Assamese is primarily spoken in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam. It shares significant similarities with several other languages in the Indo-Aryan language branch. According to the eLinguistics.net analysis using specific software modules to assess linguistic relationships, the five languages most similar to Assamese are Bengali, Odia, Marathi, Nepali, and Magahi.
- Bengali (91.3)
The official language of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal is Bengali. It is easily the closest major linguistic relative to Assamese. Both languages evolved from Magadhi Prakrit and share a remarkably high degree of lexical similarity. Speakers of Assamese and Bengali often find significant mutual intelligibility, especially in their written forms . The differences primarily lie in pronunciation. - Odia (80.2)
The official language of the Indian state of Odisha is Odia. It is another direct sibling within the Eastern Indo-Aryan group. Like Assamese and Bengali, Odia also traces its roots back to Magadhi Prakrit. This shared lineage results in considerable similarities in core vocabulary, sentence structure, and verb conjugations. Its spoken form often shares noticeable resemblances with Assamese, particularly in more formal contexts. - Marathi (78.5)
Marathi is a major Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in the Indian state of Maharashtra. While some very basic Indo-Aryan cognates exist (e.g., words for “water,” “hand,” “father”), the majority of their everyday vocabulary is different. Loanwords from Sanskrit are common in both, but their native lexicons have diverged. - Nepali (78.4)
Nepali is mainly spoken in Nepal, a country located in between India and China. Both Assamese and Nepali belong to the Indo-Aryan language branch, which endows them with several common linguistic features. Their Sanskrit roots result in a substantial overlap in vocabulary between the two languages. - Magahi (78.4)
Magahi is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language. Like Assamese, Bengali, and Odia, Magahi is a direct descendant of Magadhi Prakrit. This means they share a very recent common ancestor within the Indo-Aryan family. While not always fully mutually intelligible, speakers of Assamese and Magahi would still find significant overlaps.
(to be considered for the list, the language must be spoken by at least one million people)