cualnezi
The English word 'beautiful' is translated into Nahuatl as cualnezi.
The word cualnezi is an adjective used to describe something or someone that is attractive.
Meaning: attractive (adj)
Did you know?
- Nahuatl often uses 'metaphors of duality' to describe beauty. A person might be called xochitl meaning 'flower' to imply they are beautiful without using a formal adjective.
- In some ceremonial Nahuatl contexts, words for beauty are used to describe the way a ritual or a song is performed. If a ceremony is 'beautiful', it means it was executed with precision and sacredness.
- Because Nahuatl is an agglutinative language, you can often expand the word cualnezi by adding suffixes to change its intensity. One could describe something as 'extremely beautiful' by modifying the root structure rather than adding an extra word like 'very'.
Example conversation
Xitlali and Cuauhtémoc are looking at a sunset.
- XitlaliCualnezi in tonatiuh.The sun is beautiful.
- CuauhtémocQuinequi in tlalpan.The land wants it.
- XitlaliCualnezi in tletl.The fire is beautiful.
- CuauhtémocMoqui nelli.It is truly so.
