How to use the dictionary
- search a word in English or Erzya — search works both ways;
- the new / Cyr. / UPA buttons above the word switch the script;
- the auto label means “pending native-speaker review” — not an error;
- Paasonen — the historical dictionary from the early 20th c. (card below).
Three scripts
Every Erzya word is shown in three writing systems — switch with the buttons above the word:
- new — the new Latin orthography of Erzya (primary on this site; developed by Aleksanteri Nazarenko, see alphabet);
- Cyr. — the Cyrillic spelling;
- UPA — Uralic Phonetic Alphabet: the scholarly transcription from Paasonen's dictionary.
Why Latin script?
The primary script on this site is the new Latin orthography (the system by Aleksanteri Nazarenko). It conveys Erzya sounds more precisely and consistently — consonant palatalization (ń ŕ ś ź ć ľ ť ď), the vowels, the /j/ sound as the letter j. It is a step toward a writing system of Erzya’s own. Cyrillic is still here — the Cyr. button shows it, and the alphabet page helps you read.
Two layers of an entry
valks team dictionary (top) — the modern dictionary. Paasonen's dictionary (card below) — the classic “Mordvin Dictionary” by H. Paasonen (early 20th c.), the historical layer: German and Russian glosses, dialects, volume.
Reliability marks
- no mark — verified;
- source — taken directly from Paasonen's dictionary;
- auto — a draft machine translation (Ger.→Rus.), not yet checked by a native speaker — not an error, just pending review.
Examples and their labels
Usage examples appear under the meanings. The label shows where the example comes from:
- ✓ checked by a native speaker — an example from a modern text (fiction, tales, games); the Russian translation was checked by a native Erzya speaker;
- auto — the Russian translation of the example was produced automatically and is not yet checked. This does not mean it is “bad” — the Erzya text itself is genuine; only the accuracy of the translation is still pending;
- H. Paasonen · vol. … · p. … — an example from the historical “Mordvin Dictionary” by H. Paasonen (with volume, page and dialect). Some examples have no volume in the source — then it simply reads “H. Paasonen”;
- DE — the example translation is in German (the original language of Paasonen's dictionary), with no Russian yet;
- fiction · tale · game — the genre/type of the example source.
Word nest
Related forms of the same root — for easy navigation between close words.
Search
Search a word in Erzya (in any script) or in English. English glosses are machine-translated from Russian and are being checked by a native speaker.
Abbreviations
dial. — dialect(s) · etym. — etymology · vol. — volume of Paasonen's dictionary.