TARZAN'S ENGLISH-APE DICTIONARY

I’m now reading all twenty-five Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. When I was a kid, I was really excited to find that my new Dell Tarzan comic book had an Ape-English Dictionary in it! It listed the words Tarzan used in ape language, along with their English meanings! What more could a boy want?!

Well, after about fifty years it’s finally dawned on me what more a boy could want. When apes talk, they often speak too fast to understand them, even with the Ape-English Dictionary. It can be really frustrating. What’s needed is an English-Ape Dictionary, so we can speak to the apes. So I’ve taken the original Tarzan Ape-English Dictionary, with its ape words in alphabetical order, and have instead alphabetized the English words. This will be invaluable during your next jungle safari, and also a lot of fun during your next visit to the zoo.


TARZAN’S ENGLISH-APE DICTIONARY

                                                                    photo by Julia Lund

afraid - utor
ant - kando
antelope - wappi
arm - wang
arrow - etarad
baboon - tongoni
baby - balu
back - rand
bad - sord
battle - bar
beast - tor
beetle - nene
belly - gu
beware - kreegah
big - zu
bird - neeta
black - go
blood - galul
blue - m’wa
blunt - tand-litu
boar - horta
bone - dano
bottom - ug
bow - ry-balu-den
boy - ab
branch - balu-den
brave - tand-utor
bright - tu
broken - tub
brook - no
brother - abalu
buffalo - gorgo
cast - aro
catch - rem
cave - zu-kut
center - karpo
chief - gund
clan - hotan
climb - unk-nala
cold - bur
come - yud
corn - ut
country (tribe’s hunting grounds) - pal
cow - kalo
crocodile - gimla
crooked - ry
cut - yuto
dance - kordo, voo-dum
dark - tanda
dead - bund
do surrender - kagoda
down - tand-nala
do you surrender - kagoda
drink - ud
drum - dum-dum
dry - tand-lul
dull - tand-litu
ear - yad
eat - popo
egg - klu-kal
elbow - band
elephant - tantor
empty - tand-vulp
eye - yat
face - lot
fall - amba
fang - gash
fat - dak
father - pastar
fear - utor
female - kalan
few - tand-ho
fierce - lu
fire - argo
fish - pisa
flat - bo
flesh - dako-zan
flower - ro
fly - busso
foot - b’zee
forest - hoden
friend - yo
front - gugu
fruit - sopu
full - vulp
get up - tand-ramba
girl - za
giraffe - omtag
go - unk
good - vando
gore - yut
gorilla - bolgani
grasshopper - nesen
great - ben
great apes - mangani
green - wa
growl - gor
hair - b’zan
hand - bowing
hard - eho-dan
hate - ugla
he - bu
head - b’yat
heart - thub
hen - klu
here - yel
high - at
hill - ta-pal
hippopotamus - duro
hit - kob
hole - kut
hollow - eho-kut
home - wala
hot - koho
house - wala
hungry - po
husband - por-atan
hut - wala
hyena - dango
ice - dan-lul
in - zor
jackal - ungo
jump - kas
jungle - kambo
kick - lob
kill - bundolo
kind - sato
knee - abu
lake - dak-lul
lame - mado
laugh - rota
leaf - wa-usha
leaves - ho-wa-usha
left (direction) - tandlan
leg - zee
leopard - sheeta
lie (untruth) - nur
lie down - ramba
light - a
lightning - ara
like - gree-ah
limb - balu-den
lion - numa
lioness - sabor
little - eta
long - om
look - yato
lose - adu
loud - pandar
love - gree-ah
low - eta-nala
male - atan
many - ho
mate - por
meat - dako-zan
middle - karpo
mighty - ko
mighty lioness - ko sabor
milk - kal
monkey - manu
mosquito - lano
mother - kalu
mountain - ved
mouth - tho
much - eho
muscle - vo
neck - tag
negro - gomangani
nest - wala
no - tand
noise - panda
nose - lat
not - tand
nut - dan-sopu
ocean - zu-dak-lul
out - zut
panther - sheeta
rain - meeta
rat - pamba
red - ga
rhinoceros - buto
rifle - pand-balu-den
right (direction) - lan
rise - ala
river - gom-lul
roar - zugor
rock - dan
rooster - tan-klu
rough - es
run - gom
scream - kree-gor
see - yato
sharp - litu
she - mu
shield - jabo
shoot - aro
short - mo
sick - gumado
side - luto
silence - tand-panda
silent - tand-panda
sing - voo-voo
sister - za-balu
skin - zan
smoke - whuff
snake - histah
snare - rala
snow - tar-bur
soft - pan
spear - arad
stab - yut
star - hul
starve - tand-popo
stay - tand-unk
stick - balu-den
sting - lana
stomach - gu
stone - dan
stop - dan-do
straight - tro
strange - jar
strong - zu-vo
sun - kudu
swim - lul-kor
swing - yang
tail - at
talk - gogo
tall - to
that - wob
there - yeland
thick - dako
thin - tandak
thirsty - ubor
this - wo
throw - aro
thunder - pand
tom-tom - dum-dum
tongue - lus
tooth - gash
top - eho-nala
tortoise - kota
tree - den
tribe - hohotan
truth - rep
up - nala
valley - pele
village - ho-wala
vulture - ska
walk - kor
warm - eta-koho
warrior - tan
water - lul
weak - pan-vo
weep - pan-lul
well - van
wet - eho-lul
whisper - eta-gogo
white - tar
white men - tarmangani
wife - por-kalan
wild cat - skree
win - gando
wind - usha
word - rea
wrestle - olo
yellow - mal
yes - rak
zebra - pacco


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