Editing Uralic languages (section)

==Typology==
Structural characteristics generally said to be typical of Uralic languages include:

===Grammar===
* extensive use of independent [[suffix]]es ([[agglutination]])
* a large set of [[grammatical case]]s marked with agglutinative suffixes (13–14 cases on average; mainly later developments: Proto-Uralic is reconstructed with 6 cases), e.g.:
** Erzya: 12 cases
** Estonian: 14 cases (15 cases with instructive)
** Finnish: 15 cases
** Hungarian: 18 cases (together 34 grammatical cases and case-like suffixes)
** Inari Sámi: 9 cases
** Komi: in certain dialects as many as 27 cases
** Moksha: 13 cases
** Nenets: 7 cases
** Northern Sámi: 6 cases
** Udmurt: 16 cases
** Veps: 24 cases
** Northern Mansi: 6 cases
** Eastern Mansi: 8 cases
* unique Uralic case system, from which all modern Uralic languages derive their case systems.
** nominative singular has no case suffix.
** accusative (Proto-Uralic ''*-m'') and genitive (''*-n'') suffixes are [[nasal consonant]]s. Many languages have merged the two. 
** three-way distinction in the local case system, with each set of local cases being divided into forms corresponding roughly to "from", "to", and "in/at"; especially evident, e.g. in Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian, which have several sets of local cases, such as the "inner", "outer" and "on top" systems in Hungarian, while in Finnish the "on top" forms have merged to the "outer" forms.
** the Uralic locative suffix exists in all Uralic languages in various cases, e.g. Hungarian [[superessive case|superessive]], Finnish [[essive case|essive]] (''-na''), Northern Sámi [[essive case|essive]], Erzyan [[inessive case|inessive]], and Nenets [[locative case|locative]].
** the Uralic [[lative case|lative]] suffix exists in various cases in many Uralic languages, e.g. Hungarian [[illative case|illative]], Finnish [[lative case|lative]] (''-s'' as in ''ulos'' 'out' and ''rannemmas'' 'more towards the shore'), Erzyan [[illative case|illative]], Komi [[approximative case|approximative]], and Northern Sámi [[locative case|locative]].
* a lack of [[grammatical gender]], including one pronoun for both ''he'' and ''she''; for example, ''hän'' in Finnish, ''tämä'' in Votic, ''tämā'' or ''ta'' (short form for tämā) in Livonian,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://virtuallivonia.info/?page_id=134|title=Livonian pronouns|date=8 February 2020|website=Virtual Livonia}}</ref> ''tema'' or ''ta'' (short form for tema) in Estonian, ''сійӧ'' ({{IPA|[sijɘ]}}) in Komi, ''ő'' in Hungarian.
* [[negative verb]], which exists in many Uralic languages (notably absent in Hungarian)
* use of postpositions as opposed to prepositions (prepositions are uncommon).
* [[possessive suffix]]es
** the [[Genitive case|genitive]] is also used to express possession in some languages, e.g. [[Estonian language|Estonian]] ''mu koer'', [[Spoken Finnish|colloquial Finnish]] ''mun koira'', [[Northern Sámi]] ''mu beana'' 'my dog' (literally 'dog of me'). Separate [[possessive adjective]]s and [[possessive pronoun]]s, such as ''my'' and ''your'', are rare.
* [[dual (grammatical number)|dual]], in the Samoyedic, Ob-Ugric and Sámi languages and reconstructed for Proto-Uralic
* [[plural]] markers -j (i) and -t (-d, -q) have a common origin (e.g. in Finnish, Estonian, Võro, Erzya, Sámi languages, Samoyedic languages). Hungarian, however, has -i- before the possessive suffixes and -k elsewhere. The plural marker -k is also used in the Sámi languages, but there is a regular merging of final -k and -t in Sámi, so it can come from either ending.
* Possessions are expressed by a possessor in the adessive or dative case, the verb "be" (the [[copula (linguistics)|copula]], instead of the verb "have") and the possessed with or without a possessive suffix. The grammatical subject of the sentence is thus the possessed. In Finnish, for example, the possessor is in the [[adessive case]]: "Minulla on kala", literally "At me is fish", i.e. "I have a fish", whereas in Hungarian, the possessor is in the [[dative case]], but appears overtly only if it is contrastive, while the possessed has a possessive ending indicating the number and person of the possessor: "(Nekem) van egy halam", literally "(To me [dative]) is a fish-my" ("(For me) there is a fish of mine"), i.e. "(As for me,) I have a fish".
* expressions that include a [[Numeral (linguistics)|numeral]] are singular if they refer to things which form a single group, e.g. "négy csomó" in Hungarian, "njeallje čuolmma" in Northern Sámi, "neli sõlme" in Estonian, and "neljä solmua" in Finnish, each of which means "four knots", but the literal approximation is "four knot". (This approximation is accurate only for Hungarian among these examples, as in Northern Sámi the noun is in the singular [[accusative]]/[[genitive]] case and in Finnish and Estonian the singular noun is in the [[partitive]] case, such that the number points to a part of a larger mass, like "four of knot(s)".)

===Phonology===
* [[Vowel harmony]]: this is present in many but by no means all Uralic languages. It exists in Hungarian and various [[Baltic-Finnic]] languages, and is present to some degree elsewhere, such as in Mordvinic, Mari, Eastern Khanty, and Samoyedic. It is lacking in Sámi, [[Permic languages|Permic]], [[Selkup language|Selkup]] and [[Estonian language|standard Estonian]], while it does exist in [[Võro language|Võro]] and elsewhere in [[South Estonian language|South Estonian]], as well as in [[Kihnu|Kihnu Island]] subdialect of North Estonian.<ref>Austerlitz, Robert (1990). "Uralic Languages" (pp. 567–576) in Comrie, Bernard, editor. ''The World's Major Languages''. Oxford University Press, Oxford (p. 573).</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Estonian Language|url=http://www.utlib.ee/liber2012/tekstid/eestikeel.pdf|publisher=Estonian Institute|access-date=2013-04-16|page=14|archive-date=2013-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927041348/http://www.utlib.ee/liber2012/tekstid/eestikeel.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Türk, Helen (2010). "[http://www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita_pilt.php?materjal=kasikiri&materjal_id=D1619&sari=D Kihnu murraku vokaalidest]". University of Tartu.</ref> (Although [[Two dots (diacritic)|double dot diacritics]] are used in writing Uralic languages, the languages do not exhibit [[Germanic umlaut]], a different type of vowel [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]].)
* Large vowel inventories. For example, some [[Selkup language|Selkup]] varieties have over twenty different [[monophthong]]s, and [[Estonian language|Estonian]] has over twenty different [[diphthong]]s.
* [[Palatalization (phonetics)|Palatalization]] of consonants; in this context, palatalization means a secondary articulation, where the middle of the tongue is tense. For example, pairs like {{IPA|[ɲ]}} – [n], or [c] – [t] are contrasted in Hungarian, as in ''hattyú'' {{IPA|[hɒcːuː]}} "swan". Some Sámi languages, for example [[Skolt Sámi]], distinguish three degrees: plain {{angle bracket|l}} [l], palatalized {{angle bracket|'l}} {{IPA|[lʲ]}}, and palatal {{angle bracket|lj}} {{IPA|[ʎ]}}, where {{angle bracket|'l}} has a primary alveolar articulation, while {{angle bracket|lj}} has a primary palatal articulation. Original Uralic palatalization is phonemic, independent of the following vowel and traceable to the millennia-old [[Proto-Uralic language|Proto-Uralic]]. It is different from Slavic palatalization, which is of more recent origin. The [[Finnic languages]] have lost palatalization, but several of them have reacquired it, so Finnic palatalization (where extant) was originally dependent on the following vowel and does not correlate to palatalization elsewhere in Uralic.
* Lack of phonologically contrastive [[tone (linguistics)|tone]].
* In many Uralic languages, the stress is always on the first syllable, though Nganasan shows (essentially) penultimate stress, and a number of languages of the central region (Erzya, Mari, Udmurt and Komi-Permyak) synchronically exhibit a lexical accent. The Erzya language can vary its stress in words to give specific nuances to sentential meaning.

===Lexicography===
Basic vocabulary of about 200 words, including body parts (e.g. eye, heart, head, foot, mouth), family members (e.g. father, mother-in-law), animals (e.g. viper, partridge, fish), nature objects (e.g. tree, stone, nest, water), basic verbs (e.g. live, fall, run, make, see, suck, go, die, swim, know), basic pronouns (e.g. who, what, we, you, I), numerals (e.g. two, five); derivatives increase the number of common words.

====Selected cognates====

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<!-- ATTENTION! Thank you for caring about the accuracy of Wikipedia. However, please do not add translations. This is a list of words of common origin. For example, it does not matter what is the translation of "to wash" to Finnish, because the Finnish word "pestä" has a different origin from "mõskma", etc., and as such, does not belong to this list. -->

The following is a very brief selection of cognates in basic vocabulary across the Uralic family, which may serve to give an idea of the sound changes involved. This is not a list of translations: cognates have a common origin, but their meaning may be shifted and loanwords may have replaced them.

{| border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="3"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[Proto-Uralic]]
! rowspan="2" style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[English language|English]]
! colspan="3" style="background-color: #EFEFFF"| [[Finnic languages|Finnic]]
! colspan="3" style="background-color: #EFEFFF"| [[Sámi languages|Sámi]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF"| [[Mordvinic languages|Mordvin]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Mari language|Mari]]
! colspan="2" style="background-color: #EFEFFF"| [[Permic languages|Permic]]
! rowspan="2" style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
! colspan="3" style="background-color: #EFEFFF"| [[Mansi language|Mansi]]
! colspan="2" style="background-color: #EFEFFF"| [[Khanty language|Khanty]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF"| [[Samoyedic languages|Samoyed]]
|-
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Finnish language|Finnish]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Estonian language|Estonian]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Võro language|Võro]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Southern Sámi]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Northern Sámi]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Kildin Sámi language|Kildin]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Erzya language|Erzya]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Meadow Mari language|Meadow]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Komi language|Komi]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Udmurt language|Udmurt]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Northern Mansi|Northern]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Eastern Mansi|Eastern]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Southern Mansi|Southern]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | Kazym
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | Vakh

! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Tundra Nenets language|Tundra Nenets]]
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/tule|*tule]]
| ''<nowiki/>'fire'''
| tuli (tule-) || tuli (tule-) || tuli (tulõ-)
| dålle<br/>{{IPA|[tolːə]}} || dolla || то̄лл<br />{{IPA|[toːlː]}}
| тол<br />{{IPA|[tol]}}
| тул<br />{{IPA|[tul]}}
| тыв (тыл-)<br />{{IPA|[tɯʋ]}} ({{IPA|[tɯl-]}}) || тыл<br />{{IPA|[tɯl]}}
| tűz
| - || тав, тов || (täuˈt)
| тўт || tez
| ту<br />{{IPA|[tu]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/wete|*wete]]
| ''<nowiki/>'water'''
| vesi<br/>(vete-) || vesi<br/>(vee-) || vesi<br/>(vii-)
| – || – || –
| ведь<br />{{IPA|[vedʲ]}}
| вӱд<br />{{IPA|[βyd]}}
| ва<br />{{IPA|[ʋa]}} || ву<br />{{IPA|[ʋu]}}
| víz
| вит <br/>{{IPA|[βit]}} || вить || (üt́)
| –
| –
| иˮ<br />{{IPA|[jiʔ]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/jäŋe|*jäŋe]]
| ''<nowiki/>'ice'''
| jää || jää || ijä
| jïenge<br/>{{IPA|[jɨeŋə]}} || jiekŋa || ӣӈӈ <br />{{IPA|[jiːŋː]}}
| эй<br />{{IPA|[ej]}}
| и<br />{{IPA|[i]}}
| йи<br />{{IPA|[ji]}} || йӧ<br />{{IPA|[jɘ]}}
| jég
| я̄ӈк <br />{{IPA|[jaːŋk]}} || янгк || (ľɑ̄ŋ)/(ľäŋ)
| йєӈк || jeŋk
| –
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/kala|*kala]]
| ''<nowiki/>'fish'''
| kala || kala || kala
| guelie<br/>{{IPA|[kʉelie]}} || guolli || кӯлль <br />{{IPA|[kuːlʲː]}}
| кал<br />{{IPA|[kal]}}
| кол<br />{{IPA|[kol]}}
| – || –
| hal
| хӯл <br />{{IPA|[xuːl]}} || хул || (kho̰l)
| хўԓ || kul
| халя<br />{{IPA|[hʌlʲɐ]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/pesä|*pesä]]
| ''<nowiki/>'nest'''
| pesä || pesa || pesä
| biesie<br/>{{IPA|[piesie]}} || beassi || пе̄ссь <br />{{IPA|[pʲi͜esʲː~pʲeːsʲː]}}
| пизэ<br />{{IPA|[pize]}}
| пыжаш<br />{{IPA|[pəʒaʃ]}}
| поз<br />{{IPA|[poz]}} || пуз<br />{{IPA|[puz]}}
| fészek
| пити <br />{{IPA|[pitʲi]}} || пить аня || (pit́ī)
| – || pĕl
| пидя<br />{{IPA|[pʲidʲɐ]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/käte|*käte]]
| ''<nowiki/>'hand, arm'''
| käsi (käte-) || käsi (käe-) || käsi (käe-)
| gïete<br/>{{IPA|[kɨedə]}} || giehta || кӣдт <br />{{IPA|[kʲiːd̥ː]}}
| кедь<br />{{IPA|[kedʲ]}}
| кид<br />{{IPA|[kid]}}
| ки<br />{{IPA|[ki]}} || ки<br />{{IPA|[ki]}}
| kéz/kar
| ка̄т <br />{{IPA|[kaːt]}} || кат, коат || (kät)
| – || köt
| –
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/śilmä|*śilmä]]
| ''<nowiki/>'eye'''
| silmä || silm (silma-) || silm (silmä-)
| tjelmie<br/>{{IPA|[t͡ʃɛlmie]}} || čalbmi || чалльм <br />{{IPA|[t͡ʃalʲːm]}}
| сельме<br />{{IPA|[sʲelʲme]}}
| шинча<br />{{IPA|[ʃint͡ɕa]}}
| син (синм-)<br />{{IPA|[ɕin]}} ({{IPA|[ɕinm-]}} || син (синм-)<br />{{IPA|[ɕin]}} ({{IPA|[ɕinm-]}}
| szem
| сам <br />{{IPA|[sam]}} || сам || (šøm)
| сєм || sem
| сэв<br />{{IPA|[sæw(ə̥)]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/süle|*süle]]
| ''<nowiki/>'fathom'''
| syli (syle-) || süli (süle-) || –
| sïlle<br/>{{IPA|[sʲɨllə]}} || salla || сэ̄лл <br />{{IPA|[sɛːlː]}}
| сэль<br />{{IPA|[selʲ]}}
| шӱлӧ<br />{{IPA|[ʃylø]}}
| сыв (сыл-)<br />{{IPA|[sɯʋ]}} ({{IPA|[sɯl-]}} || сул<br />{{IPA|[sul]}}
| öl(el) <!-- "öl" as in "lap", not "kill"; made clear by adding verbal derivative -->
| тал <br/>{{IPA|[tal]}} || тал  || (täl)
| ԓăԓ || lö̆l
| тибя<br />{{IPA|[tʲibʲɐ]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/sëne|*sëne]]
| ''<nowiki/>'vein / sinew'''
| suoni (suone-) || soon (soone-) || suuń (soonõ-)
| soene<br/>{{IPA|[suonə]}} || suotna || | сӯнн <br />{{IPA|[suːnː]}}
| сан<br />{{IPA|[san]}}
| шӱн<br />{{IPA|[ʃyn]}}
| сӧн<br />{{IPA|[sɘn]}} || сӧн<br />{{IPA|[sɘn]}}
| ín/ér
| та̄н <br/>{{IPA|[taːn]}} || тан  || (tɛ̮̄n)/(tǟn)
| ԓон || lan
| тэʼ<br />{{IPA|[tɤʔ]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/luwe|*luwe]]
| ''<nowiki/>'bone'''
| luu || luu || luu
| – || – || –
| ловажа<br />{{IPA|[lovaʒa]}}
| лу<br />{{IPA|[lu]}}
| лы<br />{{IPA|[lɯ]}} || лы<br />{{IPA|[lɯ]}}
| – <!--Not cognate: csont-->
| лув <br/>{{IPA|[luβ]}} || ласм (?) || (täuˈt)
| ԓўв || lŏγ
| лы <br/>{{IPA|[lɨ]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/were|*were]]
| ''<nowiki/>'blood'''
| veri (vere-) || veri (vere-) || veri (vere-)
| vïrre<br/>{{IPA|[vʲɨrrə]}} || varra || вэ̄рр <br />{{IPA|[vɛːrː]}}
| верь<br />{{IPA|[verʲ]}}
| вӱр<br />{{IPA|[βyr]}}
| вир<br />{{IPA|[ʋir]}} || вир<br />{{IPA|[ʋir]}}
| vér
| - || выр (?) || (ūr)
| вўр
| wər
| –
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/mëksa|*mëksa]]
| ''<nowiki/>'liver'''
| maksa || maks (maksa-) || mass (massa-)
| mueksie<br/>{{IPA|[mʉeksie]}} || – || –
| максо<br />{{IPA|[makso]}}
| мокш<br />{{IPA|[mokʃ]}}
| мус (муск-)<br />{{IPA|[mus]}} ({{IPA|[musk-]}} || мус (муск-)<br />{{IPA|[mus]}} ({{IPA|[musk-]}}
| máj
| ма̄йт <br/>{{IPA|[maːjt]}} || мяйт || (majət)
| мухәԓ || muγəl
| мыд<br />{{IPA|[mɨd(ə̥)]}}
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/kuńśe|*kuńśe]]
| ''<nowiki/>'urine' /<br />'to urinate'''
| kusi (kuse-) || kusi (kuse-) || kusi (kusõ-)
| gadtjedh<br/>(gadtje-)<br/>{{IPA|[kɑdd͡ʒə]}}- || gožžat<br/>(gožža-) || коннч <br />{{IPA|[koɲːt͡ʃ]}}
| –
| кыж<br />{{IPA|[kəʒ]}}
| кудз<br />{{IPA|[kud͡ʑ]}} || кызь<br />{{IPA|[kɯʑ]}}
| húgy
| хуньсь<br/>{{IPA|[xunʲɕ]}} || хос-вить || (kho̰ś-üt́)
| (xŏs-) || kŏs-
| –
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/mene-|*mene-]]
| ''<nowiki/>'to go'''
| mennä (mene-) || minema (mine-) || minemä (mine-)
| mïnnedh<br/>{{IPA|[mʲɨnnə]}}- || mannat || мэ̄ннэ <br />{{IPA|[mɛːnːɛ]}}
| –
| мияш (мий-)<br />{{IPA|[mijaʃ]}} ({{IPA|[mij-]}})
| мунны (мун-)<br />{{IPA|[munnɯ]}} ({{IPA|[mun-]}}) || мыныны (мын-)<br />{{IPA|[mɯnɯnɯ]}} ({{IPA|[mɯn-]}})
| menni
| минуӈкве <br/>{{IPA|[minuŋkʷe]}} || мыных || (mińo̰ŋ)
| мăнты || mĕn-
| минзь (мин-)<br />{{IPA|[mʲinzʲ(ə̥)]}} ({{IPA|[mʲin-]}})
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/elä-|*elä-]]
| ''<nowiki/>'to live'''
| elää (elä-) || elama (ela-) || elämä (elä-)
| jieledh<br/>{{IPA|[jielə]}} || eallit || е̄лле [ji͜elʲːe~jeːlʲːe]
| ? эрямс (эря-) <br />{{IPA|[erʲams]}} ({{IPA|[erʲa-]}})
| илаш (ила-)<br />{{IPA|[ilaʃ]}} ({{IPA|[il-]}})
| овны (ол-)<br />{{IPA|[oʋnɯ]}} ({{IPA|[ol-]}}) || улыны (ул-)<br />{{IPA|[ulɯnɯ]}} ({{IPA|[ul-]}})
| élni
| ялтуӈкве<br/>{{IPA|[jaltuŋkʷe]}} || ялтых || (ilto̰ŋ)
| – || –
| илесь (иль-)<br />{{IPA|[jilʲesʲ(ə̥)]}} ({{IPA|[jilʲ-]}})
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/kale-|*kale-]]
| ''<nowiki/>'to die'''
| kuolla (kuole-) || koolma (koole-) (dialectal)|| kuulma (koolõ-)
| – || – || –
| куломс (кул-)<br />{{IPA|[kuloms]}} ({{IPA|[kul-]}})
| колаш (кол-)<br />{{IPA|[kolaʃ]}} ({{IPA|[kol-]}})
| кувны (кул-)<br />{{IPA|[kuʋnɯ]}} ({{IPA|[kul-]}}) || кулыны (кул-)<br />{{IPA|[kulɯnɯ]}} ({{IPA|[kul-]}})
| halni
| - || - || (khåləŋ)
| хăԓты || kăla-
| хась (ха-)<br />{{IPA|[hʌsʲ(ə̥)]}} ({{IPA|[hʌ-]}})
|-
! style="background-color: #E0E0FF" | [[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/mośke-|*mośke-]]
| ''<nowiki/>'to wash'''
| –<!-- pestä is not a cognate. Do not show it on this table. -->|| – <!-- pesema is not a cognate. Do not show it on this table. --> || mõskma (mõsk(õ)-)
| – || – || –
| муськемс (муськ-)<br />{{IPA|[musʲkems]}} ({{IPA|[musʲk-]}})
| мушкаш (мушк-)<br />{{IPA|[muʃkaʃ]}} ({{IPA|[muʃk-]}})
| мыськыны (мыськ-)<br />{{IPA|[mɯɕkɯnɯ]}} ({{IPA|[mɯɕk-]}}) || миськыны (миськ-)<br />{{IPA|[miɕkɯnɯ]}} ({{IPA|[miɕk-]}})
| mosni
| – || - || -
| – || – 
| масась (мас-)<br />{{IPA|[mʌsəsʲ(ə̥)]}} ({{IPA|[mʌs-]}})
|}

Orthographical notes: The hacek denotes postalveolar articulation ({{angbr|ž}} {{IPA|[ʒ]}}, {{angbr|š}} {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, {{angbr|č}} {{IPA|[t͡ʃ]}}) (In Northern Sámi, ({{angbr|ž}} {{IPA|[dʒ]}}), while the acute denotes a secondary palatal articulation ({{angbr|ś}} {{IPA|[sʲ ~ ɕ]}}, {{angbr|ć}} {{IPA|[tsʲ ~ tɕ]}}, {{angbr|l}} {{IPA|[lʲ]}}) or, in Hungarian, vowel length. The Finnish letter {{angbr|y}} and the letter {{angbr|ü}} in other languages represent the high rounded vowel {{IPA|[y]}}; the letters {{angbr|ä}} and {{angbr|ö}} are the front vowels {{IPA|[æ]}} and {{IPA|[ø]}}.
<!--(based on the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' and Hakkinen 1979)
{| border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse" class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[English language|English]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Finnish language|Finnish]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Estonian language|Estonian]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Northern Sámi]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Mari language|Mari]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Komi language|Komi]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Khanty language|Khanty]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
! style="background-color: #EFEFFF" | Finno-Ugric reconstruction
|-
| heart
| {{IPA|sydän, ''sydäm''-}}
| {{IPA|süda, ''südam''-}}
| –
| {{IPA|šüm}}
| {{IPA|śələm}}
| {{IPA|səm}}
| {{IPA|szív}}
| {{IPA|*śüδä(-mɜ) (*śiδä(-mɜ))}}
|-
| louse
| {{IPA|täi}}
| {{IPA|täi}}
| {{IPA|dihkki}}
| {{IPA|tij}}
| {{IPA|toj}}
| {{IPA|tögtəm}}
| {{IPA|tetű}}
| {{IPA|*täje}}
|}-->

As is apparent from the list, Finnish is the most conservative of the Uralic languages presented here, with nearly half the words on the list above identical to their Proto-Uralic reconstructions and most of the remainder only having minor changes, such as the conflation of *ś into /s/, or widespread changes such as the loss of *x and alteration of *ï. Finnish has also preserved old Indo-European borrowings relatively unchanged. (An example is ''porsas'' ("pig"), loaned from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*porḱos'' or pre-[[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] ''*porśos'', unchanged since loaning<!--NB the Uralic proto-form is *porśas--> save for loss of [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalization]], *ś > s.<!--Another well-known example is ''kuningas'' ("king"), a loan from the [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*kuniŋgaz'', again preserved unchanged since loaning except for an assimilation *ŋg > {{IPA|/ŋː/}}, contrary to any of the [[Germanic languages]].-->)

====Mutual intelligibility====
The Estonian philologist [[Mall Hellam]] proposed cognate sentences that she asserted to be mutually intelligible among the three most widely spoken Uralic languages: Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian:<ref name="Economist">{{citation |title = The Finno-Ugrics: The dying fish swims in water |newspaper = [[The Economist]] |pages = 73–74 |date = December 24, 2005 – January 6, 2006 |url = https://www.economist.com/special-report/2005/12/20/the-dying-fish-swims-in-water |access-date=2013-01-19}}</ref>

*{{langx|et|Elav kala ujub vee all}}.
*{{langx|fi|Elävä kala ui veden alla}}.
*{{langx|hu|Eleven hal úszik a víz alatt}}.
*{{langx|en|A living fish swims underwater}}.

However, linguist [[Geoffrey Pullum]] reports that neither Finns nor Hungarians could understand the other language's version of the sentence.<ref>{{citation|last=Pullum|first=Geoffrey K.|author-link=Geoffrey Pullum|url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002729.html|title=The Udmurtian code: saving Finno-Ugric in Russia|date=2005-12-26|access-date=2009-12-21|work=[[Language Log]]}}</ref>

===Comparison===
{{Cleanup|reason=[[Talk:Uralic_languages#Table_unusable_on_mobile_site|Unusable on mobile site]]|date=April 2024}}
No Uralic language has exactly the idealized typological profile of the family. Typological features with varying presence among the modern Uralic language groups include:<ref>{{cite journal|first=Péter|last=Hájdu|year=1975|title=Arealógia és urálisztika|journal=Nyelvtudományi Közlemények|volume=77|pages=147–152|issn=0029-6791|url=http://archive.nytud.hu/nyk/reg/077.pdf|language=hu}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Feature
! Samoyedic !! Ob-Ugric !! Hungarian !! Permic !! Mari !! Mordvin !! Finnic !! Sámi
|-align="center"
! Palatalization
| + || + || + || + || − || + || − || +
|-align="center"
! Consonant length
| − || − || + || − || − || − || + || +
|-align="center"
! Consonant gradation
| −<sup style="position: absolute">1</sup> || − || − || − || − || − || + || +
|-align="center"
! Vowel harmony
| −<sup style="position: absolute">2</sup> || −<sup style="position: absolute">2</sup> || + || − || + || + || +<sup style="position: absolute">3</sup>|| −
|-align="center"
! Grammatical vowel alternation<br/>([[ablaut]] or [[umlaut (linguistics)|umlaut]])
| + || + || − || − || − || − || −<sup style="position: absolute">4</sup> || +
|-align="center"
! Dual number
| + || + || − || − || − || − || − || +
|-align="center"
! Distinction between<br/>inner and outer local cases
| − || − || + || + || + || + || + || −
|-align="center"
! Determinative inflection<br/>(verbal marking of [[definiteness]])
| + || + || + || − || − || + || − || −
|-align="center"
! [[Passive voice]]
| − || + || + || − || − || + || + || +
|-align="center"
! Negative verb
| + || − || − || + || + || ± || + || +
|-align="center"
! [[Subject–verb–object|SVO]] word order
| − || − || − || ±<sup style="position: absolute">5</sup> || − || + || + || +
|}
Notes:
# Clearly present only in [[Nganasan language|Nganasan]].
# Vowel harmony is present in the Uralic languages of Siberia only in some marginal archaic varieties: [[Nganasan language|Nganasan]], [[Southern Mansi]] and [[Eastern Khanty]].
#Only recently lost in modern Estonian
# A number of umlaut processes are found in [[Livonian language|Livonian]].
# In [[Komi language|Komi]], but not in [[Udmurt language|Udmurt]].