View source for Chuvash language

{{Short description|Oghur Turkic language of Volga region}}
 
{{Distinguish|text = the [[Chuvan language|Chuvan]] or the [[Chumash language|Chumash]] languages}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{cleanup lang|date=May 2019}}
{{Overly detailed|details=|date=December 2024}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Chuvash
| altname          = 
| nativename       = {{lang|cv|Чӑваш чӗлхи, Чӑвашла}} {{transliteration|cv|Çăvaşla}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|cv|tɕəʋaʃˈla|}}
| states           = [[Russia]]
| region           = [[Volga region|Volga]]-[[Ural region|Ural]] region (esp. [[Chuvashia]])
| nation           = [[Chuvashia]] (Russia)
| ethnicity        = {{sigfig|1.050000|3}} million [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]] (2020 census)<ref name=e26/>
| speakers         = {{sigfig|738,150|2}}<!--the 200k L2 speakers in e18 is just the difference between two estimates in e14, one of which *may* include L2 speakers-->
| date             = 2020 census
| ref              = e26
| familycolor      = Altaic
| fam1             = [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
| fam2             = [[Oghuric languages|Oghuric]]
| ancestor         = [[Bulgar language#Volga Bulgar|Volga Bulgar]] ?
| script           = [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]]
| iso1             = cv
| iso2             = chv
| iso3             = chv
| glotto           = chuv1255
| glottorefname    = Chuvash
| map              = Chuvash_Turkic_Language_distribution_map.png
| mapcaption       = Chuvash native speaker distribution
| notice           = IPA
| map2             = Lang Status 80-VU.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Chuvash is classified as Vulnerable by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026 |title=Atlas of the world's languages in danger 
|work=UNESCO WAL |access-date=22 December 2024}}</ref>}}}}
}}

'''Chuvash''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|tʃ|uː|v|ɑː|ʃ}} {{respell|CHOO|vahsh}},<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Chuvash |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612095257/https://www.lexico.com/definition/chuvash |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 June 2020 |title=Chuvash |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|tʃ|ʊ|ˈ|v|ɑː|ʃ}} {{respell|chuu|VAHSH}};<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/en/definition/Chuvash |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612095301/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/chuvash |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 June 2020 |title=Chuvash |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary US English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{lang|cv|Чӑваш чӗлхи, Чӑвашла}}, {{small|[[Transliteration|translit.]]}} {{transliteration|cv|Çăvaşla}}, {{IPA|cv|tɕəʋaʃˈla|IPA}}){{efn|Also known as {{transliteration|cv|Chăvash}}, {{transliteration|cv|Chuwash}}, {{transliteration|cv|Chovash}}, {{transliteration|cv|Chavash}}, {{transliteration|cv|Çovaş}}, {{transliteration|cv|Çuvaş}} or {{transliteration|cv|Çuwaş}}.}} is a [[Turkic languages|Turkic language]] spoken in Volga-Ural region of [[Russia]], primarily in the [[Chuvashia|Chuvash Republic]] and adjacent areas. It is the only surviving member of the [[Oghur languages|Oghur]] branch of Turkic languages, one of the two principal branches of the Turkic family.<ref>[https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/mobile/view/10.1093/oso/9780198804628.001.0001/oso-9780198804628-chapter-28] Chuvash is the sole living representative of the Bulgharic branch, one of the two principal branches of the Turkic family.</ref>

The writing system for the Chuvash language is based on the [[Cyrillic script]], employing all of the letters used in the [[Russian alphabet]] and adding four letters of its own: [[Ӑ]], [[Ӗ]], [[Ҫ]] and [[Ӳ]].

==Distribution==
[[File:The Soviet Union 1933 CPA 431 stamp (Peoples of the Soviet Union. Chuvash people).jpg|thumb|right|Stamp of the Soviet Union, Chuvash people, 1933]]
Chuvash is the native language of the [[Chuvash people]] and an official language of [[Chuvashia Republic|Chuvashia]].<ref>http://www.cv-haval.org/ru/node/54 Алос-и-Фонт, Эктор. Оценка языковой политики в Чувашии</ref><ref>https://cvlat.blogspot.com/2010/11/blog-post.html Оценка языковой политики в Чувашии</ref> There are contradictory numbers regarding the number of people able to speak Chuvash nowadays; some sources claim it is spoken by 1,640,000 persons in Russia and another 34,000 in other countries<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=chv|title=Chuvash|website=ethnologue.com|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref> and that 86% of ethnic Chuvash and 8% of the people of other ethnicities living in Chuvashia claimed knowledge of Chuvash language during the [[2002 Russian Census|2002 census]].<ref>Russian Census 2002. [http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/TOM_04_06.xls 6. Владение языками (кроме русского) населением отдельных национальностей по республикам, автономной области и автономным округам Российской Федерации] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061104083616/http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/TOM_04_06.xls |date=4 November 2006 }}(''Knowledge of languages other than Russian by the population of republics, autonomous oblast and autonomous districts''){{in lang|ru}}</ref> However, other sources claim that the number of Chuvash speakers is on the decline, with a drop from 1 million speakers in 2010 to 700,000 in 2021; observers suggest this is due to Moscow having a lack of interest in preserving the language diversity in Russia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Languages in Russia Disappearing Faster than Data Suggests, Activists Warn |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/03/13/languages-in-russia-disappearing-faster-than-data-suggests-activists-warn-a80432 |work=The Moscow Times |date=13 March 2023}}</ref> Although Chuvash is taught at schools and sometimes used in the media, it is considered [[endangered language|endangered]] by the [[UNESCO]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mt-archive.info/LREC-2006-Zheltov.pdf|title=Zheltov, Pavel. An Attribute-Sample Database System for Describing Chuvash Affixes|website=mt-archive.info|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721225729/http://www.mt-archive.info/LREC-2006-Zheltov.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/europe_index.html|title=UNESCO red book on endangered languages: Europe|author=Tapani Salminen|date=22 September 1999}}</ref> because [[Russian language|Russian]] dominates in most spheres of life and few children learning the language are likely to become active users.

A fairly significant production and publication of literature in Chuvash still continues. According to UNESCO's ''Index Translationum'', at least 202 books translated from Chuvash were published in other languages (mostly Russian) since ca. 1979.<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?a=&stxt=&sl=chv&l=&pla=&pub=&tr=&e=&udc=&d=&from=&to=&tie=a Index Translationum: translations from Chuvash] - shows 202 titles, as of 2013-01-06. The index has data since ca. 1979.</ref> However, as with most other languages of the former [[Soviet Union|USSR]], most of the translation activity took place before the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the USSR]]: out of the 202 translations, 170 books were published in the USSR<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?a=&stxt=&sl=chv&l=&c=SUN&pla=&pub=&tr=&e=&udc=&d=&from=&to=&tie=a Index Translationum: translations from Chuvash, published in the USSR] - shows 170 titles</ref> and just 17, in the post-1991 Russia (mostly, in the 1990s).<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?a=&stxt=&sl=chv&l=&c=RUS&pla=&pub=&tr=&e=&udc=&d=&from=&to=&tie=a Index Translationum: translations from Chuvash, published in Russia] - shows 17 titles</ref> A similar situation takes place with the translation of books from other languages (mostly Russian) into Chuvash (the total of 175 titles published since ca. 1979, but just 18 of them in post-1991 Russia).<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?a=&stxt=&sl=&l=chv&c=&pla=&pub=&tr=&e=&udc=&d=&from=&to=&tie=a Index Translationum: translations into Chuvash]</ref>

==Classification==
Chuvash is the most distinctive of the [[Turkic languages]] and cannot be understood by other Turkic speakers, whose languages have varying degrees of [[mutual intelligibility]] within their respective subgroups. Chuvash is classified, alongside the long-extinct [[Bulgar language|Bulgar]], as a member of the [[Oghur languages|Oghuric]] branch of the Turkic language family, or equivalently, the sole surviving descendant of West Old Turkic.<ref>{{cite book|first1=András|last1=Róna-Tas|first2=Árpád|last2=Berta|title=West Old Turkic|volume=2|page=1176|year=2011|publisher=Harrassowitz|location=Wiesbaden}}</ref> Since the surviving literary records for the non-Chuvash members of Oghuric ([[Bulgar language|Bulgar]] and possibly [[Khazar language|Khazar]]) are scant, the exact position of Chuvash within the Oghuric family cannot be determined.

Despite grammatical similarity with the rest of Turkic language family, the presence of changes in Chuvash pronunciation (which are hard to reconcile with other members of the Turkic family) has led some scholars to see Chuvash as originating not from Proto-Turkic but from another proto-language spoken at the time of Proto-Turkic (in which case Chuvash and all the remaining Turkic languages would be part of a larger language family).<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Linguistics|page=39}}</ref>

Italian historian and philologist [[Igor de Rachewiltz]] noted a significant distinction of the Chuvash language from other Turkic languages. According to him, the Chuvash language does not share certain common characteristics with Turkic languages to such a degree that some scholars consider Chuvash as an independent branch from Turkic and Mongolic. The Turkic classification of Chuvash was seen as a compromise solution for classification purposes.<ref>''Rachewiltz, Igor de.'' [http://сувары.рф/node/754 Introduction to Altaic philology: Turkic, Mongolian, Manchu] / by Igor de Rachewiltz and Volker Rybatzki; with the collaboration of Hung Chin-fu. p. cm. — (Handbook of Oriental Studies = Handbuch der Orientalistik. Section 8, Central Asia; 20). — Leiden; Boston, 2010. — P. 7.</ref>{{efn|Rachewiltz's classification implies that Chuvash is a separate branch of the wider "[[Altaic]]" language grouping, which is itself controversial the general consensus within linguistic circles is that it s a [[sprachbund]], rather than a language family.}}

The Oghuric branch is distinguished from the rest of the Turkic family (the [[Common Turkic languages]]) by two [[sound change]]s: ''r'' corresponding to Common Turkic ''z'' and ''l'' corresponding to Common Turkic ''š''.<ref>Johanson (1998); cf. Johanson (2000, 2007) and the articles pertaining to the subject in Johanson & Csató (ed., 1998).</ref> The first scientific fieldwork description of Chuvash, by [[August Ahlqvist]] in 1856, allowed researchers to establish its proper affiliation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Korhonen|first=Mikko|title=Finno-Ugrian Language Studies in Finland 1828-1918|publisher=Societas Scientiarum Fennica|year=1986|isbn=951-653-135-0|location=Helsinki|page=80}}</ref>

Some scholars suggest [[Hunnic language|Hunnish]] had strong ties with Chuvash<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pritsak |first=Omeljan |author-link=Omeljan Pritsak |date=1982 |title=The Hunnic Language of the Attila Clan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41036005 |journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies |publisher=[[Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute]] |volume=IV |issue=4 |pages=470 |issn=0363-5570 |jstor=41036005 |quote="The language had strong ties to Bulgar language and to modern Chuvash, but also had some important connections, especially lexical and morphological, to Ottoman Turkish and Yakut" |place=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}</ref> and classify Chuvash as separate Hunno-Bulgar.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pritsak |author-first=Omeljan |title=Turkic-Bulgarian-Hungarian relations |year=1981 |location=Budapest |chapter=The Proto-Bulgarian Military Inventory Inscriptions}}</ref> However, such speculations are not based on proper linguistic evidence, since the language of the Huns is almost unknown except for a few attested words and personal names. Scholars generally consider Hunnish as unclassifiable.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Savelyev |first=Alexander |title=Chuvash and the Bulgharic Languages |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/41762/chapter-abstract/354239965?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false |access-date=2024-03-30 |website=academic.oup.com |date=27 May 2020 |pages=448 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-880462-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Golden |first=Peter B. |title=An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples: ethnogenesis and state-formation in medieval and early modern Eurasia and the Middle East |date=1992 |publisher=O. Harrassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-03274-2 |series=Turcologica |location=Wiesbaden |pages=88 89}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=RÓNA-TAS |first=ANDRÁS |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7829/j.ctv280b77f |title=Hungarians and Europe in the Early Middle Ages |date=1999-03-01 |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-963-386-572-9 |pages=208|doi=10.7829/j.ctv280b77f }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinor |first=Denis |title=Studies in medieval inner Asia |date=1997 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=978-0-86078-632-0 |series=Collected studies series |location=Aldershot, Hampshire |pages=336}}</ref> Chuvash is so divergent from the main body of Turkic languages that some scholars formerly considered Chuvash to be a [[Uralic language|Uralic]] language.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Savelyev |first=Alexander |date=2020-01-01 |title=Chuvash and the Bulgharic languages |url=https://www.academia.edu/43117302 |journal=The Oxford Guide to the Transeurasian Languages |pages=446–464 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198804628.003.0028 |isbn=978-0-19-880462-8 |quote=Early scholarship from the 18th century associated Chuvash with the Uralic languages, being unable to disentangle complicated areal phenomena in the Volga-Kama region (see, e.g., language groupings in Pallas 1787–1789). The Turkic origin of Chuvash was proposed no later than by Klaproth in 1828 and convincingly proved by Schott in 1841. In 1863, Feizkhanov managed to read three grave epitaphs in the Volga Bulghar language based on his knowledge of the contemporary Chuvash. Strong arguments relating Chuvash to Volga Bulghar were summarized by Ašmarin in 1902; since then, the Volga Bulghar → Chuvash linguistic continuity has gained general acceptance in the field. Together with its extinct relatives, Chuvash forms the separate Bulgharic branch of the Turkic family, which exhibits many differences from the so-called Common Turkic languages}}</ref> Conversely, other scholars today regard it as an Oghuric language significantly influenced by the [[Finno-Permic languages|Finno-Ugric]] languages.<ref name="MiestamoTammWagner-Nagy2015">{{cite book | author1 = Matti Miestamo | author2 = Anne Tamm | author3 = Beáta Wagner-Nagy | date = 24 June 2015 | title = Negation in Uralic Languages | publisher = John Benjamins Publishing Company | pages = 646 | isbn = 978-90-272-6864-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qmwCCgAAQBAJ}}</ref>

The following sound changes and resulting sound correspondences are typical:<ref>Johanson (1998: 89-197).</ref><ref name="Agyagási 2019: passim">Agyagási (2019: passim)</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Sound change from Proto-Turkic
!Example of sound correspondence
|-
|*/ɾʲ/ > ''r''
|хӗр (hĕr) : [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''kız'' 'girl'
|-
|*/lʲ/ > ''l'',
but occasionally /lʲ/ > ''ś''
|хӗл (hĕl) : Turkish ''kış'' ‘winter’ 
пуҫ (puş) : Turkish ''baş'' ‘head’
|-
|*''y'' > ''ǰ'' > ''č'' > ''ś''
|ҫул (şul) : Turkish ''yol'' ‘road’
|-
|*-''n'' > -''m''
|тӗтӗм (tĕtĕm) : Turkish ''tütün'' ‘smoke’
|-
|*-''ŋ'' > -''n'' (sometimes -''m'')
|ҫӗнӗ (şĕnĕ) : Yakut саҥа, Turkish ''yeni'' 'new' (< Proto-Turkic *''yaŋï'', ''yeŋi'')
|-
|*-''d'' > -''ð'' > -''z'' > -''r''
|ура (ura) : [[Tuvan language|Tuvan]] адак, Turkish ''ayak'' (< Proto-Turkic *''adak'') ‘foot’
|-
|*[q] (i.e. */k/ in [[Back vowel|back]] environments) > ''χ''
But dropped before later *''y''
|хура (hura) : Turkish ''kara'' 'black'
юн (jun) : Turkish ''kan'' 'blood' (Proto-Turkic *''qaːn'' > Oguric *''χaːn > *χyan > *yån'')
|-
|*-/k/ (both -[q] or -[k]) finally in disyllabic stems: > ''g'' > ''γ'' > ∅
|пулӑ (pulă) : Turkish ''balık'' 'fish', 
ĕне (ĕne) : Turkish ''inek'' 'cow'
|-
|*-''g'' > *-''w'' > -''v'', -''∅'' (also via [[monophthongisation]])
|ту (tu) : Turkish ''dağ'' 'mountain', тив (tiv) : Turkish ''değ'' 'touch', 
вӗрен (vĕren) : Turkish ''öğren'' 'learn',

аллӑ (allă) : Turkish ''elli'' (< Proto-Turkic *''ellig, ellüg'')
|-
|*''s'' > ''š'' occasionally (due to a following *''y''?)
|шыв (šyv'')'' : Old Turkic ''sub'', Turkish ''su'' 'water'
|-
|*''b-'' > ''p-''
|пӗр (pĕr) : Turkish ''bir'' 'one'
|-
|*-''b'' > *-''w'' > -''v''
|шыв (šyv) : Old Turkic ''sub'', Turkish ''su'' 'water'
|-
|*''t'' in palatal environments > ''č''
|чӗр (çĕr) : Turkish ''diz'' 'knee'
|-
|[[diphthongisation]] of long vowels producing /yV/ and /vV/ sequences (but not in all relevant lexemes); e.g.:
<nowiki>*</nowiki>''ā'' > ''ja''

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''ō'' > *''wo'' > ''vu''

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''ȫ'', ''ǖ'' > *''üwä'' > ''ăva''
|ят (jat) : Turkmen a''t'', Turkish ''ad'' 'name' (< Proto-Turkic *''āt'')
вут (vut) : Turkmen o''t'', Turkish ''od'' 'fire' (< Proto-Turkic *''ōt'')

тӑват (tăvat): Turkish ''dört'' (< Proto-Turkic ''*tȫrt'')
|-
|reduction and centralisation of high vowels: 
<nowiki>*</nowiki>''u'' > ''ă'';

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''ï'' > ''ă'' or ''ĕ''

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''i'', *''ü'' > ''ĕ''
|тӑр (tăr) : Turkish ''dur'' 'stand'
хӗр (hĕr) : Turkish ''kız'' 'girl'

пӗр (pĕr) : Turkish ''bir'' 'one', кӗл (kĕl): Turkish ''kül'' 'ash'
|-
|*''a'' > *''å'' > ''o'' > ''u'' (the latter only in the Anatri dialect, on which the standard is based);
but also (the determining circumstances are unclear):

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''a'' > ''ï''
|ут (ut) : Turkish ''at'' 'horse'

ҫыр (şyr) : Turkish ''yaz'' 'write'
|-
|raising of most other low vowels: *''ẹ'' > ''i'', *''o'' > ''u'', *''ö'' > ''ü''
|кил (kil) : Turkish ''gel'' 'come', утӑ (utӑ) : Turkish ''ot'' 'grass'
|-
|*''e'' (i.e. *''ä'') > ''a''
|кас (kas) : Turkish ''kes'' 'cut'
|-
|Allophonic rules: voicing between voiced segments,
palatalisation of consonants in palatal environments,

leftward stress retraction from reduced vowels
|See ''Phonology'' section.
|}

Most of the (non-allophonic) consonant changes listed in the table above are thought to date from the period before the [[Bulgars]] migrated to the [[Volga]] region in the 10th century; some notable exceptions are the ''č'' > ''ś'' shift and the final stage of the ''-d'' > ''-ð'' > ''-z'' > ''-r'' shift, which date from the following, Volga Bulgar period (between the 10th-century migration and the Mongol invasions of the 13th century). The vowel changes mostly occurred later, mainly during the Middle Chuvash period (between the invasions and the 17th century), except for the diphthongisation, which took place during the Volga Bulgar period. Many sound changes known from Chuvash can be observed in Turkic loanwords into Hungarian (from the pre-migration period) and in Volga Bulgar epitaphs or loanwords into languages of the Volga region (from the Volga Bulgar period). Nevertheless, these sources also indicate that there was significant dialectal variation within the Oguric-speaking population during both of these periods.<ref name="Agyagási 2019: passim"/>

=== Comparison ===
In the 8-10th centuries in Central Asia, the ancient Turkic script (the [[Orkhon-Yenisei script|Orkhon-Yenisei runic script]]) was used for writing in Turkic languages. Turkic epitaphs of 7-9th centuries AD were left by speakers of various dialects (table):

* Often in the Chuvash language, the Common Turkic sounds of '''/j/''' (''Oghuz''), '''/d/''' (''Karluk''), '''/z/''' (''Kipchak'') are replaced by '''/r/''', example ''[[rhotacism]]'':

Words for "leg" and "put" in various Turkic languages:

j - languages (Oguz): ''ayaq, qoy-''

d - languages (Karluk): ''adaq, qod-''

z - languages (Kypchak): ''azaq, qoz-''

r - languages (Oghur): ''ura, hur- ([[Dialectic|dial.]] ora, hor-)''<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Егоров (Egorov) |first=Василий Георгиевич |url=https://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/chuvash.pdf |title=Чăваш чĕлхин этимологи словарĕ. |publisher=Чувашское книжное издательство |year=1964 |location=Cheboksary |language=ru |trans-title=Этимологический словарь чувашского языка }}</ref>

* Often in the Chuvash language, the Turkic sound '''/q/''' is replaced by '''/x/''', example ''hitaism'':

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />

Сhitacism (Q > H)
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oghuz / Kipchak !! Chuvash (Up.)
!Chuvash (Low.)
|-
| black || qara ||  hura
|hora
|-
| goose || qaz ||  hur
|hor
|-
| girl ||  qız ||  hĕr
|hĕr
|-
| zucchini || qabaq ||  hupah
|hopah
|}

* The '''-h-''' sound disappears if it is the final sound of a syllable.

''Dudaq - Tuta - Lips'' instead of ''Tutah''

''Ayaq - Ura - Leg'' instead of ''Urah''

''Balıq - Pulă - Fish'' instead of ''Pulăh''

''İnek'' - ''Ĕne - Cow''  instead of ''Ĕneh''<ref name=":3" />

* Turkic sound '''-y-'''  (''oguz'') and '''-j-''' (''kipchaks'')  is replaced by chuvash '''-''ş''-''', example:

Words in Turkic languages: ''egg, snake, rain, house, earth''

Oguz: ''yumurta, yılan, yağmur, yurt, yer (''turk., azerb.'')''

Kipchaks: ''jumırtqa, jılan, jañğır, jurt, jer (''kyrgyz., kazakh.'')''

Chuvash: ''şămarta, şĕlen, şămăr, şurt, şĕr''<ref name=":3" />

* The Turkic sound '''-ş-''' is replaced by the Chuvash '''-L-''', example ''lambdaism'':

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oghuz / Kipchak !! Chuvash
|-
| winter || qıš  || hĕl
|-
| silver || kümüş ||  kӗmӗl
|-
| sun || quyaş/güŋeş || hĕvel
|}

* In the field of vowels, we observe the following correspondences: the common Turkic '''-a-''' in the first syllable of the word in Chuvash correspond to '''-u-''' and '''-o-.'''

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oguz / Kipchak !! Chuvash (Up.)
!Chuvash (Low.)
|-
| horse || at || ut 
|ot
|-
| coin || aqça || ukşa
|okşa
|-
| head || baš ||  puş
|poş
|-
| step || adım || utăm 
|otăm
|}

In modern times, in Chuvash [a] remains, Tatar "kapka" ~ Chuvash "hapha" (gate), when there should be a "''hupha''" from the root "''hup - close''".

* In the field of vowels, G. F. Miller observes another example when '''-u-''' is replaced by '''-wu-''' or '''-wă-'''

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oguz !! Chuvash (Upper) || Kipchak !! Chuvash (Lower)
|-
| fire || ut ||   wut ||  ot  || wot
|-
| ten || un  || wun ||   on  || won
|-
| forest || urman ||  wărman ||  orman || wărman 
|-
| Russian || urus  ||  wırăs ||  orus  || wırăs
|-
| he || ul || wăl ||  ol ||   wăl 
|-
| thirty || utyz ||  wătăr ||   otyz  || wătăr
|}

* The fricative '''-g-''' in some words in Chuvash corresponds to '''-v-'''

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oghuz !! Chuvash
|-
| native || doğan || tăvan
|-
|tree
|ağaç
|jıvăş
|-
| mountain || dağ || tuv
|}
'''Ogur and Oguz'''

It is well known that the ''[[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz]]'' group of Turkic languages differs from the ''[[Kipchaks|Kipchak]]'' in that the word “I” was pronounced by the [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz''es'']] and [[Ogurs|Oghurs]] in ancient times by "''bä(n)"'', and the rest of the Turks - by "''män".'' There is such a difference in the modern Turkic languages of the Volga region:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Volga Tatar
!Chuvash
!Oghuz
!Translation
!Notes
|-
|{{Lang|tt|min}}
|эпӗ(н)
|ben
|I, me
|
|-
|{{Lang|tt|meñ}}
|пин
|biŋ
|thousand
|
|-
|{{Lang|tt|miləş}}
|пилеш
|
|[[rowan]]
|
|-
|{{Lang|tt|məçe}}
|пӗҫи, пиҫук
|pişik
|cat
|
|-
|{{Lang|tt|miçəw}}
|пичев
|
|buckle
|
|}
tat., bash. ''Min'', ogur/chuv. ''Epĕn'' (< *pen), turk. ''Ben'', eng. «''I am''»;

tat., bash. ''Mең'', ogur/chuv. ''Piń,'' turk. ''Bin,'' eng. «thousand»;

tat., bash. Milәş, ogur/chuv. Pileš, eng. «rowan»;

tat. ''Мәçe'', ogur/chuv. ''Pĕşi, Pĕşuk,'' az. ''Pişik,'' eng. «cat»;

{{Langx|ba|Мисәү|Misəw}}, {{Langx|cv|Пичев|Piçev|buckle}}

==Dialects==
The linguistic landscape of the Chuvash language is quite homogeneous, and the differences between dialects are insignificant. Currently, the differences between dialects becoming more and more leveled out.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Современное состояние чувашских диалектов |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sovremennoe-sostoyanie-chuvashskih-dialektov/viewer |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=cyberleninka.ru}}</ref>

Researchers distinguish three main dialects:

* '''Upper dialect''' (Turi, Viryal) - upstream of the Sura, preserves the /o/ sound in words like ''ot'' "horse"
* '''Middle dialect''' (mixed, transitional);
* '''Lower dialect''' (Anatri) - downstream of the Sura, changes the /o/ sound to /u/ in words like ''ut'' "horse"

The ''Malokarachinsky dialect'' is designated as occupying a separate position.

The literary language is based on both the Lower and Upper dialects. Both [[Tatar language|Tatar]] and the neighbouring [[Uralic languages]] such as [[Mari language|Mari]] have influenced the Chuvash language, as have [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]], which have all added many words to the Chuvash lexicon.

All dialects established to date have their own sub-dialects, which have their own exceptional features and peculiarities, thereby they are divided into even smaller dialect forms. The following dialect ramifications in the Chuvash language have been identified:

<small>1) as part of the upper dialect, the subdialects are: a) Sundyrsky; b) Morgaussko-Yadrinsky; c) Krasnochetaysky; d) Cheboksary; e) Kalininsko-Alikovsky;</small>

<small>2) in the zone of the middle dialect: a) Malocivilsky; b) Urmarsky; c) civil-marposadsky;</small>

<small>3) in the zone of the grassroots dialect: a) Buin-Simbirsk; b) Nurlatsky (prichemshanye);</small>

'''Phonetic differences:'''

'''a)''' All words of the Upper dialect (except exc. Kalinin-Alikov subgroup) in the initial syllable, instead of the "lower" sound -U- is used -O- for example:

In English: ''yes, six, found''

in Turi: ''por, olttă, toprăm''

in Anatri: ''pur, ulttă, tuprăm''

'''b)''' In the upper dialect in the Sundyr sub-dialect, instead of the sound -ü- (used in all other dialects), the sound -ö- is used, which is a correlative soft pair of the posterior -o-, for example:

in English: ''hut, back, broth''

in Turi: ''pӧrt, tӧrt, šӧrpe''

in Anatri: ''pürt, türt, šürpe''

'''с)''' In the upper dialect (in most sub-dialects) the loss of the sound -j- before the sonorant -l-, -n-, -r- and stop -t- is characterized, which in turn entails palatalization of these consonants, for example:

in English: ''russian woman, choose''

in Turi: ''mar'a, sul'l'a''

in Anatri: ''majra, sujla''

'''d)''' In the higher dialect (for most sub-dialects), [[gemination]] of intervocalic consonants is characteristic, as in the Finnish language, for example:

in English: ''shawl, drunk, crooked''

in Turi: ''tottăr, ĕssĕr, kokkăr''

in Anatri: ''tutăr, üsĕr, kukăr''

In general, [[gemination]] itself is the norm for the Chuvash language, since many historically root words in both dialects contain gemination, for example: ''anne (mather), atte (father), piççe (brother), appa (sister), kukka (uncle), pĕrre (one), ikkĕ (two), vişşĕ (three), tăvattă (four), pillĕk (five), ulttă (six), şiççĕ (seven), sakkăr (eight), tăhhăr (nine), vunnă (ten),'' etc. Some linguists are inclined to assume that this is the influence of the [[Volga Finns]] at the turn of the 7th century when the ancestors of the Chuvash moved to the Volga, there are those who disagree with this statement. In one of the subgroups of the Trans-Kama Chuvash, in the same words there is no gemination at all, for example, the word father is pronounced as Adi, and mother as Ani, their counting looks like this: ''pĕr, ik, viş, tvat, pül, ulta, şiç, sagăr, tăgăr, vun'' - but many scientists assume that this is a consequence of the influence of the Tatar language. They also have many words in the Tatar style, the word “hare - kuşana” (tat.kuyan) is “mulkaç” for everyone, “pancakes - kuymak” for the rest is ikerçĕ, “cat - pĕşi” for the rest is “saş”, etc.

'''e)''' In the middle and upper dialects there are rounded vowels -ă°-, -ĕ°- (pronounced with the lips rounded and slightly pulled forward), in the lower dialect this is not observed, here they correspond to the standard sounds -ă-, -ĕ-.

'''f)''' In the upper and lower dialects, consonantism is distinguished by the pronunciation of the affricate sound -ç-. Among the upper Chuvash and speakers of the middle dialect, the sound -ç- is almost no different from the pronunciation of the Russian affricate; in the lower dialect it is heard almost like a soft -ç-, as in the Tatar language.

'''Morphological differences:'''

'''a)''' In the upper dialect there are synharmonic variants of the plural affix ''-sam/-sem,'' and in the lower dialect only ''-sem'', for example:

in English: ''horses, sheep, meadows, cows, flowers''

in Turi: ''lašasam, surăhsam, şaramsam, ĕnesem, çeçeksem''

in Anatri: ''lašasem, surăhsem, şeremsem, ĕnesem, çeçeksem''

'''b)''' In the upper dialect (in most sub-dialects) the affix of the possessive case is '''''-yăn (-yĕn)''''', the dative case is '''''-ya (-ye)''''', while in the lower dialect '''''-năn (-nĕn, -n), -na (-ne)''''', For example:

in Turi: ''lašayăn, ĕneyĕn, lašaya, ĕneya, ĕneye''

in Anatri: ''lašan(ăn), ĕnen(ĕn), lašana, ĕnene''

'''c)''' in the upper dialect, affixes of belonging, with the exception of the 3rd person affix '''''-i (-ĕ)''''', have almost fallen out of use or are used extremely rarely. In the latter case, the 2nd person affix '''''-u (-ü)''''' of the upper dialect usually corresponds to '''''-ă (-ĕ)''''' in the lower dialect;

in English: ''your head, your daughter''

in Turi: ''san puşu, san hĕrü''

in Anatri: ''san puşă, san hĕrĕ''

There is also a mixed type

'''d)'''  In the upper dialect, the [[gemination]] of the temporal index '''''-t-''''' and '''''-p-''''' is used in the affixes of the 2nd person plural of the verb of the present tense, for example:

in English: ''are you reading, we are going''

in Turi: ''esĕr vulattăr, epĕr pırappăr''

in Anatri: ''esir vulatăr, epir pırappăr''

The influence of Russian: ''we are going < epir pıratpăr''

There is also a mixed type, as already mentioned above.

'''e)''' In the upper dialect, the affix of the possibility of verbs '''''-ay (-ey)''''', due to contraction, [[Monophthongization|monophtongized]] to '''''-i''''':

in English: ''Couldn't tell, couldn't find out''

in Turi: ''kalimarăm, pĕlimarăm, pĕlimerĕm''

in Anatri: ''kalaymarăm, pĕleymerĕm''

'''f)''' In the upper dialect, the synharmonic variant of the interrogative particle '''''-i''''' is common, in the dialects of the lower dialect, variants '''''-a (-e)''''' are used:

in English: ''Have you left? Do you know?''

in Turi: ''esĕ kayrăn-i? esĕ pĕletĕn-i / es pĕletni?''

in Anatri: ''esĕ kayrăn-a? esĕ pĕletĕn-e? es pĕletnĕ?''

'''g)''' in the upper dialect, individual phrases turn into a complex word by shortening (contraction):

in English: apple tree, frying pan handle, earring, monkey, belt

in Turi: ''ulmuşşi (olmaşşi), şatmari, hălhanki, upăte, pişĕhe''

in Anatri: ''ulma yıvăşşi / yıvăşĕ'', ''şatma avri, hălha şakki (ear pendant), upa-etem (bear-man), pilĕk şihhi (lower back tie)''

'''Syntactic differences:'''

'''a)''' In the upper dialect (in most dialects), the adverbial participle '''''-sa (-se)''''' performs the function of a simple predicate, which is not allowed in the middle and lower dialects:

in English: ''I wrote''

in Turi: ''Ep şırsa''

in Anatri: ''Epĕ şırtăm''

'''b)''' In the upper dialect, analytical constructions are used instead of the lower synthetic one:

in English: ''Go to lunch, It says in the newspaper''

in Turi: ''Apat şima kilĕr, Kaşiť şinçe şırnă''

in Anatri: ''Apata kilĕr, Xaşatra şırnă''

There is also a mixed type.

'''Other lexical differences:'''

Another feature between the upper and lower dialects:

in English: ''We, you''

in Turi: ''Epĕr, Esĕr''

in Anatri: ''Epir, Esir''

There are also those grassroots Chuvash (living in [[Kama (river)|Kama]]) with a biting dialect who use the riding version of Epĕr, Esĕr. It has been established that the correct historical form is the pronunciation of ''Epĕr, Esĕr'', A comparison with the Tatar Turkic languages, which are close to the Chuvash language, determined historical justice.

Ep / Epĕ - I, Epĕ+r - We

Es / Esĕ - You, Esĕ+r - You

Affixes -ĕr/-ăr are converted from singular to plural:

Epĕ şitrĕm - Ep+ĕr şitrĕm+ĕr / I got there - We've reached it

Epĕ şırtăt - Ep+ĕr şırtăm+ăr / I wrote - we wrote

Ham vularăm - Ham+ăr vularăm+ăr / I read it - we read it

There is no "+ir" suffix in the Chuvash language so this is a big mistake. No one says "kiltĕm+ir", vularăm+ir", çitrĕm+ir". Don't say "Hamir turăm+ir". There is a dialect with pronunciation "Ep+ĕr+ĕn" - instead of "Pir+ĕn" (our), and "Es+ĕr+ĕn" - instead of "Sir+ĕn" (your) on this we can assume that their pronunciation was historical, because the structure is more correct, but because of what evolution it transformed into "pirĕn/sirĕn".

Ep+ĕr pĕr+le - We are one

Es+ĕr ik+sĕr - The two of you

There are also very different words.

'''The dispute over the literary language'''

The modern Chuvash literary language was formed on the basis of a grassroots dialect, before this period an old literary language based on an upper dialect was in use. There are linguists who believe that the mother tongue was still the riding dialect of the Chuvash, when now it is considered to be the primary grassroots dialect. Their arguments are based on certain factors: 

1) the migration of the Chuvash in the post-Horde period was from north to south, and not vice versa, the further they moved away from the root region towards the south and east, the more their language was subject to changes. Russian language was strongly influenced by the Kipchak languages (steppe raids), and after the settlement of Simbirsk by Russian people (at that time a very large city, much larger than Cheboksary), the dialect of the grassroots Chuvash in the area of Buinsk was strongly influenced by the Russian language, which is easily provable, all the most ancient records of the Chuvash language made by different travelers, such as G. F. Miller and others, contain words only of the upper-level dialect and not one of the lower-level. . 

2) The U-dialect of the grassroots Chuvash has undergone influence from the [[Kipchak languages#Language-specific|Northern Kipchak vowel raising]], whereas the O-dialect has preserved the [[Common Turkic languages|Common Turkic]] vowels. 

3) One of the rules says that the sound -T- standing at the end of a borrowed word in Chuvash falls out, for example: ''friend - dust - tus, cross - krest - hĕres...'' The auslaut [t] is not pronounced in oral speech, it disappears in the position after the consonant [s] (the latter in this case is replaced by a soft [ş]): ''vlast' ~ vlaş, vedomost' - vetămăş, volost' - vulăs, pakost' - pakăş, sançast' - sançaş, oblast' - oblaş.'' In addition, the affixal [t] is not pronounced orally and in certain verb forms established as a literary language: ''pulmast' < [pulmaş] ~ It doesn't happen,'' the correct historical form: "''pul<u>mas</u>".'' As well ''kurmast' < [kurmaş] ~ He doesn't see it,''  the correct historical form: "kur<u>mas</u>". As well ''kilmest' < [kilmeş] ~ It doesn't come,''  the correct historical form: "''kil<u>mes</u>"''. The historically correct affix is "-mas/-mes", instead of "-mast'/-mest' ", which appeared as a result of the influence of the Russian language. As is known, the form with the ending ''-st''' and ''-st'' is not peculiar to the Chuvash language by its nature, which means it is a late influence of the Russian language on the dialect of the lower Chuvash. Affixes: -mes/-mas, -mep/-map, -men/-man. 

4) In most dialects, {{IPAslink|t}} palatalizes only when it is preceded by the front vowels: ''kileť, pereť, ükeť, kĕteť.'' If {{IPAslink|t}} is preceded by the back vowels, it doesn't palatalize: ''yurat, kalat, urat, păhat, kayat''. In the grassroots dialect, all the end T's soften. 

5) A simple shortened address in the literary language has become unacceptable, only respectful treatment has been left with the correct pronunciation: Instead of "Es yuratan" - "Esĕ yuratatăn" - "do you love". "Ep pırap" - "Epĕ pıratăp" - "I'm coming". 

6) Instead of the supreme dialect "Kaya''pp''ăr - we go away, Uta''pp''ăr - we come, Vula''pp''ăr - we read", it is customary to write and speak in a grassroots dialect subject to Russification: " Kaya''tp''ăr, Uta''tp''ăr, Vula''tp''ăr". 

'''*'''There is also a mixed type, where all variants of the case are used at once, this is especially noticeable in those settlements that arose at the turn of the 17th-20th centuries, such villages created by combining speakers of upper and lower dialects gave birth to a more universal dialect where both options were used .

==Phonology==
===Consonants===
The consonants are the following (the corresponding Cyrillic letters are in brackets): The [[stop consonant|stop]]s, [[sibilant]]s and [[affricate]]s are [[voiceless]] and [[fortis and lenis|fortes]] but become [[fortis and lenis|lenes]] (sounding similar to [[voiced]]) in intervocalic position and after [[liquid consonant|liquid]]s, [[nasal stop|nasals]] and [[semi-vowel]]s. Аннепе sounds like ''annebe'', but кушакпа sounds like ''kuzhakpa''. However, [[geminate consonant]]s do not undergo this lenition. Furthermore, the voiced consonants occurring in [[Russian language|Russian]] are used in modern Russian-language loans. Consonants also become [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] before and after [[front vowel]]s. However, some words like пульчӑклӑ "dirty", present palatalized consonants without preceding or succeeding front vowels, and should be understood that such are actually phonemic:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" |[[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
|-
![[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| {{IPA link|p}} {{grapheme|п}}
| {{IPA link|t}} {{grapheme|т}}
|{{IPA link|tʲ}} {{grapheme|ть}}
|
| {{IPA link|tɕ}} {{grapheme|ч}}
| {{IPA link|k}} {{grapheme|к}}
|-
![[Fricative]]
|
| {{IPA link|s}} {{grapheme|c}}
|
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{grapheme|ш}}
| {{IPA link|ɕ}} {{grapheme|ҫ}}
| {{IPA link|x}} {{grapheme|x}}
|-
![[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}} {{grapheme|м}}
| {{IPA link|n}} {{grapheme|н}}
|{{IPA link|nʲ}} {{grapheme|нь}}
|
|
|
|-
![[Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|ʋ}} {{grapheme|в}}
| {{IPA link|l}} {{grapheme|л}}
|{{IPA link|lʲ}} {{grapheme|ль}}
|
| {{IPA link|j}} {{grapheme|й}}
|
|-
![[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}} {{grapheme|p}}
|
|
|
|
|}

* {{IPAslink|x}} can have a voiced allophone of {{IPAblink|ɣ}}.

===Vowels===
[[File:Diachronic development of Chuvash vowels.jpg|thumb|upright=1.59|A possible scheme for the diachronic development of Chuvash vowels {{Citation needed|date=October 2016}} (note that not all the sounds with an asterisk are necessarily separate [[phoneme]]s).]]
According to Krueger (1961), the Chuvash vowel system is as follows (the precise [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] symbols are chosen based on his description since he uses a different transcription).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|unrounded}} || {{small|rounded}}
! {{small|unrounded}} || {{small|rounded}}
|-
! [[High vowel|High]]
| {{IPA link|i}} {{grapheme|и}} || {{IPA link|y}} {{grapheme|ӳ}}
| {{IPA link|ɯ}} {{grapheme|ы}} || {{IPA link|u}} {{grapheme|у}}
|-
! [[Low vowel|Low]]
| {{IPA link|e}} {{grapheme|е}} || {{IPA link|ø̆}} {{grapheme|ӗ}}
| {{IPA link|a}} {{grapheme|а}} || {{IPA link|ŏ}} {{grapheme|ӑ}}
|}

András Róna-Tas (1997)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lingfil.uu.se/afro/turkiskasprak/IP2007/NUTSHELLCHUVASH.pdf|title=Nutshell Chuvash|author=András Róna-Tas|work=Erasmus Mundus Intensive Program Turkic languages and cultures in Europe (TLCE)|access-date=31 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807192758/http://www2.lingfil.uu.se/afro/turkiskasprak/IP2007/NUTSHELLCHUVASH.pdf|archive-date=7 August 2011}}</ref> provides a somewhat different description, also with a partly idiosyncratic transcription. The following table is based on his version, with additional information from Petrov (2001). Again, the IPA symbols are not directly taken from the works so they could be inaccurate.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|unrounded}} || {{small|rounded}}
! {{small|unrounded}} || {{small|rounded}}
|-
! [[High vowel|High]]
| {{IPA link|i}} {{grapheme|и}} || {{IPA link|y}} {{grapheme|ӳ}}
| {{IPA link|ɯ}} {{grapheme|ы}} || {{IPA link|u}} {{grapheme|у}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|ӗ}} {{grapheme|ĕ}} ||
| {{IPA link|ɤ̆}} {{grapheme|ӑ}} ||
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|  {{IPA link|ɛ}} {{grapheme|е}} ||
| ||
|-
! [[Low vowel|Low]]
| ||
|  {{IPA link|a}} {{grapheme|а}} ||
|}

The vowels ӑ and ӗ are described as [[reduced vowel|reduced]], thereby differing in [[vowel quantity|quantity]] from the rest. In unstressed positions, they often resemble a [[schwa]] or tend to be dropped altogether in fast speech. At times, especially when stressed, they may be somewhat rounded and sound similar to {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/ø/}}.

Additionally, {{IPA|ɔ}} (о) occurs in loanwords from Russian where the syllable is stressed in Russian.

===Word accent===
The usual rule given in grammars of Chuvash is that the last full (non-reduced) vowel of the word is stressed; if there are no full vowels, the first vowel is stressed.<ref>Dobrovolsky (1999), p. 539.</ref> Reduced vowels that precede or follow a stressed full vowel are extremely short and non-prominent. One scholar, Dobrovolsky, however, hypothesises that there is in fact no stress in disyllabic words in which both vowels are reduced.<ref>Dobrovolsky (1999), p. 541.</ref>

=== Morphonology ===

==== Vowel harmony ====
[[Vowel harmony]] is the principle by which a native Chuvash word generally incorporates either exclusively back or hard vowels (а, ӑ, у, ы) and exclusively front or soft vowels (е, ӗ, ӳ, и). As such, a Chuvash suffix such as -тен means either -тан or -тен, whichever promotes vowel harmony; a notation such as -тпӗр means either -тпӑр, -тпӗр, again with vowel harmony constituting the deciding factor.

Chuvash has two classes of vowels: ''front'' and ''back'' (see the table [[#Vowels|above]]). Vowel harmony states that words may not contain both front and back vowels. Therefore, most grammatical suffixes come in front and back forms, e.g. Шупашкар'''та''', "in Cheboksary" but кил'''те''', "at home".

Two vowels cannot occur in succession.

=====Exceptions=====

Vowel harmony does not apply for some invariant suffixes such as the plural ending -сем and the 3rd person (possessive or verbal) ending -ӗ, which only have a front version.<ref>Rona-Tas 1997: 3</ref> It also does not occur in loanwords and in a few native Chuvash words (such as анне "mother"). In such words suffixes harmonize with the final vowel; thus Анне'''пе''' "with the mother".

Compound words are considered separate words with respect to vowel harmony: vowels do not have to harmonize between members of the compound (so forms like сӗтел|пукан "furniture" are permissible).

====Other processes====
The consonant т often alternates with ч before ӗ from original *''i'' (ят 'name' - ячӗ 'his name'). There is also an alternation between т (after consonants) and р (after vowels): тетел 'fishing net (nom.)' - dative тетел-те, but пулӑ 'fish (nom.)' - dative пулӑ-ра.<ref name="Róna-Tas 1997: 4">Róna-Tas (1997: 4)</ref>

'''Consonants'''

In the Chuvash orthography, the fortis and lenis consonants are not differentiated, because their changes are very straightforward. Therefore, only voiceless consonants are written. 

{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Written Chuvash !! IPA 
!Notes
|-
| plowing || ака (aka) || {{IPA|[ɑˈk̬ɑ]}}
|
|-
| I, me || эпӗ (epĕ) || {{IPA|[ˈep̬ʲɘ̆]}}
|Notice the palatalization on /p/.
|-
|ancient || авалхи (avalxi) || {{IPA|[ɑʋɑl̴ˈx̬ɨ]}}
|Notice the centralization of /i/ in a back vowels word, and the lack of palatalization on /x/.
|-
| glorious || хӳхӗм (xüxĕm) || {{IPA|[ˈxʲyx̬ʲɘ̆mʲ]}}
|Notice the palatalization on /m/.
|-
| nine || тӑххӑр (tăxxăr) || {{IPA|[ˈtŏxːŏr]}}
|
|-
| three || виҫҫӗ (viccĕ) ||  {{IPA|[ˈʋʲiɕːɘ̆]}}
|
|}
Voicing also occurs on word boundaries: 
{| class="wikitable"
!English phrase
!Written Chuvash
!IPA
!Notes
|-
|Good day!
|Ырӑ кун! (Iră kun!)
|{{IPA|[ˈɯrŏ‿k̬un]}}
|
|-
|Is it okay?
|Юрать-и? (Yuraty-i?)
|{{IPA|[juˈrɑt̬ʲ.i]}}
| -i is a question suffix.
|}

== Writing systems ==

===Official===
Letters in '''bold''' are solely used in loanwords. 
{| style="font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[А]] а
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ӑ]] ӑ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Б]]''' '''б'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[В]] в
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Г]]''' '''г'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Д]]''' '''д'''
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Е]] е
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Ё]]''' '''ё'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ӗ]] ӗ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Ж]]''' '''ж'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[З]]''' '''з'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[И]] и
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Й]] й
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[К]] к
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Л]] л
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[М]] м
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Н]] н
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[О]]''' '''о'''
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[П]] п
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Р]] р
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[С]] с
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ҫ]] ҫ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Т]] т
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[У]] у
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ӳ]] ӳ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Ф]]''' '''ф'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Х]] х
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Ц]]''' '''ц'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ч]] ч
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ш]] ш
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Щ]]''' '''щ'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | '''[[Ъ]]''' '''ъ'''
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ы]] ы
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ь]] ь
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Э]] э
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ю]] ю
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Я]] я
|
|
|
|
|
|}

==== Latin alphabet ====
Latin alphabet used by Chuvash people living in the USA and Europe, used for the convenience of writing Chuvash words:
{| style="font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Aa
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ăă
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Bb
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Cc
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Çç
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Dd
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ее
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ĕĕ
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ff
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Gg
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Hh
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ii
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Jj
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Kk
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ll
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Mm
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Nn
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Oo
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Pp
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Rr
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ss
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Şş
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Šš
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Tt
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Uu
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Üü
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ww
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Zz
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Žž 
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Je
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ju
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ja
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Jo
|}

Examples of written text:

{| class="wikitable"
! Latin alphabet !! Chuvash alphabet !! Meaning
|-
| Çul || Чул || stone 
|-
|Çüreçe || Чӳрече || window
|-
|Şĕmĕrt ||   Ҫӗмӗрт || bird cherry
|-
| Şăkăr || Ҫӑкӑр || bread
|-
| Šură || Шурӑ || white
|-
| Šăl || Шӑл || tooth
|-
| Šapa || Шапа || frog
|-
| Üpĕte || Ӳпӗте || monkey
|-
| Ükerçĕk || Ӳкерчӗк || drawing
|-
| Žiraf || Жираф || giraffe
|-
| Žuk || Жук || beatle
|-
| Žjuri ||Жюри || jury
|-
| Energi || Энерги ||  energy
|-
| Etem || Этем  || human
|-
| Epir ||  Эпир  || we
|-
| Juman || Юман  || oak
|-
| Jur || Юр || snow
|-
| Jalav || Ялав  || flag
|-
| Japala ||  Япала  || thing
|-
| Jomkăş || Ёмкӑҫ || container
|-
| Joršik || Ёршик || brush
|-
| Văjlă || Вӑйлӑ  || strong
|-
| Vişşĕ || Виҫҫӗ || three
|-
|Jermikke
|Ермикке
|market
|-
|Ješĕl
|Ешӗл
|green
|-
|Cunami
|Цунами
|tsunami
|}

<big>'''Transliteration'''</big> '''<big>of</big> <big>the Chuvash alphabet</big>'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Transliteration of Chuvash writing system |date=2006-10-19 |title= |url=http://transliteration.eki.ee/pdf/Chuvash.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061019003809/http://transliteration.eki.ee/pdf/Chuvash.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2006 |access-date=2021-08-04}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!
! Name
! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
!KNAB<ref>{{Cite web |title=KNAB: kohanimeandmebaasi avaleht |url=http://www.eki.ee/knab/knab.htm |access-date=2021-08-04 |website=www.eki.ee}}</ref> 1995      
!ALA-LC<ref>{{Cite web |title=ALA-LC Romanization Tables |url=https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman.html |access-date=2021-08-04 |website=www.loc.gov}}</ref> 1997       
!Edward Allworth<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allworth |first=Edward |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7312/allw92088 |title=Nationalities of the Soviet East Publications and Writing Systems |date=1971-12-31 |isbn=9780231886963 |doi=10.7312/allw92088}}</ref>  1971 
!ISO 
System A 
!ISO 
System B
!'''Turkkălla'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=cvlat2 - СVLat |url=https://sites.google.com/site/cavashlat/cvlat2 |access-date=2021-08-04 |website=sites.google.com}}</ref>
!'''Ivanof'''
!Argadu
! CVLat  '''1.1'''
'''2007'''<ref>{{cite web |title=Chuvash Latin Script |url=https://en.chuvash.org/e/43687576617368204c6174696e20536372697074 |website=chuvash.org}}</ref>
! Notes

|-
| [[A (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|А а}}]]
| a
| {{IPAslink|a}}~{{IPAslink|ɑ}}
| Aa
| Aa
| Aa
| Aa
| Aa
| Aa
| Aa
|Aa
| Aa
|
|-
| [[A with breve (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ӑ ӑ}}]]
| ӑ
| {{IPAslink|ɤ̆}}, {{IPAslink|ə}}, {{IPAslink|ɒ}}
| Ää
| Ăă
| Ăă
| Ăă
| Ăă
| Ĭĭ
| Ah;ah
|Oo
| Ăă
| 
|-
| [[Be (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Б б}}]]
| бӑ
| {{IPAslink|b}}
| Bb
| Bb
| Bb
| Bb
| Bb
| Bb
| Bb
|Pp
| Pp
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[Ve (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|В в}}]]
| вӑ
| {{IPAslink|ʋ}}~{{IPAslink|w}}, {{IPAslink|v}} (in non-Chuvash loanwords)
| Vv
| Vv
| Vv
| Vv
| Vv
| Vv
| Vv
|Vv
| Vv
|
|-
| [[Ge (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Г г}}]]
| гӑ
| {{IPAslink|ɡ}}
| Gg
| Gg
| Gg
| Gg
| Gg
| Gg
| Gg
|Kk
| Kk
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[De (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Д д}}]]
| дӑ
| {{IPAslink|d}}
| Dd
| Dd
| Dd
| Dd
| Dd
| Dd
| Dd
|Tt
| Tt
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[Ye (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Е е}}]]
| Ee
| {{IPAslink|ɛ}}
| Ye-;ye-;-e-
| Ee
| Je-;je-;-e-
| Ee
| Ee
| Ye-;ye-;-e-
| Je-;je-;-e-
|Ye-; ye-; -e-
| Je-;je-;-e-
|
|-
| [[Yo (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ё ё}}]]
| ё
| {{nowrap|{{IPA|/{{IPAplink|j}}{{IPAplink|o}}/}}}} or {{nowrap|{{IPA|/{{IPAplink|ʲ}}{{IPAplink|o}}/}}}}
| Yo-, yo-, -o-
| Ëë
| Ëë
| Ëë
| Yo-, yo-, -o-
| Yo-, yo-, -o-
| Jo-, jo-, -o-
|Yo-; yo-; -o-
| Jo-, jo-, -o-
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[Ye with breve|{{nowrap|Ӗ ӗ}}]]
| ӗ
| {{IPAslink|ɘ}} (ɘ~ø)
| Ӗӗ
| Ӗӗ
| Öö
| Ӗӗ
|
| I̐ĭ̇
| Eh;eh
|Öö
| Ӗӗ
| e'
|-
| [[Zhe (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ж ж}}]]
| жӑ
| {{IPAslink|ʒ}}
| Zh;zh
| Zh;zh
| Žž
| Žž
| Zh;zh
| Jj
| Qq
|Şş
| Šš
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[Ze (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|З з}}]]
| зӑ
| {{IPAslink|z}}
| Zz
| Zz
| Zz
| Zz
| Zz
| Zz
| Zh;zh
|Ss
| Ss
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[I (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|И и}}]]
| и
| {{IPAslink|i}}
| Ii
| Ii
| Ii
| Ii
| Ii
| Ii
| Ii
|İi
| Ii
|
|-
| [[Short I|{{nowrap|Й й}}]]
| йӑ
| {{IPAslink|j}}
| Yy
| Ĭı̆
| Jj
| Jj
| Jj
| Yy
| Jj
|Yy
| Jj
|
|-
| [[Ka (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|К к}}]]
| кӑ
| {{IPAslink|k}}, {{IPA|/kʲ/}} (c), {{IPA|/k̬ʲ/}} (gʲ, ɟ)
| Kk
| Kk
| Kk
| Kk
| Kk
| Kk
| Kk
|Kk
| Kk
|
|-
| [[El (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Л л}}]]
| лӑ
| {{IPAslink|l}}~{{IPAslink|ɫ}}, {{IPA|/lʲ/}} (ʎ)
| Ll
| Ll
| Ll
| Ll
| Ll
| Ll
| Ll
|Ll, Ly
| Ll, lĭ/l'
| Ll
|-
| [[Em (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|М м}}]]
| мӑ
| {{IPAslink|m}}
| Mm
| Mm
| Mm
| Mm
| Mm
| Mm
| Mm
|Mm
| Mm
|
|-
| [[En (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Н н}}]]
| нӑ
| {{IPAslink|n}}, {{IPA|/nʲ/}} (ɲ)
| Nn
| Nn
| Nn
| Nn
| Nn
| Nn
| Nn
|Nn
| Nn, nĭ/n'
| Nn
|-
| [[O (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|О о}}]]
| о
| {{IPAslink|o}}
| Oo
| Oo
| Oo
| Oo
| Oo
| Oo
| Oo
|Oo
| Oo
| 
|-
| [[Pe (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|П п}}]]
| пӑ
| {{IPAslink|p}}, {{IPA|/p̬/}} (b)
| Pp
| Pp
| Pp
| Pp
| Pp
| Pp
| Pp
|Pp
| Pp
|
|-
| [[Er (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Р р}}]]
| рӑ
| {{IPAslink|r}}~{{IPAslink|ɾ}}
| Rr
| Rr
| Rr
| Rr
| Rr
| Rr
| Rr
|Rr
| Rr
| Rr
|-
| [[Es (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|С с}}]]
| сӑ
| {{IPAslink|s}}, {{IPA|/s̬/}} (z)
| Ss
| Ss
| Ss
| Ss
| Ss
| Ss
| Ss
|Ss
| Ss
|
|-
| [[The (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ҫ ҫ}}]]
| ҫӑ
| {{IPAslink|ɕ}}, {{IPA|/ɕ̬/}} (ʑ)
| S';s'
| Śś
| Śś
| Şş
|
| Ş́ş́
| Cc
|Cc
| Şş
| Şş
|-
| [[Te (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Т т}}]]
| тӑ
| {{IPAslink|t}}, {{IPA|/tʲ/}}, {{IPA|/t̬ʲ/}} (dʲ), {{IPA|/t̬/}} (d)
| Tt
| Tt
| Tt
| Tt
| Tt
| Tt
| Tt
|Tt
| Tt, tĭ/t'
|
|-
| [[U (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|У у}}]]
| у
| {{IPAslink|u}}, {{IPA|/̯u/}} (o)
| Uu
| Uu
| Uu
| Uu
| Uu
| Uu
| Uu
|Uu
| Uu
|
|-
| [[U with double acute (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ӳ ӳ}}]]
| ӳ
| {{IPAslink|y}}
| Üü
| U̇u̇
| Üü
| Űű
|
| Üü
| Uh;uh
|Üü
| Üü
| U';u'
|-
| [[Ef (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ф ф}}]]
| фӑ
| {{IPAslink|f}}, {{IPA|/̯f̬/}} (v)
| Ff
| Ff
| Ff
| Ff
| Ff
| Ff
| Ff
|Ff
| Ff
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[Kha (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Х х}}]]
| хӑ
| {{IPAslink|χ}}, {{IPA|/χʲ/}}, {{IPA|/χ̃/}} (ɣ), {{IPA|/χ̃ʲ/}} (ɣʲ)
| Kh;kh
| Kh;kh
| Hh
| Hh
| Xx
| Hh
| Xx
|Xx
| Hh & Xx
|
|-
| [[Tse (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ц ц}}]]
| цӑ
| {{IPAslink|ʦ}}, (dz)
| Ts;ts
| Ts;ts
| Cc
| Cc
| Cz;cz
|
| Zz
|ts
| Zz
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[Che (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ч ч}}]]
| чӑ
| {{IPAslink|ʨ}}, (ʥ)
| Ch;ch
| Ch;ch
| Čč
| Čč
| Ch;ch
| Çç
| Ch;ch
|Çç
| Cc
|
|-
| [[Sha (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ш ш}}]]
| шӑ
| {{IPAslink|ʃ}}, (ʒ)
| Sh;sh
| Sh;sh
| Šš
| Šš
| Sh;sh
| Şş
|
|Şş
| Šš
|
|-
| [[Shcha|{{nowrap|Щ щ}}]]
| щӑ
| {{IPAslink|ɕː}}
| Shch;shch
| Shch;shch
| Šč;šč
| Ŝŝ
| Shh;shh
|
| Th;th
|Şş
| Şş 
| only in Russian loanwords
|-
| [[Yer|{{nowrap|Ъ ъ}}]]
| хытӑлӑх палли
| –
|
| ”
| "
| “
| ``
|
|
|
| -j-
| only in Russian loanwords. Placed after a consonant, acts as a "silent back vowel"; puts a distinct {{IPAslink|j}} sound in front of the following [[iotation|iotated]]: Е, Ё, Ю, Я vowels with no [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalization]] of the preceding consonant
|-
| [[Yery|{{nowrap|Ы ы}}]]
| ы
| {{IPAslink|ɯ}}
| Ïï
| Yy
| Yy
| Yy
| Y';y'
| Iı
| Yy
|Iı
| Yy
| only in beginning of words, 1-2 letters
|-
| [[Soft sign|{{nowrap|Ь ь}}]]
| ҫемҫелӗх палли
| {{IPAslink|ʲ}}
| ’
| ’
| -j-;'
| ’
| `
|
|
|
| ‘
| Placed after a consonant, acts as a "silent front vowel", slightly [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalizes]] the preceding consonant
|-
| [[E (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Э э}}]]
| э
| {{IPAslink|e}}
| Ëë
| Ėė
| Èè
| Èè
| E';e'
| Ee
| Ee
|Ee
| Ee
| only first letter
|-
| [[Yu (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Ю ю}}]]
| ю
| {{nowrap|{{IPA|/{{IPAplink|j}}{{IPAplink|u}}/}}}} or {{nowrap|{{IPA|/{{IPA|ʲ}}{{IPAplink|u}}/}}}}
| Yŭ-;yŭ-
| Iu-;iu-
| Ju-;ju-
| Ûû
| Yu-;yu-
| Yu-;yu-
| Ju-;ju-
|Yu-; yu-
| Ju-;ju-, -‘u-
|
|-
| [[Ya (Cyrillic)|{{nowrap|Я я}}]]
| я
| {{IPA|/{{IPAplink|j}}{{IPAplink|a}}/}} or {{nowrap|{{IPA|/{{IPAplink|ʲ}}{{IPAplink|a}}/}}}}
| Yă-;yă-
| Ia-;ia-
| Ja-;ja-
| Ââ
| Ya-;ya-
| Ya-;ya-
| Ja-;ja-
|Ya-; ya-
| Ja-;ja-, -‘a-
|
|}

===1873–1938===
{{Expand language|langcode=cv|section=yes|otherarticle=Т́ъваш ад́изен̀е с̀ыръва в̀ьр̀ен̀м̀ел̀л̀и к̀н̀ег̀е}}[[File:Chuvalf3.gif|left|thumb|The initial alphabet of Ivan Yakovlev, with 47 letters.]]
[[File:Chuvash alphabet 1873-1938.JPG|thumb|Yakovlev's revised alphabet]]
The modern Chuvash alphabet was devised in 1873 by school inspector [[Ivan Yakovlev (educator)|Ivan Yakovlevich Yakovlev]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Telegram to the Chairman of the Simbirsk Soviet |url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1918/apr/20.htm |access-date=30 August 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Chuvash 1873 alphabet in cursive in Букварь для чуваш, 1917, p. 21.jpg|thumb|Cursive]]
{| class="CTchar"
| а || е || ы || и/і || у || [[ӳ]] || [[ӑ]] || [[ӗ]] || й || в || к || л || [[El with middle hook|ԡ]] || м || н || [[En with middle hook|ԣ]] || п || р || [[р́]] || с || ҫ || т ||  [[т̌]] ||[[Te with middle hook|ꚋ]]|| х || ш
|}

In 1938, the alphabet underwent significant modification which brought it to its current form.

===Previous systems===
The most ancient writing system, known as the [[Old Turkic alphabet]], disappeared after the [[Volga Bulgaria|Volga Bulgars]] converted to Islam. Later, the [[Arabic script]] was adopted. After the [[Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria|Mongol invasion]], writing degraded. After [[Peter the Great]]'s reforms Chuvash elites disappeared, blacksmiths and some other crafts were prohibited for non-Russian nations, the Chuvash were educated in Russian, while writing in runes recurred with simple folk.<ref>{{cite web |title=Древнечувашская руническая письменность |url=http://nasledie.nbchr.ru/nasledie/yazyk/runicheskaja-pismennost |work=Трофимов А.А |publisher=Национальная библиотека Чувашской Республики}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Язык – основа национальной культуры |url=http://nasledie.nbchr.ru/nasledie/yazyk/ |publisher=Национальная библиотека Чувашской Республики}}</ref>

==Grammar==
As characteristic of all Turkic languages, Chuvash is an [[agglutinative language]] and as such, has an abundance of [[suffix]]es but no native prefixes or prepositions, apart from the partly reduplicative [[intensive]] prefix, such as in: {{lang|cv|шурӑ}} - ''white'', {{lang|cv|шап-шурӑ}} - ''snow-white'', {{lang|cv|хура}} - ''black'', {{lang|cv|хуп-хура}} - ''jet black'', {{lang|cv|такӑр}} - ''flat'', {{lang|cv|так-такӑр}} - ''absolutely flat'', {{lang|cv|тулли}} - ''full'', {{lang|cv|тӑп-тулли}} - ''chock full'' (compare to [[Turkish language|Turkish]] {{lang|tr|beyaz}} - ''white'', {{lang|tr|bem-beyaz}} ''snow-white'', {{lang|tr|kara}} - ''black'', {{lang|tr|kap-kara}} - ''jet black'', {{lang|tr|düz}} - ''flat'', {{lang|tr|dümdüz}} - ''absolutely flat'', {{lang|tr|dolu}} - ''full'', {{lang|tr|dopdolu}} - ''chock full''). One word can have many suffixes, which can also be used to create new words like creating a verb from a noun or a noun from a verbal root. See [[#Numerals|Vocabulary]] below. It can also indicate the grammatical function of the word.

===Nominals===
====Nouns====
Chuvash nouns decline in number and case and also take suffixes indicating the person of a possessor. The suffixes are placed in the order possession - number - case.<ref name="Róna-Tas 1997: 4"/> There are six [[declension|noun cases]] in the Chuvash declension system:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ [[Grammatical case]]s:
!
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! [[Nominative case|Nominative]] 
| -∅
| -сем (dial. -сам)
|-
! [[Genitive case|Genitive]] (of)  
| -(ӑ)н/-(ӗ)н
| -сен
|-
! [[Dative case|Dative]]-[[Accusative case|Accusative]] (for)
| -(н)а/-(н)е
| -сене
|-
! [[Locative case|Locative]] (in, on)
| -ра/-ре, -та/-те
| -сенче
|-
! [[Ablative case|Ablative]] (from)
| -ран/-рен, -тан/-тен
| -сенчен
|-
! [[Instrumental-comitative case|Instrumental]] (with) 
| -па(лан)/-пе(лен)
| -семпе(лен)
|-
! [[Abessive case|Abessive]] (without)
| -сӑр/-сӗр
| -семсӗр
|-
! [[Causative]]
| -шӑн/-шӗн
| -семшӗн
|}

In the suffixes where the first consonant varies between р- and т-, the allomorphs beginning in т- are used after stems ending in the dental sonorants -р, -л and -н. The allomorphs beginning in р- occur under all other circumstances.<ref>Rona-Tas 1997: 4</ref> The dative-accusative allomorph beginning in н- is mostly used after stems ending in vowels, except in -и, -у, and -ӑ/-ӗ, whereas the one consisting only of a vowel is used after stems ending in consonants.<ref>Chuvash manual, Unit 3</ref>

The nominative is used instead of the dative-accusative to express indefinite or general objects, e.g. утӑ типӗт 'to dry hay'.<ref>Павлов 2017: 84</ref> It can also be used instead of the genitive to express a possessor, so that the combination gets a generalised compound-like meaning (лаша пуҫӗ 'a horse head' vs лаша'''н''' пуҫӗ 'the horse's head'); with both nominative and genitive, however, the possessed noun has a possessive suffix (see below).<ref>[https://en.chuvash.org/e/554e49542054574f20284356204d616e75616c2c204772616d6d617229 Chuvash manual, Unit 2]</ref><ref>Павлов 2017: 62-64</ref>

In the genitive and dative-accusative cases, some nouns ending in -у and -ӳ were changed to -ӑв and -ӗв (ҫыру → ҫыр'''ӑв'''ӑн, ҫыр'''ӑв'''а, but ҫырура; пӳ → п'''ӗв'''ӗн, п'''ӗв'''е, but пӳре). In nouns ending in -ӑ, the last vowel simply deletes and may cause the last consonant to geminate (пулӑ 'fish' > пу'''лл'''ан). Nouns ending in consonants sometimes also geminate the last letter (ҫын 'man' → ҫын'''н'''ӑн).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.chuvash.org/e/554e49542054574f20284356204d616e75616c2c204772616d6d617229|title=UNIT TWO|website=Chuvash People's Website|access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref>

There are also some rarer cases, such as:
* [[Terminative case|Terminative]]–[[antessive case|antessive]] (to), formed by adding -(ч)чен
* relic of [[distributive case|distributive]], formed by adding -серен: кунсерен "daily, every day", килсерен "per house", килмессерен "every time one comes"
* [[Semblative case|Semblative]] (as), formed by adding пек to pronouns in genitive or objective case (ман '''пек''', "like me", сан '''пек''', "like you", ун '''пек''', "like him, that way", пирӗн '''пек''', "like us", сирӗн '''пек''', "like you all", хам '''пек''', "like myself", хӑвӑн '''пек''', "like yourself", кун '''пек''', "like this"); adding -ла, -ле to nouns (этемле, "humanlike", ленинла, "like Lenin")
* [[Postfix (linguistics)|Postfix]]: ха; adding -шкал, -шкел to nouns in the dative (actually a postposition, but the result is spelt as one word: унашкал 'like that').

Taking кун (day) as an example:

{| class="wikitable"
! Noun case
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! [[Nominative case|Nominative]]
| кун
| кунсем
|-
! [[Genitive]]
| кунӑн
| кунсен
|-
! [[Dative case|Dative]]-[[Accusative case|Accusative]]
| куна
| кунсене
|-
! [[Locative case|Locative]]
| кунта
| кунсенче
|-
! [[Ablative case|Ablative]]
| кунтан
| кунсенчен
|-
! [[Instrumental case|Instrumental]]
| кунпа
| кунсемпе
|-
![[Abessive case|Abessive]]
|кунсӑр
|кунсемсӗр
|-
![[Causative]]
|куншӑн
|кунсемшӗн
|}

Possession is expressed by means of constructions based on verbs meaning "to exist" and "not to exist" ("пур" and "ҫук"). For example, to say, "The cat had no shoes":

: {{lang|cv|кушак + -ӑн ура атӑ(и) + -сем ҫук + -чӗ}}
: {{lang|cv|(кушакӑн ура аттисем ҫукчӗ)}}

which literally translates as "cat-of foot-cover(of)-plural-his non-existent-was."

The '''possessive suffixes''' are as follows (ignoring vowel harmony):
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!singular
!plural
|-
!1st person
| -(ӑ)м
| -мӑр
|-
!2nd person
| -у
| -ӑр
|-
!3rd person
| -ӗ/-и
| -ӗ/-и<ref name="Róna-Tas 1997: 4"/>
|}

Stem-final vowels are deleted when the vowel-initial suffixes (-у, -и, -ӑр) are added to them. The 3rd person allomorph -ӗ is added to stems ending in consonants, whereas -и is used with stems ending in vowels. There is also another postvocalic variant -шӗ, which is used only in designations of family relationships: аппа 'elder sister' > аппа-шӗ.<ref>Róna-Tas 1997: 3</ref> Furthermore, the noun атте 'father' is irregularly declined in possessive forms:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.chuvash.org/e/554e4954204649564520284356204d616e75616c2c204772616d6d617229|title=UNIT FIVE|website=Chuvash People's Website|access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!singular
!plural
|-
!1st person
| атте<br>аттем
| аттемӗр
|-
!2nd person
| аҫу
| аҫӑр
|-
!3rd person
| ашшӗ
| ашшӗ
|}

When case endings are added to the possessive suffixes, some changes may occur: the vowels comprising the 2nd and 3rd singular possessive suffixes are dropped before the dative-accusative suffix: (ывӑл-у-на 'to your son', ывӑл-ӗ-нe 'to his son' > ывӑлна, ывӑлнe), whereas a -н- is inserted between them and the locative and ablative suffixes: ывӑл-у-н-та 'in/at your son', ывӑл-ӗ-н-чен 'from his son'.<ref>[https://en.chuvash.org/e/554e49542053495820284356204d616e75616c2c204772616d6d617229 Chuvash Manual, Unit 6]</ref>

====Adjectives====
Adjectives do not agree with the nouns they modify, but may receive nominal case endings when standing alone, without a noun.<ref>Павлов 2017: 142-145</ref> The comparative suffix is -рах/-рех, or -тарах/-терех after stems ending in -р or, optionally, other sonorant consonants.<ref>Павлов 2017: 126-127</ref> The superlative is formed by encliticising or procliticising the particles чи or чӑн to the adjective in the positive degree.<ref>Павлов 2017: 128-129</ref> A special past tense form meaning '(subject) was A' is formed by adding the suffix -(ч)чӗ.<ref>Павлов 2017: 150-151</ref> Another notable feature is the formation of intensive forms via complete or partial reduplication: кӑтра 'curly' - кӑп-кӑтра 'completely curly'.<ref>Павлов 2017: 130</ref>

====The 'separating' form====
Both nouns and adjectives, declined or not, may take special 'separating' forms in -и (causing gemination when added to reduced vowel stems and, in nouns, when added to consonant-final stems) and -скер. The meaning of the form in -и is, roughly, 'the one of them that is X', while the form in -скер may be rendered as '(while) being X'.<ref>Павлов 2017: 146-150</ref> For example, пӳлӗм-р(е)-и-сем 'those of them who are in the room'. The same suffixes may form the equivalent of dependent clauses: ачисем килте-'''скер'''-ӗн мӗн хуйхӑрмалли пур унӑн? ''''If''' his children (are) at home, what does he have to be sad about?', йӗркеллӗ ҫынн-'''и''' курӑнать 'You (can) see '''that''' he is a decent person', эсӗ килт(e)-'''и''' савӑнтарать (lit. ''''That''' you are at home, pleases one').<ref>Павлов 2017: 110-117</ref>

====Pronouns====
The personal pronouns exhibit partly suppletive allomorphy between the nominative and oblique stems; case endings are added to the latter:<ref name="Róna-Tas 1997: 4"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
! colspan="2" |singular
! colspan="2" |plural
|-
!
!nominative
!oblique
!nominative
!oblique
|-
!1st person
|эпӗ
|ман-
|эпир (эпӗр)
|пир-
|-
!2nd person
|эсӗ
|сан-
|эсир (эсӗр)
|сир-
|-
!3rd person
|вӑл
|ун-
|вӗсем
|вӗсен
|}

Demonstratives are ку 'this', ҫак 'this' (only for a known object), ҫав 'that' (for a somewhat remote object), леш 'that' (for a remote object), хай 'that' (the above-mentioned). There is a separate reflexive originally consisting of the stem in х- and personal possessive suffixes:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!singular
!plural
|-
!1st person
|хам
|хамӑр
|-
!2nd person
|ху
|хӑвӑр
|-
!3rd person
|хӑй
|хӑйсем
|}
Interrogatives are кам 'who', мӗн 'what', хӑш(ӗ) 'which'. Negative pronouns are formed by adding the prefix ни- to the interrogatives: никам, ним(ӗн), etc. Indefinite pronouns use the prefix та-: такам etc. Totality is expressed by пур 'all', пӗтӗм 'whole', харпӑр 'every'.

Among the pronominal adverbs that are not productively formed from the demonstratives, notable ones are the interrogatives хӑҫан 'when' and ӑҫта 'where'.

===Verbs===
Chuvash verbs exhibit person and can be made negative or impotential; they can also be made potential. Finally, Chuvash verbs exhibit various distinctions of tense, mood and aspect: a verb can be progressive, necessitative, aorist, future, inferential, present, past, conditional, imperative or optative.

The sequence of verbal suffixes is as follows: voice - iterativity - potentiality - negation - tense/gerund/participle - personal suffix.<ref name=":0">Павлов (2017: 251)</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Chuvash
! English
|-
| кил-
| align="right" | (to) come
|-
| килме-
| align="right" | not (to) come
|-
| килейме-
| align="right" | not (to) be able to come
|-
| килеймен
| align="right" | He/she was apparently unable to come.
|-
| килеймерӗ
|align="right" | He/she had not been able to come.
|-
| килеймерӗр
|align="right" | You (plural) had not been able to come.
|-
| килеймерӗр-и?
|align="right" | Have you (plural) not been able to come?
|}

==== Finite verb forms ====
The '''personal endings''' of the verb are mostly as follows (abstracting from vowel harmony):<ref>Павлов (2017: 229), Rona-Tas (1997: 5)</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!singular
!plural
|-
!1st person
| -(ӑ)п/-(ӑ)м
| -(ӑ)пӑр/-(ӑ)мӑр
|-
!2nd person
| -(ӑ)н
| -(ӑ)р
|-
!3rd person
| -(ӗ)
| -(ӗ)ҫ(ӗ)
|}
The 1st person allomorph containing -п- is found in the present and future tenses, the one containing -м- is found in other forms. The 3rd singular is absent in the future and in the present tenses, but causes palatalisation of the preceding consonant in the latter. The vowel-final allomorph of the 3rd plural -ҫӗ is used in the present.<ref name=":2"/> The imperative has somewhat more deviant endings in some of its forms:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!singular
!plural
|-
!1st person
| -ам
| -ар
|-
!2nd person
| -∅
| -ӑр
|-
!3rd person
| -тӑр 
| -ч(ч)ӑр
|}

To these imperative verb forms, one may add particles expressing insistence (-сам) or, conversely, softness (-ччӗ) and politeness (-ах).

The main '''tense markers''' are:<ref>Róna-Tas (1997: 5); Павлов (2017: 269) about the present tense</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!present
| -(a)т-
|-
!future
| -∅-
|-
!past
| -р-/-т-
|-
!pluperfect
| -сатт-
|-
!iterative past
| -атт-<ref>Павлов (2017: 255)</ref>
|}
The consonant -т of the present tense marker assimilates to the 3rd plural personal ending: -ҫҫӗ. The past tense allomorph -р- is used after vowels, while -т- is used after consonants. The simple past tense is used only for witnesses events, whereas retold events are expressed using the past participle suffix -н(ӑ) (see below). In addition to the iterative past, there is also an aspectual iterative suffix -кала- expressing repetitive action.

There are also '''modal markers''',<ref name=":2"/> which do not combine with tense markers and hence have sometimes been described as tenses of their own:<ref>Павлов 2017: passim, e.g. p. 296</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!suffix
|-
!conditional<ref name=":2">Róna-Tas (1997: 5)</ref>/optative<ref>Павлов (2017: 295-296)</ref>
| -ӑттӑ-
|-
!concessive
| -ин
|}
The concessive suffix -ин is added after the personal endings, but in the 2nd singular and plural, a -с- suffix is added ''before'' them: кур-ӑ-сӑн(-ин) 'alright, see it'.<ref>Павлов (2017: 275)</ref> If the particle -ччӗ is added, the meaning becomes optative.<ref>Павлов (2017: 300)</ref>

Potentiality is expressed with the suffix -(а)й 'be able to'.

The '''negative''' is expressed by a suffix inserted before the tense and modal markers. It contains -м- and mostly has the form -м(а)-, but -мас- in the present and -мӑ- in the future.<ref name=":2"/> The imperative uses the proclitic particle ан instead (or, optionally, an enclitic мар in the 1st person).

A '''change of valency''' to a passive-reflexive 'voice' may be effected by the addition of the suffixes -ӑл- and -ӑн-, but the process is not productive and the choice of suffix is not predictable. Still, if both occur with the same stem, -ӑл- is passive and -ӑн- is reflexive.<ref>Павлов (2017: 207)</ref> A '[[Reciprocal pronoun|reciprocal]] voice' form is produced by the suffixes -ӑш and -ӑҫ.<ref>Павлов (2017: 208-209)</ref> There are two [[causative]] suffixes - a non-productive -ат/-ар/-ӑт and a productive -(т)тар (the single consonant allomorph occurring after monosyllabic stems).<ref>Павлов (2017: 211-212)</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Voice suffixes
!passive-
reflexive
| -ӑл-,
-ӑн- 
|-
!reciprocal
| -ӑш,
-ӑҫ
|-
!causative
| -(т)тар, (-ат/-ар/-ӑт)
|}
There are, furthermore, various periphrastic constructions using the non-finite verb forms, mostly featuring predicative use of the participles (see below).

==== Non-finite verb forms ====
Some of the non-finite verb forms are:<ref>Павлов (2017: 250)</ref>

I. '''Attributive participles'''

# Present participle: -акан (вӗренекен 'studying' or 'being studied'); the negative form is the same as that of the past participle (see below);
# Past participle: -н(ӑ) (курнӑ 'which has seen' or 'which has been seen'); the final vowel disappears in the negative (курман)
# Future participle: -ас (каяс 'who will go')
# Present participle expressing a permanent characteristic: -ан (вӗҫен 'flying')
# Present participle expressing pretence: -анҫи, -иш
# Necessitative participle: -малла (пулмалла 'who must become'); the negative is formed by adding the enclitic мар
# Satisfaction participle: -малӑх (вуламалӑх 'which is enough to be read')
# Potentiality participle: -и (ути 'which can go')<ref name=":2">Róna-Tas (1997: 5)</ref>

The suffix -и may be added to participles to form a verbal noun: ҫыр-нӑ; 'written' > ҫыр-н-и 'writing'.

II. '''Adverbial participles ([[converb]]s)'''<ref name=":0" />

# -са (default: doing, having done, while about to do')<ref name=":2" /> (-сар after a negative suffix)
# -а 'doing Y' (the verb form is usually reduplicated)
# -нӑҫем(-ен) 'the more the subject does Y': 
# -уҫӑн 'while doing Y'
# -сан 'having done Y', 'if the subject does Y'
# -нӑранпа 'after/since having done Y'
# -массерен 'whenever the subject does Y'
# -иччен 'before/until doing Y'

III. '''Infinitives'''

The suffixes -ма and -машкӑн form infinitives.

There are many verbal '''periphrastic constructions''' using the non-finite forms, including:
# a habitual past using the present participle and expressing periodicity (эпĕ вулакан-ччĕ, lit. 'I was [a] reading [one]');
# an alternative pluperfect using the past participle (эпĕ чĕннĕ-ччĕ, lit. 'I [was] one that had called'; negated by using the negatively conjugated participle эпĕ чĕнмен-ччĕ);
# a general present equal to the present participle (эпĕ  ҫыракан, lit. 'I [am a] writing [one]'; negated with the enclitic мар), 
# an alternative future expressing certainty and equal to the future participle (эпĕ илес 'I [am] one who will get'; negated with an encliticised ҫук),
# a necessitative future using the necessitative participle (ман/эпĕ тарант(ар)малла 'I [am] one who must feed'; negated with мар), 
# a second desiderative future expressing a wish and using the converb in -сан (эпĕ ҫĕнтерсен-ччĕ, 'I wish I'd win'), 
# another desiderative form expressing a wish for the future and using the future participle followed by -чĕ (эпĕ пĕлес-чĕ 'I wish/hope I know', negated by мар with an encliticised -ччĕ).<ref>Павлов 2017: 261-307</ref>

===Word order===
Word order in Chuvash is generally [[subject–object–verb]]. Modifiers (adjectives and genitives) precede their heads in nominal phrases, too. The language uses postpositions,<ref>Róna-Tas 1997: 5</ref> often originating from case-declined nouns, but the governed noun is usually in the nominative, e.g. тӗп ҫи-не 'onto (the surface of) the ground' (even though a governed ''pronoun'' tends to be in the genitive).<ref>Павлов 2017: 352</ref> Yes/no-questions are formed with an encliticised interrogative particle -и.<ref>Павлов 2017: 386</ref> The language often uses verb phrases that are formed by combining the adverbial participle in -са and certain common verbs such as пыр 'go', ҫӳре 'be going',  кай 'go (away from the speaker)', кил 'go (towards the speaker)', ил 'take', кала 'say', тӑр 'stand', юл 'stay', яр 'let go'; e.g. кӗрсe кай 'go entering > enter', тухса кай 'go exiting > leave'.<ref>Chuvash manual, Unit 13</ref>

== Vocabulary ==

=== Numerals ===
The number system is decimal. The numbers from one to ten are:
* 1 – pĕrre ''(пӗрре)'', pĕr ''(пӗр)''
* 2 – ikkĕ ''(иккӗ),'' ikĕ ''(икӗ)'', ik ''(ик)''
* 3 – wişşĕ ''(виҫҫӗ)'', wişĕ ''(виҫӗ)'', wiş ''(виҫ)''
* 4 – tăwattă ''(тӑваттӑ'')  tvată ''(тватӑ)'',  tăwat ''(тӑват),'' tvat ''(тват)''
* 5 – pillĕk ''(пиллӗк)'', pilĕk ''(пилӗк),'' pil ''(пил)''
* 6 – ulttă ''(улттӑ)'', {{IPA|cv|ˈultːə|IPA}}, ultă ''(ултӑ)'', {{IPA|cv|ˈult̬ə|IPA}}, ult ''(улт)'', {{IPA|cv|ult|IPA}}/{{IPA|cv|ult̬|IPA}}
* 7 – şiççĕ ''(ҫиччӗ)'', {{IPA|cv|ˈɕitɕːɘ|IPA}}, şiçĕ ''(ҫичӗ)'', {{IPA|cv|ˈɕitɕ̬ɘ|IPA}}, şiç ''(ҫич)'', {{IPA|cv|ˈɕitɕ̬|IPA}}
* 8 – sakkăr ''(саккӑр)'', {{IPA|cv|ˈsakːər|IPA}}, sakăr ''(сакӑр)'', {{IPA|cv|ˈsak̬ər|IPA}}
* 9 – tăhhăr ''(тӑххӑр)'', tăhăr ''(тӑхӑр)''
* 10 – wunnă ''(вуннӑ)'', wun ''(вун)''

The teens are formed by juxtaposing the word 'ten' and the corresponding single digit:
* 11 – wun pĕr ''(вун пӗр)''
* 12 – wun ikkĕ ''(вун иккӗ)'', wun ikĕ ''(вун икӗ)'', wun ik ''(вун ик)''
* 13 – wun vişşĕ ''(вун виҫҫӗ)'', wun vişĕ ''(вун виҫӗ)'', wun viş ''(вун виҫ)''
* 14 – wun tăwattă ''(вун тӑваттӑ)'', wun tvată ''(вун тватӑ)'', wun tvat ''(вун тват)''
* 15 – wun pillĕk ''(вун пиллӗк)'', wun pilĕk ''(вун пилӗк)'', wun pil ''(вун пил)''
* 16 – wun ulttă ''(вун улттӑ)'', wun ultă ''(вун ултӑ)'', wun ult ''(вун улт)''
* 17 – wun şiççĕ ''(вун ҫиччӗ)'', wun şiçĕ ''(вун ҫичӗ)'', wun şiç ''(вун ҫич)''
* 18 – wun sakkăr ''(вун саккӑр)'', wun sakăr ''(вун сакӑр)''
* 19 – wun tăhhăr ''(вун тӑххӑр)'', wun tăhăr ''(вун тӑхӑр)''

The tens are formed in somewhat different ways: from 20 to 50, they exhibit suppletion; 60 and 70 have a suffix -мӑл together with stem changes; while 80 and 90 juxtapose the corresponding single digit and the word 'ten'.
* 20 – şirĕm ''(ҫирӗм)''
* 30 – wătăr ''(вӑтӑр)''
* 40 – hĕrĕh ''(хӗрӗх)''
* 50 – allă ''(аллӑ)'', ală ''(алӑ)'', al ''(ал)''
* 60 – utmăl ''(утмӑл)''
* 70 – şitmĕl ''(ҫитмӗл)''
* 80 – sakăr wunnă ''(сакӑр вуннӑ)'', sakăr wun ''(сакӑр вун)''
* 90 – tăhăr wunnă ''(тӑхӑр вуннӑ)'', tăhăr wun ''(тӑхӑр вун)''

Further multiples of ten are:
* 100 – şĕr ''(ҫĕр)''
* 1000 – pin ''(пин)''
* Example: {{val|834236}} - sakăr şĕr wătăr tvată pin te ik şĕr wătăr ulttă ''(сакӑр ҫӗр вӑтӑр тӑватӑ пин те ик ҫӗр вӑтӑр улттӑ)'', {{IPA|cv|ˌsakərɕɘrʋət̬ərt̬əʋat̬ə↗p̬inʲt̬eǀikɕɘrʋət̬ər↘ultːəǁ|IPA}}

Ordinal numerals are formed with the suffix '''-mĕš''' (''-мӗш)'', e.g. pĕrremĕš ''(пӗррӗмӗш)'' 'first', ikkĕmĕš ''(иккӗмӗш)'' 'second'. There are also alternate ordinal numerals formed with the suffix -ӑм/-ĕм, which are used only for days, nights and years and only for the numbers from three to seven, e.g. wişĕm ''(виҫӗм)'' 'third', tăvatăm ''(тӑватӑм)'', pilĕm ''(пилӗм)'', ultăm ''(ултӑм)'', şiçĕm ''(ҫичӗм)'', wunăm ''(вунӑм)''.<ref>Павлов 2017: 164-165</ref>

=== Word formation ===
Some notable suffixes are: -ҫӑ for agent nouns,  -лӑх for abstract and instrumental nouns, -ӑш, less commonly, for abstract nouns from certain adjectives, -у (after consonants) or -v (after vowels) for action nouns, -ла, -ал, -ар, and -н for denominal verbs.<ref>Chuvash manual, Unit 16</ref> The valency changing suffixes and the gerunds were mentioned in the verbal morphology section above. Diminutives may be formed with multiple suffixes such as -ашка, -(к)ка, -лчӑ, -ак/-ӑк, -ача.<ref>Павлов 2017: 142-144</ref>

==Sample text==
{| cellpadding="6"
! Chuvash<ref>Сатур, Улатимӗр. 2011. Ҫӑлтӑр ҫӳлти тӳпере / Звезда на небе. Шупашкар (a book on Chuvash myths, legends and customs)</ref> || English Translation
|-
| style="width:23; text-align:left" |
{{lang|chv|Хӗвелӗн икӗ арӑм: Ирхи Шуҫӑмпа Каҫхи Шуҫӑм.}}
| style="width:18em; text-align:left" |The Sun has two wives: Dawn and Afterglow (lit. "the Morning Glow" and "the Evening Glow")
|-
| style="width:23em; text-align:left" |{{lang|chv|Ир пулсан Хӗвел Ирхи Шуҫӑмран уйрӑлса каять}}
| style="width:18em; text-align:left" |When it is morning, the Sun leaves Dawn
|-
| style="width:23em; text-align:left" | {{lang|chv|те яра кун тӑршшӗпе Каҫхи Шуҫӑм патнелле сулӑнать.}}
| style="width:18em; text-align:left" |and during the whole day (he) moves towards Afterglow.
|-
| style="width:23; text-align:left" |
{{lang|chv|Ҫак икӗ мӑшӑрӗнчен унӑн ачасем:}}
| style="width:18em; text-align:left" |From these two spouses of his, he has children:
|-
| style="width:23; text-align:left" |
{{lang|chv|Этем ятлӑ ывӑл тата Сывлӑм ятлӑ хӗр пур.}}
| style="width:18em; text-align:left" |a son named Etem (Human) and a daughter named Syvlăm (Dew).
|-
| style="width:23em; text-align:left" | {{lang|chv|Этемпе Сывлӑм пӗррехинче Ҫӗр чӑмӑрӗ ҫинче тӗл пулнӑ та,}}
| style="width:18em; text-align:left" |Etem and Syvlăm once met on the globe of the Earth,
|-
| style="width:23; text-align:left" |
{{lang|chv|пӗр-пӗрне юратса ҫемье чӑмӑртанӑ.}}
| style="width:18em; text-align:left" |fell in love with each other and started a family.
|-
|-
| style="width:23; text-align:left" |
{{lang|chv|Халь пурӑнакан этемсем ҫав мӑшӑрӑн тӑхӑмӗсем.}}
| style="width:18em; text-align:left" |The humans who live today are the descendants of this couple.
|}

==See also==
* [[Chuvash literature]]
* [[Bulgar language]]
* [[Cyrillic script]]
* [[Oghur languages]]
* [[Turkic Avar language]]
* [[Turkic languages]]
* [[Ivan Yakovlev (educator)|Ivan Yakovlev]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
;Specific
{{reflist|30em}}

;General
{{refbegin}}
* Agyagási, Klára. ''Chuvash Historical Phonetics: An Areal Linguistic Study. With an Appendix on the Role of Proto-Mari in the History of Chuvash Vocalism''. 1st ed. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2019. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh4zh9k.
* {{cite journal|url=http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/eeo/Tschuwaschisch.pdf|title=Tschuwaschisch. in: M. Okuka (ed.)|author=Čaušević, Ekrem|year=2002|journal=Lexikon der Sprachen des Europäischen Ostens|volume=Enzyklopädie des europäischen Ostens 10|pages=811–815|publisher=Klagenfurt: Wieser|access-date=31 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060309025932/http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/eeo/Tschuwaschisch.pdf|archive-date=9 March 2006}}
* Dobrovolsky, Michael (1999). [http://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/icphs-proceedings/ICPhS1999/papers/p14_0539.pdf "The phonetics of Chuvash stress: implications for phonology"]. Proceedings of the XIV International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, 539–542. Berkeley: University of California.
* Johanson, Lars & Éva Agnes Csató, ed. (1998). ''The Turkic languages''. London: Routledge.
* {{cite web|url=http://www.turkiclanguages.com/www/classification.html|title=The history of Turkic|author=Johanson|year=1998|work=Johanson & Csató|pages=81–125|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online CD 98|access-date=5 September 2007|first=Lars|archive-date=8 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408063746/http://www.turkiclanguages.com/www/classification.html|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-80003/Turkic-languages|title=Turkic languages|author=Lars Johanson|year=1998}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www3.germanistik.uni-halle.de/antos/dgfs98/abstracts/johanson.htm|title=Linguistic convergence in the Volga area|author=Lars Johanson|year=2000|work=Gilbers, Dicky & Nerbonne, John & Jos Schaeken (ed.)|publisher=Languages in contact Amsterdam & Atlanta: Rodopi.|pages=165–178 (Studies in Slavic and General linguistics 28.)}}
* Johanson, Lars (2007). Chuvash. ''Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics''. Oxford: [[Elsevier]].
* {{cite book|title=Chuvash Manual|url=https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_chv_ortho-1|author=Krueger, John|publisher=Indiana University Publications|year=1961}}
* {{cite book|author=Paasonen, Heikki|title = Gebräuche und Volksdichtung der Tschuwassen|publisher = edited by E. Karabka and M. Räsänen (Mémoires de la Société Finno-ougrinenne XCIV), Helsinki|year= 1949}}
* Павлов, И. П. (2017). Современный чувашский язык. Чебоксары.
* {{cite web|url=http://www.lib.cap.ru/date_apr_05_2.asp|title=Чувашская письменность новая|author=Петров, Н. П|year=2001|publisher=Краткая чувашская энциклопедия. – Чебоксары|pages=С. 475–476|access-date=11 February 2008|archive-date=11 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311033645/http://www.lib.cap.ru/date_apr_05_2.asp|url-status=dead}}
* Róna-Tas, András (2007). "Nutshell Chuvash" (PDF). ''Erasmus Mundus Intensive Program Turkic languages and cultures in Europe (TLCE)''. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011.
* {{cite book|title=Преподавание чувашского языка и проблема языкового поведения родителей|author=Алос-и-Фонт, Эктор|publisher=Чувашский государственный институт гуманитарных наук|year=2015}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Krueger, John R. "Remarks on the Chuvash Language: Past, Present and Future". In: ''Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Soviet National Languages: Their Past, Present and Future''. Edited by Isabelle T. Kreindler. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 1985. pp.&nbsp;265–274. {{doi|10.1515/9783110864380-013}}
* {{cite journal |title=Comparative Analysis of Some Tatar and Chuvash Affixes |last=Zheltov |first=Pavel V. |journal=Turcica |volume=38 |date=2006 |pages=325–331 |doi=10.2143/TURC.38.0.2021278}}

==External links==
===Resources===
{{InterWiki|code=cv}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://samah.chv.su/cgi-bin/s.cgi Chuvash–Russian On-Line Dictionary]
* [http://en.chuvash.org/e/436875766173682d456e676c6973682044696374696f6e617279 Chuvash English On-Line Dictionary]
* [http://en.chuvash.org Chuvash People's Website] {{in lang|en}}, also available in Chuvash, Esperanto and Russian (contains Chuvash literature)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110807192758/http://www2.lingfil.uu.se/afro/turkiskasprak/IP2007/NUTSHELLCHUVASH.pdf ''Nutshell Chuvash'', by András Róna-Tas] 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080409043651/http://www.lingfil.uu.se/afro/turkiskasprak/IP2007/Kincses.pdf ''Chuvash people and language'' by Éva Kincses Nagy, Istanbul Erasmus IP 1- 13. 2. 2007]
* [http://en.chuvash.org/e/43687576617368206d616e75616c ''Chuvash manual online'']
* [https://en.corpus.chv.su/ The Chuvash-Russian bilingual corpus]
* [http://www.nbchr.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5067&catid=301&Itemid=480 Translations of works by Alexander Pushkin into Chuvash]
* [https://vulacv.wordpress.com/ Chuvash literature blog]

===News and opinion articles===
* [http://chuvash.org/blogs/comments/2783.html Скоро чувашский язык останется "какой-то культурной традицией"]
* [http://chuvash.org/content%2F3037-На%20чувашском%20конь%20еще%20не%20валялся....html Виталий Станьял: На чувашском конь еще не валялся...]
* [http://chuvash.org/content%2F3038-Чӑваш%20ваттисен%20тӗп%20канашӗн%20йышӑнӑвӗ.html Виталий Станьял: Решение Совета Аксакалов ЧНК]
* [https://chuvash.org/content/3156-Прощай%2C%20исчезающий%20чувашский%20язык%3F.html Прощай, исчезающий чувашский язык?]
* [https://chuvash.org/news/17092.html Чӑваш чӗлхине Страсбургра хӳтӗлӗҫ]
* [https://chuvash.org/news/17162.html Тутарстанра чӗлхе пирки сӑмахларӗҫ]
* [https://chuvash.org/content/3180-Об%20угрозе%20развала%20страны%20в%20будущем%2C%20о%20съезде%20ЧНК%2C%20и%20об%20обращении%20к%20президенту.html Владимир Болгарский. Об угрозе развала страны в будущем, о съезде ЧНК, и об обращении к президенту]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181026182747/https://www.idelreal.org/a/27902182.html Why don't Chuvash people speak Chuvash?]
* [https://www.idelreal.org/a/29546401.html "As it is in the Chuvash Republic the Chuvash are not needed?!"]

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[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
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