Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/dzaʔ

• Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *dzaʔ (Schuessler, 2007; Hill, 2019)
  • Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *m-dz(y)a-k/n/t/s (Matisoff, STEDT); *dzya-n/k (Mortensen, 2012); *dza (Weidert, 1987; Michailovsky, 1991; Benedict, 1972); *dza-n ⪤ dza-k (Matisoff, 1983); *dzɑ (Chou, 1972)

Some consider Chinese 食 to be a reflex of this root; according to the latest reconstructions, 食 and its cognates are probably best listed under *mə-l(j)ək (“to lick”).

Compare Proto-Austroasiatic *ca(ː)ʔ (“to eat”).

*dzaʔ

1. to eat
2. food
3. to feed (?)
4. rice

• Old Chinese: 咀 (*ʔsaʔ, zaʔ (ZS), “to taste, to savour”), 飵 / 𫗢 (*zaːg, zaːgs (ZS), “(ancient Chu dialect) to eat”), 餐 (*tsʰˁar (B-S, unlisted), *sʰaːn (ZS), “to eat”)

  (Note: 餐 may alternatively (and perhaps more preferably) be compared with WT འཚལ་བ ('tshal ba, “(archaic) to eat, to fill the belly”), ཚལ་མ (tshal ma, “breakfast”).)

  • Middle Chinese: 咀 (tsɨʌX, dzɨʌX, “to chew”), 飵 / 𫗢 (dzɑk, dzuoH), 餐 (tsʰɑn, “meal”)
    • Modern Mandarin
      • Beijing: 咀 (jǔ) (/t͡ɕy²¹⁴/), 餐 (cān) (/t͡sʰan⁵⁵/)
• Himalayish
  • Tibeto-Kanauri
    • Bodic
      • Tibetan
        • Written Tibetan:

          ཟ (za, “to eat”) (fut. བཟའ (bza'), pf. བཟས (bzas) or ཟོས (zos), imp. ཟོ (zo))

          ཟན (zan, “(cooked) food, dough, porridge”)

          ཟས (zas, “food, meal”)

    • Lepcha: ᰙᰨ (zo, “to eat”)
• rGyalrongic:
  • West rGyalrongic:
    • Horpa:
      • Tangut: 𗡅 (*dzji¹, “eat”)
  • rGyalrong:
    • Japhug: ndza (“eat”)
    • Situ: ndza (“eat”)
    • Tshobdun: ⁿdzē (“eat”)
    • Zbu: ⁿdzē ~ ⁿdzī (“eat”)
• Boro-Garo
  • Garo: cha·a
• Lolo-Burmese
  • Proto-Burmish: *dzaH
    • Achang: zo
    • Burmese: စား (ca:, “to eat, to consume; to erode, to corrode”), ⇒ ဆန် (hcan, “rice”)
  • Loloish
    • Northern Loloish
      • Yi (Liangshan): ꋠ (zze, “to eat (non-liquid food)”)
• Naic
  • Namuyi: dzìh (“to eat”)
  • Proto-Naish: *ndzi (“to eat”), *dza (“wheat”) (see there for further descendants)

• *ʔəm (“to eat; to drink”)
• *N/s-tuŋ (“to drink; to suckle”)
• *s(j)ok (“breast; to suck; to drink”)
• *m-liŋ ~ m-luŋ (“to drink”)
• *m/s/g-ljak (“to lick; tongue; to eat (of animals); to feed (animals)”)
• *b-ras (“rice”)