Wierzbicka's semantic primes

Wierzbicka's semantic primes are basic, universal concepts that human languages share, such as "I," "you," "someone," "something," "good," "bad," "happen," "do," and "think." These fundamental ideas are thought to be innate, simple building blocks used to express more complex meanings across all cultures and languages. By identifying these primes, linguists aim to understand how different languages encode thoughts and feelings, providing a common foundation for analyzing and translating diverse languages while respecting their unique expressions.