are shown by the letter sequence '''p'''-'''a'''-'''n'''-'''g''', as follows:<ref>Zoppen Club, ''Mizo ṭawng thumal thar''</ref>
* long high tone: '''páng''' as in '''''páng''' là'' (which has the same intonation as '''sáng''' in the sentence ''Thingküng '''sáng''' tak kan huanah a ding'').
* long low tone: '''pàng''' as in ''Tui a kawt '''pàng''' pâng mai'' (which has the same intonation as '''vàng''' in the word '''''vàng'''laini'').
* peaking tone: '''pâng''' as in ''Tui a kawt pàng '''pâng''' mai'' (which has the same intonation as '''thlûk''' in ''I hla phuah '''thlûk''' chu a va mawi ve'').
* dipping tone: '''päng''' as in ''Tuibur a hmuam '''päng''' mai'' (which has the same intonation as '''säm''' in ''Kan huan ka '''säm''' vêl mai mai'').
* short rising tone: '''pǎng''' as in ''nau'''pǎng''''' (which has the same intonation as '''thǎng''' in ''Kan huanah '''thǎng''' ka kam'').
* short falling tone: '''pȧng''' as in ''I va inkhuih '''pȧng''' ve?'' (which has the same intonation as '''pȧn''' in ''I lam ka rawn '''pȧn''' '')
* short mid tone: '''pang''' as in ''A dik lo nghâl '''pang''''' (which has the same tone as '''man''' in ''Sazu ka '''man''' '')
* short low tone: '''pạng''' as in ''I '''pạng''' a sá a nih kha'' (which has the same tone as '''chạl''' in ''I '''chạl'''ah thosí a ''fù'' '').

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Notation of vowels with intonation
|-
!colspan="4" scope="col"| Short tones
!colspan="4" scope="col"| Long tones
|-
!scope="col"| mid
!scope="col"| rising !!scope="col"| falling !!scope="col"| low
!scope="col"| peaking
!scope="col"| high !!scope="col"| dipping !!scope="col"| low
|-
| a ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ǎ  / ă) / ả ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ȧ / ã) / ą ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| ạ
| â || á || ä || à
|-
| o
|style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ǒ / ŏ) / ỏ / (ó) ||style="background:#AAA"| &nbsp; ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| ọ / (ò)
|colspan="4" style="background:#AAA"| &nbsp;
|-
| aw ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ǎw / ăw) / ảw ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ȧw / ãw) / ąw ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| ạw
| âw || áw || äw || àw
|-
| u ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ǔ  / ŭ) / ủ ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ů / ũ) / ų ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| ụ
| û || ú || ü || ù
|-
| e ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ě / ĕ) / ẻ ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ė / ẽ) / ę ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| ẹ
| ê || é || ë || è
|-
| i ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ǐ  / ĭ) / ỉ ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| (ĩ) / į ||style="background:#FFD;color:#666"| ị
| î || í || ï || ì
|}

Note that the exact orthography of tones with diacritics is still not standardised (notably for differentiating the four short tones with confusive or conflicting choices of diacritics) except for the differentiation of long tones by using the circumflex from short tones. As well, the need of at least seven diacritics may cause complications to design easy keyboard layouts, even if they use [[dead keys]] and even if not all basic Latin letters are needed for Mizo itself, and so publications may represent the short tones using digrams (e.g. by appending some apostrophe or glottal letter) to reduce the number of diacritics needed to only four (those used now for the long tones) on only two dead keys.

==Grammar==
{{Main|Mizo grammar}}
===Verbs===

====Conjugation====
In Mizo<ref>SCERT, ''Mizo Grammar'', class XI & XII textbook (2002–).</ref> verb tense is indicated by the ''aspect'' and the addition of particles, such as:<ref>SCERT, ''Mizo Grammar and Composition'', 2002.</ref>
*''ang'' (simple future),
*''tawh'' ([[simple past]] and [[past perfect]]),
*''mék'' ([[progressive tense]]s, present and past),
*''dáwn'' ([[Simple future tense|simple future]]),
*''dáwn mék'' ([[near future (grammar)|near future]]),

====Modification of verbs====
Mizo [[gerunds]] and [[past participles]] are formed by a change in [[desinence|word ending]] called {{lang|lus|tihdanglamna}}. 

{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of {{lang|lus|tihdanglamna}}
|-
!verb!!modified form
|-
|{{langx|lus|ziak|label=none|translation=to write}}||{{langx|lus|ziah|label=none|translation=writing, written}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|tât|label=none|translation=to whet}}||{{langx|lus|tah|label=none|translation=whetting, whetted}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|mà|label=none|translation=to divorce}}||{{langx|lus|mâk|label=none|translation=divorcing, divorced}}
|-
|}

===Nouns===
Mizo nouns undergo [[declension]] into [[Grammatical case|cases]]. 
{|class="wikitable"
|+Mizo noun declension<ref name="sealang.net">{{Cite web |last=Chhangte |first=Lalnunthangi |date=1989 |title=The Grammar of Simple Clauses in Mizo |url=http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/chhangte1989grammar.pdf |access-date=14 January 2020 |website=SEALANG Projects}}</ref>
!nominative/accusative
!genitive
!ergative
!instrumental
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|nụlá|translation=the girl}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|nụla|translation=the girl's}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|nụláịn|translation=by the girl}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|nụláin|translation=by means of the girl}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|tǔi}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|tǔi}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|tuiịn}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|tuiin}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|Thangạ}} (a proper noun)
|{{langx|lus|label=none|Thanga}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|Thangȧ'n}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|Thangạ-in/Thangạ hmangin}}
|}

Nouns are [[plural]]ised by suffixing ''-te'', ''-ho'', ''-teho'' or ''-hote''.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Pluralisation examples
|-
!singular!!plural
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|mipa|translation=man}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|mipa'''te''', mipa'''ho'''|translation=men}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|naupang|translation=child}}
|{{langx|lus|label=none|naupang'''te''', naupang'''ho'''|translation=children}}
|-
|}

===Pronouns===
All Mizo [[pronouns]] occur in two forms, namely in free form and [[Clitic|clitic form]] and are declined into cases.

{|class="wikitable"
|+Mizo pronouns<ref name="tuartu">This form is also used as the [[Accusative case|accusative]]</ref>
|-
! !!nominative !!genitive!!accusative!!ergative
|-
! rowspan="6" |clitic forms
|{{langx|lus|ka|label=none|translation=I}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=my, mine|ka}}||{{langx|lus|mi, min|label=none|translation=me}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by me|keima'n}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=we|kan}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=our, ours|kan}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=us|min}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by us|keimahnin}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=you (singular)|i}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=your, yours|i}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=you|che}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by you|nangma'n}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=you (plural)|in}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=your, yours|in}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=you|che u}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by you|nangmahnin}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=he, she, it|a}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=his, hers, its|a}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=him, her, it|amah}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by him, by her, by it|ama'n}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=they|an}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=their, theirs|an}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=them|anmahni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by them|anmahni'n}}
|-
! rowspan="6" |free forms
|{{langx|lus|kei|label=none|translation=I}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=my, mine|keima}}||{{langx|lus|keimah|label=none|translation=me}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by me|keima'n}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=we|keimah}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=our, ours|keima}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=us|keimah, keimah min}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by us|keima'n}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=you (singular)|keini}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=your, yours|keini}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=you|keini min}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by you|keini'n}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=you (plural)|keimahni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=your, yours|keimahni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=you|keimahni min}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by you|keimahni'n}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=he, she, it|anni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=his, hers, its|anni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=him, her, it|anni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by him, by her, by it|anni'n}}
|-
|{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=they|anmahni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=their, theirs|anmahni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=them|anmahni}}||{{langx|lus|label=none|translation=by them|anmahni'n}}
|}

===Negation===
For declarative sentences, [[negation (linguistics)|negation]] is achieved by adding the particle ''lo'' (not) at the end of a sentence:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Sentence!!Negation
|-
|Lala a lo kal<br/>''Lala is coming''/''Lala came''||Lala a lo kal ''lo''<br/>''Lala did '''not''' come''
|-
|Pathumin paruk a sem thei<br/>''Three divides six''||Pathumin paruk a sem thei ''lo''<br/>''Three does not divide six''
|-
|}

===Cardinal numbers===
{{columns-start|num=3}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)khat|translation=one}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)hnih|translation=two}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)thum|translation=three}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)li|translation=four}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)ngá|translation=five}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)ruk|translation=six}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)sarih|translation=seven}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)riat|translation=eight}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|(pa)kua|translation=nine}}
{{column}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|sàwm|translation=ten}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|sàwmpakhat|translation=eleven}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|sàwmpakua|translation=nineteen}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|sawmhnih|translation=twenty}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|sawmthum|translation=thirty}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|sawmküa|translation=ninety}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|zà|translation=one hundred}}
{{column}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|zangá|translation=five hundred}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|säng(khat)|translation=one thousand}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|sïng(khat)|translation=ten thousand}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|nûaih(khat)|translation=one hundred thousand}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|maktadûaih|translation=one million}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|vaibelchhia|translation=ten million}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|vaibelchhetak|translation=one hundred million}}
*{{langx|lus|label=none|tlûklehdingäwn|translation=one billion}}
{{columns-end}}

==Writing system==
The [[Mizo alphabet]] is based on the [[Roman alphabet]] and has 25 letters.

{| class="wikitable" width="400"
|- valign="top"
!Letter
|a  ||  aw  ||  b  ||  ch  ||  d  ||  e  ||  f  ||  g  ||  ng  ||  h  ||  i  ||  j  ||  k
|-
!Name
| style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-a.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-aw.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-b.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-ch.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-d.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-e.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-f.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-g.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-ng.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-h.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-i.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-j.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-k.ogg|listen|help=no}}
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" width="400"
|- valign="top"
!Letter
| l  ||  m
|  n  ||  o  ||  p  ||  r  ||  s  ||  t  ||  ṭ  ||  u  ||  v  ||  z
|-
!Name
| style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-l.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-m.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-n.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-o.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-p.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-r.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-s.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-t.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-ṭ.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-u.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-v.ogg|listen|help=no}} || style="font-size:smaller"| {{Audio|Mizo-z.ogg|listen|help=no}}
|-
|}

A written script for Lushai was created in 1874 by Thomas Herbert Lwein.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Lian |first1=Salai Van Cung |last2=Salem-Gervais |first2=Nicolas |date=November 2020 |title=How Many Chin Languages Should Be Taught in Government Schools? Ongoing developments and structural challenges of language-in-education policy in Chin State |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345667190 |journal=Parami Journal of Education |volume=1 |issue=1}}</ref> In its current form, it was devised by the first [[Christian missionaries]] of Mizoram, J. H. Lorrain and F. W. Savidge,<ref>Lalthangliana, B.: 2001, History and Culture of Mizo in India, Burma and Bangladesh, Aizawl. "Baptist Missionary Conference, 1892", p. 745</ref> based on the <!-- I have never heard of this. And I do not think the Mizo alphabet was an adaptation of the Italian alphabet. It comes "independently" from the Hunterian transliteration. At least that's what we used to learn in books. [[Italian alphabet]]{{dubious|date=February 2012}} and the -->[[Hunterian transliteration|Hunterian system]] of [[transliteration]].

A [[circumflex]] ''^'' was later added to the vowels to indicate long vowels, viz., [[Â]], [[Ê]], [[Î]], [[Ô]], [[Û]], which were insufficient to fully express Mizo tone. Recently,{{when|date=February 2012}} a leading newspaper in Mizoram, ''[[Vanglaini]]'', the magazine ''[[Kristian Ṭhalai]]'', and other publishers began using [[Á]], [[À]], [[Ä]], [[É]], [[È]], [[Ë]], [[Í]], [[Ì]], [[Ï]], [[Ó]], [[Ò]], [[Ö]], [[Ú]], [[Ù]], [[Ü]] to indicate the long intonations and tones. However, this does not differentiate the different intonations that short tones can have.<ref>The [http://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wt/lus/Phekpui Mizo Wiktionary] uses the additional symbols ''ạ'', ''ǎ'', ''ȧ'', and likewise for the other vowels ''aw'', ''e'', ''i'' and ''u'', to differentiate these</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Wt/lus/Thlûkna chungchanga kaihhruaina – Wikimedia Incubator |url=https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wt/lus/Thl%C3%BBkna_chungchanga_kaihhruaina |access-date=6 November 2022 |website=incubator.wikimedia.org |language=en}}</ref>

==Sample texts==
The following is a sample text in Mizo of Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]:<ref>{{cite web |title=UDHR in Sino-Tibetan languages |url=https://www.omniglot.com/udhr/sinotibetan.htm#tb |website=www.omniglot.com |access-date=28 March 2024}}</ref>

{{langx|lus|label=Mizo|
Mi zawng zawng hi zalèna piang kan ni a, zahawmna leh dikna chanvoah intluk tlâng vek kan ni. Chhia leh ṭha hriatna fîm neia siam kan nih avangin kan mihring puite chungah inunauna thinlung kan pu tlat tur a ni. }}

{{langx|en|All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience. Therefore, they should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.}}

==Literature==
{{Main|Mizo literature}}

Mizo has a thriving literature, which has both [[Written language|written]] and [[oral tradition]]s. 
It has undergone a considerable change in the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.vanglaini.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12917:mizo-tihin-tawng-a-nei-lo-tih-kha&catid=105:articles&Itemid=466/ Lalthangliana, B., ''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Mizo tihin ṭawng a nei lo<nowiki>'</nowiki> tih kha'']</ref>

The Mizoram Press Information Bureau lists some twenty Mizo daily newspapers just in Aizawl city, as of March 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pibaizawl.nic.in/dailynews.htm|title=See the website|access-date=14 January 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Mizo name]]
*[[Mizo honorifics]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist|32em}}

==Sources==
# K. S. Singh: 1995, People of India-Mizoram, Volume XXXIII, Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta.
# Grierson, G. A. (Ed.) (1904b). Tibeto-Burman Family: Specimens of the Kuki-Chin and Burma Groups, Volume III Part III of Linguistic Survey of India. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta.
# Grierson, G. A: 1995, Languages of North-Eastern India, Gian Publishing House, New Delhi.
# Lunghnema, V., ''Mizo chanchin'' (B.C. 300 aṭanga 1929 A.D.), 1993.
# Zoramdinthara, Dr., ''Mizo Fiction: Emergence and Development''. Ruby Press & Co.(New Delhi). 2013. {{ISBN|978-93-82395-16-4}}

==External links==
{{Incubator|code=lus}}
*[[James Herbert Lorrain|Lorrain, J. Herbert (James Herbert)]] ''[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/lorrain/ Dictionary of the Lushai language]''. Calcutta : Asiatic Society, 1940 (Bibliotheca Indica, 261).
*[http://stedt.berkeley.edu/~stedt-cgi/rootcanal.pl Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus database]
*[http://mizoram.nic.in/ Mizoram.nic.in] – official website of Mizoram.
*[https://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/MIZO/ Mizo Language Resource] collection of Mizo language documentation in the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL) archive

{{Kuki-Chin–Naga languages}}
{{Mizoram}}
{{Languages of Northeast India}}
{{Languages of India}}
{{Languages of Bangladesh}}
{{Languages of Burma}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mizo language| ]]
[[Category:Languages of Mizoram]]
[[Category:Languages of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Kuki-Chin languages]]
[[Category:Object–subject–verb languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Official languages of India]]
[[Category:Languages of India]]