Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/r-mi(j)-n

Etymology

 * Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
 * Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *r-mi(y)-n (Matisoff, STEDT); *r-miy (Chou, 1972)

A collective suffix *-n is found in Burmese and Chinese branches of Sino-Tibetan (Matisoff, 2003; Schuessler, 2007), although in the case of Chinese may in fact reflect an earlier velar coda *-ŋ, which palatalized after *-i-, as pointed out by Sagart (1999: 135). He compares Chinese with, which, according to him, belong to the same word-family, but the latter retained the velar coda *-ŋ because of the preceding low vowel *-a-. Palatalization of velar codas *-ŋ and *-k preceded by *-i- appears to be well attested (Baxter, 1992), and caused the merging of *-iŋ, *-ik rhymes with *-in, *-it respectively.

Noun

 * 1) man, person, human being

Descendants

 * Old Chinese:  (B-S),  (ZS) ("people, folk, civilian")
 * Middle Chinese:


 * Modern Mandarin
 * Beijing: (mín, )
 * Cantonese
 * Guangzhou:
 * Himalayish
 * Tibeto-Kanauri
 * Bodic
 * Tibetan
 * Written
 * Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
 * Lolo-Burmese
 * Burmish
 * Written
 * Khomic
 * Northern
 * Northern
 * Northern