Ainu

Aynu itak

Critically EndangeredHokkaido, Japan

Ainu is a language isolate — it has no known relatives anywhere in the world. It was historically spoken across Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and parts of the Japanese mainland. Today, only a handful of elderly native speakers remain. Ainu oral literature, including epic poems called yukar, represents a rich cultural tradition that linguists and community members are working to document and preserve.

At a Glance

Speakers: Approximately 10 fluent native speakers
Language family: Language isolate
Writing system: Katakana (modern), Latin script
ISO 639-3 code: ain
Countries: Japan

Key Facts

1
Ainu is a language isolate: it is unrelated to Japanese, Russian, or any other known language family.
2
The Ainu people were the indigenous inhabitants of Hokkaido and surrounding regions before Japanese settlement expanded northward.
3
Japan officially recognized the Ainu as an indigenous people only in 2019.
4
The Upopoy National Ainu Museum opened in Hokkaido in 2020, dedicated to preserving Ainu language and culture.
5
Ainu has a rich oral tradition, including the yukar — long epic poems passed down through generations.

Numbers Quiz: 0–100

Learn to count in Ainu. You'll be shown a number and asked to identify the correct word — or vice versa.

Start Quiz →