ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏣᏁᎸᏗ
unelanvhi tsanelvdi
The English phrase "bless you" is translated into Cherokee as ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏣᏁᎸᏗ (unelanvhi tsanelvdi).
This phrase is used when someone has sneezed.
Meaning: said to somebody who has sneezed (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ (unelanvhi), which means "God" or "the Creator" and ᏣᏁᎸᏗ (tsanelvdi), which means "bless" or "bestow a blessing upon".
How do you pronounce it?
unelanvhi tsanelvdi
Did you know?
- Depending on the specific community context, saying this phrase can be a way of acknowledging that the person's soul remains firmly within their body.
- The Cherokee syllabary used to write ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏣᏁᎸᏗ was invented by a man named Sequoyah, who was not literate in English when he created it.
- Cherokee is a polysynthetic language, meaning a single word like ᏣᏁᎸᏗ ('bless') can be modified with prefixes and suffixes to change the subject and object without needing separate words.
Example conversation
A and B are talking when B sneezes.
- BAcht-choo!Acht-choo!Achoo!
- AᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏣᏁᎸᏗ!Unelanvhi tsanelvdi!Bless you!
- BᏩᏙ, ᎢᏓᏓᏅᏓᏓᏍᏗ.Wado, idadanvdadasti.Thanks, let's keep going.
- AᎤᏓᏓᏅᏓᏓᏍᏗ.Udadanvdadasti.Let's continue.
