Cognate Explorer

What are cognates?

Cognates are words in Estonian and Finnish that share a common origin. In runosong, cognates reveal the deep shared vocabulary of Finnic oral poetry.

How pairs are scored

Three signals are combined: Translation overlap (IDF-weighted, 55%) checks if both words share English translations. Etymological root (15%) checks shared proto-Finnic roots. Orthographic similarity (30%) measures character-level resemblance.

Pair types

Exact: identical spelling. Near-exact: minor spelling differences. Translation-bridged: matched via shared English meanings. Orthographic: similar spelling only.

Word families

Families are connected components: if A is a cognate of B and B of C, then A-B-C form one family. The largest family has ~25 members (death/sorrow cluster).