How to Say "Butterfly" in Cherokee

ᎧᎹᎹ

kamama/kʰà.màːmã́/

The Cherokee word for butterfly is ᎧᎹᎹ (kamama).

ᎧᎹᎹ is used to refer to the insect known as a butterfly.

Meaning: insect (noun)

How do you pronounce it?

The word is pronounced kamama (/kʰà.màːmã́/). It has two syllables.

In Cherokee, the same word ᎧᎹᎹ is used for both a butterfly and an elephant.
The reason ᎧᎹᎹ refers to an elephant is based on the visual similarity between the animal's flapping ears and the wings of a butterfly.
In many Indigenous North American cultures, including those in the Southeast, butterflies are often seen as symbols of transformation or the souls of ancestors.

Example sentences for Cherokee are not verified yet.

Two people are walking in a garden.

A

ᎧᎹᎹ ᏗᏓᏓᏍᏓᏓᎩᏯᎢ ᎦᏓᏓᏍᏓᏓᎩᏯᎢ!
kama ba di-da-sda-da-gi-ya-i ga-da-sda-da-gi-ya-i!
Look at the butterfly!
B

ᎤᏓᏓᏍᏓᏓᎩᏯᎢ ᎦᏓᏓᏍᏓᏓᎩᏯᎢ.
u-da-sda-da-gi-ya-i ga-da-sda-da-gi-ya-i.
It is very beautiful.
A

ᎧᎹᎹ ᏓᏓᏍᏓᏓᎩᏯᎢ ᎦᏓᏓᏍᏓᏓᎩᏯᎢ.
kama ba da-da-sda-da-gi-ya-i ga-da-sda-da-gi-ya-i.
The butterfly is landing.
B

ᏗᏓᏓᏍᏓᏓᎩᏯᎢ ᎦᏓᏓᏍᏓᏓᎩᏯᎢ.
di-da-sda-da-gi-ya-i ga-da-sda-da-gi-ya-i.
Yes, it is.