Karuk language

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Last updated

June 30, 2026

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The Karuk language, also known as Quoratean, is spoken by the Karuk people of the Klamath River valley in California. The term "Karuk" itself means "upstream" in their language.1

The Karuk language exhibits grammatical features common to many Indigenous languages of North America. For instance, verbs often mark the person and number of the subject using prefixes or suffixes, such as in Karuk, where ni-'áhoo means "I walk" and nu-'áhoo means "he walks". Possession is also frequently indicated by prefixes or suffixes on nouns, as seen with nani-ávaha ("my food") and mu-ávaha ("his food").2

It is important to distinguish the Karuk language from the Kurukh language, which is spoken in India and belongs to the Dravidian language family.3

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Indigenous languages of North America
Language contact
For example, among the Karuk of northwestern California, a tribe that suffered harsh treatment at the hands of Euro-Americans, there are only a few loanwords from English, such as ápus ‘apple(s),’ and a few calques (loan translations), such as the ‘pear’ being called vírusur ‘bear’ because in Karuk the…
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For example, among the Karuk of northwestern California, a tribe that suffered harsh treatment at the hands of Euro-Americans, there are only a few loanwords from English, such as ápus ‘apple(s),’ and a few calques (loan translations), such as the ‘pear’ being called vírusur ‘bear’ because in Karuk the…
Read More